Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 2.djvu/383

CANTO IV.] Thin streets, and foreign aspects, such as must

Too oft remind her who and what enthrals,N7

Have flung a desolate cloud o'er Venice' lovely walls.

XVI.

When Athens' armies fell at Syracuse,

And fettered thousands bore the yoke of war,

Redemption rose up in the Attic Muse,

Her voice their only ransom from afar:

See! as they chant the tragic hymn, the car

Of the o'ermastered Victor stops—the reins

Fall from his hands—his idle scimitar

Starts from its belt—he rends his captive's chains,

And bids him thank the Bard for Freedom and his strains.

XVII.

Thus, Venice! if no stronger claim were thine,

Were all thy proud historic deeds forgot—