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diff --git a/old/53671-h/53671-h.htm b/old/53671-h/53671-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 4b41bbb..0000000 --- a/old/53671-h/53671-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14844 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Modern Poets and Poetry of Spain, by James Kennedy. - </title> - - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - -<style type="text/css"> - -a { - text-decoration: none; -} - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -h1,h2,h3,h4,h5 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -hr { - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - clear: both; - width: 65%; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; -} - -p { - margin-top: 0.5em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: 0.5em; - text-indent: 1em; -} - -table { - margin: 1em auto 1em auto; - max-width: 40em; -} - -td { - padding-left: 2.25em; - padding-right: 0.25em; - vertical-align: top; - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.antiqua { - font-family: "Old English Text MT", serif; -} - -.center { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.noindent { - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.larger { - font-size: 150%; -} - -.pad1 { - padding-left: 4em; -} - -.pad2 { - padding-left: 6em; -} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - right: 4%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; -} - -.poetry-container { - text-align: center; - margin: 1em; -} - -.poetry { - display: inline-block; - text-align: left; -} - -.poetry .stanza { - margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em; -} - -.poetry .verse { - text-indent: -3em; - padding-left: 3em; -} - -.poetry .indent1 { - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.poetry .indent2 { - text-indent: -1em; -} - -.poetry .indent3 { - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.poetry .indent4 { - text-indent: 1em; -} - -.poetry .indent5 { - text-indent: 2em; -} - -.poetry .indent6 { - text-indent: 3em; -} - -.poetry .indent9 { - text-indent: 6em; -} - -.poetry .indent14 { - text-indent: 11em; -} - -.poetry .hr { - border-top: thin solid black; -} - -.right { - text-align: right; -} - -.smaller { - font-size: 80%; -} - -.smcap { - font-variant: small-caps; - font-style: normal; -} - -.tdc { - text-align: center; -} - -.top-pad { - text-align: center; - padding-top: 0.75em; -} - -.tdr { - text-align: right; -} - -.titlepage { - text-align: center; - margin-top: 3em; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.transnote { - background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - text-align: center; - font-size: smaller; - padding: 0.5em; - margin-bottom: 5em; -} - -@media handheld { - -.poetry { - display: block; - margin-left: 1.5em; -} -} - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's Modern Poets and Poetry of Spain, by James Kennedy - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Modern Poets and Poetry of Spain - -Author: James Kennedy - -Release Date: December 5, 2016 [EBook #53671] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MODERN POETS AND POETRY OF SPAIN *** - - - - -Produced by Josep Cols Canals and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<p class="transnote">Transcriber’s Note: There is a good deal of -inconsistency with regard to spelling, accents etc in the Spanish -passages of this text. These have been preserved as printed rather than -attempting to correct or standardise.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage larger">MODERN POETS<br /> -<span class="smaller">AND</span><br /> -POETRY OF SPAIN.</p> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smcap">By JAMES KENNEDY, Esq.</span>,<br /> -<span class="smaller">HER BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S JUDGE IN THE MIXED COURT<br /> -OF JUSTICE AT THE HAVANA.</span></p> - -<p class="titlepage">WILLIAMS AND NORGATE,<br /> -<span class="smaller">14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON;<br /> -<span class="smaller">AND</span><br /> -20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH.<br /> -1860.</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>TO<br /> -THE RIGHT HONOURABLE<br /> -<span class="larger">GEORGE, EARL OF CARLISLE,</span><br /> -<span class="smaller"><i>&c. &c.</i></span></h2> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Lord</span>,</p> - -<p>I have sought permission to inscribe -your Lordship’s name on this page, as a favour appropriate -to my work, under the considerations in which -it originated.</p> - -<p>I began these translations, partly as a means of -acquiring an accurate knowledge of the Spanish language, -and partly as a relaxation from other studies -and pursuits, about the time when your Lordship, in -the course of your statesmanlike visit to America, -made, in 1842, a lengthened stay in Cuba, studying -the circumstances of those countries, which are soon, -perhaps, to take a yet more prominent place, than -they do at present, in the history of the world.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></p> - -<p>The discussions I heard respecting that visit—for -it was then considered an extraordinary one—raised -in my mind many suggestions, as to the benefits -that must accrue to the public from the observations -of individual travellers. Accordingly as each one -might have his special object in view, his sphere of action -or opportunities of learning, so the knowledge he acquired -might be proportionately imparted. The community -at large had always evinced the greatest interest -in the accounts given by travellers of their -visits to foreign countries, as was shown by the -favourable reception uniformly given to their works. -Of these many that were published were well deserving -of the popularity they obtained, especially as with -regard to Spain there were several that left little for -any future writer to supply of ordinary information. -In one respect, however, all such works appeared to -me to be deficient, though their failure was almost -unavoidable, in the case of transient visitors, in their -being unable to convey any adequate idea of the state -of mental culture among the people they visited.</p> - -<p>Yet this, to a philosophic reader, would be undoubtedly -the truest test of the state of civilization to -which any nation had attained. Such a reader would -not be contented with merely a recital of the every-day -occurrences of travelling, nor yet with general or -statistical information respecting any people, obtained -from ordinary sources. He would rather seek to -follow them into the occupations of private life and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span> -into their favourite courses of thought and feeling, -judging of these by the studies of their better classes -of society, in their hours of relaxation or for domestic -enjoyment. As the sagest of the Roman emperors, -M. Antoninus, observed, To know any people’s minds -and inclinations, we should examine their studies -and pursuits,—τὰ ἡγεμονικὰ αὐτῶν διάβλεπε, καὶ τοὺς -Φρόνιμους, διὰ μέν Φεύγουσιν, διὰ δὲ διώκουσιν.</p> - -<p>Few persons going abroad for a short period, or -for a specific purpose, could be expected to acquire -such an intimate knowledge of the literature of any -country as to be able to render a satisfactory account -of it. Where, however, any one had the means and -the leisure to do so, that seemed to me the task most -worthy for him to undertake.</p> - -<p>As a servant of the public, I considered this -more peculiarly a duty; and I therefore ventured, by -extending my studies, to attempt giving a comprehensive -view of Modern Spanish Poetry, and so complete -the representations of Spanish society and manners -given by other writers. This I thought best to -be done, first, by compiling some critical and biographical -notices of the principal modern poets; and, -next, by endeavouring to transfuse into English verse -the most favourable specimens of their productions, -by which the English reader might in some degree -be enabled to judge of their merits.</p> - -<p>Such was the task I then set before me, the -results of which I now offer to the public as my contribution<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span> -to the store of general knowledge. For -such a work there can be little merit claimed, except -that for patient industry. But as a naturalist or collector -of works of art patriotically endeavours to bring -home the most valuable productions or treasures of -other countries, so I trust that this work may also -be favourably accepted, as a praiseworthy attempt -to enrich our English literature with what was most -interesting in the Spanish.</p> - -<p>I have relied on your Lordship’s approval of the -design, from your well-known anxiety and constant -efforts to improve the moral and social condition of -the people, by literary as well as by legislative means. -Sharing in the public respect for those efforts on their -behalf, and with much thankfulness for the sanction -afforded me, I have the honour to subscribe myself,</p> - -<p class="center">Your Lordship’s</p> - -<p class="center pad1">Most obedient,</p> - -<p class="center pad2">Humble Servant,</p> - -<p class="right">J. KENNEDY.</p> - -<p class="smaller">London,<br /> -May 6, 1852.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION.</h2> - -<p>Those writers are very much mistaken who suppose, that, -consequent upon the long domination of the Moors in Spain, -there are to be found in Spanish literature any of the exuberances -of style which are considered the principal characteristics -of Eastern poetry. In all the Moorish ballads that -have been handed down to us, those characteristics, both in -thought and expression, abound as much as in the poems of -more Eastern nations. But in even the earliest Spanish -ballads, contemporary with the Moorish, a very decided difference -is to be observed, as they show, on the contrary, a -simplicity of expression and propriety of thought, which present -an extraordinary contrast, not only to the Moorish, but -also to the early poetry of other European countries. This -favourable distinction has continued to the present day. The -poetry of the Northern nations of Europe has been marked -by extravagances throughout, as contrary to common sense as -to good taste and nature. That of the French school has -been distinguished by an affectation, a sentimentality and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span> -straining after effect, to say nothing of its peculiar ribaldry -and licentiousness, all equally removed from the true feeling -of poetry. Even the Italians, in their poetical works, have -indulged in strange absurdities, the more remarkable from -the good taste that has pervaded their other works of genius. -It is only in English literature that we can find writers imbued -with the same vigour of thought and depth of poetic -feeling as the Spanish, and it is therefore only with them -that the latter can be classed in considering the relative -merits of the poetry of different modern nations.</p> - -<p>If the character of the poetry may be taken as the criterion -by which to judge of the degree of civilization to which any -people had attained in the earlier period of their history, -Spain has a good right to claim the first place among the -nations of Europe, when emerging from that period denominated -the Dark Ages. While the popular poetry of other -nations at that period was almost entirely occupied with -childish stories of giants and supernatural beings, or in magnifying -the outrages of their heroes, and even of their outlaws, -as if they were honourable exploits, instead of merely -murder and rapine, the Spanish bards were engaged in celebrating -the patriotism and prowess of their Christian warriors -in strains not unworthy of the deeds they commemorated. -Those strains have been made sufficiently well-known -to the English reader by the labours of Southey and Lockhart, -for which the student of Spanish literature must feel -the utmost respect and gratitude, as well as by those of -Rodd, Bowring and others. From their translations the -character of those warriors will be found to have been -distinguished, differently from those of other nations in that -age, for the milder virtues combined with pure chivalrous -enterprise. If, as apparently was the case, the great champion, -known as the Cid, especially was deserving of the eminently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span> -honourable character depicted for him by the poets, -the popular feeling must have attained something of the -same tone when he was adopted as the first object of national -regard. Coming of a chivalrous race, engaged in a sacred -warfare, the Cid combined in his character all that was most -noble in human conduct, and gave to his countrymen a fame -which they knew full well how to appreciate. Thus the -spirit which the ballads breathed in recounting his exploits -was one in unison with that of the people. Each Spaniard -of after-times, in listening to those recitals, felt he had no -need to connect himself with fabulous narratives. He could -say, like Diomede,—“Of this race and blood do I boast myself -to be”—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Ταύτης τοι γενεῆς τε καὶ αἴματος εὕχομαι εἶναι,</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">and so feeling could identify himself truly with his heroes.</p> - -<p>Formed originally of very different races, Celts and Goths, -mixed with the descendants of Romans and Phœnicians or -Carthaginians, the Spaniards had against the Moors become -amalgamated into one people, whose great bond of union was -their religion more even than their country. This holy cause -ennobled their conduct, and gave them higher aims and motives -than any ordinary warfare could do; so that acting constantly -under the sense of such feelings, their national character -assumed the staid bearing, which has always since so -favourably distinguished it. Hence also the national literature, -even in its lightest productions, assumed the tone of -high moral and practical tendency which it has generally -borne, far removed from the comparatively trifling topics -which formed the staple subjects of the literature of neighbouring -countries.</p> - -<p>There is another mistake into which some writers have -fallen, in supposing that Spain owed her civilization entirely -to the Moors. The Arab conquest undoubtedly entailed on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span> -her for many ages a succession of enlightened as well as warlike -rulers, who are justly to be classed among the greatest -patrons of literature and art; but they fostered rather than -founded the sciences that afterwards flourished under their -rule, and which they found preparing to burst forth in the -country they conquered. Though their forefathers might -have come from the seats of learning in the East, such as -they then were, the immediate conquerors of Spain were -natives of the neighbouring parts of Africa, where the sciences -had not flourished in any remarkable degree before the -conquest, and where they did not rise subsequently to any -eminence. The learned Lampillas, who has given us a very -able Vindication of Spanish Literature, in answer to the attacks -of some Italian critics, might justly have gone further -than he has done as to its merits under the Moorish domination. -Rather than as owing her advances in learning and -civilization to the Moors, it is more probable that these were -the remains of former civilization, existing among the Roman -colonies on the dissolution of the empire. At that time -Spain was essentially inhabited by descendants of Romans, -as it still continues to be, mainly, to the present day. Latin -had become the language of the country, and the best of -the later Latin authors, Seneca, Lucan, Martial, Quinctilian -and others, were natives of the Peninsula. The Romans had -planted sixty-seven colonies there, and in the time of Vespasian -could enumerate 360 cities inhabited by them. These -would undoubtedly retain their municipal institutions, and -were perhaps more retentive of Roman manners than were -even the towns of Italy. The original inhabitants had been -driven into the mountains of Catalonia, Cantabria and Lusitania. -They were of Celtic origin, and their descendants in -those provinces still show that origin by a different pronunciation -of the language imposed on the country by the Romans;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span> -while the Castillians, being of purer descent from them, -speak even now a language little different from that in common -colloquial use under the Emperors. The lower orders, in -fact, speak an idiom nearer to it than do the educated classes, -showing that the main race of the people, in Madrid for instance, -remains essentially Roman. In Betica or Andalusia -and the South of Spain, the descendants of Romans had become -incorporated with those of Phœnician or Carthaginian -and a few Greek colonists, forming together a race perhaps -still more civilized than the new-comers. Thus the Moors -found the people they had conquered in a high state of civilization, -scarcely affected by former conquests, and they had -only the merit of accepting and continuing the mental culture -which they found there, and which they had not possessed -in their native deserts.</p> - -<p>The Goths and Vandals had swept like a hurricane over -Spain; but they passed over it without leaving any considerable -traces of their conquest. This is clear from the circumstance -of so few Northern words remaining in the language -of the country. At the entrance of the Moors into Spain, -the dominant party there was certainly of Gothic descent; -but they had already lost their Northern idioms, and were -immerged in the mass of the people they had conquered, in -the usual course of such events, as the Scandinavians soon -did in Normandy and the Normans in England. When the -races had begun to amalgamate in Spain, the distinctive lines -might have been longer discernible in the South, if it had not -been for the Moorish invasion. This soon repeated the events -of former conquests, in the extermination of the fighting men -and the enslaving of the other classes, who became feudatories -or worse. Those who escaped to the mountains of the North -constituted a nucleus of resistance, which was no doubt much -strengthened in their subsequent contests by the aid of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span> -Christian population left of necessity among the Moors, who -thus became dangerous as internal enemies, though they had -been tolerated at first as valuable dependents. The war that -then arose in Spain, and continued for upwards of 600 years, -was imbued, on the part of the Christians, with all those ingredients -of religious as well as patriotic feeling that render wars -remarkable for desperate conflict. On the part of the Moors, -it is but justice toward them to say, that for chivalrous honour -and bravery they proved themselves in no respect inferior to -their opponents, who, thus engaged in generous rivalry, became -distinguishable for the same virtues.</p> - -<p>The circumstances of the wars between the Christians and -the Moors were too near to the every-day experience of the -people to allow of any imaginary addition to the legends of -the times, and they were too engrossing in importance and -interest to require any heightening. The ballads founded -upon them, therefore, assumed almost the matter-of-fact air -of history, and this seemed hence to become the characteristic -of all the subsequent literature of Spain. It is true that -romances abounded in which giants and other absurdities of -knight-errantry might be found, but they were principally of -foreign origin, and did not become incorporated in the national -poetry. This national poetry was always true to its -mission, for it may be observed that the poets of Spain have -seldom or never gone beyond their own history for their -heroes; they have rather instinctively followed the maxim of -the great lyrist of old, not to select objects of admiration from -strangers, but to seek them at home,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Οὐδ’ ἀλλοτρίων ἔρωτες</div> -<div class="verse">Ἀνδρὶ Φέρειν κρέσσονες,</div> -<div class="verse">Οἰκόθεν μάτευε.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">Thus also they were secure of the sympathy of their audience, -and found patriotism the best inspirer of poetry.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span></p> - -<p>None of the Spanish poets, of either former or present -times, can be said to have attained the highest rank; yet as -they have always shown a predilection for subjects of real incident -and passion or feeling, they have gained, in perhaps a -greater degree than those of any other modern nation, that -hold upon the popular affections which arises from all earnest -participation in kindred sentiments. This might arise partly -from the national character developed, as before intimated, in -the Moorish wars, and partly from the personal tendencies of -the respective individuals. Whilst in other countries the -poets were generally to be found among the classes dependent -upon the rich and powerful, in Spain they were persons generally -of the highest classes. Some were of royal rank, others -were eminent as statesmen, and others, if not of the same -high station, were yet equally engaged in military service or the -active business of life. Three of the most favourite poets, Garcilasso -de la Vega, Manrique, and Cadahalso, died the death of -soldiers from wounds received in warfare. Ercilla, author of -the chief poem in the Spanish language, which may be considered -an Epic, was a participant in the wars he so graphically -describes. Cervantes received three wounds at the battle -of Lepanto, by one of which he lost an arm. Calderon de la -Barca passed many years of his life in the campaigns in the -Low Countries, where he gained great military reputation; -and Lope de Vega was one of the few adventurers in the “Invincible -Armada” who were fortunate enough to return to -their native country. Such men were not likely to indulge -in dreamy idealities, or idle reveries, and fantastic imaginations, -the offspring of morbid temperaments and sedentary -habits. On the contrary, they were only calculated to adopt -that peculiar manliness of style and sentiment, which their -successors, from example, from national character, and from -being placed in similar circumstances of life, have continued.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</a></span> -How far those circumstances have affected the modern literature -of Spain may be best seen from the memoirs hereafter -detailed of the principal poets individually. Our present -purpose in this Introduction is only to make general observations -to lead to the conclusions that may be deduced from -them.</p> - -<p>Spain, as it has been already observed, cannot boast of -having ever produced a poet of the highest class, meaning by -that term, one of such high creative genius as to stamp his -character, not only on the literature of his own age and -country, but also on that of all successive ages within his -possible influence. Of such poets the world has only seen -four or five at the utmost, with the exception of the inspired -writers, referring to Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, and -perhaps we may add, Byron. With these, Virgil and other -imitators must not be classed, however great the talents they -may have displayed, nor yet other writers of greater originality -and even genius, who have, however, confined themselves to -minor works or those on less important subjects. Of such -writers of great original genius, who did not aim at works of -the highest order, Spanish literature may claim as many as -that of any other country. With them the English reader -has been made acquainted more fully than with the writers -of most other modern countries, by the works of Bouterwek -and Sismondi, translated respectively by Mrs. Ross and William -Roscoe, and now by the more comprehensive work of -Mr. Ticknor (New York, 1849; London, 1850), who has supplied -the deficiencies the others had left in the course of their -inquiries. Of these works Sismondi’s is little more than a -repetition of Bouterwek’s, without the acknowledgement -made which was in justice due to his original. That however -was in reality so jejune in treating of the materials at the -command of the writer, as almost to warrant the use of his materials<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[xv]</a></span> -for a livelier production. Another work has been lately -published on Spanish literature by Mr. A. F. Foster (Edinburgh, -1851), compiled in like manner from former writers, which, -for succinct and able treatment of the subject, may perhaps -be recommended as the one best suited to the general reader. -But Mr. Ticknor’s book must remain the great work of reference -to the older Spanish authors, as he has left little for -future writers to supply respecting them. Yet neither has -he gone scarcely any further than Bouterwek, who wrote -at the beginning of this century, and since whose time so -many writers have arisen in Spain superior to any perhaps -that have preceded them. In such works we have more -cause to congratulate ourselves on having any one to undertake -the labour of going over so wide a field, than to complain -of his stopping short at a point where less was known -of Spanish literature, and where it became so much more interesting -as connected with our own times. But as all the -compilers now mentioned have so confined their labours to -works written previously to the present century, it may be -considered acceptable, in continuation of them, that the present -essay should be offered to the public. This is, however, -also undertaken on a more extended and somewhat different -plan; not merely giving short notices of the several authors -and their works, as in the nature of a catalogue or dictionary, -but taking only the principal poets for a particular account of -their history, and giving translations from their works most -characteristic of their genius or best suited for translation, for -the purpose of enabling the critical notices respecting them to -be better understood.</p> - -<p>In treating of the literature of any country historically, it -may perhaps be considered necessary to give a catalogue of -every person who has published a book of any pretensions to -notice, whatever the different gradations of talent between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[xvi]</a></span> -the authors; but for the general reader, the better course -seems rather to be to pass by those works which the nation -had not accepted as to be incorporated in the national literature, -and to dwell extendedly on those which, by repeated -editions, were entitled to be considered of that character. -Bouterwek’s work on Spanish literature, which appears to -have been his own performance, and which certainly does -great credit to his industry, is an exemplification of the -former course. The volume on Portuguese literature, under -his name, which he acknowledges to have been the contribution -of a friend, is not so liable to the same objection, and -may be considered written according to the other. It is so -difficult a task, and so enviable a lot for any one to attain to -excellence above his fellows, that beyond its being due to his -own merits, it is an advantage to others to show them by his -example the way to attain to the same eminence. Johnson, -in his Lives of the English Poets, has given us a work admirable -for its criticisms as well as for the other lessons it -conveys for general conduct in life; but those criticisms -would have lost much of their effect, if they had not had appended -to them the works to which they referred. Biography, -to be worthy of study, should be something more than -a mere enumeration of those particulars of a man’s life which -are of the common class of every-day events, so as to be the -reflex of every one’s in his station. If any man’s life be at -all more memorable than that of ordinary mortals, the means -by which he obtained his reputation alone merit a lengthened -consideration for an example for others. With authors those -claims must rest on their writings, which will speak for themselves; -but this cannot be the case with foreign authors, as -few readers of other nations can ever be expected to have acquired -their language so perfectly as to understand the essential -beauty of their poetry. To enable such readers therefore<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[xvii]</a></span> -to understand their works, or even the criticisms upon them, -a translation is necessary, on which again much depends, not -only in respect of faithfulness but also of felicity of transcript, -to render the beauties of the original sufficiently perceptible.</p> - -<p>Many rules have been given by critics for the benefit of -translators from the earliest times till now, to which it is not -necessary here to refer further than to state the plan upon which -these translations have been made. In a didactic or historical -work, the more precisely the translation is made according to -the letter of the original, the greater merit may it be considered -to possess. But in works of imagination, especially -of poetry, it may be more important to attend to the spirit -of the original than to the literal construction. The main -thoughts contained in each passage should be as faithfully -given in the one case as in the other, though it may not be -necessary, and sometimes not even becoming, to have the -same regard to details. With poetry, the translator should -make it his great aim to consider how his author would have -expressed the same thoughts if he had been writing in English -verse, and thus mould the original ideas into synonymous -poetical expressions, as far as the idioms of the two languages -and the requirements of metre will allow. It would be a poor -vanity in a translator to think of improving on his original, -so far as to make any alteration or addition merely for that -purpose. But where any words admit of synonyms with different -shades of meaning, it is certainly his right, if not his -duty, to adopt the one he thinks most suitable. Sometimes -it may seem to him accordant with good taste to make a more -decided alteration, and in every language there are many expressions -sufficiently poetical and appropriate, which if construed -literally into another would appear otherwise. These -the author, it may be supposed, would have altered himself, -under the same circumstances, and the other, therefore, in so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[xviii]</a></span> -doing, would be only acting on his presumed wishes. In all -cases much must be left of necessity to the translator’s judgement, -and he, with every care he can take, must still be content -to share, with Pope and Dryden and the greatest masters -of rhyme, the consciousness of scarcely ever being able fully -to convey the conceptions of a foreign author. The shackles -of rhyme also require something to be sacrificed to them, so -as of themselves alone to prevent any exact copy being given -in verse. Yet still acting on the above considerations, and -by rejecting expletives in some cases and adding a few in -others, in following up the train of ideas suggested by the -original, we may hope to succeed perhaps not only in giving -the meaning, but something also of the spirit even of foreign -authors.</p> - -<p>It is fortunate for any writer to have his works sent forth -to the world in any language of more than usual ascendency, -such as the Latin or English, whereby to obtain for himself, -if he can claim it, the most extended reputation. But it is -more fortunate for a translator under similar circumstances, -because languages of such a character are almost of necessity -mixed languages, acquiring from that cause an extraordinary -nerve and richness, which render translations into them to be -made more easily and satisfactorily than from them into a -poorer. The English is essentially suited for such a purpose, -as, being compounded of the French and German languages, -it becomes a double one, combining the nerve of the one -with the facility of expression of the other, and the copiousness -arising from the union of both. The Latin is still more -a mixed language, the roots of which are yet to be developed, -notwithstanding all the labours of philologists, who have -erred in wandering after imaginary extinct languages for its -derivations, instead of looking into those yet existing. Considering -the Spanish to be the direct descendant of the Latin,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[xix]</a></span> -it may be a matter of surprise that, though a very sonorous -language, it cannot be termed a rich one. Abounding in -long words (sesquipedalia verba), it loses in precision and -strength what is gained in sound, and thus the ideas are encumbered -when simplification was required. The comparatively -monosyllabic character of the English language has in -this respect an immense advantage for the translator, as it -enables him to give the sentiments of the original more concisely -than one from it into another. Having also more -synonyms with different shades of meaning, a greater precision -may be lost or gained, according to the circumstances -and the judgement applied to them. Thus a translation may -sometimes be even superior to the original, from its giving the -ideas more distinctly, and as it is the test of good writing to -find how it reads in another language, so with really superior -authors it may be a matter of little importance in what version -their thoughts are expressed. “Words are the daughters -of earth, but thoughts are the sons of heaven.” It is not -presumed hereby that the following translations all come -under this consideration, but with the advantages above expressed, -it may be hoped that, as exotics in a greenhouse, -these flowers of Spanish poetry may be found pleasing representations -of what they were in their native soil, even if they -cannot be made entirely denizens of our own.</p> - -<p>Differing entirely from those writers who suppose that the -best days of Spanish literature have gone by, and believing, -on the contrary, that it never has been more truly original -and flourishing than during the present and preceding ages, -it might be justly considered presumptuous in any new author -to present such opinions to the world without showing the -grounds on which they were founded. Bouterwek and his -copyist, Sismondi, together with their criticisms on the several -Spanish poets, contented themselves with giving merely a few<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[xx]</a></span> -lines from the more favoured ones in their original language, -without any translation whereby to enable those ignorant of -it to judge even of the thoughts they contained. They thus -resemble the wiseacre in Hierocles (the Σχολαστικὸς, which -word Johnson has strangely translated ‘pedant,’ taking the -primary for the intended meaning), who brought a stone as -a description of a building. In so doing, they have seldom -given even favourable specimens; but if they had, there are -few authors who can be rightly estimated by isolated passages, -or even by any one short poem. Almost all authors -are unequal in their productions, and many seem, by an accidental -felicity, to have produced some one effusion to which -none of their other efforts could ever approach. As instances -of this, we may note Heber’s ‘Palestine;’ Pringle’s lines, -‘Afar in the Desert,’ and Leyden’s ‘Ode to an Indian Gold -Coin,’ which Colton has pronounced, in his opinion, “to -come as near to perfection as the sublunary Muse can -arrive at.”</p> - -<p>It is only by several well-sustained efforts that any author -has a right to be placed among poets, and it would not be -just, therefore, to judge of any without such a consideration -of their productions. In all the translations here given, the -most characteristic specimens of the style of each writer have -been sought, particularly those containing what seemed to be -his favourite course of thought, while selecting entire, though -generally short, poems for that purpose. With the exception -of the Duke de Rivas, the poets enumerated in this work have -not published poems of any great length, and therefore the -plan adopted may be considered altogether appropriate to the -object in view.