ON THE EXTINCTION OF THE VENETIAN REPUBLIC. by W. WORDSWORTH.
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| ON THE EXTINCTION OF THE VENETIAN REPUBLIC. | |
Once did She hold the gorgeous East in fee And was the safeguard of the West; the worth Of Venice did not fall below her birth, Venice, the eldest child of liberty. She was a maiden city, bright and free; No guile seduced, no force could violate; And when she took unto herself a mate, She must espouse the everlasting Sea. And what if she had seen those glories fade, Those titles vanish, and that strength decay,-- Yet shall some tribute of regret be paid When her long life hath reach'd its final day: Men are we, and must grieve when even the shade Of that which once was great has pass'd away. |
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| W. WORDSWORTH., THE GOLDEN TREASURY Of the best Songs and Lyrical Pieces In the English Language Selected by Francis Turner Palgrave | |
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