ADVERTISEMENT. THIS Poem is founded on an Italian Tradition, related to me by a native of Florence. The time occupied is two months. The scene commences on the banks of the Tiber, near Rome -shifts thence to Sicily, and thence back to the Tiber. WHERE yellow Tiber rolls his tide Onward in smooth tranquillity, Through myrtle groves and meadows wide, Defying mutability; Which long hath laid her mould-clad finger On aught else death hath left to linger, 1 Where Art and Genius had their birth The loveliest, fairest spot on earth The flocks are gathered to their fold, Where soul its kindred soul will greet, Enfranchised from the ills of earth The children of a holier birth; And there, beneath the moon's pale sheen Rises full many a mournful scene The wide Campagna dim and lone The Catacomb of nations gone, And Rome's seven hills o'er Ruin's hearth, The mimic Pleiades of earth; The cypress in funereal gloom O'erhanging many a hero's tomb, All that vain pomp and wealth can give, A halo over dark decay. Yes, there they sleep! th' immortal brave, The mighty arm that grasped the sword The tongue that pleaded with applause Will such bright stars lume earth again? There wrecks of empires strew the ground; Decay and Slavery have wed, And Genius rests her drooping head; And placid Beauty still appears, Meek smiling through her limpid tears, And Death sits throned on Glory's tomb Triumphant o'er the wrecks of joy and bloom. II. By Tiber, UGo's castle stands, Surrounded by an olive grove, And glassy seas, and myrtled strands The hallowed shrine of Peace and Love. The guards are dozing round the wall, Nor lamp nor step is in the hall, Her untuned harp and jewels nigh, A web of rich embroidery, And flowers that breathe around the room From golden vases sweet perfume. She weeps not, but her restless eye Betrays her deep anxiety; Now lost in thoughtful mood she sits Now hurried o'er the carpet flits— Then by the lattice bends her ear "A step?-'Tis he!" O God! her fear If UGO should her lover spy, This night-this night, they both must die! |