Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, with all the speed ye may;
I, with two more to help me, will hold the foe in play.
In yon strait path a thousand may well be stopped by three.
Now who will stand on either hand, and keep the bridge with me?"
Then out spake Spurius Lartius--a Ramnian proud was he--
"Lo! I will stand at thy right hand, and keep the bridge with thee."
And out spake strong Herminius--of Titian blood was he--
"I will abide on thy left side, and keep the bridge with thee."
"Horatius," quoth the consul, "as thou sayest, so let it be."
And straight against that great array, forth went the dauntless three.
Soon all Etruria's noblest felt their hearts sink to see
On the earth the bloody corpses, in the path the dauntless three.
And from the ghastly entrance, where those bold Romans stood,
The bravest shrank like boys who rouse an old bear in the wood.
But meanwhile ax and lever have manfully been plied,
And now the bridge hangs tottering above the boiling tide.
"Come back, come back, Horatius!" loud cried the fathers all;
"Back, Lartius! back, Herminius! back, ere the ruin fall!"
Back darted Spurius Lartius; Herminius darted back;
And, as they passed, beneath their feet they felt the timbers crack;
But when they turned their faces, and on the farther shore
Saw brave Horatius stand alone, they would have crossed once more.
But, with a crash like thunder, fell every loosened beam,
And, like a dam, the mighty wreck lay right athwart the stream.
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