Lays of Ancient Rome: this book was written by Thomas Babington Macaulay and published by Henry Altemus, Manufacturer in Philedelphia It is a collection of narrative poems, or lays by Macaulay. Four of these are about heroic episodes from early Roman history with strong dramatic and tragic themes. Two more recent poems are Ivry (1824) and The Armada (1832). “Ivry, A Song of the Huguenots” celebrates a 1590 battle won by Henry IV of France and his Huguenot forces over the superior forces of the Catholic league. “The Armada: A Fragment” describes the arrival at Plymouth in 1588 of news of the sighting of the Spanish Armada, and the lighting of beacons to convey the news not only to London but to all of England. Philip II of Spain had sent his Armada holding his army to invade England and to depose the Protestant Queen Elizabeth. Macaulay composed these two poems while in India during his thirties while Governor-General of India’s Supreme Council from 1834-1838.