</p> - -<p>With regard to the metres chosen, no rule has been attempted -of taking the original strictly for a guide, where the -style of verse, in a different language, would not admit of it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[xxi]</a></span> -easily. Perhaps the truest definition of Poetry may be given -in the words of our great poet—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent2">“Thoughts that voluntary move</div> -<div class="verse">Harmonious numbers—”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">for it may be observed, that the finest passages are generally -the easiest for translation and for rhyme. Thus keeping the -original constantly in view as the guide, the verse has been -adopted as the thoughts seemed to indicate the metre most -appropriate.</p> - -<p>With the disadvantage of rhyme, in a foreign language, no -apology is requisite for the ruggedness of any lines which the -critic may point out. I differ totally from those writers, -Coleridge and others, who affect a contempt for finished versification, -and rely entirely on the brilliancy of their ideas. -Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well, according -to the writer’s best capability, and the reader’s ear ought -surely to be as much consulted as his mind is sought to be -engaged. Those who have had to write “nonsense verses” -at school or college, have no right to excuse themselves from -labouring to make their lines run smoothly. If, therefore, -any of the following translations are not so rendered, it will -occasion the writer much regret that his best efforts for that -purpose have been unsuccessful.</p> - -<p>Another complaint may be anticipated, that this work does -not comprehend authors either in prose or the drama. The -fault, if it be one, must be admitted, with the observation, -that the task undertaken was felt sufficient of itself to require -the best exertions of the writer. According to the plan laid -down of giving only entire pieces, in the case of including -either prose or dramatic writers, the work would have been -increased to an inordinate extent, or the plan must have been -adopted of giving extracts, which would be contrary to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii">[xxii]</a></span> -opinion expressed of the best course to be pursued. If this -attempt should meet with public approbation, some one else -may be induced to continue the further service. If it should -not, the labour expended on a larger work would be so much -more given in vain. In the one case, the failure might be -ascribed to having attempted too much; in the other, the -approbation might not have been gained but for the efforts -having been directed undividedly to what was thus only within -the reach of accomplishment.</p> - -<p>In sequence of the remark before made, of the manly style -of thought, feeling and expression which had characterized -the older Spanish writers, from their having been persons -generally who had engaged in the active affairs of life, the -reader may perhaps feel interested in tracing how the same -causes have produced the same effects with their successors. -From the memoirs hereafter detailed, it may be seen that no -fewer than six out of the twelve had to suffer the evils of exile -for public or private opinions, of whom three so died unhappily -in foreign countries. Three others, though not actually -exiled, were subjected to long and cruel imprisonment for the -same causes, while two out of the remaining three had to take -their share of burdens in the public service during the troubled -state of the country. Such men could have no mawkish -sentiments to develope, and no fantastic feelings to indulge. -What they felt, they felt deeply; what they observed, they -observed distinctly, and thus were enabled to give their -thoughts and feelings clearly and strongly.</p> - -<p>But in addition to the causes assigned for the superior -character of modern Spanish poetry in particular, there is -one other to be suggested, the association of which may perhaps -occasion some surprise, though it may not be for that -the less indubitable. This is the fact of the later Spanish -writers having, perhaps unconsciously, but unmistakenly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiii" id="Page_xxiii">[xxiii]</a></span> -taken better models than their predecessors by preferring the -study of English literature to that of the French. This fact, -though without the full inference that might have been drawn -from it, has been observed by a German author, F. J. Wolf, -of the Imperial Library at Vienna, who has published a collection -of modern Spanish poetry, with biographical notices, -Paris, 1837, in two volumes—‘Floresta de Rimas Modernas -Castellanas.’ It is an interesting collection, but being all -given in the Spanish language, is only available to those who -are acquainted with it. In the introduction to this work, Wolf -treats of the “efforts of Melendez and the Salamanca school -to give a new splendour to Spanish poetry, partly by the -study and imitation of the ancient and good Spanish writers, -taking advantage of the national forms, and partly by making -it more profound and substantial, imitating not only and exclusively -the French, but also and especially the English.” -(Page 15.)</p> - -<p>During the early part of the last century, consequent upon -the accession of the Bourbons to the throne, the writers of -verse in Spain, who obtained most favour among their contemporaries, -formed their style avowedly upon the model of -what was called the French school, and thus taking examples -unworthy of imitation, became still more wretched as copyists. -Towards the end of the century, however, a feeling arose, on -the other side, in favour of the study of English literature, -which has led to the happiest results. Of the twelve poets -whose lives and poems it is the purpose of this work to delineate, -no fewer than ten may be observed acquainted in no -inconsiderable degree with the best English authors and proficient -in the English language. Two only, Breton de los Herreros -and Zorrilla, seem not to have extended their studies so -far. With the peculiar humorous vein of the former, perhaps -the deficiency may not be considered as leaving any merit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiv" id="Page_xxiv">[xxiv]</a></span> -to be supplied. But it does seem a matter of regret that a -person of Zorrilla’s exalted genius should have confined his -studies so much to French writers, and so have deprived himself -of the expansion necessary for the highest flights of poetry. -France has never produced a great painter or a great poet. -The very language, so monotonous and unmusical, in having -the accent almost invariably on the last syllable of the words, -seems opposed to rhythmical cadence, and not to admit of the -highest excellence either in oratory or poetry. Whatever may -be the cause, it is evident that such excellence has not been -attained in the language, and therefore the best works in it -cannot be models for imitation when they are only themselves -of an inferior value.</p> - -<p>Beyond the writers enumerated hereafter, whose memoirs -and writings are to be considered worthy of fuller notice, -there are several others who, as especially coming under the -consideration above suggested, may here be noticed in further -corroboration of the statements we have made.</p> - -<p>1. Juan de Escoiquiz, tutor to Ferdinand VII., one of the -most upright, if not most successful, public men of his time, -published, in 1798, an epic poem ‘On the Conquest of Mexico,’ -which showed considerable poetical ability, though it did not -obtain much popular favour. In 1797 he published a translation -of Young’s ‘Night Thoughts,’ from the English into -Spanish verse, and in 1814 a translation of Milton’s ‘Paradise -Lost.’ Of the former, a translation in prose had been previously -published by Cristoval Caldera. Escoiquiz died in -1814.</p> - -<p>2. Josè de Cadalso or Cadahalso, born 1741, was a person -of rank and fortune, who had travelled much in his youth, -and become proficient in various foreign languages and literatures, -especially the English. He wrote several works, -both in prose and verse, which were received with great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxv" id="Page_xxv">[xxv]</a></span> -favour at the time, and have been republished frequently -since his death. The last edition was in 1818, in three volumes, -under the editorship of the late learned Navarrete, -who appended to them an interesting biography of the author. -Among the miscellanies are several translations from -the English, which language, we are informed, Cadalso not -only studied himself assiduously, but induced Melendez -Valdes to adopt for peculiar study also. This eminent poet -was in early life so assisted by Cadalso as to have been pronounced -his “best work,” and he, as may be seen hereafter, -seems sedulously to have followed the good counsels and example -given him by his friend. Cadalso, like so many other -of the principal poets of Spain, had embraced a military -career, in which, having been ordered with his regiment to -the siege of Gibraltar, he there received a wound of which he -died a few days after, the 27th February, 1782. His death -was a great loss to Spanish literature, and it was equally -lamented by the English in the besieged fortress, by whom -he was much esteemed from previous friendly communications.</p> - -<p>3. The Conde de Noronia, born 1760, died 1816, another -poetical writer of considerable reputation, was also engaged -in military service, in which he attained high rank, and with -the division of the Spanish army under his command, gained -the victory at the battle of San Payo over the French. He -was appointed ambassador successively at Berne and St. Petersburgh, -and was celebrated as a diplomatist for his knowledge -of English and other languages. Notwithstanding an -active life in the public service, he found leisure for literary -pursuits, and in 1800 published a collection of poems in two -volumes. Among these are to be observed several translations -from the English, of which one of Dryden’s celebrated -‘Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day,’ rendered into Spanish verse with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxvi" id="Page_xxvi">[xxvi]</a></span> -much spirit, deserves particular mention. The best of his -poems seems an ‘Ode on the Death of Cadalso,’ by whose side -he was present when he received his wound. The Conde -further attempted an epic, in twelve cantos, entitled ‘Ommiada,’ -detailing the events in the reign of Abderaman, the -last of the Ommiades, which poem was published in two volumes -in 1816. For the purpose of assisting him in this -work, he had translated several pieces from the Arabic and -other eastern languages into Spanish verse, published since -at Paris in 1833.</p> - -<p>4. Juan Maria Maury, who died in 1846, was another -writer of considerable talent. He was sent early in life to -France, and completed his education in England, becoming -thereby well acquainted with the language and literature of -both countries. His principal work is a poem entitled, ‘Esvero -y Almedora,’ in twelve cantos, published at Paris in 1840. -It is founded on the adventures of a passage-at-arms, held -against all comers, in 1434, at the bridge of Orbiza, near -Leon, and contains several interesting scenes spiritedly described. -His earliest work was a poem he called ‘British -Aggression,’ published in 1806, the sentiments of which he -seems afterwards to have considerably modified. Maury appears -to have been a person of very amiable character, and -much esteemed by all who knew him, judging by the manner -in which Del Rio and others write respecting him. In his -latter years he resided almost entirely at Paris, and gained -for himself the extraordinary merit of being esteemed also a -correct writer of French verse, by his translations of the principal -Spanish poets into that language. This work, published -in two volumes at Paris in 1826, entitled, ‘Espagne Poétique, -Choix de Poésies Castellanes depuis Charles Quint jusqu’à -nos jours,’ is, as the name imports, a selection of Spanish -poetry with critical and biographical notices, made with much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxvii" id="Page_xxvii">[xxvii]</a></span> -taste and judgement, and forming altogether a very interesting -work for the French student of Spanish literature. It is -dedicated to his friends Arriaza and Quintana, in a poetical -epistle, from which the following extract may be considered -acceptable in corroboration of the previous remarks:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“Sans doute, Emmanuel, aux champs de Tamise</div> -<div class="verse">Triomphe une vertu qu’ailleurs tu crus permise,</div> -<div class="verse">Et qui là fier génie a ravi le trident.</div> -<div class="verse">Jeune j’y respirai l’orgueil indépendant;</div> -<div class="verse">Là, j’admirai l’accord, merveille alors unique,</div> -<div class="verse">Qui règle et garantit, sur le sol britannique</div> -<div class="verse">Au trône ses splendeurs, aux grands l’autorité,</div> -<div class="verse">Aux citoyens leurs droits, qu’on nomma liberté,</div> -<div class="verse">Et le temps destructeur y consacre, y conserve</div> -<div class="verse">Le plus beau monument élevé par Minerve.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>5. Josè Joaquin Mora, born at Cadiz, 1783, and yet happily -surviving, is another modern poet of great merit. When -the French invaded Spain, he entered a regiment of dragoons -in the national cause, and was made prisoner in 1809, in consequence -of which he was detained in France six years. He -took advantage of this residence in that country to pursue his -studies, and on the return of peace he undertook the editorship -of the ‘Scientific and Literary Chronicle of Madrid,’ -which, in 1820, he converted into ‘The Constitutional.’ In -1823 he had to emigrate to London, where he wrote and -published several periodical and other works, under the -auspices of Messrs. Ackerman, besides various translations. -He afterwards went to Buenos Ayres, Chili and Bolivia, from -which last republic he returned to London as Consul-General, -and published, in 1840, his principal work, entitled ‘Spanish -Legends.’ This work, which is highly praised by Ochoa, gives, -as the title imports, descriptive accounts of various events in -the history of Spain, according to what seems to be the -favourite formula of modern Spanish poetry. Another work -he published, in 1826, entitled ‘Poetical Meditations,’ is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxviii" id="Page_xxviii">[xxviii]</a></span> -founded principally on Blair’s celebrated poem, ‘The Grave.’ -Wolf pronounces him excelling in his satirical essays, which, -he says, are full of grace and ease.</p> - -<p>In addition to the writers mentioned above, and those -whose works form the main purpose of this work hereafter in -detail, many others have appeared, both during the latter -part of the last century and during the present, who have -shown much talent, and have been deservedly received with -much favour by their countrymen. It will be sufficient for -us here to give the names of Cienfuegos, Tapia, Lista, Gallego, -S. Bermudez de Castro, Garcia Gutierrez and Pastor -Diaz among them; and to meet any observation that may be -suggested on account of no fuller notice being taken of them, -it may be allowed me to state, that I have notwithstanding -read and examined carefully all their works, and those of -many others whose names it is needless to recapitulate. I -would further add, that in so doing, although there was certainly -much in them to admire, yet there was nothing in -them, in my judgement, suited for translation to interest -English readers, whose tastes it was my duty principally to -consult. Some of those just mentioned and others omitted, I -have personally known and appreciated in private life, but in -all the selections and criticisms made or repeated, I have -allowed no consideration to weigh with me, except the respect -due to superior merit alone. So much of this superior merit -seemed to me to exist in modern Spanish literature, that I -ventured to think the English public would receive favourably -this attempt to make them acquainted with it. If it -should fail, the blame must attach to the translator; if it be -received favourably, there is yet a rich mine of intellectual -wealth in store to reward the labours of those who choose to -undertake it.</p> - -<p>The student who wishes to follow in the same course, will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxix" id="Page_xxix">[xxix]</a></span> -find the way much prepared for him in the various collections -of ancient and modern poetry lately published. Those by -Maury and Wolf have been already mentioned. Quintana -has, in the late edition of his great work, brought down the -series of national poets to the beginning of this century; and -Ochoa has, lastly, given a very valuable addition to his other -labours of criticisms and compilation, in his Notices for a -Library of contemporary Spanish writers;—‘Apuntes para -una Biblioteca de Escritores Españoles contemporaneos,’ in -two volumes, Paris, 1847. Ferrer del Rio has also conferred -a great service on the national literature, by giving a -series of biographical sketches, ably written, of the principal -Spanish writers of the present day, ‘Galeria de la Literatura -Española,’ published by Mellado, at Madrid, 1846. From -these works, when no other authority is mentioned as of -distinct character, the notices in this work have been compiled, -except in a few instances, which will be found also -generally stated when they have been obtained from private -information. The facts, of necessity, could not but be learned -from such sources, and the translator is only answerable for -the selection of those he thought worthy of being repeated, -and the arrangement, in addition to the criticisms that coincided -with his own judgement, for his adoption.</p> - -<p>In conclusion of these introductory remarks, it now only -remains necessary further to observe, that the rules of Spanish -versification are very similar to the English, being dependent -upon accents, according to the rhythm adopted on certain -syllables of each line, whether alternately or further removed. -The rule as to rhyme is also the same, admitting of single -or double rhymes, used in one case or the other, according as -the accent is on the last syllable of the final word or the penultimate. -The latter, however, is more common in Spanish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxx" id="Page_xxx">[xxx]</a></span> -than in English, where it seems only suited for the livelier -strains of verse.</p> - -<p>But in addition to the usual method of using rhymes, dependent -in English and most other languages upon the consonants -rather than the vowels, the Spaniards have a form of -verse of which the rhyme is dependent on the vowel only, -and the consonants may be entirely dissimilar. This form of -verse they call Asonantes, in contradistinction to the other, -which they call Consonantes, or full and perfect rhyme. Thus -in the first stanza of the ‘Alcazar of Seville,’ the words <i lang="es">prolijas</i> -and <i lang="es">cornisas</i> are Consonantes or full rhymes, but in the -following verses <i lang="es">miran</i> and <i lang="es">distintas</i> are Asonantes, as also -<i lang="es">risa</i> and <i lang="es">evitan</i>. The Spaniards conceive the Asonantes to -be a form peculiar to themselves, but it is one common to -many other nations, in the earlier stages of poetical composition. -In the earliest Spanish poems, asonants and consonants -were used together promiscuously, as may be observed -particularly in the early poems in the Galician dialect; and -it is curious to trace in this respect, as well as in many -of their words, vestiges of their Celtic descent, this same -form being also one of the prominent features of Celtic versification. -In their modern asonante verse, the Spanish poets -usually exclude consonantes, and that form continues in -much favour, probably on account of the words in their language, -as in the Latin, having generally so much the same -sound as to make a variation pleasing to the ear, to break the -monotonous effect of a too frequent recurrence of similar terminations. -For this reason, no doubt, it was that the Latin -poets did not adopt the system of rhymes, and for the same -also it is common now in Spanish poems to have lines occasionally -to which no other line presents a rhyme, giving -thereby a pleasing effect to the whole. In our language, on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxi" id="Page_xxxi">[xxxi]</a></span> -the contrary, where, from the ruggedness of its character, the -terminations vary so exceedingly as to make them often even -difficult to be found for the purposes of rhyme, the recurrence -of rhyme gives a more pleasing sound to the ear from the -degree of surprise that is thus occasioned. In Spanish they -might easily be made of one vowel termination for a long -poem, so that the difficulty in it is to avoid the too frequent -recurrence of the same sound.</p> - -<p>Martinez de la Rosa has boasted of the variety of rhymes -in Spanish; but he refers to double as well as single rhymes, -and in this and in other respects is carried away by his -ardour, in admiration of his country’s language, much further -than the facts will be found to support him. Thus he also -praises the number and variety of metres used in it as extraordinary, -when in fact they are no more, so than any other -neighbouring language could present. It may be justly conceded, -that poetry has been cultivated lately in Spain with -much assiduity and success; but there is no peculiarity in the -language to give it an advantage over others in respect to -metres. The strict censorship which has weighed down the -energies of the country, with regard to most subjects of public -discussion, has had the effect of directing talent to the cultivation -of poetry, as almost the only road to literary reputation. -This it is, combined with the sensitive character of the nation, -that has made their poets attain the eminence we are -bound in justice to award them; and it is fortunate for them -that they have in their language so admirable an exponent of -their genius, as it must in fairness be allowed, though the -merit still remains peculiarly their own.</p> - -<p>The following is a summary list of the principal Modern -Spanish Poets whose memoirs and writings it is the object -of this work more particularly to make known to the English -public, given with a statement of dates respecting their lives,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxii" id="Page_xxxii">[xxxii]</a></span> -for the purpose of enabling the reader to compare more -easily the periods in which they flourished. They are, it will -be observed, twelve in number, and the list has been divided -into two parts, as marking an evidently distinctive character -of the poetry in the former and latter part of the epoch which -they have rendered memorable.</p> - -<table summary="The poets in this book, their dates"> - <tr> - <td class="top-pad" colspan="6">PART I.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">I.</td> - <td>Jovellanos</td> - <td>Born 1744.</td> - <td>Died</td> - <td>1811.</td> - <td>Age 67.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">II.</td> - <td>Iriarte</td> - <td>Born 1750.</td> - <td>Died</td> - <td>1791.</td> - <td>Age 41.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">III.</td> - <td>Melendez Valdes</td> - <td>Born 1754.</td> - <td>Died</td> - <td>1817.</td> - <td>Age 63.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IV.</td> - <td>Leandro Moratin</td> - <td>Born 1760.</td> - <td>Died</td> - <td>1828.</td> - <td>Age 68.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">V.</td> - <td>Arriaza</td> - <td>Born 1770.</td> - <td>Died</td> - <td>1837.</td> - <td>Age 67.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VI.</td> - <td>Quintana</td> - <td>Born 1772.</td> - <td>Living</td> - <td>1851.</td> - <td>Age 79.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="top-pad" colspan="6">PART II.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VII.</td> - <td>Martinez de la Rosa</td> - <td>Born 1789.</td> - <td>Living</td> - <td>1851.</td> - <td>Age 62.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VIII.</td> - <td>The Duke de Rivas</td> - <td>Born 1791.</td> - <td>Living</td> - <td>1851.</td> - <td>Age 60.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IX.</td> - <td>Breton de los Herreros</td> - <td>Born 1796.</td> - <td>Living</td> - <td>1851.</td> - <td>Age 55.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">X.</td> - <td>Heredia</td> - <td>Born 1803.</td> - <td>Died</td> - <td>1839.</td> - <td>Age 35.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XI.</td> - <td>Espronceda</td> - <td>Born 1810.</td> - <td>Died</td> - <td>1842.</td> - <td>Age 32.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XII.</td> - <td>Zorrilla</td> - <td>Born 1817.</td> - <td>Living</td> - <td>1851.</td> - <td>Age 34.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxiii" id="Page_xxxiii">[xxxiii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>PRELIMINARY NOTE.</h2> - -<p>For readers unacquainted with the Spanish language, it may be -perhaps most advisable, in this place, to affix a few short instructions -for the proper pronunciation of such names and words as are -to be found in the following pages.</p> - -<p>1. The vowels in Spanish have each invariably their peculiar -sound; not as in English, where each has two or more sounds, -making them in fact so distinct as strictly requiring to be designated -by different characters, or after the manner of the Hebrew -points. Thus <i>a</i> has always the broad open sound found in the -English words <i>arm</i>, <i>arrack</i>.</p> - -<p><i>e</i>, long or short, as in the English words <i>ere</i>, <i>ever</i>.</p> - -<p><i>i</i> and <i>y</i>, as in <i>machine</i>, <i>syntax</i>.</p> - -<p><i>o</i>, long or short, as in <i>ore</i>, <i>host</i>, <i>hostage</i>.</p> - -<p><i>u</i> has uniformly the sound of <i>oo</i> in <i>food</i>. The Celtic sound of -this vowel, preserved in France and Portugal, is unknown in Spain, -and also in the Basque or Biscayan language.</p> - -<p>2. Of the consonants, <i>b</i> has a softer sound than in English, and -approaches to <i>v</i>, which again is made to sound like <i>b</i>. Thus the -city of the Havana is, in Spanish spelling, La Habana, and the -river Bidasoa is written Vidasoa.</p> - -<p><i>c</i>, before <i>a</i>, <i>o</i>, <i>u</i>, is to be pronounced hard, as in English; before -<i>e</i> or <i>i</i>, it is to be sounded like <i>th</i> in <i>thin</i>, though in the provinces<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxiv" id="Page_xxxiv">[xxxiv]</a></span> -this pronunciation is giving way to the French and English mode -of sounding the letter. Thus the name of the great Roman orator -is pronounced Thithero. <i>ch</i> has always the soft sound it usually -has in English, as in <i>chat</i>, <i>check</i>, <i>chin</i>, <i>choke</i>, <i>chum</i>.</p> - -<p><i>d</i>, at the end of a word, is generally pronounced like <i>th</i>: thus -Madrid is Madrith; <i lang="es">ciudad</i>, a city, is pronounced <i>thiudath</i>; otherwise, -both <i>d</i> and <i>t</i> are spoken as in English, or slightly more dentally.</p> - -<p><i>f</i> has the same sound as in English.</p> - -<p><i>g</i> is an aspirate, like our <i>h</i>, more or less guttural, according to -the word. The soft sound of this letter, as in <i>gem</i>, left by the -Celts in Italy and Portugal, is unknown in Spain, as is also the -soft sound of the letter <i>j</i>.</p> - -<p><i>h</i> may be said to be invariably a silent letter, and seems only -used to prevent two vowels running into each other, so as to form -a diphthong.</p> - -<p><i>j</i> is a very harsh guttural, like the Hebrew <i>Cheth</i>. Thus Juan -(John) is to be pronounced strongly, Hwan; Josè (Joseph) also -strongly, Hosè.</p> - -<p>The letters <i>k</i>, <i>l</i>, <i>m</i>, <i>n</i>, <i>p</i>, are the same as in English.</p> - -<p><i>q</i> or <i>qu</i> has the sound of our <i>k</i>: thus <i lang="es">que</i> (that) is the same as -the Italian <i lang="it">che</i>.</p> - -<p><i>r</i>, <i>s</i>, <i>t</i> have the same sounds as in English, except that the first -has one somewhat rougher, especially when two come together.</p> - -<p><i>x</i> is a strong guttural, for which <i>j</i> is now generally used, as -Don Quijote.</p> - -<p><i>z</i> is pronounced as <i>th</i>: thus Cadiz is sounded Cadith.</p> - -<p>The Spaniards consider their <i>ll</i> and <i>ñ</i>, or <i>n</i> with a circumflex, -distinct letters, but they are in fact only the letters <i>l</i> or <i>n</i> with -the sound of <i>i</i> after them, as in the English words <i>million</i>, <i>minion</i>, -being the same sound that the French and Italians express by -<i>gn</i>, or <i>gl</i>. Several names may be found in the body of this work<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxv" id="Page_xxxv">[xxxv]</a></span> -altered according to our mode of spelling, though in the headings -retained as in the original, as Padillia instead of Padilla. For the -sake of preserving the sound free from constant explanation or -confusion, the like course has been sometimes adopted with regard -to other words, as, for instance, the name of the river Genil or -Xenil, represented in English as Henil.</p> - -<p>Two or more vowels coming together are enunciated so as to -form one syllable generally in Spanish, and especially in poetry, -yet nevertheless so as to allow of each vowel to be sounded distinctly, -as each syllable is also.</p> - -<p>With regard to accents, the general rule is, that it should be -placed on the penultimate syllable. There are many exceptions, -but in print these are always marked by the accent (´) on the -vowel indicated, except in words of two syllables, which, if ending -in a consonant, have generally the accent on the last syllable, if -ending in a vowel, on the first, without being notified.</p> - -<p>From these notices it may be observed, that the Spanish language -is remarkable for two sounds, the guttural and the predominating -<i>th</i>, which distinguish it from the two sister dialects of -Italy and Portugal, while it is deficient in the soft sound of <i>g</i> and -<i>j</i>, found so frequently used in the latter. These two assimilate -so much to each other that natives of either country understand -those of the other readily, while they cannot those of Spain, showing -that the influence of the Gothic and Moorish invaders was impressed -there on the pronunciation of the common language, though -it was not extended to altering materially the language itself.</p> - -<p>Besides the soft sound of the <i>g</i>, there are two other sounds unknown -in Spanish, though common in Portugal and France, left -by their former Celtic inhabitants, those of the <i>sh</i> or French <i>j</i>, -and the disagreeable nasal pronunciation of the letter <i>n</i>. The latter -is very slightly given in <i lang="es">Don</i>, and a few other words, but the -other is unknown. In Portuguese it is so prevalent that they -even use it for Latin words which it would be difficult to recognize -at first as the originals from which the others were derived; thus -the words <i lang="la">pluvia</i>, <i lang="la">plorare</i>, transformed in Spanish into <i lang="es">lluvia</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxvi" id="Page_xxxvi">[xxxvi]</a></span> -<i lang="es">lorar</i>, are in Portuguese further transformed into <i lang="pt">chuva</i> (<i lang="pt">shuva</i>), -<i lang="pt">chorar</i> (<i lang="pt">shorar</i>). The natives of Galicia speak a dialect more -allied to Portuguese than the Spanish, being of more decided -Celtic descent, like the Portuguese, than the rest of the people of -the Peninsula. The natives of Catalonia speak a dialect half -French, half Spanish, which may be considered the representative -of the ancient Provencal or Limoisin. It is very guttural as well -as nasal. The Basque or Biscayan language is entirely distinct -from the modern Spanish, and also from the Latin, the Celtic, or -that of any neighbouring country, and is well deserving of study. -It has no harsh or disagreeable sounds in it, and abounds in -vowels, many words having not a single consonant in them.</p> - -<hr /> - -<h2>ERRATA.</h2> - -<table summary="Errata"> - <tr> - <td>Page</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_xxii">xxii</a></td> - <td>line</td> - <td class="tdr">30,</td> - <td><i>instead of</i></td> - <td>association, <i>read</i> assertion.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_11">11</a>,</td> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr">18,</td> - <td class="tdc">——</td> - <td>“make it a well,” <i>read</i> “use it for a well.”</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_60">60</a>,</td> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr">7,</td> - <td class="tdc">——</td> - <td>suffice <i>read</i> suffices.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_66">66</a>,</td> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr">11,</td> - <td class="tdc">——</td> - <td>sensibly <i>read</i> sensitively.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_157">157</a>,</td> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr">23,</td> - <td class="tdc">——</td> - <td>sage <i>read</i> shade.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_271">271</a>,</td> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr">29,</td> - <td class="tdc">——</td> - <td>nineteen <i>read</i> eighteen.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_301">301</a>,</td> - <td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdr">12,</td> - <td class="tdc">——</td> - <td>“of Lord Byron’s,” <i>read</i> “in Lord Byron’s.”</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p><a href="#Page_145">Page 145</a>, line 4, “has been announced,” &c. This statement is erroneous, -the reference having been made to Mr. J. Russell’s Life of Gonzalo de Còrdova, -translated from Quintana’s first volume, London, 1851.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxvii" id="Page_xxxvii">[xxxvii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdr smaller">Page</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Dedication</span></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_iii">iii</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Introduction.</span> On the character of Spanish Poetry, Ancient - and Modern.—Causes affecting it suggested from considerations - of Roman civilization, Moorish wars, and personal - history of the principal Poets.—Works on Spanish literature: - Remarks on translation and language.—References to - other modern Poets.—Spanish metres and versification</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_vii">vii</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><span class="smcap">Preliminary Note.</span> On the pronunciation of Spanish names and words</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="top-pad"><a href="#PART_I">PART I.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><a href="#I">I. GASPAR MELCHOR DE JOVELLANOS.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_3">3</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Epistle to Cean Bermudez, on the Vain Desires and Studies of Men</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">To Galatea’s Bird</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">To Enarda.—I.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxviii" id="Page_xxxviii">[xxxviii]</a></span>To Enarda.—II.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><a href="#II">II. TOMAS DE IRIARTE.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Epistle to Don Domingo de Iriarte, on his Travelling to various Foreign Courts</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Bear, the Monkey and the Hog</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Ass and the Flute</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Two Rabbits</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Lamb and his Two Advisers</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Flint and the Steel</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><a href="#III">III. JUAN MELENDEZ VALDES.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Juvenilities</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Timid Lover</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">My Village Life</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Remembrances of Youth</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Of the Sciences</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Disdainful Shepherdess</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><a href="#IV">IV. LEANDRO FERNANDEZ MORATIN.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Dedication of the Mogigata to the Prince of the Peace</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Epistle to Don Gaspar de Jovellanos, sent from Rome</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><a href="#V">V. JUAN BAUTISTA DE ARRIAZA.