| Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 12501900. |
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| William Wordsworth. 17701850 |
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| 522. On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic, 1802 |
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| 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; | 5 |
| 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; | 10 |
| 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 is pass'd away. | |
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