Climbed the steps of slippery stone
Where horse’s hoof had never gone,
While the Alpine women wondered;
Where the wild stream foamed and thundered,
Firm and fearless stemmed the ford,
And calmly drank where worst it roared,
And seemed as in contempt to tread
O’er the easier Appennine,
Till you toss’d your tiny head,
Disdainful of the Florentine.