Page:Poems that every child should know (ed. Burt, 1904).djvu/235

Rh In haste they girded up their gowns,

And hied them to the wall.

They held a council standing

Before the River Gate;

Short time was there, ye well may guess,

For musing or debate.

Out spoke the Consul roundly:

"The bridge must straight go down;

For, since Janiculum is lost,

Naught else can save the town."

Just then a scout came flying,

All wild with haste and fear:

"To arms! to arms! Sir Consul;

Lars Porsena is here."

On the low hills to westward

The Consul fixed his eye,

And saw the swarthy storm of dust

Rise fast along the sky.

And nearer, fast, and nearer

Doth the red whirlwind come;

And louder still, and still more loud,

From underneath that rolling cloud,

Is heard the trumpet's war-note proud,

The trampling and the hum.

And plainly and more plainly

Now through the gloom appears,

Far to left and far to right,

In broken gleams of dark-blue light,

The long array of helmets bright,

The long array of spears.