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Tempest and War, or the Battle of Trafalgar</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Parting</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><a href="#VI">VI. MANUEL JOSÈ QUINTANA.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">To the Spanish Expedition for the Promotion of Vaccination in America, under Don Francisco Balmis</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxix" id="Page_xxxix">[xxxix]</a></span>On the Battle of Trafalgar</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2" class="top-pad"><a href="#PART_II">PART II.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><a href="#VII">VII. FRANCISCO MARTINEZ DE LA ROSA.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_169">169</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Remembrance of Spain, written in London in 1811</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_183">183</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Return to Granada, October 27, 1831</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_185">185</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Epistle to the Duque de Frias, on the Death of the Duquesa</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Anacreontic</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Bacchanalian</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><a href="#VIII">VIII. ANGEL DE SAAVEDRA, DUKE DE RIVAS.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_203">203</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Alcazar of Seville</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_224">224</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><a href="#IX">IX. MANUEL BRETON DE LOS HERREROS.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_249">249</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Satirical Letrillias.—III.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_258">258</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Satirical Letrillias.—IV.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_260">260</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Satirical Letrillias.—VII.</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_262">262</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><a href="#X">X. JOSÈ MARIA HEREDIA.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_265">265</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Sonnet. Dedication of the Second Edition of his Poems, to his Wife</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">To his Horse</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_276">276</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Season of the Northers</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Poesy, an Ode</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_280">280</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Ode to Night</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_285">285</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xl" id="Page_xl">[xl]</a></span><a href="#XI">XI. JOSÈ DE ESPRONCEDA.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_291">291</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">To Spain, an Elegy. London, 1829</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Condemned to Die</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_308">308</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Song of the Pirate</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_314">314</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">To Harifa, in an Orgy</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_318">318</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td colspan="2"><a href="#XII">XII. JOSÈ ZORRILLA.</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad2">Memoir of</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_323">323</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Christian Lady and the Moor</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_336">336</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Romance, The Waking</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_339">339</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Oriental Romance, Boabdil</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_343">343</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Captive</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_345">345</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Tower of Munion</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_347">347</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">The Warning</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_350">350</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="pad1">Meditation</td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_352">352</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td><a href="#NOTES">NOTES</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_357">357</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<h1>MODERN POETS<br /> -<span class="smaller">AND</span><br /> -POETRY OF SPAIN.</h1> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="PART_I">PART I.</h2> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="I">I.<br /> -<span class="smaller"><a href="#note1" title="See note">GASPAR MELCHOR DE JOVELLANOS</a>.</span></h3> - -<p><a href="#note2" title="See note">An able and distinguished writer</a> in the Madrid Review -has observed, that if the question were asked as to which is -the first great name in modern Spanish literature, the answer -must unquestionably be—Jovellanos. It seems, therefore, only -a just deference to his merits, though it is but a fortuitous -coincidence in the order of dates, that we have to place his -name first in the series of modern Spanish poets. It is, -however, to his State Papers and his writings on Political -Economy that he principally owes his reputation; though it -is a proud consideration for Spanish literature, that, as regards -him, as well as Martinez de la Rosa and the Duke de -Rivas, she has to place the names of eminent statesmen -among her principal poets.</p> - -<p>Jovellanos was born the 5th of January, 1744, at Gijon, a -town in the Asturias, of which his father was Regidor or -one of the chief Magistrates. His family connections were -of the class called Nobles, answering to the Noblesse of -France, and were moreover very influential and sufficiently -wealthy. To take advantage of the preferments these offe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>red -him, he was destined in early youth, being a younger son, for -the church, in which he entered into the first orders for the -purpose of holding several benefices that were given him. -He studied consecutively at Oviedo, Avila and Osma, where -he distinguished himself so much to the satisfaction of those -interested in his fortunes, that he was removed, in 1764, to -the University of Alcalà de Henares, and shortly afterwards -to Madrid to study law. His friends and relatives, having -become aware of his great talents, had now induced him to -abandon the clerical profession and engage in secular pursuits. -A person of his rank in those days was not at liberty -to practise as an advocate, though the young Noble, under -court favour, might administer the law; and thus he was, in -1767, when only in his twenty-fourth year, appointed judge -of criminal cases at Seville. In this office he conducted himself -with great ability and humanity, appearing to have been -the first to abandon the employment of torture for obtaining -confessions, which system has scarcely yet been discarded on -the Continent. As characteristic of him, it may here be -added, that he is reported to have been the first of the higher -magistrates in Spain who gave up the use of the official wig; -so that his unusual dress, combined with his youth, made -him on the bench more observed than perhaps even his talents -would at first have rendered him.</p> - -<p>Whatever objections might have been made, if cause could -be found, he seems, after having served nearly ten years as -judge in the criminal courts, to have been advanced, with the -approbation of all parties, to the office of judge in civil cases, -also at Seville. This was an office much more agreeable to -his inclinations, though the salary was no higher than what -he had previously enjoyed. He had, however, other duties -also entrusted to him of minor character, though of proportionate -emolument, and thereupon he resigned his benefices<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> -in the church, which he had held till then, and to the duties -of which he had strictly attended. Beyond this act of disinterestedness, -he seems to have given his brother magistrates -no inconsiderable inquietude at the same time by refusing -some emoluments of office to which they considered themselves -entitled. But their minds were soon relieved from the -apprehensions his conduct might occasion them, as at the end -of four years he was, in 1778, appointed judge of criminal -cases at Madrid; an office generally considered of eminent -promotion, but which he accepted with regret.</p> - -<p>In after times, every letter and every notice of Jovellanos -that could be found was eagerly sought and treasured up; -and from these and his own memorandums, it appears -he had good reason to consider the years he passed at -Seville as the happiest of his life. Honoured in his public -capacity and beloved in his social circle, he passed whatever -time he could spare from his official or private duties in literary -pursuits. It was then he wrote or prepared most of the -lighter works which entitle him to be ranked among the poets -of the age; the tragedy of “Pelayo,” and comedy of “The -Honourable Delinquent,” both which were highly esteemed -by his countrymen, as well as most of his minor poems. He -did not however confine himself to such recreations, but at -the same time entered on graver studies for the public service, -on which his fame was eventually established.</p> - -<p>Shortly after Jovellanos joined the courts at Seville, he had -for one of his colleagues Don Luis Ignacio Aguirre, a person -of high literary attainments, who had travelled much, and -brought with him, as stated by Bermudez, many works in -English on Political Economy. To understand these, Jovellanos -immediately, under Aguirre’s guidance, proceeded to -learn the English language, of which he soon obtained a -competent knowledge. He then studied the science, t<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>hen -newly dawning, from the works his friend afforded him, and -made himself a master of it, so as to give him a name among -the most eminent of its professors. Not contented with -these pursuits, his active mind was still further engaged in -whatever could tend to the benefit of society in the place of -his labours. He seems indeed to have always had before -him the consideration of what might be the fullest duties -his station imposed on him, beyond the mere routine of -official services. Not confining himself to these, much less -giving himself up to passive enjoyments, however harmless -or honourable in themselves, he seemed then and through -life as ever acting under the sense of a great responsibility, -as of the requirements of Him “who gave his servants -authority, and to every man his work.” Thus he instituted -a school at Seville for children, reformed the course of practice -at the hospitals, attended to the keeping of the public -walks and grounds in good order, and was foremost in every -case where charity called or good services were required. -Artists and men of genius found in him a friend, who, by -advice and other aid, was always ready to their call; and it -was observed that his only passion was for the purchase of -books and pictures, of which respectively he formed good -collections.</p> - -<p>On giving up his duties at Seville, Jovellanos travelled -through Andalusia, and, as was his custom in all the places -he visited, made notes of whatever useful information he -could obtain respecting them, many of which were afterwards -published in a topographical work he assisted in bringing -forward. On arriving at Madrid, where his fame had preceded -him, he was at once chosen member of the different -learned societies, to several of which he rendered valuable -services. At Seville he had already prepared a sketch of his -great work, entitled “Agrarian Law,” in which he treated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> -of the law and tenure of land, its cultivation, and other topics -connected with it. This work he then published in an extended -form, in which it has been reprinted several times, -separately as well as in his collected works. In the several -societies he also read many papers, one of which, “On Public -Diversions,” deserves to be named particularly, as containing -much curious information, as well as many excellent suggestions -for public advantage, on points which statesmen would -do well to remember more frequently than they are in the -habit of doing.</p> - -<p>On leaving Seville, Jovellanos regretted that he had to -engage again in criminal cases, for which he had a natural -aversion. After fulfilling these duties at Madrid a year and -a half, he therefore sought another appointment, and obtained -one in the Council of Military Orders, more agreeable to his -inclinations. In this office it was his duty to attend to the -affairs of the four military orders of Spain, and in his visits -to their properties and other places on their behalf, he was -entrusted with various commissions, which he fulfilled with -his accustomed zeal. In those visits he had to go much to -his native province, and he took advantage of his influence to -make roads, which were much needed there, and the benefits -of which he lived to see appreciated. He incited the members -of the Patriotic Society of Oviedo, and others connected -with the Asturias, to explore the mineral wealth of the country, -rich in mines of coal and iron, then scarcely known. For -the study of such pursuits he founded the Asturian Institute, -and raised subscriptions to have two young men educated -abroad in mathematics and mining, who were afterwards to -teach those sciences at the Institute. Every day of his life -indeed seems to have been employed on some object of public -utility, or in studies connected with such objects; following -the ancient maxim to do nothing trifling or imperfectly:—Μ<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>ηδὲν -ἐνέργημα εἰκῆ, μηδὲν ἄλλως ἢ κατὰ θεωρήμα συμπληρωτικὸν -τῆς τέχνης ἐνεργεῖθω.</p> - -<p>Though exact in the fulfilment of his official duties, and -other various commissions entrusted to him by the government -to report on the state of the provinces, it is wonderful -to consider the industry with which he followed other pursuits. -He studied botany and architecture, on which he wrote -several treatises; and though each of those subjects would have -been a sufficient task for ordinary men, to him they were only -relaxations from his favourite science of political economy.</p> - -<p>Bent on the promotion of law and other reforms in the -state, he became connected with the Conde de Cabarrus, who, -though a Frenchman by birth, had obtained high employments -in Spain, and who, as a person of superior talent and discernment, -was also convinced of the necessity of such measures. -As too often is the case with able and honest statesmen, the -Conde de Cabarrus fell, while attempting to effect these reforms, -under the intrigues of his enemies, and Jovellanos became -involved in his disgrace. He had been sent, in 1790, -into the provinces in fulfilment of the duties of his office; -when, having heard on the road of his friend’s ill fortune, he -returned at once to offer him whatever assistance he might -have in his power. He had, however, no sooner arrived in -Madrid, where the Conde was under arrest, than, without -being allowed to communicate with him, Jovellanos received a -royal order to return immediately to his province.</p> - -<p>The terms in which this order was conveyed convinced -Jovellanos that he was to share in the disgrace of his friend, -and to consider himself banished from court. He therefore -proceeded philosophically to settle himself in his paternal -abode with his brother, their father being now deceased, with -his books and effects, and engaged in the improvement of -their family estates. His expectations proved correct, as in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -this honourable exile he had to pass seven years, though not -altogether unemployed, as he had several commissions entrusted -to him similar to those he had previously discharged. -But still Jovellanos, unbowed by political reverses, continued -the same ardent promoter of public improvement. For the -Asturian Institute, which he had founded for the purpose of -teaching principally mineralogy and metallurgy, and which -he personally superintended, he wrote his very able work on -Public Instruction, and compiled elementary grammars of -the French and English languages, in which he showed himself -proficient to a degree truly astonishing.</p> - -<p>In his official duties, having to go carefully in inspection -over the Asturias and other neighbouring provinces, he noted -his observations in diaries, which have been fortunately preserved, -and which contain much valuable information. In -these he has gathered all he could learn relative to the productions -of the provinces, and the state in which he found -them and the people, as embodied in his reports thereon to -the government, with an account of the ancient remains and -public buildings, making copies of whatever he found most -interesting in the archives of the several convents, cathedrals -and corporations. Some of these copies now possess a peculiar -value, from the damages that have since accrued to many of -the originals from time and the events of the subsequent wars.</p> - -<p>If it were not for the disparagement of being considered in -banishment, Jovellanos could have felt himself contented. -He had not only honourable employment, as before stated, -but he also received several notices of approbation from the -government, especially as regarded the Institute, to which -notices he perhaps paid a higher regard than they deserved. -He seems himself to have felt this; for in one of his letters he -writes—“I will not deny that I desire some public mark of -appreciation by the government, to gain by it that kind of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -sanction which merit needs in the opinion of some weak -minds. But I see that this is a vain suggestion, and that -posterity will not judge me by my titles, but by my works.”</p> - -<p>This was written on a rumour having reached Gijon of the -probability of his being soon restored to favour at court. -Those under whose intrigues he had fallen had now passed -away in their turn: a favourite of a more powerful grade was -in the ascendant, Godoy, the Prince of the Peace, to whose -mind had been suggested the advisability of gathering round -him persons of acknowledged probity and knowledge, for the -support of his government. Jovellanos had returned home, -in October 1797, from one of his journeys of inspection, when -he found the whole town in a state of rejoicing. On inquiring -the cause, he was told it was because news had been received -of his nomination as ambassador to Russia. A few days -afterwards the rejoicings were renewed, on the further intelligence -of his being nominated a member of the government -itself, as Minister of Grace and Justice.</p> - -<p>In this office it might have been hoped that a happier -career was before him; but evil fortune on the contrary now -followed him, and more fatally than ever. His former banishment -from court was owing to the endeavours he had made -to remove those abuses into which all human institutions -have a tendency to fall, rendering frequently necessary a correction -of those abuses, to preserve what was most valuable -in the institutions themselves. His next misfortune arose -from personal differences with the reigning favourite, whose -greater influence it was his error not to have perceived. -Jovellanos had been restored to favour at the instance of -Godoy; but as this was without his seeking, he felt himself -under no obligation to maintain him as the head of the government, -for which he was totally unfit. Jovellanos joined -in an opposition to him, which for a short time succeeded in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> -depriving Godoy of office. But his influence at court continued, -and thus Jovellanos was in his turn dismissed, after -holding the office of minister only about eight months, and -ordered to return to Gijon.</p> - -<p>Unhappily the favourite carried his resentment further; -and Jovellanos was, on the 13th of March, 1801, arrested in -his bed at an early hour of the morning, and sent as a prisoner -through the country to Barcelona, thence to Mallorca, -where first in the Carthusian convent, and afterwards in the -castle of Bellver more strictly, he was closely confined, without -any regard paid to his demands to know the accusation -against him. Here his health was severely affected, as well -as his feelings outraged, by the unjust treatment to which he -was subjected. Still he was not one to sink under such evils. -He was rather one of those “who, going through the valley -of misery, make it a well.” He turned accordingly to the -resources of literature, and employed himself in writing and -translating from Latin and French several valuable treatises -on architecture, and other works, on the history of the island, -and of the convent, besides several poems, among which the -Epistle to <a href="#note3" title="See note">Bermudez, his biographer</a>, deserves particular notice.</p> - -<p>Another work he then wrote is no less deserving of mention, -showing the attention he had paid to English affairs, -entitled “A Letter on English Architecture, and that called -Gothic,” in which he treated of English architecture from -the time of the Druids, dividing it into the Saxon, Gothic -and modern periods. He describes the buildings according -to the epochs, especially St. Paul’s and others of the seventeenth -century, coming down to the picturesque style of -gardening then adopted in England, with notices of the -different sculptors, painters and engravers, as well as architects, -and also of the authors who had written on the Fine -Arts in England. This work has not been published, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -Bermudez states he had the manuscript.</p> - -<p>After being seven years a prisoner, Jovellanos was in 1808 -released on the abdication of Charles IV. and the consequent -fall of Godoy. This release was announced to him in terms -of official brevity, and he replied by an earnest demand to be -subjected to a trial, for the purpose of having the cause of -his imprisonment made manifest. Before, however, an answer -could be returned, Ferdinand had, under Napoleon’s dictation, -also ceased to reign, and Jovellanos was called upon to -take a prominent place in the intrusive government of king -Joseph. This he could not be supposed from his antecedent -character to be willing to accept. On the contrary, being -chosen by the National party a member of the Central Junta, -he engaged with his accustomed energy on the other side -until the Regency was formed, principally under his influence, -to carry on the struggles for independence.</p> - -<p>On this being effected, Jovellanos wished to retire to his -native city apart from public affairs. At his advanced age, -with cataracts formed in his eyes, and after his laborious life -and painful imprisonment, rest was necessary for him; but -he could not attain it. One of his first efforts in the Central -Junta was to draw up a paper on the form of government to -be adopted, and this he strongly recommended to be founded -as nearly as possible on the model of the English constitution. -But he was far too enlightened for the race of men -with whom he had to act, and his prepossessions for English -institutions were made a reproach against him, observes the -editor of the last edition of his works, even by those who -were striving to introduce the principles of the Constituent -Assembly into Spain.</p> - -<p>The miserable intrigues and jealousies of the leading members -of the National party caused Jovellanos much anxiety. -But he had fulfilled his duties as a Deputy, and those having<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -ceased, he left Cadiz in February, 1810, to return to the -Asturias, in a small sailing vessel. After a long and dangerous -passage, during which they were in great danger of -shipwreck, they arrived at Muros in Galicia, in which province -he had to remain more than a year, in consequence of -the Asturias being in the possession of the French, to whom -he had now become doubly obnoxious.</p> - -<p>In July, 1811, however, the French having left that part -of Spain, Jovellanos was enabled to return to his native city, -where he was again received as he always had been with -every token of popular respect. He seems to have been -always looked upon there with undeviating favour and gratitude, -as their most honourable citizen and public benefactor. -No one knew of his coming, says his biographer, but he was -observed to enter the church, and kneel before the altar near -his family burying-place, when the whole town was roused -simultaneously, and a spontaneous illumination of the houses -took place, with other tokens of public congratulations and -rejoicing.</p> - -<p>Here he now hoped to have a peaceful asylum for his latter -years, engaged in the objects of public utility for which he -had formerly laboured. But those labours were to be begun -again. His favourite “Asturian Institute,” which he truly -said, in one of his discourses, was identified with his existence, -had been totally dismantled and used for barracks by the -French. Having obtained authority from the Regency to -do so, he began to put the building again into repair, and -collect together the teachers and scholars. Having done -this, he announced by circulars that it would be reopened -the 20th of November following, when the news of the -French returning compelled him again to fly on the 6th of -that month. He set sail in a miserable coasting vessel for -Ribadeo, where a ship was ready to take him to Cadiz or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -England as he might desire, in virtue of instructions given -by the Regency, and in accordance with the English government. -But further misfortunes only awaited him. The vessel -in which he had to take refuge was cast on shore in a storm -near the small port of Vega, on the confines of Asturias; and -there, worn out with fatigue, and under a pulmonary affection, -brought on by exposure to the weather, he died the 27th of -November, 1811, a few days after his landing.</p> - -<p>The news of his death was spread rapidly through Spain, -notwithstanding the interrupted state of communications, -and was everywhere received with regret as a national calamity. -Those who had opposed his views did justice to the -uprightness of his motives and character; and the Cortes, -now assembled, passed a decree, by which in favour of his -patriotism and public services, he was declared Benemerito -de la Patria. This beautiful and classical acknowledgement -of his worth was then also remarkable as a novelty, though -it has been since rendered less honourable, by being awarded -to others little deserving of peculiar distinction.</p> - -<p>The life of Jovellanos, as intimately connected with the -history of his country, is well deserving of extended study. -But our province is rather to consider him as a poet. Eminent -as a statesman for unimpeachable integrity and for wise -administration of justice, he carried prudent reforms into -every department under his control, in which, though subjected -to many attacks, he proved himself, by a memoir -published shortly before his death, in justification of his -public conduct, to have been fully warranted. This memoir, -for heartfelt eloquence, deserves to be ranked with Burke’s -Letter to the Duke of Bedford. Jovellanos has been compared -by his countrymen to Cicero. A writer in the Foreign -Quarterly Review has instituted an ingenious parallel between -him and Montesquieu. With either, or with Burke, he <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>may -be observed to have possessed the philosophy and feeling, -which give eloquence its chief value and effect.</p> - -<p>As a prose writer, Jovellanos, for elegance of style and -depth of thought, may be pronounced without a rival in -Spanish literature. As a dramatist, he only gave the public -a tragedy and comedy, both of which continue in much -favour with the public. The latter, “The Honourable Delinquent” -is particularly esteemed; but it is a melodrame -rather than a comedy, according to our conceptions. It turns -on the principal character having been forced into fighting a -duel, and who, having killed his opponent, is sentenced to -die; but after the usual suspenses receives a pardon from the -king. There are several interesting scenes and much good -writing in the piece; but no particular delineation of character, -to bring it any more than the other into the higher -class of dramatic art. It has, however, been observed, that -it only needs to have been written in verse to make it a perfect -performance, and this alone shows the hold it must have -on the Spanish reader.</p> - -<p>As a poet, Jovellanos is chiefly to be commemorated for -his Satires. Two of these, in which he lashes the vices and -follies of society at Madrid,—“girt with the silent crimes of -capitals,”—are pronounced by the critic in the Madrid Review -to be “highly finished” compositions. They were, in fact, -the only poems he himself published, and those anonymously. -With the strength of Juvenal, they have also his faults, and -abound too much in local allusions to be suited for translation. -In somewhat the same style were several epistles he -addressed to different friends, of which the one written to -his friend and biographer Bermudez has been chosen for -this work, as most characteristic of the author. Like his -other Satires, it is written in blank verse; which style, though<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -not entirely unknown in Spain, he had the <a href="#note4" title="See note">merit of first -bringing into favour</a>. He probably gained his predilection -for it from his study of Milton, for whose works he had -great admiration, and of whose Paradise Lost he translated -the first book into Spanish verse.</p> - -<p>The Epistle to Bermudez is remarkable as written with -much earnestness, in censure not only of the common vices -and follies of mankind, but in also going beyond ordinary -satirists into the sphere of the moralist, to censure the faults -of the learned. What our great modern preacher Dr. Chalmers -has termed the “practical atheism” of the learned, was -indeed the subject of rebuke from many English writers, as -Young and Cowper, but may be looked for in vain in the -works of others. Jovellanos had no doubt read the former, -at least in the translation of his friend Escoiquiz, and meditated -on the sentiment,—“An undevout astronomer is mad,” -even if not in the original. It can scarcely be supposed that -he was so well acquainted with English literature as to have -read Cowper; but there are several passages in his Epistles -of similar sentiments. The praise of wisdom especially, in -the one to Bermudez,—by which we may understand, was -meant the wisdom urged by the kingly preacher of Jerusalem, -or the rule of conduct founded on right principles, in -opposition to mere learning,—is also that of our Christian -poet:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one,</div> -<div class="verse">Have ofttimes no connexion. Knowledge dwells</div> -<div class="verse">In heads replete with thoughts of other men;</div> -<div class="verse">Wisdom in minds attentive to their own.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In his hours of leisure, Jovellanos employed himself in -composing occasional verses at times, for the amusement of -the society in which he lived, without thinking of their being -ever sought for publication. These, however, have been lately -gathered together with much industry and exactness in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -last edition of his collected works, published by Mellado at -Madrid in five volumes, 1845. As the last and fullest, it is -also the best collection of them, four other editions of them -previously published having been comparatively very deficient -with regard to them. Besides those, there were various reprints -of several others of his works, which were all received -with much favour, both in Spain and abroad.</p> - -<p>Jovellanos was never married, and in private life seems to -have considered himself under the obligations of the profession -for which he was originally intended. His character -altogether is one to which it would be difficult to find a -parallel, and is an honour to Spain as well as to Spanish -literature. His virtues are now unreservedly admitted by all -parties of his countrymen, who scarcely ever name him except -with the epithet of the illustrious Jovellanos, to which designation -he is indeed justly entitled, no less for his writings, -than for his many public and private virtues and services to -his country. These may be forgotten in the claims of other -generations and succeeding statesmen; but his writings must -ever remain to carry his memory wherever genius and worth -can be duly appreciated.</p> - -<p>The charge of writing a memoir of Jovellanos was entrusted -by the Historical Society of Madrid to Cean Bermudez, -who fulfilled it with affectionate zeal, Madrid, 1814; several -other notices of his life have appeared in Spain, including -that by Quintana, which has been copied by Wolf. The -English reader will find an excellent one in the Foreign -Quarterly Review, No. 10, February, 1830; and the Spanish -scholar a further very eloquent encomium on his talents and -merits in Quintana’s second Introduction to his collection of -Spanish Poetry.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p> - -<h3>JOVELLANOS.</h3> - -<h4><a href="#note5" title="See note">EPISTLE TO CEAN BERMUDEZ</a>, -ON THE VAIN DESIRES AND STUDIES OF MEN.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Arise, Bermudo, bid thy soul beware:</div> -<div class="verse">Thee raging Fortune watches to ensnare;</div> -<div class="verse">And, lulling others’ hopes in dreams supine,</div> -<div class="verse">A fell assault she meditates on thine.</div> -<div class="verse">The cruel blow which suffer’d from her rage</div> -<div class="verse">Thy poor estate will not her wrath assuage,</div> -<div class="verse">Till from thy breast her fury may depose</div> -<div class="verse">The blissful calm to innocence it owes.</div> -<div class="verse">Such is her nature, that she loathes the sight</div> -<div class="verse">Of happiness for man in her despite.</div> -<div class="verse">Thus to thine eyes insidious she presents</div> -<div class="verse">The phantasies of good, with which she paints</div> -<div class="verse">The road to favour, and would fain employ</div> -<div class="verse">Her arts thy holds of virtue to destroy.</div> -<div class="verse">Ah! heed her not. See her to rob thee stand</div> -<div class="verse">Ev’n of the happiness now in thy hand.</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis not of her; she cannot it bestow:</div> -<div class="verse">She makes men fortunate;—but happy? No.</div> -<div class="verse">Thou think’st it strange! Dost thou the names confound</div> -<div class="verse">Of Fortune with felicity as bound?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Like the poor idiots, who so foolish gaze</div> -<div class="verse">On the vain gifts and joys which she displays,</div> -<div class="verse">So cunning to exchange for real good.</div> -<div class="verse">O cheat of human wisdom! say withstood,</div> -<div class="verse">What does she promise, but what beings born</div> -<div class="verse">To our high destiny should hold in scorn?</div> -<div class="verse">In reason’s balance her best offers weigh,</div> -<div class="verse">And see what worthless lightness they betray.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">There are who, burning in the track of fame,</div> -<div class="verse">Wear themselves ruthless for a sounding name.