The broad sun above laughed a pitiless laugh, chaff; Till over by Dalhem a dome-spire sprang white, And "Gallop," gasped Joris, "for Aix is in sight! 8. "How they'll greet us!"-and all in a moment his roan Rolled neck and croup over, lay dead as a stone; And there was my Roland to bear the whole weight 9. Then I cast loose my buff-coat, each holster let fall, Shook off both my jack-boots, let go belt and all; Stood up in the stirrup, leaned, patted his ear, Called my Roland his pet-name, my horse without peer; Clapt my hands, laughed and sang, any noise, bad or good, Till at length into Aix Roland galloped and stood! 10. And all I remember is friends flocking round, As I sat with his head 'twixt my knees on the ground; Notes and Meanings. Ghent (Gent, ,-g hard), the chief town in East Flanders, Belgium. Aix (Aix-la-Cha-pelle), a town in Rhenish Prussia, near the Belgian frontier. Ghent and Aix are more than one hundred miles apart. 1 Postern, small back door or gate. 2 Pique, bow of the saddle. 3 Lokeren (Lok-e'-ren), a town in East Flanders, Belgium. This and the other towns mentioned are on the route from Ghent to Aix-la-Chapelle, in the order in which they occur in the poem:-Boom, Düffeld (Dif'-feld), Mecheln (Mek'-lin), Aerschot (Air'-shot), Hasselt, Looz (Lōze, rhyming with rose), Tongres (Tong'-gers), Dalhem (Da'-lem, a as in far). 4 Resolute, firm; steady; bold. Butting away, thrusting aside. 5 Pricked out, bent forward. In-tel-li-gence, quick understand- Spume-flakes, flakes of foam. 6 Roos, a common German name for a horse. Horrible, painful to behold. 8 Roan, a horse of a bay or brown 9 Holster, pistol-case. Burgess-es, citizens; inhabitants of a borough. 11 Robert Browning (1812), one of the greatest of living poets. He wrote the Pied Piper of Hamelin, etc., etc. Summary:-In this poem we have a stirring description of a great effort made to carry important news a distance of more than one hundred miles. The heavy strain upon the horses is shown by the fact that two of them died under it, and the third arrived at the journey's end in a state of complete exhaustion. Many wonderful instances of great endurance have been shown in the bearing of important despatches in time of war, especially before the invention of the steam-engine and the telegraph. Exercises: 1. Describe the incidents of the poem in your own words. Why were walls built around cities? Why are city walls now considered useless? 2. Draw a map showing the positions of Ghent and Aix. 3. The Saxon prefix be in adverbs or prepositions signifies by or in-as, beside, by the side of; because, by cause of; betimes, in time; behind, in the rear of. Make sentences containing beside, because, betimes, behind. A STORY OF OLD GENOA. 1. Long ago, when Genoa was divided between the factions of the nobles and the people, Uberto, a man of humble origin, had raised himself to be head of the popular party, and was for a considerable time at the head of the government. 2. The nobles at length, uniting all their efforts, succeeded in changing this state of things, and regained their former power. They used their victory with considerable harshness; and in particular, having imprisoned Uberto, proceeded against him as a traitor. They thought they displayed sufficient lenity in passing upon him a sentence of banishment and the loss of all his property. 3. Adorno, the chief of the nobles, a man haughty in temper and proud of his ancient nobility, in pronouncing the sentence on Uberto, did so in most insolent terms. "You," said he,-" you, the son of a working man, who have dared to trample upon the nobles of Genoa,-you, by their clemency, are only doomed to shrink again into the nothing whence you sprang." 4. Uberto received his condemnation with respectful submission; yet stung by the manner in which it was expressed, he could not forbear saying to Adorno that "perhaps he might hereafter find cause to repent the language he had used to a man capable of sentiments as elevated as his own." He then bowed, and retired; and, after taking leave of his friends, embarked in a vessel bound for Naples. 5. He collected some debts due to him in that city, and with the wreck of his fortune went to settle on one of the islands belonging to the state of Venice. Here his industry and ability as a merchant raised him in the course of years to greater wealth than he had possessed in his most prosperous days at Genoa; and his reputation for honour and generosity equalled his riches. 6. Among the other places which he frequently visited as a merchant was the city of Tunis, on the coast of Africa. As Uberto was on a visit to one of the first men of that place at his country-house, he saw a young Christian slave at work in irons, whose appearance excited his attention. The youth seemed oppressed with labour to which his delicate frame had not been accustomed; and while he leaned at intervals upon the instrument with which he was working, a sigh burst from his full heart, and a tear stole down his cheek. Uberto eyed him with compassion, and addressed him in Italian. 7. The youth eagerly caught the sounds of his native tongue, and replying to his inquiries, informed him that he was a Genoese. "And what is your name, young man?" said Uberto. "You need not be afraid of confessing to me your birth and condition." "Alas!" he answered, "I fear my captors already suspect enough to demand a large ransom. My father is, indeed, one of the first men in Genoa. His name is Adorno, and I am his only son." 8. 66 Adorno!" Uberto checked himself from uttering more aloud, but to himself he cried, "Thank heaven! then I shall be nobly revenged." He took leave of the youth, and immediately went to inquire after the corsair captain who claimed a right in young Adorno, and having found him, demanded the price of his ransom. He learned that he was considered as a captive of value, and that less than two thousand crowns would not be accepted. 9. Uberto paid the sum; and causing his servant to follow him with a horse and a complete suit of handsome clothes, he returned to the youth, who was working as before, and told him he was free. With his own hands he took off his fetters, and helped him to change his dress and mount on horseback. The youth was tempted to think it all a dream, and the flutter of emotion almost deprived him of the power of returning thanks to his generous benefactor. He was soon, however, convinced of the reality of his good fortune by sharing the lodging and table of Uberto. 10. After a stay of some days at Tunis, to despatch the remainder of his business, Uberto departed homewards, accompanied by young Adorno, who, by his pleasing manners, had become a great favourite with him. Uberto kept him some time at his house, treating him with all the respect and affection he could have shown for the son of his dearest friend. At length, having a safe opportunity of sending him to Genoa, he gave him a faithful servant for a conductor, fitted him out with every convenience, slipped a purse of gold into one hand and a letter into the other, and thus addressed him: 11. "My dear youth, I could with much pleasure keep you longer in my humble mansion, but I feel your impatience to revisit your friends, and it would be cruelty to deprive them longer than necessary of the joy they will receive in recovering you. Accept this purse for your voyage, and deliver this letter to your father. He probably may recollect somewhat of me, though you are too young to do SO. Farewell! I shall not soon forget you, and I hope you will not forget me." Adorno poured out |