THE HOME-COMING FROM ROME

Make haste! There is but one more turning!

The horses cannot go too fast,

So eagerly our hearts are yearning

To see the longed-for home at last!

Here is the shrine, the lamp still burning,

Beside the vineyard's massive wall;

And see, to welcome our returning,

The banners on the flagstaffs tall!

Before the gate, our servants, wearing

Their brightest smiles, together stand,

In quaint, Tyrolean style preparing

To kiss respectfully the hand.

Now, too, the dogs perceive their master,

And rush to meet our carriage wheels;

The loyal Leo first and faster,

The dackels close upon his heels!

How wild the joy, how loud the chorus

Our old, familiar tones excite!

Dear, faithful creatures that adore us,

How genuine their keen delight!

The door is passed, the hall is entered!

How true it is, where'er we roam,

That here alone our hearts are centered,

That no place hath the charm of Home!

Here smile the pictures ranged above us;

Here stand our books, the best of friends;

Here those we love and those who love us

Are happy that our absence ends.

We prize the intellectual treasures

On History's famous sites amassed;

And precious are the varied pleasures

From Art's great glories of the past;

But well we know, when once more seated

Within these rooms with volumes lined,

That,— now the journey is completed —,

The best of Rome is in the mind.