</div> -<div class="verse">Buy it with blood, and fire, and ruin wide;</div> -<div class="verse">And if with horrid arm is death descried,</div> -<div class="verse">Waving his pennon as from some high tower,</div> -<div class="verse">Their hearts swell proud, and trampling fierce they scour</div> -<div class="verse">The field o’er brothers’ bodies as of foes!</div> -<div class="verse">Then sing a triumph, while in secret flows</div> -<div class="verse">The tear they shed as from an anguish’d heart.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Less lofty, but more cunning on his part,</div> -<div class="verse">Another sighs for ill-secure command:</div> -<div class="verse">With flatteries solicitously plann’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Follows the air of favour, and his pride</div> -<div class="verse">In adulation vile he serves to hide,</div> -<div class="verse">To exalt himself; and if he gain his end</div> -<div class="verse">His brow on all beneath will haughty bend;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And sleep, and joy, and inward peace, the price</div> -<div class="verse">To splendour of command, will sacrifice:</div> -<div class="verse">Yet fears the while, uncertain in his joy,</div> -<div class="verse">Lest should some turn of Fortune’s wheel destroy</div> -<div class="verse">His power in deep oblivion overthrown.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Another seeks, with equal ardour shown,</div> -<div class="verse">For lands, and gold in store. Ah! lands and gold,</div> -<div class="verse">With tears how water’d, gain’d with toils untold!</div> -<div class="verse">His thirst unquench’d, he hoards, invests, acquires;</div> -<div class="verse">But with his wealth increased are his desires;</div> -<div class="verse">And so much more he gains, for more will long:</div> -<div class="verse">Thus, key in hand, his coffers full among;</div> -<div class="verse">Yet poor he thinks himself, and learns to know</div> -<div class="verse">His state is poor, because he thinks it so.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Another like illusion his to roam</div> -<div class="verse">From wife and friends, who flying light and home,</div> -<div class="verse">To dedicate his vigils the long night</div> -<div class="verse">In secret haunts of play makes his delight,</div> -<div class="verse">With vile companions. Betwixt hope and fear</div> -<div class="verse">His anxious breast is fluctuating drear.</div> -<div class="verse">See, with a throbbing heart and trembling hand,</div> -<div class="verse">There he has placed his fortune, all to stand</div> -<div class="verse">Upon the turning of a die! ’Tis done:</div> -<div class="verse">The lot is cast; what is it? has he won?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Increased is his anxiety and care!</div> -<div class="verse">But if reverse, O Heaven! in deep despair,</div> -<div class="verse">O’erwhelm’d in ruin, he is doom’d to know</div> -<div class="verse">A life of infamy, or death of woe.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">And is he happier, who distracted lies</div> -<div class="verse">A slave beneath the light of beauty’s eyes?</div> -<div class="verse">Who fascinated watches, haunts, and prays,</div> -<div class="verse">And at the cost of troubles vast essays,</div> -<div class="verse">’Mid doubts and fears, a fleeting joy to gain?</div> -<div class="verse">Love leads him not: his breast could ne’er profane</div> -<div class="verse">Admit Love’s purer flame; ’tis passion’s fire</div> -<div class="verse">Alone that draws him, and in wild desire</div> -<div class="verse">He blindly headlong follows in pursuit:</div> -<div class="verse">And what for all his toils can he compute?</div> -<div class="verse">If gain’d at length, he only finds the prize</div> -<div class="verse">Bring death and misery ev’n in pleasure’s guise.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Then look on him, abandon’d all to sloth,</div> -<div class="verse">Who vacant sees the hours pass long and loth</div> -<div class="verse">O’er his so useless life. He thinks them slow,</div> -<div class="verse">Alas! and wishes they would faster go.</div> -<div class="verse">He knows not how to employ them; in and out</div> -<div class="verse">He comes, and goes, and smokes, and strolls about,</div> -<div class="verse">To gossip; turns, returns, with constant stress</div> -<div class="verse">Wearying himself to fly from weariness.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -<div class="verse">But now retired, sleep half his life employs,</div> -<div class="verse">And fain would all the day, whose light annoys.</div> -<div class="verse">Fool! wouldst thou know the sweetness of repose?</div> -<div class="verse">Seek it in work. The soul fastidious grows</div> -<div class="verse">Ever in sloth, self-gnawing and oppress’d,</div> -<div class="verse">And finds its torment even in its rest.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">But if to Bacchus and to Ceres given,</div> -<div class="verse">Before his table laid, from morn to even,</div> -<div class="verse">At ease he fills himself, as held in stall:</div> -<div class="verse">See him his stomach make his god, his all!</div> -<div class="verse">Nor earth nor sea suffice his appetite;</div> -<div class="verse">Ill-tongued and gluttonous the like unite:</div> -<div class="verse">With such he passes his vain days along,</div> -<div class="verse">In drunken routs obscene, with toast and song,</div> -<div class="verse">And jests and dissolute delights; his aim</div> -<div class="verse">To gorge unmeasured, riot without shame.</div> -<div class="verse">But soon with these begins to blunt and lose</div> -<div class="verse">Stomach and appetite: he finds refuse</div> -<div class="verse">Offended Nature, as insipid food,</div> -<div class="verse">The savours others delicacies view’d.</div> -<div class="verse">Vainly from either India he seeks</div> -<div class="verse">For stimulants; in vain from art bespeaks</div> -<div class="verse">Fresh sauces, which his palate will reject;</div> -<div class="verse">His longings heighten’d, but life’s vigour wreck’d;</div> -<div class="verse">And thus worn out in mid career the cost,</div> -<div class="verse">Before life ends he finds his senses lost.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">O bitter pleasures! O, what madness sore</div> -<div class="verse">Is theirs who covet them, and such implore</div> -<div class="verse">Humbly before a lying deity!</div> -<div class="verse">How the perfidious goddess to agree</div> -<div class="verse">But mocks them! Though perhaps at first she smile,</div> -<div class="verse">Exempt from pain and misery the long while</div> -<div class="verse">She never leaves them, and in place of joy</div> -<div class="verse">Gives what they ask, with weariness to cloy.</div> -<div class="verse">If trusted, soon is found experience taught</div> -<div class="verse">What ill-foreseen condition they have sought.</div> -<div class="verse">Niggard their wishes ever to fulfil,</div> -<div class="verse">Fickle in favour, vacillating still,</div> -<div class="verse">Inconstant, cruel, she afflicts today,</div> -<div class="verse">And casts down headlong to distress a prey,</div> -<div class="verse">Whom yesterday she flatter’d to upraise:</div> -<div class="verse">And now another from the mire she sways</div> -<div class="verse">Exalted to the clouds; but raised in vain,</div> -<div class="verse">With louder noise to cast him down again.</div> -<div class="verse">Seest thou not there a countless multitude,</div> -<div class="verse">Thronging her temple round, and oft renew’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Seeking admittance, and to offer fraught</div> -<div class="verse">With horrid incense, for their idol brought?</div> -<div class="verse">Fly from her; let not the contagion find</div> -<div class="verse">The base example enter in thy mind.</div> -<div class="verse">Fly, and in virtue thy asylum seek</div> -<div class="verse">To make thee happy: trust the words I speak.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -<div class="verse">There is no purer happiness to gain</div> -<div class="verse">Than the sweet calm the just from her attain.</div> -<div class="verse">If in prosperity their fortunes glide,</div> -<div class="verse">She makes them free from arrogance and pride;</div> -<div class="verse">In mid estate be tranquil and content;</div> -<div class="verse">In adverse be resign’d whate’er the event:</div> -<div class="verse">Implacable, if Envy’s hurricane</div> -<div class="verse">O’erwhelm them in misfortunes, even then</div> -<div class="verse">She hastes to save them, and its rage control;</div> -<div class="verse">With lofty fortitude the nobler soul</div> -<div class="verse">Enduing faithful; and if raised to sight,</div> -<div class="verse">At length they find the just reward requite,</div> -<div class="verse">Say is there aught to hope for prize so great</div> -<div class="verse">As the immortal crown for which they wait?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">But is this feeling then, I hear thee cry,</div> -<div class="verse">That elevates my soul to virtue high,</div> -<div class="verse">This anxious wish to investigate and know,</div> -<div class="verse">Is it blameworthy as those passions low?</div> -<div class="verse">Why not to that for happiness repair?</div> -<div class="verse">Wilt thou condemn it? No, who would so dare,</div> -<div class="verse">That right would learn his origin and end?</div> -<div class="verse">Knowledge and Virtue, sisters like, descend</div> -<div class="verse">From heaven to perfect man in nobleness;</div> -<div class="verse">And far removing him, Bermudo, yes!</div> -<div class="verse">From vice and error, they will make him free,</div> -<div class="verse">Approaching even to the Deity.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -<div class="verse">But seek them not, in that false path to go</div> -<div class="verse">Which cunning Fortune will to others show.</div> -<div class="verse">Where then? to Wisdom’s temple only haste;</div> -<div class="verse">There thou wilt find them. Her invoke; and traced,</div> -<div class="verse">See how she smiles! press forward; learn to use</div> -<div class="verse">The intercession of the kindly Muse</div> -<div class="verse">To make her be propitious. But beware,</div> -<div class="verse">That in her favour thou escape the snare,</div> -<div class="verse">The worship, which the vain adorer pays.</div> -<div class="verse">She never him propitiously surveys,</div> -<div class="verse">Who insolently seeking wealth or fame,</div> -<div class="verse">Burns impure incense on her altar’s flame.</div> -<div class="verse">Dost thou not see how many turn aside</div> -<div class="verse">From her of learning void, but full of pride?</div> -<div class="verse">Alas for him, who seeking truth, for aid</div> -<div class="verse">Embraces only a delusive shade!</div> -<div class="verse">In self conceit who venturing to confide,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor virtue gain’d, nor reason for his guide,</div> -<div class="verse">Leaves the right path, precipitate to stray</div> -<div class="verse">Where error’s glittering phantoms lead the way!</div> -<div class="verse">Can then the wise hope happiness to feel</div> -<div class="verse">In the chimæras sought with so much zeal?</div> -<div class="verse">Ah, no! they all are vanities and cheats!</div> -<div class="verse">See him, whom anxious still the morning greets,</div> -<div class="verse">Measuring the heavens, and of the stars that fly</div> -<div class="verse">The shining orbits! With a sleepless eye,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Hasty the night he reckons, and complains</div> -<div class="verse">Of the day’s light his labour that detains;</div> -<div class="verse">Again admires night’s wonders, but reflects</div> -<div class="verse">Ne’er on the hand that fashion’d and directs.</div> -<div class="verse">Beyond the moons of Uranus he bends</div> -<div class="verse">His gaze; beyond the Ship, the Bear, ascends:</div> -<div class="verse">But after all this, nothing more feels he:</div> -<div class="verse">He measures, calculates, but does not see</div> -<div class="verse">The heavens obeying their great Author’s will,</div> -<div class="verse">Whirling around all silent; robbing still</div> -<div class="verse">The hours from life, ungratefully so gone,</div> -<div class="verse">Till one to undeceive him soon draws on.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Another, careless of the stars, descries</div> -<div class="verse">The humble dust, to scan and analyse.</div> -<div class="verse">His microscope he grasps, and sets, and falls</div> -<div class="verse">On some poor atom; and a triumph calls,</div> -<div class="verse">If should the fool the magic instrument</div> -<div class="verse">Of life or motion slightest sign present,</div> -<div class="verse">Its form to notice, in the glass to pore,</div> -<div class="verse">What his deluded fancy saw before;</div> -<div class="verse">Yields to the cheat, and gives to matter base</div> -<div class="verse">The power, forgot the Lord of all to trace.</div> -<div class="verse">Thus raves the ingrate.</div> -<div class="indent14">Another the meanwhile</div> -<div class="verse">To scrutinize pretends, in learning’s style,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The innate essence of the soul sublime.</div> -<div class="verse">How he dissects it, regulates in time!</div> -<div class="verse">As if it were a subtile fluid, known</div> -<div class="verse">To him its action, functions, strength and tone;</div> -<div class="verse">But his own weakness shows in this alone.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">’Twas given to man to view the heavens on high,</div> -<div class="verse">But not in them the mysteries of the sky;</div> -<div class="verse">Yet boldly dares his reason penetrate</div> -<div class="verse">The darksome chaos, o’er it to dilate.</div> -<div class="verse">With staggering step, thus scorning heavenly light,</div> -<div class="verse">In error’s paths he wanders, lost in night.</div> -<div class="verse">Confused, but not made wise, he pores about,</div> -<div class="verse">Betwixt opinion wavering and doubt.</div> -<div class="verse">Seeking for light, and shadows doom’d to feel,</div> -<div class="verse">He ponders, studies, labours to unseal</div> -<div class="verse">The secret, and at length finds his advance;</div> -<div class="verse">The more he learns, how great his ignorance.</div> -<div class="verse">Of matter, form, or motion, or the soul,</div> -<div class="verse">Or moments that away incessant roll,</div> -<div class="verse">Or the unfathomable sea of space,</div> -<div class="verse">Without a sky, without a shore to trace,</div> -<div class="verse">Nothing he reaches, nothing comprehends,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor finds its origin, nor where it tends;</div> -<div class="verse">But only sinking, all absorb’d may see</div> -<div class="verse">In the abysses of eternity.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Perhaps, thence stepping more disorder’d yet,</div> -<div class="verse">He rushes his presumptuous flight to set</div> -<div class="verse">Ev’n to the throne of God! with his dim eyes</div> -<div class="verse">The Great Inscrutable to scrutinize;</div> -<div class="verse">Sounding the gulf immense, that circles round</div> -<div class="verse">The Deity, he ventures o’er its bound.</div> -<div class="verse">What can he gain in such a pathless course</div> -<div class="verse">But endless doubts, his ignorance the source?</div> -<div class="verse">He seeks, proposes, argues, thinking vain.</div> -<div class="verse">The ignorance that knew to raise, must fain</div> -<div class="verse">Be able to resolve them. Hast thou seen</div> -<div class="verse">Attempts that e’er have more audacious been?</div> -<div class="verse">What! shall an atom such as he excel</div> -<div class="verse">To comprehend the Incomprehensible?</div> -<div class="verse">Without more light than reason him assign’d,</div> -<div class="verse">The limits of immensity to find?</div> -<div class="verse">Infinity’s beginning, middle, end?</div> -<div class="verse">Dost Thou, Eternal Lord, then condescend</div> -<div class="verse">To admit man to Thy councils, or to be</div> -<div class="verse">With his poor reason in Thy sanctuary?</div> -<div class="verse">A task so great as this dost Thou confide</div> -<div class="verse">To his weak soul? ’Tis not so, be relied,</div> -<div class="verse">My friend. To know God in His works above,</div> -<div class="verse">To adore Him, melt in gratitude and love;</div> -<div class="verse">The blessings o’er thee lavish’d to confess,</div> -<div class="verse">To sing His glory, and His name to bless;—</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Such be thy study, duty and employ;</div> -<div class="verse">And of thy life and reason such the joy.</div> -<div class="verse">Such is the course that should the wise essay,</div> -<div class="verse">While only fools will from it turn away.</div> -<div class="verse">Wouldst thou attain it? easy the emprise;</div> -<div class="verse">Perfect thy being, and thou wilt be wise:</div> -<div class="verse">Inform thy reason, that its aid impart</div> -<div class="verse">Thee truth eternal: purify thy heart,</div> -<div class="verse">To love and follow it: thy study make</div> -<div class="verse">Thyself, but seek thy Maker’s light to take:</div> -<div class="verse">There is high Wisdom’s fountain found alone:</div> -<div class="verse">There thou thy origin wilt find thee shown;</div> -<div class="verse">There in His glorious work to find the place</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis thine to occupy: there thou mayst trace</div> -<div class="verse">Thy lofty destiny, the crown declared</div> -<div class="verse">Of endless life, for virtue that’s prepared.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Bermudo, there ascend: there seek to find</div> -<div class="verse">That truth and virtue in the heavenly mind,</div> -<div class="verse">Which from His love and wisdom ever flow.</div> -<div class="verse">If elsewhere thou dost seek to find them, know,</div> -<div class="verse">That darkness only thou wilt have succeed,</div> -<div class="verse">In ignorance and error to mislead.</div> -<div class="verse">Thou of this love and wisdom mayst the rays</div> -<div class="verse">Discern in all His works, His power and praise</div> -<div class="verse">That tell around us, in the wondrous scale</div> -<div class="verse">Of high perfection which they all detail;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The order which they follow in the laws,</div> -<div class="verse">That bind and keep them, and that show their cause,</div> -<div class="verse">The ends of love and pity in their frame:</div> -<div class="verse">These their Creator’s goodness all proclaim.</div> -<div class="verse">Be this thy learning, this thy glory’s view;</div> -<div class="verse">If virtuous, thou art wise and happy too.</div> -<div class="verse">Virtue and truth are one, and in them bound</div> -<div class="verse">Alone may ever happiness be found.</div> -<div class="verse">And they can only, with a conscience pure,</div> -<div class="verse">Give to thy soul to enjoy it, peace secure;</div> -<div class="verse">True liberty in moderate desires,</div> -<div class="verse">And joy in all to do thy work requires;</div> -<div class="verse">To do well in content, and calmly free:</div> -<div class="verse">All else is wind and misery, vanity.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4><a href="#note6" title="See note">TO GALATEA’S BIRD.</a></h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O silly little bird! who now</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On Galatea’s lap hast got,</div> -<div class="verse">My unrequited love allow</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To envy thee thy lot.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Of the same lovely mistress both</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Alike the captives bound are we;</div> -<div class="verse">But thou for thy misfortune loth,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Whilst I am willingly.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thou restless in thy prison art,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Complaining ever of thy pains;</div> -<div class="verse">While I would kisses, on my part,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ev’n lavish on my chains.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But, ah! how different treating us,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Has scornful Fate the lot assign’d!</div> -<div class="verse">With me she’s always tyrannous,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But with thee just as kind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A thousand nights of torment borne,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A thousand days of martyrdom,</div> -<div class="verse">By thousand toils and pains, her scorn</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I cannot overcome.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Inestimable happiness,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A mere caprice for thee has got;</div> -<div class="verse">So bathed in tears, in my distress,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I envy thee thy lot.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And there the while, with daring heel,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou tread’st in arrant confidence,</div> -<div class="verse">Without a heart or hope to feel,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or instinct’s common sense.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In the embraces, which my thought,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Not even in its boldest vein,</div> -<div class="verse">Could scarce to hope for have been brought,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Presumptuous to attain.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4><a href="#note7" title="See note">TO ENARDA.—I.</a></h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Lovely Enarda! young and old</div> -<div class="verse indent1">All quarrel with me daily:</div> -<div class="verse">Because I write to thee they scold,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Perhaps sweet verses gaily.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“A judge should be more grave,” they say,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As each my song accuses;</div> -<div class="verse">“From such pursuits should turn away</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As trifling with the Muses.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“How wofully you waste your time!”</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Preach others; but, all slighting,</div> -<div class="verse">The more they scold, the more I rhyme;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Still I must keep on writing.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Enarda’s heart and mind to praise,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">All others far excelling,</div> -<div class="verse">My rustic pipe its note shall raise,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In well-toned measures telling.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I wish, extolling to the skies,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Her beauty’s high perfection</div> -<div class="verse">To sing, and all her witcheries</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of feature and complexion:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With master pencil to portray</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her snowy neck and forehead,</div> -<div class="verse">And eyes that round so roguish play,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And lips like carmine florid.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And let the Catos go at will,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To where they most prefer it,</div> -<div class="verse">Who withering frowns and sneerings still</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Give me for my demerit.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In spite of all, with wrinkled pate,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The censures each rehearses,</div> -<div class="verse">Enarda I will celebrate</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For ever in my verses.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4><a href="#note8" title="See note">TO ENARDA.—II.</a></h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Cruel Enarda! all in vain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In vain, thou view’st with joyful eyes</div> -<div class="verse">The tears that show my grief and pain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thyself exulting in my sighs.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The burning tears that bathe my cheek,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">With watching shrunk, with sorrow pale,</div> -<div class="verse">Thy lightness and caprice bespeak,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy guilt and perfidy bewail.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Those signs of sorrow, on my face,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Are not the obsequies portray’d</div> -<div class="verse">Of a lost good, nor yet the trace</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of tribute to thy beauties paid.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">They are the evidence alone</div> -<div class="verse indent1">There fix’d thy falsehood to proclaim;</div> -<div class="verse">Of thy deceits the horror shown,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of my delirium the shame.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I weep not now thy rigours o’er,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor feel regret, that lost to me</div> -<div class="verse">Are the returns, which false before</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou gavest, or favours faithlessly.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I weep o’er my delusions blind;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I mourn the sacrifices made,</div> -<div class="verse">And incense to a god unkind</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On an unworthy altar laid.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I weep the memory o’er debased</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of my captivity to mourn,</div> -<div class="verse">And all the weight and shame disgraced</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of such vile fetters to have borne.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Ever to my lorn mind return’d</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Are thoughts of homage offer’d ill,</div> -<div class="verse">Disdains ill borne, affection spurn’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And sighs contemn’d, recurring still.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then, ah, Enarda! all in vain</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou think’st to please thee with my grief:</div> -<div class="verse">Love, who now looks on me again</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With eyes of pity and relief,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A thousand times has me accost,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As thus my tears to censure now,</div> -<div class="verse">“To lose them thou hast nothing lost;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Poor creature! why then weepest thou?”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="II">II.<br /> -<span class="smaller">TOMAS DE IRIARTE.</span></h3> - -<p>Of all the modern Spanish poets, Iriarte seems to have obtained -for his writings the widest European reputation. He -was born the 18th September 1750, at Teneriffe in the Canary -Islands, where his family had been some time settled, though -the name shows it to have been of Basque origin. His uncle, -Juan de Iriarte, also a native of the same place, was one of the -most learned men of his age, and to him the subject of this -memoir was indebted for much of the knowledge he acquired, -and means of attaining the eminence in literature he succeeded -him in possessing. Juan de Iriarte had been partly -educated in France, and had afterwards resided some time in -England, so as to acquire a full knowledge of the language -and literature of those countries. He was also a proficient -in classical learning, and wrote Latin with great precision, as -his writings, published by his nephew after his death, evince; -Madrid, two volumes, 4to. 1774. Having been appointed -keeper of the Royal Library at Madrid, he enriched it with -many valuable works, in upwards of 2000 MSS. and 10,000 -volumes. He was an active member of the Royal Spanish -Academy, and one of the principal assistants in compiling the -valuable dictionary and grammar published by that learned -Society, as well as other works.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p> - -<p>At the instance of this uncle, Tomas Iriarte went to Madrid -in the beginning of 1764, when not yet fourteen years of -age, and under that relative’s able guidance completed his -studies, learning at the same time the English and other -modern languages. He was already far advanced in a knowledge -of classical literature, and it is stated that some Latin -verses he wrote, on leaving his native place, showed such -proficiency as to surprise his friends, and make them entertain -great expectations of his future success. Some of his -Latin compositions, published afterwards among his works, -prove him to have been a scholar of very considerable acquirements. -Classical literature does not seem in modern -times to be much studied in Spain, and Iriarte is the only -distinguished writer among the modern Spanish poets who -can be pointed out as conspicuous for such attainments. -Thus they have failed in apprehending one of the chief beauties -of modern poetry, so remarkable in Milton and Byron, -and our other great poets, who enrich their works with references -that remind us of what had most delighted us in -those of antiquity.</p> - -<p>In 1771 his uncle died, and Tomas Iriarte, who had already -been acting for him in one of his offices as Interpreter to the -Government, was appointed to succeed him in it. He was -afterwards, in 1776, appointed Keeper of the Archives of the -Council of War; and these offices, with the charge of a paper -under the influence of the government, seem to have been -the only public employments he held. From one of his -epistles, however, he appears to have succeeded to his uncle’s -property, and thus to have had the means as also the leisure -to give much of his time to the indulgence of literary tastes. -He was very fond of paintings and of music, to which he -showed his predilection, not only by his ability to play on -several instruments, but also by writing a long didacti<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>c poem -on the art, entitled ‘Musica.’ This he seems to have considered -as giving him his principal claim to be ranked as a -poet, though the world preferred his other writings.</p> - -<p>When yet under twenty years of age, Iriarte had already -appeared as a writer of plays, some of which met with considerable -approbation. Of these it will be sufficient for us -here to observe, that Moratin, the first great dramatic poet -of Spain in modern times, pronounced one of them, ‘The -Young Gentleman Pacified,’ to have been “the first original -comedy the Spanish theatre had seen written according to -the most essential rules dictated by philosophy and good -criticism.”</p> - -<p>Besides several original plays, Iriarte translated others -from the French, from which language he also translated the -‘New Robinson’ of Campe, which passed through several editions. -From Virgil he translated into Spanish verse the first -four books of the Æneid, and from Horace the Epistle to the -Pisos. These, though censured by some of his contemporaries -so as to excite his anger, were altogether too superior -to those attacks to have required the vindication of them he -thought proper to publish. Horace seems to have been his -favourite author; but he had not learned from him his philosophical -equanimity, wherewith to pass over in silent endurance -the minor miseries of life. Thus he allowed himself, -throughout his short career, to be too much affected by those -ungenerous attacks, which mediocrity is so apt to make on -superior merit. The names of those censurers are now principally -remembered by his notices of their writings; an honour, -which men of genius, in their hours of irritation, too -often confer on unworthy opponents. Thus a large portion -of his collected works consists of these controversial notices, -which, as usual in such cases, only impair the favourable -effect produced by the remainder on the mind of the reader.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -Those works were first published in a collected form in six -volumes, in 1786; afterwards in eight volumes, in 1805.</p> - -<p>From Iriarte’s poetical epistles, which are eleven in number, -he appears to have been a person of a very kindly disposition, -as Quintana describes him, living in friendly intercourse -with the principal literary characters of Spain, especially -with the amiable and ill-fated Cadahalso, to whom, in -one of those epistles, he dedicated his translations from Horace. -The others also are mainly on personal topics, and -display his character advantageously, though, as poetical -compositions, they have not been received so favourably as -some of his other works.</p> - -<p>The fame of Iriarte may be said to rest on his literary -fables, which have attained a popularity, both at home and -abroad, equalled by few other works. They are eighty-two -in number, and all original, having, as their title indicates, a -special reference to literary questions, though they are also -all sufficiently pointed to bear on those of ordinary life. Like -Sir Joshua Reynolds’s Discourses on Painting, they convey -general instructions to all, while professing an application to -one particular pursuit. They are written with much vivacity -and ease, yet with an appropriate terseness that adds to their -effect. Martinez de la Rosa, equally eminent as a statesman, -a poet and a critic, observes of them, that if he had not left -compositions of any other class, they would have extended his -reputation as a poet; and adds, “that they abound in beauties, -though frequently wanting in poetical warmth, so as to recommend -this valuable collection, unique in its class, as one -of which Spanish literature has to be proud.”</p> - -<p>Of these fables, first published in 1782, so many editions -have appeared, that it would be a very difficult task to enumerate -them. There is scarcely a provincial town in Spain, -of any consequence, in which they have not been reprinted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -Several editions have appeared in France, two in New York, -and three in Boston, where they have been used in teaching -Spanish. Several of the fables have been imitated by Florian, -and translations have been made into other languages. Of -these translations, one in French verse was published by M. -Lanos, Paris, 1801, and another, in prose, by M. L’Homandie, -ibid. 1804: into German they were translated by Bertuch, -Leipzic, so early as 1788, and into Portuguese, by Velladoli, -in 1801.</p> - -<p>I am not aware of more than one edition of them in England, -that published by Dulau, 1809; but there have been -no fewer than three translations of them into English verse; -first by Mr. Belfour, London, 1804, another by Mr. Andrews, -ibid. 1835, and a third by Mr. Rockliff, ibid. 1851.</p> - -<p>The same popularity attended another work which Iriarte -prepared for the instruction of youth, named ‘Historical -Lessons,’ published posthumously, about twenty editions of -which have since appeared, principally from its having been -adopted as a text-book for schools. Of this also an edition -has been published in London by Boosey, and a translation -into English. Iriarte’s industry appears to have been of the -most practical character, and his endeavours were as wisely -as they were unremittingly directed to make his countrymen -wiser and better in their future generations. If a man’s -worth may be estimated by such labours, few persons have -ever lived who were so entitled to the gratitude of posterity, -as few have ever effected so much as he did in the short career -that was afforded him.