The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1875-11-25


rian I bric, woven into an eternal glory, i
> a fit emblem of the memories of those VIII,
fell for freedom at the Aamo--priDeiple
which are recreating the world:
[FOr Sundays Statesman
RFRUSCAN GOLD
: TO TIE rSHKRIToRs OF TEXAN MEMORIES
BIT LrDE
In the Tuscan olive valley, where The Amos water
how,
| Round the gray walls of Arezzo the shining ivie
, grow;
She saw the dead gods CO. the old faiths rs,
With ths silence OF the Ages spread above them like
pail,
And the Bona Deas temple, and the shrine where
Christians pray
Alike. have r.rnrnhl-d nta arst-alike have passed
away
Whom ivy clad Arezzo stood in poup, and pride. and
pw-r.
An olive grew in beauty by his humble cottage
he sang beneath its shadows though he lived alone
and poor,
For like the spiders web, the threads beneath his
fingers were
Fine drawn and bright. and ripping as maiden's
shining hair.
The morning the Kings daughter rode beneath his
| olives shade,
The summer looked dim beside the light her pres
ence made;
NO thought of him. but rode gaily with her
ira m
But Peace and Sunlight rode with her-and came not
back again;
Beaten and cursed he haunted still steps by night
and day,
The olive pined for him, and dropped and withered
quite away.
Over the plains Of Tuscany the wings Of Famine
| spread
And bleak starvations hollow eyes, their balefu gi-
ers shed,
The voice Of Lamentation filed the land with groans
| and sighs
And mothers slew their children, not to hear their
| piercing cries;
They besought their INA Dea to raise her mi ghty
| hand,
And lift the bitter from off the black and barren
! land.
Then spoke the temples oracle-'Make me sheaf of
or gold with jsweled grains that CLEAN like dews of
early m -rn,
Bound with twelve thousand threads of gold, in
| strength like iron bands
But finer than the spiders web, gauzeike in the
| hands;
Then your vines shall bend with clusters where the
summer sunlight glows,
And all this pacching desert shall blossom like the
rose"
Great fear fell the people, silence bound them like
aspen,
For who among that staring host could work such mir
aclef
Hundreds essay the hopeless task, but one by one
they fail,
Who could gold that spiders web should be less
fine and frailf
Then rose the poor worker from his bed of mis-
cry
Recalled his ancient lore-said "Give me gold and
will try
Tre people Knocked and jeered him. but the King came
slowly down.
----- throne; -----------------
His voice was faint and trembling, and his face was
wild and pale,
s'we perish daily-give the beggar gold-he can but
fail"
They gave him gold-he shut himself alone six weary
days;
Ard the seventh, 10, he stood before the peoples
gaze,
And hs hands twelve thousand threads OF cleaning
gold did shine,
No spider ever wove so slight-no gossamer so
fine;
They dragged their eshless limbs alongth,y watched
with bloodshot eyes
Would Bona Dea graciously accept he sacrificef
There was silence in the temple voice came through
By gold shall all Etruria earth rejoice and
bear I"
Then DER the plain the summer rain through summer
sunlight glows,
And every hill and valley smiled, and blossomed like
the
Then cried the people with one voice-"Adore him
through the landI'
Quickl bear him to the palacel crown him on the
Kings right hand,
But kneeling at the altar sti he gazed far down the
| aisle
sI nothing need-I gladly die; since it has made her
smile"
She never knew it Was for her. tho golden web was
| spun,
But the gods knew that perfect love TINS nHAce nHo
And said-'Its witness shall endure though nations
pass away.
And fade as clouds dissolve before the beams
of day;
Through all the future, BY her god EtruriA shAl
llvei"
And to this day. throughout the length Of old EtrurA
land,
Her vanished peopls can BE traced by one unerrinf
Etruscsn gold that glstens through her ruined tenn
ple's gloom,
And r,ses from the ashes of her world forgotter
tomb, - ~. ,t1
Where olives shiver in the wind, and bright malz
feathers fy .e
. Above the buried cities, where forgotten nAtiOn
lie.
Heirs of immortal mcmoriesi Sons of the might!
The halo Of whose marty dom still fingers round you
head;
With poets faith. and prophets eye, view thei
I'll funeral pyre,
And call the Treasures Of the Past - its sacrifice
J To mould themselves to weapons that your futur
oI sons may hold, ~ 5+t
And strike with heart and hand true as pure Etru
: can Gold.
Call up your scattered Brotherhood. and bind the'
= into one
By chain of perfect purpose, cleaning nkethe nO''
!. day sun.
{ Fused in the are Of Love. and welded strong
Charity,
" And puriaed from Discord, by your Heroes memory
Il TA Martyrs Of the Alamo their benison shall give
.srhrO1gh all the future. by her Gold, EtruriA sha
nver'
t. THE AUSTIN srAATs-BULLRTIN
d AND IT'S ROLLIRS.
We print an article from the German p
, per of this city, and would have intelligei
II people read it. Approving everything tn
> is said in personal commentator oi o.
D. excellent feIlow-citizen, Mr.. Brueggerhoi
= ne condemn utterly the whole splrit Al
ID purpose of the German writer, and wou
~ modestly ask German readers OF the STATS
; NAN whether they accept the argument
h;,....h, rf she,r suupossd organ Son