Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1870-07-15
seteet goeer!t,
THE ALARM-BE OF ATRT.
nY HENRY W, LoNGFELLow.

n
BY HENRY W, LoNGFELLow.
At Atri, in Abruzzo small town
OF ancient Roman date, but scant renowp,
One of those little places that have run
Half up the hill, beneath blazing sun,
And then sat down to rest, as i! to say,
81 climb no further upward, come what m ay, -
The Re Giovanni, now unknown to fame,
So many monarchs since have born the name
Had great bell hung in the market-p1ace
Beneath roof, projecting some small space,
BY way of shelter from the sun and rain.
Then rode he through the streets with all his
train,
And. with the blast of trumpets loud and long,
Made proclamation, that whenever wrong
Was done to any man, he should but ring
The great bell in the square. and he, the king
Would cause the Syndic to decide thereon
Such WAS the proclamation of King John
How happily the days in Atri sped,
What wrongs were righted, need not here be
said.
Suffice it that, as all things must decay
The hempen rope at length was worn away.
Unraveled at the end, and strand by strand,
| Loosened and wasted in the ringers hand,
| Till one, who noted this in passing by,
| Mended the rope with braids of briony,
So that the leaves and tendrils of the vine
Hung like votive garland at a shrine.
By chance it happened that in Atri dwelt
A knight, with spur on heel and sword in belt,
Who loved to hunt the wild-boar in the oods,
| Who loved his falcons with their crimson
hoods,
Who loved his hounds and horses, and all
sports
And prodigalities of camps and courts;
LoVed,or had loved them; for at last, grown
old,
His only passion was the love Of gold.
He sold his horses sold his hawks and hounds,
Reuted his vineyards and his garden grounds,
Kept but one steed, his. iavorite steed of all,
10 starve and shiver in the naked stall,
And, day by day, sat brooding in his chair,
Devising plans how best TO hoard and spare
| At length he said: ''What is the use or need
10 keep at my own cost this lazy steed,
Eating his head OF in my stables here
When rents are low and provender is dear?
Let him go feett upon the public ways;
Iewant him only for the holidays.''
So the old steed was turned into the heat
of the long, lonely. silent. shadowless street;
And wandered in suburban lanes fOrlorn,
Barked at by dogs, and torn by brier and
One afternoon as fn that sultrv cline
1t is the custom in the summer time,
With oiled doors, and Winnow-shutters
closed,
The inhabitants of Atri slept or dozed;
When suddenly upon their senses fell
The loud alarum of the accusing bell!
ba IN L
turned on his couch and listened, and then
rose,
And donned his robes, and with reluctant
pace,
Went painting forth into the market-plaee
Where the great bell upon its cross beam
swung,
Relteratins with persistent tongue,
In half-art culate jargon, the old song:
Some cne hath done wrong, hath done a
wrongr'
But ere he reached the belfry's light arcade,
lie saw, Or thought he saw, beneath its shade.
! no shape.of human form, OF wo man born,
buS poor steed detected and forlorn,
W no With upliited head and eager eve
w as tugging at the vines of briony,
DomeneddioH acried the Syndie straight
i1lla is tLe Ahl5Lt OF Atri-s steed of statei
nc calis 1or justice, being sore distressed.
An'' p1et'es MS cause as loudly as the best''
Meanwhile from street and lane noisv erow,,
Hau roiled together, like summer cloud,
And told the story of the wretched beast
In five-and-twenty different ways at least.
with much gestiCUlation and appeal
To heathen gods, in their excessive zeal.
The Knight was called and questioned: in re-
| ply
Did not confess the fact, did not deny;
Treated the matter a pleasant jest
And set at naugat the Syndtc and the rest,
| Maintaining III an angry undertone,
That he should DO what pleased him with mis-
own.
And thereupon the syndc gravely re- ad
The proclamation of the King; then said:
Pride goeth forth horseback grand and
| gay,
| But cometh back on foot, and begs It's way;
Fame is the perfume of heroic deeds,
OF flowers of chivalry and not of Weeds
These are familiar proverbs; but fear
| They never yet have reached your knightly
ear.
What fair renown, what honor what repute
Can come to you from starvin g this poor
brute :?
He who serves me and speaks not merits
more
Than they who clamor loudest at the door.
Therefore the law DEGREES, that as this steed
Served you in youth, henceforth YOU shall
take heed
TO comfort his old age. and to provide
Shelter In stall, and food and field beside.',
The knight withdrew abashed; the,peopIe all
Led home the steed in triumph to his sualI
The King heard and approved, and laughed
| in glee
And cried aloud fright well it pleaseth me /,
Chureh-bells at best but ring Us to the door; !;
| But go not In to mass; my bell doth more:
1t cometh into court and pleads the cause
| Of creatures dumb and unknown to the laws !:
And this shall make in every Christian cline
| Ihe Bell of 4 tri fa1nnns fn, Oh I'm.