</p> - -<p>In private life, in the leisure allowed from his studies and -duties, he indulged much, as has been already stated, in the -recreation of music; and in praise and explanation of that -favourite art he wrote his largest work, ‘Music,’ a didactic -poem, in five cantos. Of this work, which was first publis<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>hed -in 1780, the fifth separate edition appeared in 1805, since -which I have not heard of any other. It has, however, had the -good fortune to be translated into several foreign languages; -into German by Bertuch, in 1789; into Italian by the Abbé -Garzia, Venice, 1789; into French by Grainville, Paris, 1800; -and into English by Mr. Belfour, London, 1807. The last-mentioned -translation is made with much exactness and elegance -into heroic verse; though, as the original had the fault -usual to all didactic poems of not rising to any high poetical -power, the translation must share the fault to at least an -equal extent.</p> - -<p>In the Italian version, a letter is quoted from the celebrated -Metastasio, in which he speaks of the style of Iriarte’s -poem as “so harmonious, perspicuous and easy, as to unite -the precision of a treatise with the beauties common to -poetry.” It is said also that Metastasio further pronounced -the poem to be “not only excellent, but to be considered uncommon, -in having successfully treated a subject so difficult, -and apparently so little adapted to poetry.” It is to be observed -that Iriarte had warmly eulogized Metastasio in the -book, so as to merit the commendation. The first canto is confined -to treating the subject artistically, and will therefore -prove less to the taste of the general reader than the other -cantos, which are of a more interesting character, and may be -read with pleasure by persons who do not understand music -as a science. The third canto especially is written with much -spirit in its praise, as connected with devotion. The second -canto treats of the passions as they may be expressed by -music, including martial music. The fourth minutely discusses -theatrical music, with its excellences and defects. -The fifth explains it, as calculated for the amusement of -societies, or individuals in solitude. The poem concludes -with pointing out what ought to be the study of a good co<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>mposer, -and by a proposal for the establishment of an academy -of music, or scientific body of musicians, anticipating the -benefit to science that would result from such an institution.</p> - -<p>This poem, the ‘Musica,’ and the Epistles, are written in a -very favourite style of versification in Spain, denominated the -Silva, which consists of lines of eleven syllables, varied occasionally -with others of seven, rhyming at the pleasure of the -writer. The ‘Literary Fables’ are written in various metres; -Martinez de la Rosa observes in upwards of forty different -kinds, appropriate to the characteristics of the subjects, which -may be more perceptible to a native ear than to a foreigner’s. -It is certainly true that this gives a variety to the work which -is well suited to the purposes the author had in view. He -was wise enough to know that truths hidden in the garb of -fiction will often be felt effectually, where grave precepts -would not avail,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Καὶ τοῦ τι καὶ Βρότων φρενὰς</div> -<div class="verse">Ὑπὲρ τὸν ἀληθῆ λόγον,</div> -<div class="verse">Δεδαιδαλμένοι ψεύδεσι ποικίλοις</div> -<div class="verse">Ἐξαπάτωντι μύθοι,</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">and thus conveyed his lessons in examples, with a moral, which -could be quickly understood and easily remembered.</p> - -<p>With regard to the objection made to these fables, that -they are often deficient in poetical warmth or colouring, it -may be observed that the subjects would scarcely admit of -any. Iriarte was certainly a writer of more poetic taste than -talent, and it must be acknowledged that his genius, judging -by the works he left, was not one to soar to the higher flights -of poetry. He felt this himself, as he intimates in his Epistle -to his brother; and, choosing a subject like Music for a didactic -poem, or writing familiar epistles on occasional subjects, -did not give himself much scope for fancy, much less for -passion. But as applied to the fables, the objection was u<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>nnecessary. -If they deserved praise for their vivacity of style, -that very circumstance, independent of the subjects, rendered -them passionless, ἀπαθέστατα, as Longinus remarks, where -stronger feelings could scarcely be brought into connexion -with such discussions. The great difficulty in such cases -is, when metres are chosen to suit the subject, abounding in -pyrrhics, trochees, and such measures, as the same great -critic adds, to guard, lest the sense be lost in too much regard -to the sound, raising only attention to the rhythm, instead -of exciting any feeling in the minds of the hearers.</p> - -<p>Of the five fables chosen for translation, the two first were -taken from Bouterwek, and the third on account of its having -been particularly noticed by Martinez de la Rosa. The -Epistle to his Brother was selected partly on account of its -notices of other countries, as a foreigner’s judgement of -them; and partly as being most characteristic of the writer, -showing his tastes and dispositions more perhaps than the -rest. The reader generally feels most interested in such -parts of the works of favourite writers, especially when their -private history gives the imagination a right to ask sympathy -for their sufferings.</p> - -<p>Nothing is to be found in Iriarte’s works to show any -peculiar opinions on religion, though the tendency of his -mind is everywhere clearly seen, as leading to freedom of -thought, instead of subjection to dogmas. In his poem on -Music, as already intimated, some devotional rather than free-thinking -principles are developed; yet it is said that it was -from a suspicion of his being affected by the French philosophy -of the day he fell under the censure of the Inquisition, -and was seized in 1786, and imprisoned three years in the -dungeons of that institution. What was the particular offence -imputed to him has not been stated. It could be no question -of a political character, for he was in the employment of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -government, and was amenable to it for any misdeeds. It -probably was from some private cause, under the cloak of a -question of faith, that he had to undergo this imprisonment, -during which it is said he had to submit to severe penances -before he could obtain his liberty. After he had obtained it, -he returned to his studies and wrote further, a monologue, -entitled ‘Guzman,’ and some Latin maccaronic verses on the -bad taste of some writers then in vogue. But his spirits -were no doubt broken down, as his health and strength -were undermined; and thus it was that he died two years -after, though his death was imputed to his sedentary habits -and gout, the 17th of September, 1791, when he had just -completed his forty-first year.</p> - -<p>This untimely death was a serious loss to Spanish literature. -With his great and varied acquirements and unremitting -industry, the world might have expected still more -valuable works from him, when, at the age of thirty-six, in -the best period of a man’s existence for useful labours, he -was cast into that dungeon, from which he seems to have -been permitted to come out only to die. The last Auto da fe -in Spain was celebrated in 1781; but the Inquisition had -other victims whose sufferings were no less to be deplored, -though not made known. If Iriarte was one, he had unquestionably -the consciousness of being enabled to feel, though -not dying “an aged man,” yet that in his comparatively -short life, he had not lived in vain for his own good name, -and the benefit of posterity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> - -<h3>TOMAS DE IRIARTE.</h3> - -<h4><a href="#note9" title="See note">EPISTLE TO DON DOMINGO DE IRIARTE</a>, -ON HIS TRAVELLING TO VARIOUS FOREIGN COURTS.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He who begins an instrument to play,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With some preludings, will examine well</div> -<div class="verse indent1">How run the fingers, how the notes will swell,</div> -<div class="verse">And bow prepares, or breath for his essay;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or if to write the careful penman’s aim,</div> -<div class="verse">He cuts and proves his pen, if broad or fine;</div> -<div class="verse">And the bold youths, to combat who incline,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Strike at the air, as trial of the game:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The dancer points his steps with practised pace;</div> -<div class="verse">The orator harangues with studied grace;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The gamester packs his cards the livelong day;</div> -<div class="verse">I thus a Sonnet, though worth nothing, trace,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Solely to exercise myself this way,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">If prove the Muse propitious to my lay.</div> -<div class="verse">It seems to me, dear brother, that Apollo</div> -<div class="verse">A course divine now does not always follow,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Nor please to dictate verses of a tone,</div> -<div class="verse">Worthy a sponsor such as he to own;</div> -<div class="verse">But rather would be human, and prefer</div> -<div class="verse">To prose in rhymes of warmthless character;</div> -<div class="verse">Without the enthusiasm sublime of old,</div> -<div class="verse">And down the wings of Pegasus would fold,</div> -<div class="verse">Not to be borne in flight, but gently stroll’d.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">You who forgetful of this court now seek</div> -<div class="verse">Those of the east and north to contemplate,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Forgive me, if in envy I may speak,</div> -<div class="verse">That to indulge it has allow’d you fate</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The tasteful curiosity! to view</div> -<div class="verse">With joy the land, so famed and fortunate,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Which erst a Tully and a Maro knew,</div> -<div class="verse">To which Æmilius, Marius service paid,</div> -<div class="verse">Which Regulus and the Scipios obey’d.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Long would it be and idle to recall</div> -<div class="verse">The triumphs, with their blazonries unfurl’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Matchless of her, that once of Europe all</div> -<div class="verse">Was greater part, metropolis of the world.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I only ask of you, as you may read,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">How in Avernus, destined to succeed,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Anchises show’d Æneas, in long line,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The illustrious shades of those, who were to shine</div> -<div class="verse">One day the glory of the Italian shore,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Now you, more favour’d than the Trojan chief,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Not in vain prophecy, but tried belief,</div> -<div class="verse">From what you see, by aid of history’s lore,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To admire the lofty state which Rome possess’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The which her ruins and remains attest.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">From our Hispanian clime I cannot scan</div> -<div class="verse">With you the column of the Antonine,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The fane or obelisk of the Vatican,</div> -<div class="verse">Or the Capitol, and Mount Palatine;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I cannot see the churches, or the walls,</div> -<div class="verse">The bridges, arches, mausoleums, gates,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The aqueducts, palaces, and waterfalls,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The baths, the plazas, porticos, and halls,</div> -<div class="verse">The Coliseum’s, or the Circus’ fates;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But still the immortal writings ’tis for me,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of Livy, Tacitus, Cicero, to see;</div> -<div class="verse">I see Lucretius, Pliny, Juvenal,</div> -<div class="verse">Augustus, Maro and Mæcenas all;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With their names is the soul exalted high,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Heroic worth and honour to descry;</div> -<div class="verse">And so much more that model imitates</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A nation now, so much more to be gain’d,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Is seen it but to approach the lofty heights</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of splendour, wealth, fame, power, that Rome attain’d.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">From the benignant lands that richly gleam</div> -<div class="verse">Beneath the Tiber’s fertilizing stream,</div> -<div class="verse">You next will pass, where borne as he arose,</div> -<div class="verse">Through colder realms the mighty Danube flows.</div> -<div class="verse">Girded in pleasant borders ’tis for you</div> -<div class="verse">The Austrian Vienna there to view;</div> -<div class="verse">To admire the monarch, warlike, good and wise,</div> -<div class="verse">With the magnanimous Prussian king who vies</div> -<div class="verse">An army brave and numerous to sway;</div> -<div class="verse">Chosen and hardy, forward to obey,</div> -<div class="verse">Whom as companions honour’d he rewards,</div> -<div class="verse">And not as slaves abased a lord regards.</div> -<div class="verse">There agriculture flourish you will see;</div> -<div class="verse">Public instruction is promoted free;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The arts extended rapidly and wide;</div> -<div class="verse">And these among, in culture and esteem,</div> -<div class="verse">That with which Orpheus tamed the furious pride</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of forest beasts, and cross’d the Lethe’s stream:</div> -<div class="verse">There all the tales of wonderful effect,</div> -<div class="verse">Of music’s art divine, with which are deck’d</div> -<div class="verse">The ancient Greek and Latin histories,</div> -<div class="verse">No longer will seem fables in your eyes,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When near you may applaud the loftiness,</div> -<div class="verse">The harmony, and the consonance sublime,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">All that in varied symphonies to express</div> -<div class="verse">Has power the greatest master of our time;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Haydn the great, and merited his fame,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Whom to embrace I beg you in my name.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><a href="#note10" title="See note">But now the confines of the German land</a></div> -<div class="verse">I see you leaving, for the distant strand</div> -<div class="verse">Of Britain’s isle your rapid course to take,</div> -<div class="verse">And tour political around to make.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">There in the populous court, whose walls’ long side</div> -<div class="verse">Bathes the deep Thames in current vast and wide,</div> -<div class="verse">A nation’s image will before your eyes</div> -<div class="verse">In all things most extraordinary rise.</div> -<div class="verse">Not rich of old, but happy now we see</div> -<div class="verse">By totally unshackled industry.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A nation liberal, but ambitious too;</div> -<div class="verse">Phlegmatic, and yet active in its course;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ingenuous, but its interests to pursue</div> -<div class="verse">Intent; humane, but haughty; and perforce</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Whate’er it be, the cause it undertakes,</div> -<div class="verse">Just or unjust, defends without remorse,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And of all fear and danger scorn it makes.</div> -<div class="verse">There with inevitably great surprise,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">What in no other country we may see,</div> -<div class="verse">You will behold to exert their energies</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Men act and speak with perfect liberty.</div> -<div class="verse">The rapid fortune too you will admire</div> -<div class="verse">Which eloquence and valour there acquire;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Nor power to rob has wealth or noble birth</div> -<div class="verse">The premiums due to learning and to worth.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">You will observe the hive-like multitude</div> -<div class="verse">Of diligent and able islanders,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Masters of commerce they have well pursued,</div> -<div class="verse">Which ne’er to want or slothfulness defers;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">All in inventions useful occupied,</div> -<div class="verse">In manufactures, roads, schools, arsenals,</div> -<div class="verse">Experiments in books and hospitals,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And studies of the liberal arts to guide.</div> -<div class="verse">There you will know in fine what may attain</div> -<div class="verse indent1">An education wise; the skilful mode</div> -<div class="verse">Of patriotic teaching, so to train</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Private ambition, that it seek the road</div> -<div class="verse">Of public benefit alone to gain:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The recompense and acceptation just,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On which founds learning all its hope and trust;</div> -<div class="verse">And a wise government, whose constant aim</div> -<div class="verse">Is general good, and an eternal fame.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Midst others my reflections I would fain,</div> -<div class="verse">In some description worthy of the theme,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">(If it were not beyond my powers) explain,</div> -<div class="verse">The varied scenes, enchantment all that seem,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Which the Parisian court on your return</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Prepares, and offers you surprised to learn.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Polish’d emporium of Europe’s courts,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The which with noble spectacles invites,</div> -<div class="verse">With public recreations and resorts,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That give to life its solace and delights;</div> -<div class="verse">Brilliant assemblages! and these among,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The chief and most acceptable to gain,</div> -<div class="verse">Of all to this new Athens that belong,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To enjoy the fellowship of learned men;</div> -<div class="verse">With useful science, or with taste alone,</div> -<div class="verse">Who enlighten foreign nations, and their own.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But I, who from this narrow corner write,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In solitude, while shaking off the dust</div> -<div class="verse">From military archives, ill recite</div> -<div class="verse indent1">What I, O travelling Secretary! trust</div> -<div class="verse">Yourself will better practically see,</div> -<div class="verse">Whilst I can only know in theory.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Continue then your journey on in health;</div> -<div class="verse">From tongue to tongue, from land to land proceed:</div> -<div class="verse">To be a statesman eminent your meed.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Acquire each day with joy your stores of wealth,</div> -<div class="verse">Of merit and instruction; I the while,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As fits my mediocrity obscure,</div> -<div class="verse">Will sing the praise of quiet from turmoil;</div> -<div class="verse indent1"><a href="#note11" title="See note">Saying, as Seneca has said of yore;—</a></div> -<div class="verse">“Let him, who power or honours would attain,</div> -<div class="verse">On the high court’s steep precipice remain.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -<div class="verse">I wish for peace, that solitude bestows,</div> -<div class="verse">Secluse to enjoy the blessings of repose.</div> -<div class="verse">To pass my life in silence be my fate,</div> -<div class="verse">Unnoticed by the noble, or the great:</div> -<div class="verse">That when my age, without vain noise or show,</div> -<div class="verse">Has reach’d the bounds allotted us below,</div> -<div class="verse">Though a plebeian only to pass by,</div> -<div class="verse">Perhaps I yet an aged man may die.</div> -<div class="verse">And this I do believe, no death of all</div> -<div class="verse">Than his more cruel can a man befall,</div> -<div class="verse">Who dying, by the world too truly known,</div> -<div class="verse">Is of himself most ignorant alone.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4><a href="#note12" title="See note">FABLES.</a></h4> - -<h5>THE BEAR, THE MONKEY AND THE HOG.</h5> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A Bear, with whom a Piedmontese</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A wandering living made,</div> -<div class="verse">A dance he had not learn’d with ease,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On his two feet essay’d:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And, as he highly of it thought,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">He to the Monkey cried,</div> -<div class="verse">“How’s that?” who, being better taught,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">“’Tis very bad,” replied.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“I do believe,” rejoin’d the Bear,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">“You little favour show:</div> -<div class="verse">For have I not a graceful air,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And step with ease to go?”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A Hog, that was beside them set,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Cried, “Bravo! good!” said he;</div> -<div class="verse">“A better dancer never yet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I saw, and ne’er shall see.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">On this the Bear, as if he turn’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His thoughts within his mind,</div> -<div class="verse">With modest gesture seeming learn’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A lesson thence to find.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“When blamed the Monkey, it was cause</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Enough for doubting sad;</div> -<div class="verse">But when I have the hog’s applause,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">It must be very bad!”</div> -</div> -<div class="hr"></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As treasured gift, let authors raise</div> -<div class="verse indent1">This moral from my verse:</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis bad, when wise ones do not praise;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But when fools <em>do</em>, ’tis worse.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p> - -<h5>THE ASS AND THE FLUTE.</h5> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">This little fable heard,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">It good or ill may be;</div> -<div class="verse">But it has just occurr’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thus accidentally.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Passing my abode,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Some fields adjoining me,</div> -<div class="verse">A big Ass on his road</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Came accidentally;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And laid upon the spot,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A Flute he chanced to see,</div> -<div class="verse">Some shepherd had forgot,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">There accidentally.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The animal in front,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To scan it nigh came he,</div> -<div class="verse">And snuffing loud as wont,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Blew accidentally.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The air it chanced around</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The pipe went passing free,</div> -<div class="verse">And thus the Flute a sound</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Gave accidentally.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“O! then,” exclaim’d the Ass,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">“I know to play it fine;</div> -<div class="verse">And who for bad shall class</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The music asinine?”</div> -</div> -<div class="hr"></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Without the rules of art,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ev’n asses, we agree,</div> -<div class="verse">May once succeed in part,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thus accidentally.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h5>THE TWO RABBITS.</h5> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Some shrubs amidst to shun</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The dogs he saw pursue,</div> -<div class="verse">I will not call it run,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But say a rabbit flew.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">From out his hiding-place</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A neighbour came to see,</div> -<div class="verse">And said, “Friend, wait a space:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">What may the matter be?”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“What should it be?” he cried;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">“I breathless came in fear,</div> -<div class="verse">Because that I espied</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Two scoundrel greyhounds near.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Yes,” said the other, “far</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">I see them also there;</div> -<div class="verse">But those no greyhounds are!”</div> -<div class="verse indent1">“What?”—“Setters, I’ll declare.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“How, setters do you say?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My grandad just as much!</div> -<div class="verse">They are greyhounds, greyhounds, they;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I saw them plainly such.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“They are setters; get along:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">What know you of these matters?”—</div> -<div class="verse">“They are greyhounds; you are wrong:”—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">“I tell you they are setters.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The dogs while they engage</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In these contentious habits,</div> -<div class="verse">Come up, and vent their rage</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On my two thoughtless rabbits.</div> -</div> -<div class="hr"></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Who minor points affect,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">So much about to quarrel,</div> -<div class="verse">And weightier things neglect,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Let them take the moral.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span></p> - -<h5>THE LAMB AND HIS TWO ADVISERS.</h5> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A farm there was, with a poultry-yard,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Where roved an old bantam about;</div> -<div class="verse">And laid at his ease, a pig was barr’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In a sty close by without.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A lamb moreover was raised up there;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">We know it does so befall:</div> -<div class="verse">Together in farms these animals fare,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And in good company all.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Well, with your leave,” said the pig one day</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To the lamb, “what a happy life!</div> -<div class="verse">And healthful too, to be sleeping away,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">One’s time without cares or strife!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“I say there is nothing, as I am a pig,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Like sleeping, stretch’d out at ease;</div> -<div class="verse">Let the world go round with its whirligig,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And cares just as it may please.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The other the contrary chanced to tell</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The same little lamb, to take heed;</div> -<div class="verse">“Look, innocent! here, to live right well,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Sleep very little indeed.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Summer or winter, early to rise</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">With the stars the practice seek;</div> -<div class="verse">For sleeping the senses stupefies,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And leaves you languid and weak.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Confused, the poor lamb the counsels compares,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And cannot perceive in his mind,</div> -<div class="verse">That contrary each advising declares,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But how he himself is inclined.</div> -</div> -<div class="hr"></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And thus we find authors the practice make,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To hold, as infallibly true,</div> -<div class="verse">The rules they fancy themselves to take,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And in their own writings pursue.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h5>THE FLINT AND THE STEEL.</h5> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Cruelly bent, it chanced the Flint</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ill-treated the Steel one day;</div> -<div class="verse">And wounding, gave it many a dint,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To draw its sparks away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When laid aside, this angry cried</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To that, “What would your value be</div> -<div class="verse">Without my help?” the Flint replied,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">“As much as yours, sir, but for me.”</div> -</div> -<div class="hr"></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">This lesson I write, my friends to incite;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Their talents, however great,</div> -<div class="verse">That they must study with them unite,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To duly cultivate.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The Flint gives light with the help of the Steel,</div> -<div class="verse">And study alone will talent reveal;</div> -<div class="verse">For neither suffice if found apart,</div> -<div class="verse">Whatever the talent or the art.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="III">III.<br /> -<span class="smaller">JUAN MELENDEZ VALDES.</span></h3> - -<p>For a hundred years after the time of Calderon de la Barca, -who died in 1687, there appeared in Spain no writer of -sufficient merit to be classed among those eminent characters, -who had done so much honour to Spanish literature -in the seventeenth century. Verses were published in sufficient -abundance, which found readers and even admirers, -merely from the necessity the public felt of having something -to read and to admire, as of the fashion of the day. But they -were written with a perversion of taste and a deficiency of -talent, which was truly astonishing, in the successors of such -authors, as had immediately preceded them.</p> - -<p>This depression of literature, however, could not be expected -to continue long, among a people of such imaginative -and deep passioned character as the Spanish, whose native -genius was by far too buoyant, to be affected for any length -of time by inferior models, even under dynastic influences. -Accordingly, towards the end of the eighteenth century, it -might have become apparent to an attentive observer, that -another order of writers was about to be called forth, and -that the nation was prepared to welcome the advent of true -genius whenever it was to be recognized. Learned societies -had been established throughout Spain; education on a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -sound basis had been sedulously promoted; and the country -was wealthy, and sufficiently flourishing to give incitement to -the arts, which are the attendants of public prosperity.</p> - -<p>At this epoch appeared Melendez Valdes, the restorer of -Spanish poetry, as his admirers with much justice termed -him; who then showed by his writings, that the old inspiration -of the national genius was yet capable of being revived -in all its former grace and strength; and who by the influence -of his example further roused the energies of other -men of genius to follow in his steps.</p> - -<p>This highly gifted poet was born the 11th of March, 1754, -at Ribera del Fresno in the province of Estremadura, where -his parents were of what was called noble families, and, what -was more important, in respectable circumstances. The good -disposition noticed in the son determined them to destine -him for study, and to award him a becoming education. -Thus, having learned the rudiments of Latin at home, he was -sent to study philosophy, or what was called philosophy, at -Madrid, under the charge of the Dominican Fathers of St. -Thomas, where his application and advancement gained him -the esteem of his tutors and fellow-pupils. Thence he was -sent by his parents in 1770 to Segovia, to study with his -only brother, who was private secretary to the bishop of that -city, and with whom he was confirmed in that fondness for -reading, and taste for acquiring books, which might be called -the passion of his whole life. The bishop, who was a distant -relation, pleased with his talents and inclination for study, -sent him in 1772 to Salamanca, the alma mater of Spain, -and assisted him to proceed in the study of law, in which -he distinguished himself wherever he had an opportunity; so -that, says his biographer, “appearing absorbed in the pursuit -of that career, no one would have judged him the same -young man, whose inclination for poetry and learning was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -soon after to place him at the head of the elegant literature -of his country.”