O lost, devoted Roman! yet thy brow,

To that ascendant and undying name,

Pleads with stem loftiness thy right e’en now.

Thy glory is departed, but hath left

A lingering light around thee: in decay

Not less than kingly—though of all bereft,

Thou seem’st as empire had not pass’d away.

Supreme in ruin! teaching hearts elate

A deep prophetic dread of still mysterious fate!

But thou, enchantress queen! whose love hath made