Show childrens child dlly day in old inome ia it nc co 17 37 we have just now been parsing in this ter very year of the building 0 of the ther city the imperial augustus emperor and priest has conducted the splendid s secular games those taree three festival days that eel abrate the close of anold age and tho the beginning of a now one ones now an age or se culum rny my dear distant island laud er as we U understand it at home rome Is a period of yea years rs not a boy or girl of us iu in rome but knew what waa was the mean t 1 0 I 1 I 1 11 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 C A r 1 1 I I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 b 1 X 1 I 1 I 1 k 11 k 4 1 i 4 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 J at ilean cs US SING ing of this festival which no man could see twice we had been told how the founders of the republic ages ago had out of praise to the gods for blessings received and tor for protection granted decreed that at the completion of each speculum rome romo should solemnize the event by joyful thanksgiving by sacrifices to the gods and by ft a splendid display it was to apollo and diani diana that our especial festival childrens Chil drena day the ad ot of june was sacred and so we were told by our fathers and mothers and by our tutors and teachers because upon the chil dren of rome must depend when they shall have grown to manhood and woman hood bood the future of rome itself its greatness and its glory the celebration of childrens day was deemed by ou priests and rulers the most important the most glorious and the most impressive of tho the three days festival do you hear it the tara ta ra ta tarata ra tat ta it is the lou loud 1 blast of the trumpets an bouncing noun cing the approach of the pageant as it comes slowly down the sacred street following the vestals como come our mothers mine is there among them as was my father among the senators you can count then them as they move slowly along ilo 0 the ho best and highest born of the matron matrons of rome ono one for each year in the age celebrated and now following the moth ers do you not hear bear us singing here w wo come the children of rome the life anlo and I 1 joy and flower of this splendid childrens day procession at our head lead walks ono one of the most cel celebrated e br aed of the worlds famous poets and singers quintus II 11 oratius flaccus cus who whom in all rome knows by t the I 1 io more popular IV k g I 1 I 1 A va 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 it tx I 1 M 0 4 1 J I 1 V I 1 I 1 4 I 1 0 I 1 run HATI DIASA DIANA name tho poet horace and after him we come two three and four abreast twenty seven boys and twenty tw cikity seven girls the sons and daughters of romes noblest patrician families are we not all proud young patriots and why should we not be clad in now white tunics crowned with flowers and waving our laurel branches we ire have walked in just this joyous fashion through the sacred street and down the street of apollo keeping constant measure to tiit che pong of victory and and supplication which was written for us especially and for this particular occasion by him who leads us on the great horace our poet Ll albridge bridge dge S brooks in W wide ido awake |