</p> - -<p>Fortunately for Melendez, continues his biographer, there -happened then to be at Salamanca Don Josè de Cadalso, “a -man celebrated for extensive erudition, combined with more -than ordinary talent for poetry and letters, and a zeal for the -glory and advancement of his country, learned in the school, -and under the inspiration of virtue. Generous and affable, -always lively, and at times satirical without branching off -into maliciousness, his conversation was kind and instructive, -and his principles indulgent and steadfast.” This eminent -individual, already well known in the literary world by several -works published in 1772 and 1773, immediately recognized -the value of Melendez: he took him to his house to live with -him, showed him the beauties and defects of the older writers, -taught him how to imitate them, and opened to him the -road to become acquainted with the literature of the learned -nations of Europe. “He afforded him an instruction yet -more precious, in the beautiful example he gave him to love -all writers of merit, to rise superior to envy, and to cultivate -letters without degrading them by unworthy disputations. -The eulogies Cadalso bestowed on his contemporaries are a -public testimony of this noble character; and the works of -Melendez, where there is not a single line detracting from -the merit of any one, and his whole literary career, exempt -from all attack, show how he profited by the lessons of his -master.”</p> - -<p>The Anacreontic style, in which Cadalso excelled, was also -that first cultivated by Melendez; and the former, seeing the -progress of his pupil, and the first efforts of his Muse, unreservedly -acknowledged him his superior, and in prose and -verse announced him as the restorer of good taste and the -better studies of the University. This kindly u<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>nion was -maintained until the death of Cadalso, at the siege of -Gibraltar; and the “Elegiac song of Melendez on this misfortune, -will be, as long as the Spanish language endures, a -monument of affection and gratitude, as well as an example -of high and beautiful poetry.”</p> - -<p>Beyond the instructions which he received from Cadalso, -Melendez was aided by the example and counsels of other distinguished -persons then residing at Salamanca, among whom -were two, favourably known as writers of verse, <a href="#note13" title="See note">Iglesias and -Gonzalez</a>. These, though they were soon eclipsed by the -young poet, admitted him to their friendship. By the latter -he was brought into communication with the illustrious -Jovellanos, then Judge of the High Court at Seville; and -between them soon was instituted a correspondence, which -has been in great part preserved, though as yet unpublished; -a valuable monument, says Quintana, in which are seen, -“livingly portrayed, the candour, the modesty and virtuous -feelings of the poet, the alternate progress of his studies, -the different attempts in which he essayed his talents, and -above all, the profound respect and almost idolatry with -which he revered his Mæcenas. There may be seen how he -employed his time and varied his tasks. At first he applied -himself to Greek, and began to translate Homer and Theocritus -into verse; but learning the immense difficulty of the -undertaking, and not stimulated to it by the bent of his -genius, he shortly abandoned it.”</p> - -<p>He then dedicated himself to the English language and -literature, for which he was said to have ever had an exceeding -great predilection, observing, “that to the Essay on the -Human Understanding, he should owe all his life the little he -might know how to acquire.” As books came to his hands, -he went on reading and forming his judgements upon them, -the which he transmitted to his friend. Thus “by all th<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>e -means in his power he endeavoured to acquire and increase -that treasury of ideas, which so much contributes to perfection -in the art of writing, and without which verses are -nothing more than frivolous sounds.”</p> - -<p>His application to study, however, soon proved more than -his health and strength would permit. He was obliged to -leave Salamanca, and repair to the banks of the Tormes, -which he has made famous in song, and there, by long attention -to the regimen imposed on him, he fortunately recovered. -About this time his brother died in 1777, their parents -having died previously; and Melendez suffered much grief, -as might naturally be expected, on being thus left alone -of his family, the more painful in his state of health. Jovellanos -urged him to join him at Seville, but he declined the -invitation, observing, that “the law of friendship itself, which -commands us to avail ourselves of a friend in necessity, also -commands that without it, we should not take advantage of -his confidence.”</p> - -<p>Study, to which he now returned to engage himself with -more intensity than ever, was the best alleviant of his sorrow, -and time as usual at length allayed it. “He then gave himself -up to the reading and study of the English poets: Pope -and Young enchanted him. Of the former, he said that four -lines of his ‘Essay on Man’ were worth more, taught more, -and deserved more praise than all his own compositions.” -The latter he attempted to imitate, and in effect did so, in -the poem on ‘Night and Solitude,’ but in remitting it to his -friend, expressed with much feeling his sense of its deficiencies -compared with the original. Thomson also he studied, -and Gesner, in his lonely exercises by the Tormes, and acknowledged -how much he was indebted to the former for -many thoughts with which he subsequently enriched his -pastoral poems.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p> - -<p>Thus having prepared himself to appear before the literary -world as a candidate for fame, an opportunity soon occurred -for him to obtain distinction. The Spanish Academy had -been proposing subjects for prizes, and then having given -one for an Eclogue, ‘On the happiness of a country life,’ -Melendez felt himself in his element, and sent in his Essay -for the prize. This succeeded in receiving the first. The -second was awarded to Iriarte, who showed his mortification -on account of the preference, more sensibly than was becoming, -under the circumstances.</p> - -<p>In the following year, 1781, Melendez went to Madrid, -where his friend Jovellanos had already been appointed -Councillor of the Military Orders, when for the first time -they met. Melendez was already in the road to fame, which -his friend had foretold for him; and Jovellanos, delighted -with the realization of his hopes and endeavours, received -him into his house, introduced him to his society, and took -every opportunity of advancing his interests. It was the -custom of the Academy of San Fernando to give triennial -celebrations, with much solemnity, for the distribution of -prizes, when eloquence, poetry and music were tasked to do -honour to the fine arts. One of these celebrations was about -to take place; Jovellanos was engaged to pronounce a discourse, -and Melendez was invited to exercise his genius on -the same subject, as the first literary characters of preceding -times had already given the example. Melendez acceded, -and delivered accordingly his Ode on the Glory of the Arts, -which was received with rapturous admiration, and ever since -seems to have been considered his masterpiece.</p> - -<p>In the midst of these successes, Melendez received the -Professorship of Humanities in his University, and in the -following year, 1782, proceeded to the degree of Licentiate, -and in 1783 to that of Doctor of Law, having shortly befo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>re -the last married a lady of one of the principal families of -Salamanca. But as his professorship gave him little occupation, -and his marriage no family, he remained free to continue -his favourite studies.</p> - -<p>In 1784, on the occasion of peace being made with England, -and the birth of twin Infantes, to give hopes of secure -succession to the throne, the city of Madrid prepared magnificent -celebrations of rejoicings, and among the rest, a prize -was proposed for the two best dramatic pieces that might be -offered within sixty days, under the condition that they -should be original, appropriate, and capable of theatrical -pomp and ornament. Out of fifty-seven dramas that were -offered, the prize was awarded to the one sent in by Melendez, -‘The Bridals of Comacho the Rich,’ a pastoral -comedy, which, however, though abounding in poetical passages, -was found on representation wanting in effect, so as to -be coldly received on the stage, where it has not since been -attempted.</p> - -<p>This ill-success gave occasion to several detractors of -Melendez to pour forth the effusions of envy or disappointment -against him, to which he gave no other answer than by -the publication of his poems in a collected form. This was -in 1785; and the manner in which they were received, it -could be said, had had no parallel in Spain. Four editions, -of which three were furtive, were at once taken up, and all -classes of persons seemed to have the book in hand, commenting -on its excellences. The lovers of ancient poetry, -who saw so happily renewed the graces of Garcilasso, of -Leon and Herrera, and “even improved in taste and perfection,” -saluted Melendez as the restorer of the Castillian -Muses, and hailed the banishment of the prosaic style which -had previously prevailed. The applauses extended beyond -the kingdom, and found especially in Italy the admiration<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -repeated, as well as in France and England, where several -of the poems are said to have been imitated.</p> - -<p>Great as was his success in literature, it was not enough -provision for his daily needs, notwithstanding the help of his -professorship; and Melendez accordingly applied for and obtained -an office as a local judge at Zaragoza, of which he -took possession in September 1789. The duties of this -office were too onerous to admit of much study; but he was -soon removed, in 1791, to the chancery of Valladolid, where -he had more leisure, and where he remained till 1797, when -he was appointed Fiscal of the Supreme Court at Madrid. -During this time he wrote apparently little; but he prepared, -and in 1797 published, another edition of his works with -two additional volumes, enriched with many new poems, in -which he “had elevated his genius to the height of his age;”—“descriptive -passages of a superior order, elegies powerful -and pathetic, odes grand and elevated, philosophic and moral -discourses and epistles, in which he took alternately the -tone of Pindar, of Homer, of Thomson, and of Pope, and -drew from the Spanish lyre accents she had not previously -learned.”</p> - -<p>But notwithstanding the great merit of many of these -poems, the biographer of Melendez had it to confess that -this publication was not so favourably received as the first -had been; and attempts to account for it partly by the circumstances -of the times, and partly by what was new not being -on the whole so finished and well-sustained in interest as his -former poems. Some of them also met with decided disfavour; -especially one, ‘The Fall of Lucifer,’ which showed -that his genius was not of the severer cast calculated for -graver and higher subjects allied to the epic, any more than -to the dramatic. But the merits of Melendez in his own -sphere are too great, and his fame is too well-founded to lo<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>se by -acknowledgements which must be made in truth and justice. -It is not improbable that he had been urged by his admirers -to these attempts, to which his own inclinations would not -have led him, and it might thus have been the easiness of -his disposition that made him yield to suggestions which -ended in failure.</p> - -<p>In the prologue which he affixed to this edition, Melendez -attempted to prove that poetic studies derogated nothing -from the judicial dignity, and that they had no incompatibility -with the duties and talents of a public man or man of -business. But without following him or his biographer into -such a discussion, we may concede the point so far, that any -one undertaking responsible duties from the State, is bound -to give them his best and undivided energies. If, however, -he has any hours of leisure free from those responsibilities, it -is surely only an extension of his duty for him to employ -them in attempting to make his fellow-men wiser and better, -or happier, in the manner most congenial to his disposition -or talents. Melendez certainly had no need to exculpate -himself in this respect, having been “long remembered at -Zaragoza and Valladolid as a model of integrity and application, -for his zeal in arranging amicably all disputations in -his power, for his affability and frankness in listening to -complaints, and for the humane and compassionate interest -with which he visited the prisoners, accelerating their causes, -and affording them assistance, with an inseparable adhesion to -justice.” <a href="#note14" title="See note">It was for his detractors</a>,—and Melendez had them, -notwithstanding the amiability of his character and the superiority -of his talents,—to make these objections, if they could -have done so. His resorting to such apologies only gave -the appearance of a consciousness of weakness, which was not -becoming either in the one character or the other.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p> - -<p>Shortly after the publication of this edition, Melendez went -to Madrid to take possession of his new office. The advanced -age of his predecessor in it had for some time prevented his -due attention to its duties, so that Melendez had many arrears -to dispose of in addition to the ordinary services, through all -which he laboured with much assiduity and credit. But they -were the last satisfactory events of his life, which was henceforth -to be passed in reverses and misery. Yet at that time -he seemed to be in the height of prosperity. Holding an -elevated post under the government, of which his friend -Jovellanos was a member, and respected both at home and -abroad as one of the first literary characters of the age, he -might have justly hoped to be free from any of the darker -misfortunes of life. This exemption, however, was not to be -his lot, serving under a despotic government, of which the -head, Charles IV., was one of the weakest-minded of mortals, -guided by a favourite such as Godoy. When Jovellanos fell -under this favourite’s resentment, to make the blow inflicted -on that illustrious individual more poignant, it was extended -to others, whose only fault was that they shared his esteem. -Melendez was ordered away from Madrid within twenty-four -hours, though his friends procured for him soon after a commission -from the government as inspector of barracks at Medina -del Campo, where he gave himself up again to study and -such duties as were assigned him. Beyond these, however, -he particularly exerted himself, it is recorded, in attending to -the sick at the hospitals, providing that they should not be -sent out into the world, as had often been previously the -case, imperfectly cured or clothed, and unable to effect their -livelihood.</p> - -<p>In this hum<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>ble occupation he might have been supposed -exempt at least from further malignity, but unfortunately -some sycophant of power thought it would be pleasing to the -favourite to have a frivolous accusation forwarded against -him, which had the effect of his being sent on half salary to -Zamora. There he was fortunate enough to have the intrigues -against him made known, and in June 1802, he received -a royal order to have his full salary allowed, with -liberty to reside where he pleased. He would have preferred -Madrid, but he found it most prudent to return to Salamanca, -and there, arranging his house and library, began to enjoy a -more peaceful life than what he had passed since he left the -University.</p> - -<p>The literary world might now have hoped for further efforts -of genius in this asylum, and perhaps some superior work -worthy of his talents and fame; but his spirits had been -broken down by adversity and injustice, and his attention -was distracted by hopes and fears, from which he could never -free himself. A poem on Creation, and a translation of the -Æneid, were the fruits of six years’ retirement from the world; -and he proposed another edition of his works, which however -he did not accomplish, on the rapid succession of events -which again called him forth to a short period of active life, -and subsequent years of suffering.</p> - -<p>The revolution of Aranjuez brought Melendez to Madrid, -in the hopes of recovering his former employments; but in -the troubled state of the country, he soon wished to return -to his house, without being able to effect it. The French -had now made themselves masters of the capital, and Melendez -was unfortunately induced to take office under them. -This conduct was contrary, not only to the course taken by -Jovellanos and his other friends, but also to the whole tenor -of his former life and opinions. His easy temper, which had -at all times led him submissive to the wishes of those who -had his confidence, no doubt on this occasion had been infl<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>uenced -by persons near him, and he might have thought it -a hopeless struggle to contend with Napoleon.</p> - -<p>Having however engaged in this unpatriotic service, he -was sent as a commissioner, on the part of the intrusive government, -to the Asturias, where the people had already risen -in vindication of the national independence. Melendez and -his colleague were seized by the populace, notwithstanding -the efforts of the local authorities, who had placed them for -security in the prison, the doors of which were forced, and -they were led out to be put to death. All entreaties were in -vain. Melendez protested his attachment to the national -cause, and even began reciting some patriotic verses he had -been writing, but the excited multitude would not hear him. -They added insults to menaces, and as a great favour only -permitted them to confess before they should be executed. -Thus a little time was gained; but this was at length concluded -and they were tied to a tree, and the party prepared -to shoot them, when a dispute arose whether they should be -shot from in front or behind as traitors, a piece of etiquette -in such cases considered of importance. The latter counsel -prevailed, and the prisoners had to be loosened and tied -again accordingly, when the authorities and religious orders -of the place, with a particular Cross famous among them, appeared -approaching for their rescue. The people hereon became -calmed, and Melendez and his colleague were taken -back to the prison, whence they were soon permitted to return -to Madrid.</p> - -<p>On the success of the Spanish army at Bailen, the French -retired from the capital, and Melendez remained at Madrid, -hoping, through the influence of Jovellanos, to be taken into -favour with the constitutional party. But fortune again -seemed to side with the French, and they returned to Madrid, -when Melendez was again induced to join them, and accep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>ted -office as Councillor of State and President of a Board -of Public Instruction. Thus he inevitably compromised himself -in a cause which was not that of his heart or principles, -and whose apparently irresistible strength could only have -excused his adhesion to it. This supposition, however, also -proved erroneous; and when the French armies had to abandon -Spain, Melendez, with their other principal adherents, -had to fly with them also, having had the further misfortune -to have his house plundered, and his valuable library destroyed, -by the very marauders for whose sake he had lost all his hopes -of the future at home.</p> - -<p>Before entering France, Melendez, kneeling down, kissed -the Spanish soil, saying, “I shall not return to tread thee -again.” His apprehensions, notwithstanding his anxiety to -do so, proved correct. He passed four years in France, residing -at Toulouse, Montpelier, Nismes and Alaix, as circumstances -compelled him, in great privation and with bodily -sufferings, the more aggravating, in his advanced age, the -bitter remembrances of the past. A paralytic affection first -incapacitated him from all exertion, and finally, an apoplectic -attack terminated his existence, at Montpelier, on the 24th -May, 1817, in the arms of his wife, who had followed him -through all the vicissitudes of life, and surrounded by the -companions of his exile. A monument was afterwards placed -to his memory in the cemetery by <a href="#note15" title="See note">the Duke de Frias</a>.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the indecision of his character in public -life, Melendez was in private remarkable for laborious application -to his studies and duties. His reading was immense, -and his desire unceasing to be useful, and to contribute, by -all the means in his power, to the well-being of his fellows. -His kindness of heart is conspicuous in all his writings, which -also portray the diffidence of his own powers, ascribed to him -by his biographer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p> - -<p>His principal objects of veneration seem to have been the -writings of Newton and Locke. The former, as the “Great -Newton,” is often named by him. Pope he took for his model -avowedly in poetry, and he strove to imitate the moral and -philosophic tone of that great poet’s writings, whose elegance -of style he certainly rivalled. Nothing in Spanish verse had -been ever produced to equal the sweetness of his verses, their -easy tone, and sparkling thoughts and expression. He was -much attached to drawing, but had no inclination for music, -not even to the charms of song, the more singular in one -whose ear for the melody of verse appears to have been so -sensitive. To the very last he seems to have been endeavouring -to improve his poems, which have been thus observed to -have often lost in strength and expression what they gained -in cadence.</p> - -<p>“The principles of his philosophy were benevolence and -toleration; and he belonged to that race of philanthropists -who hope for the progressive amelioration of the human race, -and the advent of a period, when civilization, or the empire of -the understanding, extended over the earth, will give men -that grade of perfection and felicity compatible with the -faculties and the existence of each individual. Such are the -manifestations of his philosophic poems, and such a state he -endeavoured to aid in producing by his talents and labours.”</p> - -<p>His influence as a poet has certainly been very great. All -the writers in Spain, who immediately succeeded him, especially -Quintana, showed evident proofs of having profited by -the lessons his example gave them, and those lessons seem to -have sunk deeply into the minds of successive generations, so -as to leave no doubt of their continuing in the same course.</p> - -<p>After his arrival in France, Melendez wrote a few short -poems, which, notwithstanding his age and failing health, -showed his spirit was still the same, and his imaginati<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>on as -lively as ever. At Nismes he prepared an edition of his -works, which the Spanish government published at their cost -after his death, when they also gave his widow the pension -allotted for her, as according to her husband’s former rank. -This edition has been the one subsequently several times reprinted, -with a biography by the eminent Quintana, worthy -of himself and of his master. The prologue to it, by Melendez, -is very interesting, and from it we learn, with regret, -that upon the destruction of his library, “the most choice -and varied he had ever seen belonging to a private individual, -in the formation of which he had expended a great part of his -patrimony and all his literary life,” he had lost what he considered -some of his best poems, and some tracts, in prose, -which he had prepared for the press, on Legislation, on Civil -Economy, the Criminal Laws, on Prisons, Mendicancy and -other subjects.</p> - -<p>The misfortunes of Melendez were certainly much to be -lamented, but throughout them he could unquestionably console -himself with the conviction of having been actuated ever -by upright motives, and of leaving to his country an imperishable -name. His literary career had been an eminently -successful one, and he had felt the full enjoyment of fame. -In the prologue, above mentioned, he refers very feelingly to -the reverses to which he had been subjected, but also with -apparent satisfaction to the various editions and notices of -his works, published both in Spain and abroad.</p> - -<p>In leaving revised his works, published afterwards by the -government, Madrid 1820, Melendez left also this positive -direction: “Although I have composed many other poems, -these appear to me the least imperfect, and I therefore forbid -the others to be reprinted under any pretext. I earnestly -request this of the editor, and expect it of his probity and -good feeling, that he will fulfil this, my will, in every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> respect.” -In accordance with this request, many of his earlier -works have been, with much propriety, omitted, and the remainder -have been considerably corrected; at the same time -that a great number of poems are added, that had not been -previously published. The <a href="#note16" title="See note">best edition of his works is that -by Salva</a>, Paris 1832.</p> - -<p>Melendez enjoyed in his day a higher reputation than -readers at present are willing to concede him, comparing him -with the other poets that have since appeared in Spain. But -the merits of writers should be considered, in justice, relatively -only to those who have preceded them, and by this -standard he is certainly fully entitled to the eulogiums which -his contemporaries awarded him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p> - -<h3>MELENDEZ VALDES.</h3> - -<h4><a href="#note17" title="See note">JUVENILITIES.</a></h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When I was yet a child,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A child Dorila too,</div> -<div class="verse">To gather there the flowerets wild,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">We roved the forest through.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And gaily garlands then,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With passing skill display’d,</div> -<div class="verse">To crown us both, in childish vein,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her little fingers made.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And thus our joys to share,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In such our thoughts and play,</div> -<div class="verse">We pass’d along, a happy pair,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The hours and days away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But ev’n in sports like these,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Soon age came hurrying by!</div> -<div class="verse">And of our innocence the ease</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Malicious seem’d to fly.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I knew not how it was,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">To see me she would smile;</div> -<div class="verse">And but to speak to her would cause</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Me pleasure strange the while.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then beat my heart the more,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When flowers to her I brought;</div> -<div class="verse">And she, to wreathe them as before,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Seem’d silent, lost in thought.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">One evening after this</div> -<div class="verse indent1">We saw two turtle-doves,</div> -<div class="verse">With trembling throat, who, wrapt in bliss,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Were wooing in their loves.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In manifest delight,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With wings and feathers bow’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Their eyes fix’d on each other bright,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">They languish’d, moaning loud.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The example made us bold,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And with a pure caress,</div> -<div class="verse">The troubles we had felt we told,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Our pains and happiness.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And at once from our view</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Then, like a shadow, fled</div> -<div class="verse">Our childhood and its joys, but new,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Love gave us his instead.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p> - -<h4><a href="#note18" title="See note">THE TIMID LOVER.</a></h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In the sharp pains the tyrant Love</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Since first I saw thee made me feel,</div> -<div class="verse">To thee a thousand times above,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I come those pains to heal,</div> -<div class="verse">My village girl! but soon as nigh</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To thee I find my way,</div> -<div class="verse">If e’er so bold to be I try,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I know not what to say.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">My voices fail, and mournful sighs,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Malicious phrenzy watching o’er,</div> -<div class="verse">The place of them alone supplies;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">While mocks my efforts more</div> -<div class="verse">The traitor god, when anxious by</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My thoughts to speak I pray;</div> -<div class="verse">If e’er so bold to be I try,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I know not what to say.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then feels his fire so strong my soul,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Meseems to die my only fate,</div> -<div class="verse">My tears in torrents freely roll,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And with deep groanings wait,</div> -<div class="verse">To move thy feeling heart’s reply;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But vainly, all astray,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -<div class="verse">If e’er so bold to be I try,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I know not what to say.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I know not what, in trembling fear,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That seals my lips, as yet to learn</div> -<div class="verse">A foolish hope, thou mayst ev’n here</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My hapless love discern.</div> -<div class="verse">I feel I must for ever fly</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From thy side far away;</div> -<div class="verse">If e’er so bold to be I try,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I know not what to say.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Alas! if thou couldst, my adored!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But hear those sighs, and thoughts express’d,</div> -<div class="verse">What happiness ’twould me afford!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I should be, Phyllis, blest.</div> -<div class="verse">But woe is me! beneath thine eye,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To sink in mock’d dismay,</div> -<div class="verse">If e’er so bold to be I try,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I know not what to say.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> - -<h4><a href="#note19" title="See note">MY VILLAGE LIFE.</a></h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When able happily am I</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To my poor village to escape,</div> -<div class="verse">From all the city’s noise to fly,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And cares of every shape;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Like a new man my spirits give</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Me then to feel, in joyous link;</div> -<div class="verse">For only then I seem to live,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And only then to think.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The insufferable hours that there</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In weariness to me return’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Now on a course so gently bear,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their flight is scarce discern’d.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The nights that there in sloth and play</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Alone their occupations keep,</div> -<div class="verse">Here with choice books I pass away,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And in untroubled sleep.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With the first dawn I wake, to change</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Rejoiced the soft bed’s balmy rest,</div> -<div class="verse">Through the life-giving air to range,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That free dilates the breast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">It pleases me the heavens to view,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">O’erspread with red and golden glows,</div> -<div class="verse">When first his lustres to renew,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His splendours Phœbus shows.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">It pleases me, when bright his rays,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Above the zenith fiery shine,</div> -<div class="verse">To lose me in the thick wood’s maze,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And in their shade recline.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When languidly he hides his head,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In last reflection, even then</div> -<div class="verse">The mountain heights I eager tread,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To follow him again.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And when the night its mantle wide</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Extends around of beaming lights,</div> -<div class="verse">Their motions, measuring as they glide,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My watchful eye recites.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then to my books return’d, with awe,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My wondering thoughts, to trace, rehearse</div> -<div class="verse">The course of that portentous law,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That rules the universe.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">From them, and from the lofty height</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of such my thoughts, I then descend</div> -<div class="verse">To where my rustic friends await,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My leisure to attend.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And with them taking up the part,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">They give me in their toils and cares</div> -<div class="verse">To share, with jokes that merry start,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Away the evening wears.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">About his crops one tells me all,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Another all about his vines,</div> -<div class="verse">And what their neighbours may befall</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Each many a tale combines.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I ponder o’er each sage advice;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their proverbs carefully I store;</div> -<div class="verse">Their doubts and quarrels judge concise,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As arbitrator o’er.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">My judgements all extol they free,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And all together talking loud;</div> -<div class="verse">For innocent equality</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Reigns in their breasts avow’d.