INSCRIPTIONS ON AN ÆOLIAN HARP.

Fingent Æolio carmine nobilem. (Hor. iv. 3.)

Partem aliquam, oh venti, divum referatis ad aures. (Virg. Buc. 3.)

Hail, heavenly harp, where Memnon’s skill is shown,

That charm’st the ear with music all thy own!

Which, though untouched, canst rapturous strains impart.

Oh, rich of genuine nature, free from art!

Such the wild warblings of the chirping throng,

So simply sweet the untaught virgin’s song.

Mr. Longfellow’s admirers will remember his beautiful little poem commencing:—

I like that ancient Saxon phrase which calls

The burial-ground God’s acre.

This “Saxon phrase” is not obsolete. It may be seen, for instance, inscribed over the entrance to a modern cemetery at Basle—

Gottes Acker.

Over a gateway near the church of San Eusebio, Rome:—

Tria sunt mirabilia;

Trinus et unus,

Deus et homo,

Virgo et mater.

Over the door of the house in which Selden was born, Salvington, Sussex:—

Gratus, honesti, mihi; non claudar, inito sedeq’.

Fur, abeas; non su’ facta soluta tibi.

Thus paraphrased:—

Thou’rt welcome, honest friend; walk in, make free;

Thief, get thee gone; my doors are closed to thee.