85
The line from the iEneid, literally translated, is, § Here are tears for our
affections, and human calamities touch the mind." In Conington's translation it
is thus rendered:
E'en here the tear of pity springs
And hearts are touched by human things.
When my first visit was made, the monument, . which is of polished
granite 7^ x 5 x 3 feet, was lying on its side, and of its foundation only a few
bricks remained, but it has since been re-erected. The whole is surrounded by an
iron railing.
Aside from the historic interest of the place, the view from and around it
is charming. Kast and north the country is well wooded, yet dotted with small
farms. Northeast, across the Hudson, are the Tarrytown heights, and the
Captors' Monument. Haverstraw, Stony Point and King's Ferry are a few miles
above, and as the tourist stands on the scene of the last act of the tragedy, Dobbs'
Ferry, where lay the Greyhound with Robertson and his companions aboard, that
eventful October day, is directly east and almost in sight. The visitor of any
sentiment instinctively recalls Dr. Johnson's words about Marathon and adapts
them to the scene before him: " That man is little to be envied whose patriotism
would not gain force upon the plain of"—Tappan.