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then soon the servant comes to bring</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The brimming jugs, and next with these</div> -<div class="verse">The mirthful girl supplies the ring</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With chestnuts, and the cheese.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And all, in brotherly content,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Draw nearer round, to pass untold</div> -<div class="verse">The sparkling cups, that wine present</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of more than three years old.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And thus my pleasant days to pass,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">In peace and happiness supreme,</div> -<div class="verse">(For so our tastes our pleasures class,)</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But like a moment seem.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>REMEMBRANCES OF YOUTH.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Like a clear little stream,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That with scarcely a sound,</div> -<div class="verse">Through the plain among flowers,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Glides whirling around,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So the fugitive years</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of my easy life sped,</div> -<div class="verse">Amidst laughter and play,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Like a dream have fled.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">On that dream to look back,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Oft in wonder I dwell;</div> -<div class="verse">Nor to tear me have power</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From its pleasing spell.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">On each side in soft ease,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With friends cherish’d and gay,</div> -<div class="verse">In diversions and dance,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In banquets and play,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With roses Cytheran</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Sweet martyrdoms twine,</div> -<div class="verse">Of the blinded ring join’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To deliriums of wine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And hopes so fallacious,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Bright castles that shone</div> -<div class="verse">In the air as upraised,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">By the winds overthrown.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With the Muses to crown</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The grave tasks, that are born</div> -<div class="verse">Of wisdom, with laurel</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their sons to adorn:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Here a thousand retreats</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of charm’d leafy arcade,</div> -<div class="verse">That to slumber beguile,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In freshness and shade:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There beyond in the bowers</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of sweet Cnidus arise,</div> -<div class="verse">As of fear and desire,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Half mingled, the sighs:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There the broad river spreads,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Showing soft its delights,</div> -<div class="verse">To oblivion of all</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Whose crystal invites;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With a gaze of desire</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">The fair banks I descend,</div> -<div class="verse">And to the false waters</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My thirsty lips bend;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">For a full draught I seek,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But feel suddenly by,</div> -<div class="verse">Disenchant me the call</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of a friendly cry:—</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Where impell’d dost thou go,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In such blind madness, where?</div> -<div class="verse">O, fool! round thy footsteps</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Hid dangers are there!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“The wild fancy restrain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Light ill-omen’d is this,</div> -<div class="verse">Where but lures thee to whelm</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A fatal abyss.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Of thy happier years</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Is the verdure dispell’d,</div> -<div class="verse">And what were then graces</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Now vices are held.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Thou art man! it befits</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thee repenting in truth,</div> -<div class="verse">To gild virtuous with toils</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The errors of youth!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I yield, from the current</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">I tremblingly fly:</div> -<div class="verse">But with eyes looking back,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Repeat with a sigh,—</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“If to fall be a sin,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">What hast thou, Nature, meant?</div> -<div class="verse">The path made so easy,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">So sweet the descent?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“How blest are the creatures,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With instincts secure,</div> -<div class="verse">Whom to swerve from the right</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No perils allure!”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>OF THE SCIENCES.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I applied myself to science,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In its great truths believing,</div> -<div class="verse">That from my troubles I hence</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Some ease might be receiving.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O! what a sad delusion!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">What lessons dear I learn’d me!</div> -<div class="verse">To verses in conclusion,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And mirth and dance I turn’d me.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As if it were that life could</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Produce so little trouble,</div> -<div class="verse">That we with toils and strife would</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Make each one of them double.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I stand by smiling Bacchus,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In joys us wont to wrap he;</div> -<div class="verse">The wise, Dorila, lack us</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The knowledge to be happy.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">What matters it, if even</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In fair as diamond splendour,</div> -<div class="verse">The sun is fix’d in heaven?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Me light he’s born to render.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The moon is, so me tell they,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With living beings swarmy;</div> -<div class="verse">“There may be thousands,” well they</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Can never come to harm me!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">From Danube to the Ganges,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">History tells how did he</div> -<div class="verse">The Macedonian launch his</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Proud banner fierce and giddy!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">What’s that to us, to entice us,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">If only half this valley,</div> -<div class="verse">To feed our lambs suffice us,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With all our wants to tally?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If not, leave all to justice:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Give me some drink, o’erpower’d</div> -<div class="verse">With but to name this goddess,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I feel myself a coward.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">They much who study ever</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Have thousand plagues annoy them;</div> -<div class="verse">Which in their best endeavour</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their peace and joy destroy them:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And then what do they gather?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A thousand doubts upspringing,</div> -<div class="verse">Which other puzzlings farther</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Them other doubts are bringing.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And so through life they haste on,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">One enviable truly!</div> -<div class="verse">Disputes and hates to waste on,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And ne’er agreeing throughly.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">My shepherd girl! but bring me</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Then wine abundant very,</div> -<div class="verse">And fear not songs I’ll sing thee,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As endlessly and merry.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p> - -<h4>THE DISDAINFUL SHEPHERDESS.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If, as thou sayst, thou lovest me well,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Dear girl, those scornfulnesses cease;</div> -<div class="verse">For love can ne’er in union dwell</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With such asperities.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Show sharp disdain, to plight if e’er</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Another proffers thee his troth;</div> -<div class="verse">To two at once to listen fair</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Is an offence to both.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Let one be chosen, so to prove</div> -<div class="verse indent1">How great your happiness may be;</div> -<div class="verse">Thou calmly to enjoy his love,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And he to love thee free;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Above all maids to extol thee most;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And thou to tenderness incline,</div> -<div class="verse">To yield repaying him the boast</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His love gives forth for thine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Reserve and rigour to preside</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In love, is like the ice in spring,</div> -<div class="verse">That robs fair May of all its pride,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The flocks of pasturing:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But kindness, like the gentle rain,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Which April gives to glad the field,</div> -<div class="verse">Which makes all flourishing the plain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And seeds their stores to yield.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Be not disdainful then, but kind:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Know not to certain beauteous eyes</div> -<div class="verse">Alone all beauty is confined,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or locks of golden dyes.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Vain puff’d-up beauty will appear,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But like some showy ivy stem;</div> -<div class="verse">They may surprise, but fruitless, ne’er</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Have any valuing them.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If join’d with kindness, like the vine</div> -<div class="verse indent1">It seems, with fruitful stores array’d;</div> -<div class="verse">Where all contentedly recline,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Beneath its peaceful shade:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And whose green stems, the elm around,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When twining with adorning grace</div> -<div class="verse">Its leaves, will hold it also bound,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Firm in its fond embrace.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Flower of a day is beauty’s bloom;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Time leaves it soon behind: if e’er</div> -<div class="verse">Thou doubt’st my word, let Celia’s doom</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The lesson true declare.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Celia, for witching beauty famed</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Once far and wide, so foolish proud,</div> -<div class="verse">A thousand captives who contemn’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That all before her bow’d,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Now worn by years would blindly try</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who to her service may be won;</div> -<div class="verse">But finds all from her turn to fly,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To look at her finds none.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">For with her snow and rose the beams</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And lustre of her eyes are flown,</div> -<div class="verse">And like a wither’d rose-tree seems,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Sad, wrinkled and alone.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">’Tis but ingenuous kindness true,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The maid that loves in honour’s bonds,</div> -<div class="verse">Who listens to her lover sue,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And tenderly responds;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Who at his pleasantries will smile,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who dances with him at the feast,</div> -<div class="verse">Receives the flowers his gift, the while</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His love with like increased;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Who him her future husband sees,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Is neither coy nor feels ashamed,</div> -<div class="verse">For he as hers, and she as his,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The village through are named,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">That always like the dawn will seem,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">When calm its light shines o’er the plain,</div> -<div class="verse">And keeping all beneath her beam</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Bound captive in her chain:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Years without clouding pass away;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Care to oppress her ne’er affects;</div> -<div class="verse">Ev’n rivalry forgives her sway,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And envy’s self respects.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Her cheerfulness and happy vein,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Being to latest age to share,</div> -<div class="verse">Delight of all the shepherd train,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Enchantment of the fair.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Be then, my Amaryllis! kind;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Cease those disdainfulnesses, cease;</div> -<div class="verse">For with thy pleasing grace combined</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Such harshness ill agrees.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The heavens ne’er form’d thee perfect thus,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Surpassingly of matchless cost,</div> -<div class="verse">That such high gifts should ruinous</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Be miserably lost.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Be kind, receive thy lover’s vow,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And all the village thou wilt find,</div> -<div class="verse">Who murmur at thy coldness now,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To praise thee then as kind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thus sang Belardo, at her door,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">His shepherd girl to wait upon,</div> -<div class="verse">Who scornful, from her casement o’er,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Bids him be silent and begone.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="IV">IV.<br /> -<span class="smaller">LEANDRO FERNANDEZ MORATIN.</span></h3> - -<p>Spanish writers have in general too much overrated the -<a href="#note20" title="See note">merits of their national dramas</a>, and foreigners have too often -repeated the eulogies, as if they were deserved. Like those -of antiquity, the Spanish, though they abound in passages of -much poetry and feeling, are almost entirely deficient in that -delineation of individual character, which constitutes the -highest class of the art. Thus all the representations may -be observed of the same description of personages and incidents, -given often with much ingenuity, but also often in the -worst taste, and always betokening a limited power of invention. -Of this school Calderon de la Barca was the great -type, both as regards his merits and defects. Lopez de Vega -too, though his comedies are more representations of manners -and every-day life than Calderon’s, only showed his capability -of something better, if he had allowed his genius to seek a -reputation for perfectness, rather than for fecundity. The inferior -order of writers mistook the errors of these for excellences, -and thus exaggerated them.</p> - -<p>There were not, however, wanting in Spain persons of -better judgement, who observed those errors with a view to -correct them, and among whom the prominent place is due to -the two Moratins, father and son. Of these the former seem<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>s -to have been the first of his countrymen who openly denounced -the wrong tendencies of the national dramatists; -and the latter, following in the same track, may be pronounced -the great reformer of the Spanish stage, to whom it -owes some of its best productions.</p> - -<p>The elder Moratin was one of the ablest writers of verses -in Spain during the last century, before the new æra of -poetry arose, and his merits, if not of themselves superior to -those of his contemporaries, have had an advantage over -them, in connexion with the reputation of the son, who has -rendered them more celebrated by a pleasing memoir of his -father, prefixed to his works. From this we learn, that if -the father did not attain a high rank himself as a poet or -dramatist, yet he well deserves to be remembered as a bold -and judicious critic, who, both by precept and example, -effected much good in his own day, and still more by instilling -good lessons into the mind of the son, so as to enable -him to attain his merited success.</p> - -<p>In the words of this memoir, “Calderon at that time enjoyed -so high a reputation, that it appeared a sacrilegious -hardihood to notice defects in his comedies or sacramental -pieces, which, repeated annually on the stage with every possible -pomp and appliance, delighted the vulgar of all classes, -and perpetuated the applauses of their famous author. Moratin -published three Discourses, which he entitled, ‘Exposition -of the Misconceptions of the Spanish Theatre,’ written -with the good judgement of a man of taste, and with the zeal -of a citizen interested in the progression and literary glory of -his country. In the first he showed the defects in which the -old plays abounded; as also the modern, with which poets, -without rule or plan, supplied the players, sanctioning every -time more irregularity and ignorance. In the two following, -he proved that the Autos of Calderon, so admired by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -multitude, ought not to be suffered in a country that prided -itself as civilized. It is unnecessary to say what opposition -these discourses encountered; it is enough to add, that the -third was scarcely published when the government prohibited -the repetition of what he had condemned:—a memorable -epoch in the annals of the Spanish stage, which can never remember, -without praise, that judicious and intrepid writer to -whom it owed so useful a reform.”</p> - -<p>Of this able critic, Leandro Moratin was the only son that -survived childhood. He was born at Madrid, the 10th of -March, 1760, and in his earliest years is described as having -been remarkable for infantile grace and vivacity. At four -years of age, however, he unfortunately had a severe attack of -the smallpox, which not only left its disfiguring marks on his -countenance, but also seemed to have changed his character, -making him the rest of his life shy and reserved. As he -grew up he shunned all playfellows; like Demophilus, he -was a man among boys,—Κεῖνος γὰρ ἐν παισὶν νέος—and -devoting himself to drawing and making juvenile verses, pursued -his favourite studies in secret, so that even the father -seemed not to have been ever fully aware of the bent of his -son’s genius.</p> - -<p>The elder Moratin, whose father had been jewel-keeper to -Isabel Farnesi, widow of Philip V., had been brought up to -the profession of the law, in which he had not acquired any -eminence, though he had some as an author. Seeing his -son’s talent for drawing, he had first intended him to take -advantage of it as an artist, but finally placed him with a -brother, Miguel de Moratin, who was a jeweller, to learn his -occupation. In his earlier years the younger Moratin had -been only at an obscure private school in Madrid, but he had -good examples and lessons at home, and recourse to his -father’s library, where he found all the best works in Spani<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>sh -literature, for secret study, beyond the tasks set in routine for -his education. In 1779 the Spanish Academy, in the course -of its objects for the promotion of literary pursuits, had -offered, as a subject for a prize poem, The Taking of Granada; -when the Accessit was awarded to a competitor who had signed -himself Efren de Lardnoz y Morante. On this person being -called for, Leandro Moratin, to the surprise of his father, -presented himself as the author, producing the rough copy of -the verses he had sent. This was naturally a source of great -delight to the father, who might thus foresee, in hope at -least, his son’s future success. But he did not live to witness -it, having died the following year, at only forty-two years of -age, leaving a widow dependent on his son’s labours as a -working jeweller. At this business he continued, therefore, -combining however with it his former studies, as far as his -leisure permitted him.</p> - -<p>In 1782 he obtained the honour of another Accessit from -the Academy for a Satire on the vicious practices introduced -into the Spanish language, and a greater feeling thereupon -arose in his favour from literary persons who remembered his -father, with the respect due to his merits. Hence, also, -Leandro Moratin, notwithstanding his natural reserve, was -drawn from his retirement into the company of several young -men of kindred tastes and pursuits, whose conversation and -society had great and good effect on his mind and future -efforts.</p> - -<p>In 1785 he published an edition of his father’s poems, -with reflections, which may be considered his first essay on -criticism and declaration of opinion on matters of taste, according -to the precepts of the purest classicism, then so much -in fashion. From his earliest years he had been much attached -to the theatre, then sunk to the low state which he so -feelingly describes in the preliminary discourse to his Comed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>ies, -subsequently published; and having witnessed his father’s -anxiety to reform its abuses, he felt it a sort of inheritance -left him to attempt the task. He had already begun one of -his plays, which however he had not sufficient leisure to complete, -on account of the demands for his daily labour; but -about this time his mother died, and Leandro had then only -his own wants to consider.</p> - -<p>At the same time the good and great Jovellanos, whose -notice he had attracted, proposed him as secretary to the -Conde de Cabarrus, then going to Paris on a special mission, -where accordingly Leandro went with that able and enlightened -statesman, in January 1787, returning to Madrid in the -January following. Shortly after the Conde and Jovellanos -fell into ill-favour at court, and all their friends were involved -in their fall. Moratin took shelter in the obscurity of his -original occupation, and so escaped notice. He completed -his play, but could not get it represented, and in the course -of delays had the license for it withdrawn. He wished to be -exempt from labour for maintenance, to give himself up to -his favourite studies, but sought in vain for other means of -attaining this end than from the favour of the government. -A change in the ministry having now occurred, he wrote a -petition, in verse, to the Conde de Florida Blanca, in which, -humorously depicting his wants, he asked a small benefice -in the church. This, though a very small one, was granted -him, and thereupon he had to take the first orders of the -tonsure. Shortly afterwards, Godoy, Prince of the Peace, -came into power, and became a still more effectual patron for -Moratin, on whom he conferred other benefices and favours, -to the amount of about £600 a year sterling, so that he became -at once, for his position in life, wealthy, and enabled to -devote himself entirely to literature.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p> - -<p>It has been the fashion lately for all parties to decry Godoy, -and there can be no doubt that he was guilty of much misconduct -in the exercise of power. But he was in this only -acting according to the circumstances in which he was placed, -and the favourite and minister of a weak-minded and despotic -monarch could not be expected to have acted much otherwise -than he did. In the memoirs he published in his later years -in his justification, Godoy has, in a tone of apparent sincerity -and earnestness, sometimes amounting even to eloquence, -shown that often he could not have acted otherwise, and that -his faults were the faults of his position, while his merits -were his own. He declares that he was the first minister in -Spain who curbed the power of the Inquisition, and that he -had never instituted any prosecution for private opinions. -His treatment of Jovellanos he might well excuse to himself, -as a return for hostility manifested to him under circumstances -that he might consider to warrant it. But of other -eminent men of learning and of the arts he was the munificent -patron, of Melendez among others, and of Moratin more -especially. The former dedicated to him the second edition -of his works, and Moratin now one of his plays, which had -been received with much favour. From this dedication, a -judgement may be formed by the translation, of the spirit of -Moratin, that, while under the sense of great obligations, he -did not condescend, like other poets, to flatter his Mæcenas’s -vanity by ascriptions of descent from ancient kings or other -fictions; but dwelt only on his personal qualities, and the -great power which he undoubtedly possessed, as exercised -in his favour. The same spirit Moratin showed in his letter -to Jovellanos, in which adulation could less be imputed -to him, as that illustrious individual was in disgrace at court, -and no longer the dispenser of the favours of the gover<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>nment.</p> - -<p>But Moratin showed the independence of his character still -more decidedly, in refusing the request made by Godoy that -he should write eulogistic verses on a lady of the court; and -it is to the honour of Godoy, we are informed, that though -he was at first angry at the refusal, he passed it over without -subsequent notice.</p> - -<p>To another request made by Godoy, for an ode on the -Battle of Trafalgar, Moratin acceded, though it is stated with -considerable disinclination to the task. He could not, he replied -at first, celebrate a lost battle, and as Hermosillia tells -us, could not hide from himself the ridiculousness of having -to represent a complete defeat as a glorious triumph, though -the “dreaded Nelson” had fallen in it. He felt bound, however, -to obey the favourite and to reconcile his task to justice, -wrote his ‘Shade of Nelson,’ in imitation of the Prophecy of -Nereus, and of the Tagus by Fray Luis de Leon. In this -poem, he represents Nelson appearing the same night on the -heights of Trafalgar, and foretelling England’s approaching -ruin, notwithstanding the victory which had been gained “so -dearly, as to be in reality a discomfiture.” He observes, that -“Napoleon, having overcome the Austrians, would now turn -all his energies to the conquest of England, while Spain -would raise a mightier fleet to join him. He therefore counselled -his countrymen to abandon their ambitious projects -and make peace, and to create disunion in foreign countries -by corrupting their cabinets, for the purpose of maintaining -their preponderance.” The thoughts are expressed in elegant -poetical language, but the whole argument shows how little -feeling he had in favour of the subject. In the last edition -of his works prepared for publication before his death, he -took care to have it omitted, but it has been again inserted -in subsequent editions.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p> - -<p>Prior to this, however, he had had a full opportunity of -judging the character of the English nation. He had obtained -permission to go abroad from Godoy, who also munificently -gave him the means for that purpose. He first went -to Paris, where he had scarcely arrived, in September 1792, -when hearing a great tumult in the streets, and looking out -for the occasion of it, he saw the head of the Princess de -Lamballe borne along by the infuriated multitude on a pike. -Horror-struck at the sight, he immediately left Paris for -London, as, says his biographer, “anxious to contemplate for -the first time true liberty arrayed in popular forms, without -the mortal convulsions of licentiousness, or the withering -foot-marks of oppression.” Here he stayed about a year, -taking notes of the lively impressions made on him of the -“character, ideas, traditions, legislation, and political and -commercial tendency of that singular nation, so worthy of -being studied.” It may be allowed us to regret that those -notes were never published, and perhaps the censor’s license -for them could not have been obtained. The only fruit of his -visit was a translation of Hamlet, which he published in 1798, -on his return.</p> - -<p>On leaving England, Moratin passed through Flanders and -some parts of Germany and Switzerland to Italy, whence, after -visiting all the principal cities there, he returned to Spain in -December 1796. Previous to his arrival in Madrid, he had -been appointed Secretary Interpreter of languages, a valuable -appointment in itself, but still more so to him, as it left him -sufficient leisure for study. He took advantage of this to -proceed with several dramas with which he enriched the -Spanish stage, and had projected others which he felt under -the necessity of abandoning. In several of his pieces, and -especially in the Mogigata, which Maury translates La Femelle -Tartuffe, he had offended the clerical party, so that he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -was denounced to the Inquisition, and though preserved from -their power under the protection of Godoy, he was subjected -to many and great annoyances. In consequence of these, he -determined to give up further writing for the stage, contenting -himself with producing afterwards only some translations -from the French, and with preparing his most valuable work, -‘On the Spanish Theatre.’ This work treats the subject historically, -and abounds with much interesting information as -well as sound criticisms. On it he passed the latter years of -his life, so that it was not published until after his death.</p> - -<p>Shortly after his return from Italy he was named one of a -commission to reform the stage, and on this proving insufficient -for the purposes intended, he was appointed Director of -Theatres by royal order. No one, it might be thought, could -be better adapted for this office, and it would have seemed -one agreeable to his inclinations; but he declined it, preferring -to effect the reforms he recommended by example rather than -by exercise of authority.</p> - -<p>The events of the 19th March, 1808, deprived Godoy of -his power, and the French armies soon after entered Madrid. -Moratin had remained at his post in the execution of the -duties of his office, and became involved in the course of proceedings, -the final character of which he could not foresee. -He was set down as one of the French party, and so exposed -to public obloquy, that when the French had to evacuate -Madrid, he felt himself under the necessity of going with -them. When they returned he returned with them, and was -appointed, by Joseph Buonaparte, Chief of the Royal Library, -an appointment which was most congenial to his taste, and -which would have been exceedingly appropriate for him to -accept, had it been only from the national government.</p> - -<p>As it was, he had to fly from Madrid a second time wit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>h -the intruders, and henceforth there was nothing for him in -life but privations to endure. Some houses which he had -bought had been seized, and one of them sold. Another, -which was restored to him, had been much injured, and his -books and property destroyed. His benefices were denied -him; a merchant, with whom he had entrusted his money, -became bankrupt; and a dependent, in whom he had confided, -by his defalcation brought a further heavy loss on his means. -He had at first retired to France, but having been excepted -from the list of the proscribed by Ferdinand VII., he returned -to Spain, and for a length of time resided at Barcelona. But -the Inquisition was attempting to rise again into power, and -Moratin, naturally of a timid disposition, felt himself marked -out for a victim. He could not submit to live subject to be -watched and kept in constant alarm; and even when this -office was finally put down, he felt the frequent recurrence of -public commotions more agitating than he could endure. He -therefore determined again to retire to France, first to Bayonne, -in 1823, and afterwards to Bordeaux, to live with a -friend, named Silvela, who had a seminary at that place, and -in whose society he felt sure of enjoying domestic happiness.</p> - -<p>Through his whole life, Moratin seems to have required -the aid of friends on whom to rely for daily needs and attentions; -and it was fortunate for him, in his advanced age and -under the pressure of infirmities, to possess such a resting-place -as in Silvela’s establishment. Shortly after this friend -removed to Paris, where also Moratin followed him, and there -he died, the 21st June, 1828. He was buried in the cemetery -of Père la Chaise, in one of the lines to the right of the -chapel, between the remains of Molière and Lafontaine, where -a simple monument, with a cinerary urn, marks his grave.