THE FAVORITE PRAYER OF MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS[6]
O Domine Deus! Speravi in te; O care mi Iesu! Nunc libera me: In dura catena In misera poena Desidero te; Languendo, gemendo, Et genuflectendo Adoro, imploro, Ut liberes me!
My Lord and my God! I have trusted in Thee; O Jesus, my Savior belov'd, set me free: In rigorous chains, in piteous pains, I am longing for Thee! In weakness appealing, in agony kneeling, I pray, I beseech Thee, O Lord, set me free!
[Footnote 6: From the Prayer-book of Queen Mary, and believed to be her composition. Said to have been uttered by the queen just before her execution.]
American pride has often gloried in Seneca's "Vision of the West" written more than 1800 years ago.
Venient annis Saecula seris, quibus Oceanus Vincula rerum laxet, et ingens Pateat tellus, Tethysque novos Detegat orbes, nec sit terris Ultima Thule.
A time will come in future ages far When Ocean will his circling bounds unbar, And, opening vaster to the Pilot's hand, New worlds shall rise, where mightier kingdoms are, Nor Thule longer be the utmost land.
Oh, the Roman was a rogue, He erat, was, you bettum; He ran his automobilis And smoked his cigarettum; He wore a diamond studibus And elegant cravatum, A maxima cum laude shirt And such a stylish hattum.
He loved the luscious hic-haec-hoc, And bet on games and equi: At times he won: at others, though, He got it in the nequi. He winked (quousque tandem?) At puellas on the Forum, And sometimes even made Those goo-goo oculorum!
He frequently was seen At combats gladiatorial, And ate enough to feed Ten boarders at Memorial: He often went on sprees, And said on starting homus, "Hic labor, opus est, Oh, where's my hic-haec-domus?"
Although he lived in Rome-- Of all the arts the middle-- He was (excuse the phrase) A horrid individ'l; Ah, what a different thing Was the homo (dative homini) Of far away B.C. From us of Anno Domini!
The _Journal of Education_ commends this ingenious poem, written in seven languages--English, French, German, Greek, Latin, Spanish, and Italian--as one of the best specimens of Macaronic verse in existence, and worthy of preservation by all collectors.
_In tempus_ old a hero lived, _Qui_ loved _puellas deux_; He no _pouvait pas_ quite to say Which one _amabat mieux_. _Dit-il lui-meme un beau matin_, "_Non possum_ both _avoir_, _Sed si_ address Amanda Ann, Then Kate _y yo_ have war. Amanda _habet argent_ coin, _Sed_ Kate has _aureas_ curls; _Et_ both _sunt_ very _agathæ_ _Et_ quite _formosæ_ girls." _Enfin_ the _joven anthropos_, _Philoun_ the _duo_ maids, Resolved _proponere ad_ Kate _Devant cet_ evening's shades, _Procedens_ then to Kate's _domo_, _Il trouve_ Amanda there, _Kai_ quite forgot his late resolves, Both _sunt_ so goodly fair, _Sed_ smiling on the new _tapis_, Between _puellas_ twain, _Coepit_ to tell _suo_ love _a_ Kate _Dans un poetique_ strain. _Mais_, glancing ever _et_ anon At fair Amanda's eyes, _Illæ non possunt dicere_ _Pro_ which he meant his sighs. Each _virgo_ heard the demi-vow, _Con_ cheeks as _rouge_ as wine, _Ed_ offering, each, a milk-white hand, Both whispered, "_Ich bin dein._"
