Tranquility. A Poem

THE MENACE OF THE TOWER. A WORD FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY.

BY EDWIN MARKHAM, AUTHOR OF "THE MAN WITH THE HOE, AND OTHER POEMS," ETC.

[In Italy it is customary to have bell towers attached to the churches and town halls. These bell towers are called campanili, and in Italy, contrary to the custom in the north and west of Europe, the campanile is almost always detached from the church. The most famous and remarkable campanili are to be found in Venice, Florence, Siena and Pisa. The leaning tower of Pisa, begun in 1174, is nothing more than a church tower built to rival the campanile of Venice. The campanile of Venice was begun in the beginning of the tenth century, and completed, up to the belfry, about the middle of the twelfth century. The belfry was not finished until 1517. The total height of the tower was three hundred and twenty-three feet, and it was forty-two feet square at the base. From the level of the piazza to the belfry stage, it was constructed of brick. The belfry with its surmounting pyramid were of marble. It was this thousand-year-old monument that collapsed, a few months ago, (July 14, 1902) without warning, and, to the con- sternation of citizens and visitors, fell into a heap of material, an utter ruin. The rebuilding of the campanile, in Venice, has now begun, and it is expected that the structure will be finished by 1906. The fall of this tower gave Edwin Markham the idea for the poem herewith pre- sented. "The Man with the Hoe," (to be obtained in book form with other of his poems,) it may be truly said, has created a more profound impression, any other single poem of recent years. It has in this country, than stamped Mr. Markham as one of the classic writers, one of the greatest poets of our time, and the "laureate of labor.'' It is a simple but vivid