</p> - -<p><a href="#note21" title="See note">“There,” says his biographer</a>, “in a foreign land, lies a celebrated -Spaniard, to whom his country did not offer sufficient -security to allow him to die tranquilly in her bosom. A man<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -averse to all party feeling, obedient to existing authority, whether -of fact or of right, absorbed in his studies, teacher from -his retirement of the purest morality, incapable of injuring -any one, or of exciting disorder even indirectly, he had to -wander forth many years, not proscribed, but driven away by -apprehensions too justly entertained.”</p> - -<p>After his death there were several editions of his works -published, both in France and Spain: the last one in the collection -of Spanish authors by Rivadeneyra, Madrid 1848, as -the last seems most correct and complete. This republication -is more interesting, as also containing, in the same volume, -the works of his father, Nicolas Moratin. It is to be regretted -that other works of his, yet existing in manuscript, -have not been added, especially the account of his travels.</p> - -<p>Moratin was an exceedingly careful writer, and very fastidious -in the correction of his verses. His admirers, especially -those of the classic school, have praised him as a great lyric -poet, even superior to Melendez. This, however, he felt was -not just; and without derogating from his merits, we must -pronounce him far inferior to that eminent poet, whose works -surpassed all that had preceded him in Spanish poetry. The -fame of Moratin must rest on his plays, into which, however, -it is not the object of this work to enter, confined as it is to -lyric poetry. They are only five in number, and, like Sheridan’s, -are remarkable for neatness and elegance of dialogue, -as much as for incident and character. The Spanish theatre -owes all its subsequent merit to Moratin; he reformed the -taste of the times by giving the stage better works than it -had previously possessed, and assuredly was thus one of the -greatest public benefactors of his age.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p> - -<h3>LEANDRO FERNANDEZ MORATIN.</h3> - -<h4>DEDICATION OF THE COMEDY OF THE MOGIGATA -TO THE PRINCE OF THE PEACE.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">This moral fiction, which the facile Muse,</div> -<div class="verse">Thalia kind inspired, and which await</div> -<div class="verse">The numerous crowds that throng the Spanish scene,</div> -<div class="verse">Therein acquiring voice, and life, and form,</div> -<div class="verse">To thee I now present, with feelings pure</div> -<div class="verse">Of gratitude and love. By other path</div> -<div class="verse">The difficult height of Pindus to ascend,</div> -<div class="verse">In vain have I aspired, in vain; and oft</div> -<div class="verse">Have wept me baffled, o’er the bold attempt.</div> -<div class="verse">How often, striking the Aonian chords,</div> -<div class="verse">To win her have I sought, so fleeting, coy,</div> -<div class="verse">The beauty that in silence I adore!</div> -<div class="verse">To imitate the voice and harmony,</div> -<div class="verse">Which Echo erst repeated in the woods</div> -<div class="verse">Of green Zurgüen: oft as Clio waked</div> -<div class="verse">The trumpet that diffuses martial rage,</div> -<div class="verse">I wish’d, with her sublimest ardour fired,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -<div class="verse">To celebrate the lofty deeds of Spain:</div> -<div class="verse">From her proud neck as beating, broken off,</div> -<div class="verse">The barbarous yoke; the conqueror in turn</div> -<div class="verse">Conquer’d on the burning sands of Libya:</div> -<div class="verse">Numantia with the miseries appeased,</div> -<div class="verse">Proud Rome was doom’d to know, abandon’d prey</div> -<div class="verse">To frightful military outrages:</div> -<div class="verse">Cortes, in the valley of Otumba,</div> -<div class="verse">Lord of the golden standard, at his feet</div> -<div class="verse">The sceptre of the West! but angrily,</div> -<div class="verse">Menander’s muse offended, soon reproved</div> -<div class="verse">My error, and the lyre and pastoral pipe</div> -<div class="verse">Snatch’d from me, and the clarion of Mars.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">“Follow,” she said to me, “the only track</div> -<div class="verse">Which my voice indicates, if thou wouldst seek</div> -<div class="verse">The honour, that despite of silent death,</div> -<div class="verse">May make thy name immortal. I in love</div> -<div class="verse">A thousand times upon thy infant lip</div> -<div class="verse">Have printed a soft kiss, and bade thee sleep</div> -<div class="verse">To the repeated heavenly tones I raised.</div> -<div class="verse">Thou my delight wast ever, and my care;</div> -<div class="verse">And the propitious gifts, which Nature shed</div> -<div class="verse">On thee, it was my joy to cultivate.</div> -<div class="verse">Now with loud festive acclamation sounds</div> -<div class="verse">Thy country’s scene in thy just praise, on high</div> -<div class="verse">Thy glory to affirm. Thou follow on</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -<div class="verse">To sacred Helicon, which Cynthia bathes</div> -<div class="verse">With her immortal light, the Muses’ crown</div> -<div class="verse">Of ivy and of laurel there to gain.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Be not offended, Sir, if e’er so poor</div> -<div class="verse">The tribute that I dedicate; and what</div> -<div class="verse">Could worthy be the greatness of thy name?</div> -<div class="verse">The gift is humble, the desire is rich;</div> -<div class="verse">And not sufficing more my sterile vein,</div> -<div class="verse">What I can give I offer. Prostrate thus,</div> -<div class="verse">On the rude altars he has raised, is wont</div> -<div class="verse">The husbandman to heap the simple fruits</div> -<div class="verse">Of his fields gather’d round; and offering them</div> -<div class="verse">To the high tutelar deity he adores,</div> -<div class="verse">Spreads them forth grateful, incenses and flowers.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>EPISTLE TO DON GASPAR DE JOVELLANOS, -SENT FROM ROME.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Yes! the pure friendship, that in kindly bonds</div> -<div class="verse">Our souls united, durable exists,</div> -<div class="verse">Illustrious Jovino! nor can time,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor distance, nor the mountains us between,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor stormy seas hoarse roaring, separate</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Remembrance of thee from my memory.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">The sound of Mars, that now sweet peace awhile</div> -<div class="verse">Suspends, has long unhappy silence placed</div> -<div class="verse">On my affection. Thou I know content</div> -<div class="verse">Livest in obscure delicious quietude,</div> -<div class="verse">For ever with untiring zeal inspired</div> -<div class="verse">To aid the public weal; of virtue e’er.</div> -<div class="verse">And talent, the protector and the friend.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">These verses which I frame unpolish’d, free,</div> -<div class="verse">Though not corrected with thy learned taste,</div> -<div class="verse">In truth announce to thee my constant faith.</div> -<div class="verse">And so may Heaven but soon to me return</div> -<div class="verse">The hour again to see thee, and relate</div> -<div class="verse">Familiarly discoursing, to my view</div> -<div class="verse">Whatever of its varied scenes the world</div> -<div class="verse">Presented. From my native shores to those</div> -<div class="verse">Which bathes the Seine, blood-stain’d and turbulent;</div> -<div class="verse">The daring Briton’s, master of the sea,</div> -<div class="verse">To the bold Belgian’s; from the deep-flowing Rhine</div> -<div class="verse">To the high tops of Apennine snow-crown’d,</div> -<div class="verse">And that height further, which in burning smoke</div> -<div class="verse">Covers and ashes over Naples wide,</div> -<div class="verse">The different nations I have visited,</div> -<div class="verse">Acquiring useful knowledge, never gain’d</div> -<div class="verse">By learned reading in retired abodes.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -<div class="verse">For there we cannot see the difference great</div> -<div class="verse">Which climate, worship, arts, opinions,</div> -<div class="verse">And laws occasion. That is found alone,</div> -<div class="verse">If thou wouldst study man, in man himself.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Now the rough Winter, which augments the waves</div> -<div class="verse">Of Tiber, on his banks has me detain’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Inhabitant of Rome. O! that with thee</div> -<div class="verse">’Twere granted me to rove through her, to scan</div> -<div class="verse">The wonderful remains of glories past,</div> -<div class="verse">Which Time, whose force can naught resist, has spared!</div> -<div class="verse">Thou nursling of the Muses and the Arts,</div> -<div class="verse">Faithful oracle of bright history,</div> -<div class="verse">What learning thou wouldst give the affluent lip;</div> -<div class="verse">What images sublime, by genius fired,</div> -<div class="verse">In the great empire’s ruin thou wouldst find!</div> -<div class="verse">Fell the great city, which had triumph’d o’er</div> -<div class="verse">The nations the most warlike, and with her</div> -<div class="verse">Ended the Latin valour and renown.</div> -<div class="verse">And she who to the Betis from the Nile</div> -<div class="verse">Her eagles proudly bore, the child of Mars,</div> -<div class="verse">The Capitol with barbarous trophies deck’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Conducting to her car of ivory bound</div> -<div class="verse">Great kings subdued, amid the hoarse applause</div> -<div class="verse">Of wide-throng’d forums, and the trumpet’s sounds,</div> -<div class="verse">Who to the world gave laws, now horrible</div> -<div class="verse">Night covers her. She perish’d, nor expect</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -<div class="verse">More tokens of her ancient worth to find.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Those mouldering edifices, which the plough</div> -<div class="verse">Breaks through in shapeless masses, once they were</div> -<div class="verse">Circuses, strong palaces, and theatres;</div> -<div class="verse">Proud arches, costly baths, and sepulchres;</div> -<div class="verse">Where thou mayst hear perchance, for so ’tis said,</div> -<div class="verse">In the deep silence of the gloomy shade,</div> -<div class="verse">A funeral lament, they only tell</div> -<div class="verse">The glory of the people of Quirinus.</div> -<div class="verse">And this to future races but remains</div> -<div class="verse">The mistress of the world, illustrious Rome!</div> -<div class="verse">This and no more remain’d? of all her arts</div> -<div class="verse">And dreaded power? What could not aught avail</div> -<div class="verse">Her virtue, wisdom, valour, all conjoin’d,</div> -<div class="verse">With such her opulence, the law severe</div> -<div class="verse">To mitigate, or stay the blows of fate?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Alas! if all is mortal—if to Time</div> -<div class="verse">Alike the strong wall and the tender flower</div> -<div class="verse">Must yield—if that will bronze and porphyry break,</div> -<div class="verse">Destroying them and burying in dust,</div> -<div class="verse">For whom so guards unhappy Avarice</div> -<div class="verse">His treasuries untouch’d? for whom foretells</div> -<div class="verse">Immortal fame, the adulation vile</div> -<div class="verse">That crimes and violence traitorous exalts?</div> -<div class="verse">For what so hastening to the tomb runs on</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The human race, revengeful, envious,</div> -<div class="verse">And haughty? Why, if all that e’er exists,</div> -<div class="verse">And what man sees is all but ruins? all.</div> -<div class="verse">For never to return the hours fly past</div> -<div class="verse">Precipitate, and to their end but lead,</div> -<div class="verse">Of the most lofty empires of the earth,</div> -<div class="verse">The perishable splendour. The Deity,</div> -<div class="verse">That hidden animates the universe,</div> -<div class="verse">Alone eternal lives, and He alone</div> -<div class="verse">Is powerful and great.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="V">V.<br /> -<span class="smaller"><a href="#note22" title="See note">JUAN BAUTISTA DE ARRIAZA.</a></span></h3> - -<p>In the history of the literature of every country, it is interesting -to observe with what noiseless steps true genius generally -proceeds to win popular favour, compared with the means to -which mediocrity resorts for whatever share of notice it can -attain. There are some writers who, with great talent, have -some counterbalancing deficiency, respecting whose merits -more discussion will be consequently excited, than respecting -the superior qualities of others, not liable to the same observations. -To obtain that kind of notoriety, it is often requisite -to belong to some school or party, whose praise will give a -temporary importance to works written, according to their -taste or system, while those out of their pale will be passed -over with at best only cold commendations. In Spain, as elsewhere, -poetry has had its classical and romantic schools, and -the merits of all writers, belonging to one or the other of -them, were fully set forth by their respective partisans; while, -if there happened to be one who could not be claimed by -either, like Arriaza, he was allowed to pass comparatively -unnoticed by the critics of the day.</p> - -<p>Of this very pleasing author no detailed biography has -been published; and his claims to be considered one of the -first modern poets of Spain seem to be scarcely recogn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>ized by -his countrymen, who read with surprise the commendations -passed on him abroad. Thus they have allowed seven editions -of his works to be circulated and exhausted, without -satisfying our curiosity by any of those particulars of private -life, with which we love to consider the characters of worth -and genius. All we are informed of him, in the short notices -given of Arriaza by Wolf, Maury and Ochoa, is, that he was -born at Madrid, in the year 1770, where the last-mentioned -writer also says he died, in 1837.</p> - -<p>From his name, it would seem that he was of Basque descent, -and his family connections must have been “noble” -and influential, from his career through life, though we have -no account given of them. We learn, however, that he was -educated at the Seminary of Nobles at Madrid, whence he -was afterwards sent a cadet to the Military College at Segovia, -and that he finally entered the navy. In one of his -Epistles, in verse, he informs us that he was engaged in the -expedition to Oran, and thence sailed to Constantinople, of -which he gives a poetical description.</p> - -<p>In 1798 he had to quit this service, on account of a disease -of the eyes; and he then published the first edition of his -poems. In 1802 he was appointed Secretary of Legation at -London, and there wrote his principal poem, ‘Emilia,’ which -was published at Madrid in the year following. The subject -was the wish of a lady of fortune to bring up orphan children -and others to the study of the fine arts; and it contains -many fine passages, but was left unfinished.</p> - -<p>In 1805 he went to Paris, where also he resided some time. -On his return to Spain, he took part in the struggles against -the French, having entered the ranks as a soldier, and having -by his verses also vehemently instigated his countrymen to -rise against the invaders. Of all the poets of the day, -he seems to have been the most prolific in those patriotic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -effusions, which, no doubt, agreeing so well with the national -temperament, had no small effect in keeping up the spirit of -the Spanish people throughout the war. When the French -entered Madrid, Arriaza, while engaged in resisting them, -had a brother killed by his side, fighting in the same cause, -to whose memory he has given a tribute of affection accordingly -among his verses.</p> - -<p>In the subsequent discussions in Spain respecting the government, -Arriaza took part with those who advocated the -rights of the absolute king. For this advocacy, on the return -of Ferdinand VII. to full power, he received his reward, -having been appointed Knight of the Order of Charles III., -and Secretary of Decrees, besides receiving several other minor -favours and offices. Henceforth Arriaza seems to have passed -his life at court, in the quiet enjoyment of literary pursuits. -He might be considered the Poet Laureate of Spain, as he -seems to have allowed scarcely any opportunity to pass by -unhonoured, of paying homage to the court in celebration -of birthdays and other such occasions. His works abound -with these loyal effusions, though they might generally have -been better omitted.</p> - -<p>It must, however, be said, in justice, that he was evidently -sincere in those principles, to which he adhered under all -circumstances, even when the Constitutionalists were in the -ascendent. Once only he was betrayed into an eulogium of -the other line of opinions, which had an effect rather ludicrous, -so far as he was concerned in it. In 1820, when the -constitution of 1812 had been anew promulgated, a friend of -his, Don Luis de Onis, was appointed minister from Spain to -Naples, and a banquet having been given him on his departure, -Arriaza was induced to write verses on the occasion, -which, full of apparent enthusiasm, abounded in spirit and -beautiful images, beyond his usual facility and fuln<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>ess of expression. -Carried away, no doubt, by the contagion of the -company, he gave way to what, in soberer mood, he would have -thought most dangerous doctrines. He painted the envoy as -going “to Parthenope to announce our revolution;” adding, -“To Parthenope that is now groaning beneath flowery chains, -and to whom, though her syrens celebrate her in songs of -slavery, thou wilt be the Spanish Tyrtæus, and raise them to -the high employ to sing of country and virtue;” praising the -heroism of Riego as to be offered as an example, “to throw -down the holds of oppression.” The Neapolitan government -obtained notice of this composition, and actually used it as -sufficient cause for objecting to receive Don Luis as Spanish -minister, “because he was coming to inculcate revolutionary -principles.” Arriaza heard with horror that he was stigmatized -as a liberal, and was urgent to disclaim such opinions, notwithstanding -what he had written. Don Luis meanwhile -was detained at Rome, until, by a strange coincidence, the -revolution broke out at Naples also, and he entered the city -almost as in fulfilment of the prophecy, that he was to be the -harbinger of it.</p> - -<p>The best edition of Arriaza’s works is that of 1829, printed -at the Royal Press of Madrid, of which the one of Paris, 1834, -is a reprint. They consist of almost all varieties of song, and -are almost all equally charming. His satirical pieces even -are light and pleasing, as well as his anacreontic and erotic -effusions, while his patriotic songs and odes breathe a spirit -well suited to the subjects.</p> - -<p>Maury, who has made him better known abroad by his -praises than others, his contemporaries, seems to have regarded -him with especial favour. He says of him:—“Depuis Lope de -Vega, M. d’Arriaza est le seul de nos poëtes qui nous semble -penser en vers. La nature le fit poëte, les évènements l’ont -fait auteur. Il était arrivé à sa réputation littéraire sans<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> y -prétendre, il l’accrue pour ainsi dire à son corps défendant.” -In truth he seems to have poured forth his verses without effort, -as a bird does its song, with a simplicity and truthfulness -which went to the heart of the hearer, and left in it a sensation -of their being only the echoes of its own. As Maury has well -observed, “parlent à la raison et à l’esprit, comme au cœur -et à l’imagination, elles offrent en même temps aux amateurs -de la langue Castillane les sons harmonieux et les tournures -piquantes qui la distinguent avec une grande élégance de -diction et une clarté rare chez la plupart de nos écrivains.”</p> - -<p>It is true that his style is exceedingly easy, and the expression -generally very clear, but it must also be acknowledged, -on the part of the translator, that obscurities are -frequently to be found in his lines, when he must discover a -meaning for himself. It was Arriaza’s own doctrine in the -prologue to his works, “that there can be no true expression -of ideas where there does not reign the utmost clearness of -diction; that what the reader does not conceive at the first -simple reading, cannot make in his imagination the prompt -effect required, and much less move his heart in any way. -This clearness,” he observes, “should also be associated with a -constant elegance of expression; though he does not consider -this elegance to consist in a succession of grammatical inversions, -or revolving adjectives, or metaphor on metaphor, -but the mode most select and noble of saying things becomingly -to the style in which they are written.”</p> - -<p>Arriaza was eminently what the French call a <i lang="fr">poëte de -société</i>; and thus his verses were favourites with the higher -classes particularly. He abjured the practices of the Romanticists -who affected to despise the shackles of metre, as if the -melody of verse, being merely mechanism, were of inferior -consideration. On the contrary, he intimates that he considers -it of primary importance, as if “whether a statue should <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>be -made of wax or marble.” Thus he made cadence a principal -study, and his verses becoming thereby better adapted for -music, obtained greater vogue in the higher circles by means -of accompaniments. Some even seem to have been expressly -written for that purpose; for instance, among other pieces of -a domestic character, one, a very pleasing Recitative, in which -his wife and daughter join him in thanksgiving for his recovery -from a dangerous illness. Though generally far from -being impassioned, some of his verses are full of tender feeling, -as the ‘Young Sailor’s Farewell.’ This may be pronounced -the most popular piece of modern poetry in Spain, -being most in the memories of those whom he himself calls -“the natural judges in these matters, the youth of both -sexes, in whose lively imagination and sensible hearts may -find better acceptation, the only two gifts with which I may -rejoice to have endowed my verses, naturalness and harmony.”</p> - -<p>Arriaza must have acquired in his youth the rudiments of -a sound education, and he was distinguished in later life for -a knowledge of the French, Italian and English languages. -Still he was not considered by his contemporaries as a person -of extensive reading; and thus we do not find in his works -any allusions or illustrations of a classical character, though -it is almost ludicrous to observe with what pertinacity he -introduces the personages of the heathen mythology, on all -occasions where he can do so. Some of his ideas also run -into the ridiculous, as in one of his best pieces, ‘La Profecia -del Pirineo,’ he says, that on the heroic defenders of Zaragoza -“there were at once on their faithful brows raining bombs -and laurels.”</p> - -<p>The Ode to Trafalgar, notwithstanding its being liable to -the observation above made, of too frequent invocations of -the Muses, is an admirable exemplification of an appropri<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>ate -poem on such a subject. This battle, no doubt on account -of its decisive effect, has been more celebrated than others. -But it must be acknowledged to have been an unequal fight -between the British and the Spanish portion of the allied -fleet, as the former were in a high state of discipline, and the -latter were newly levied and hurried out of port, before the -officers and men had become sufficiently acquainted with one -another to take their respective parts, with the precision -necessary for such an occasion. Yet it is well known that -the Spaniards fought with desperate and unswerving courage -throughout, and their poets were therefore well warranted in -taking the subject, as one doing honour to the national -bravery.</p> - -<p>The circumstances of the battle have lately again come -into discussion in Spain, with naturally considerable warmth, -on M. Thiers, in his History of the Consulate and the Empire, -having been guilty of the extraordinary error to allege -that the Spanish fleet fled, the greater part of them, from -the battle, when, in fact, it was only the division of the -French Admiral Dumanoir that had done so. This he did -“for the purpose of preserving a naval division for France,” -as Dumanoir himself afterwards stated, in his justification, -though he was disappointed in that patriotic wish, having -been met a few days after by Sir Robert Calder’s squadron, -when all his four ships were taken in a less renowned combat.</p> - -<p>The translation of the Ode has been made as nearly into -the same metre with the original, as the forms of verse used -in the two languages would admit. That of the ‘Farewell’ -may be considered in the same light also, though the original -has the first and fourth lines rhyming together, and the second -with the third. This is an old and common form in Spanish -poetry, and agrees well with our alternate lines of eight and -six syllables, which Johnson considered “the most soft an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>d -pleasing of our lyric measures.” In the Ode, it is interesting -to observe not only the manly style of sentiment throughout, -but also the absence of any ungenerous feeling against the -English. Arriaza had, however, both as a seaman and a diplomatist, -while resident in England, had sufficient opportunities -of learning to think more justly of the English character -than some other writers of the Continent.</p> - -<p>Beyond his poems, Arriaza wrote several political pamphlets. -The first was published at Seville in 1809, after the -battle of Talavera, when the English, notwithstanding the -victory, had to retreat into Portugal, giving occasion to the -French party in Spain to allege that they were about to -abandon the country to the French, and keep possession of -the principal ports. In this pamphlet, which he entitled the -‘Pharos of Public Opinion,’ Arriaza combated these suspicions, -and by a strenuous assertion of the good faith of the -English, succeeded in disabusing the minds of his countrymen -of what he termed “such malignant insinuations.”</p> - -<p>The second pamphlet he termed ‘Virtue of Necessity,’ -shortly after the disastrous battle of Ocania; and its object -was to stimulate the English government and nation to give -more assistance than they had yet done, by money and otherwise. -He proposed in return to give the English free right -of commerce with the Spanish colonies in America, at least -for a stated period, observing that they already had extensive -dealings with them by contraband, and that the free commerce -would make the English neutral, at least, in the question -of the colonies wishing to declare themselves independent, -while otherwise it would be their interest to have them independent. -This pamphlet especially is full of sound statesmanlike -ideas, and proves how well he was acquainted with -the state of public feeling in England, on the several particulars -respecting which he was writing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p> - -<p>A third pamphlet he wrote in English, and published it in -London in 1810, where he was then sent on the part of the -Spanish government. This he entitled ‘Observations on the -system of war of the Allies in the Peninsula;’ and he endeavoured -in it to urge the English to send more troops to the -Peninsula, at certain points, where he considered they would -be of most avail in disconcerting the plans of the French, and -assisting the Guerrilla warfare the Spaniards were carrying -on. He explained the determined fidelity of the Spaniards -to the cause of their independence, but showed they would -be insufficient to effect it, without the assistance he came to -seek. This pamphlet was favourably received in England, -and was noticed in Parliament; and the author had the good -fortune to hope that his efforts had been successful, as he -says, “The English government then sent greater reinforcements -to their army, which emerging from its inaction, -acquired the superiority preserved until the happy conclusion -of the war.”</p> - -<p>For these and other writings, Arriaza received the thanks -of the Regency in the name of the king, and had just cause -to consider that a sufficient counterbalance to the misrepresentations -made of his conduct in France, and elsewhere, by -the opposite party. In a note affixed to the last edition of -his poems, he complains that in a work published in France, -‘Biography of Contemporary Characters,’ there was an article -respecting him “full of errors, even regarding the most public -circumstances of his life,” which he seems to have considered -written from party feeling. If his surmises were correct, it -is the more to be regretted that he did not take the best -means of correcting those misrepresentations, by giving an -authentic biographical account of his career in reply. He might -thus not only have done justice to himself, but also have -satisfied the desires of his admirers, who would naturally have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -felt sufficient interest in his fame to have rejoiced in those -details. Whatever may be the course which a man of genius -takes in public life from honest principles, he may always -rely on finding in literature a neutral harbour where he may -retire in confidence from all turmoils, and expect full justice -awarded to his motives and memory. In the midst of political -contentions, where so much always depends on circumstances -with which we are little acquainted, it is often difficult -at the time to know what is the proper course to follow. -It is enough for us that those we admire have ever been distinguished -for their sincerity and uprightness in the conduct -they pursued.</p> - -<p>With regard to Arriaza, our greatest regret must be that, -with his apparently extreme facility of versification, and capability -of elevating his mind to the conception of nobler subjects, -he confined his genius so much to trivial events of the -day, and thus wrote for his contemporaries instead of for -posterity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p> - -<h3>JUAN BAUTISTA DE ARRIAZA.</h3> - -<h4>TEMPEST AND WAR, -OR -THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR. -ODE.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I fain would sing of victory;</div> -<div class="verse">But know, the God of harmony,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Dispenser of renown,</div> -<div class="verse">For fortune’s turn has little care,</div> -<div class="verse">And bids superior valour bear,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Alone, the immortal crown.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">See in his temple, shining yet,</div> -<div class="verse">Those at Thermopylæ who set</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of manly fortitude</div> -<div class="verse">Examples rare, or ’neath thy wall</div> -<div class="verse">Who, sad Numantia, shared thy fall,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But falling unsubdued.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There are to whom has fate bestow’d</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The lot, that always on the road</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of docile laurels borne,</div> -<div class="verse">Success should fly their steps before,</div> -<div class="verse">And in their hands events in store</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Should lose each cruel thorn.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As heroes these the vulgar choose,</div> -<div class="verse">If not as gods, but I refuse</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Such homage for the mind;</div> -<div class="verse">And in Bellona’s doubtful strife,</div> -<div class="verse">Where fortune’s angry frowns are rife,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">There heroes seek to find.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O! true of heart, and brave as true!</div> -<div class="verse">Illustrious Clio, turn thy view</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Afar the vast seas o’er;</div> -<div class="verse">For deeds, in spite of fate abhorr’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Than these more worthy to record</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ne’er pass’d thy view before.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">To abase the wealthy Gades, see,</div> -<div class="verse">From haunts of deep obscurity,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The fellest Fury rise!</div> -<div class="verse">And from her direful hand launch’d forth,</div> -<div class="verse">Transform’d the forests of the North,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">She floating walls supplies.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Her envy is the city fair</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Of Hercules, so proudly there,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Couch’d on the Atlantic gates;</div> -<div class="verse">Girt by the sea, that from the west</div> -<div class="verse">Comes fraught with gold, and her behest</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Before her bending waits.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With venal aid of hate assists</div> -<div class="verse">Unfruitful England, throne of mists,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Whose fields no sun behold;</div> -<div class="verse">Which Flora with false smile has clad</div> -<div class="verse">In sterile green, where flowers look sad,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And love itself is cold.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Greedy the poison gold to seize,</div> -<div class="verse">They with the monster Avarice,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The peace of Spain abhor;</div> -<div class="verse">And by their horrid arts increased,</div> -<div class="verse">Turn ev’n the treasures of the East</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To instruments of war.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Their proud Armada, which the main</div> -<div class="verse">Tosses to heaven, or threats in vain</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To engulf, they mustering show:</div> -<div class="verse">Ye suffer it not, ye pupils brave</div> -<div class="verse">Of the Basans, and to the wave</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Launch yours to meet the foe.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As by conflicting winds close driven,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The dark clouds o’er the vault of heaven</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Across each other fly;</div> -<div class="verse">And troubling mortals with the roar,</div> -<div class="verse">The electric fluids flashing o’er</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Dispute the sway on high,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So from both sides the battle roll’d,</div> -<div class="verse">The sails their wings of flame unfold,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And ship to ship they close;</div> -<div class="verse">Combined, O! day of hapless fame,</div> -<div class="verse">Four elements with man proclaim</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The unequal war that rose.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Who in the whirlwind of dense smoke,</div> -<div class="verse">To Mars that in fit incense woke,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From hollow ordnance sent,</div> -<div class="verse">With iron flames, a countless host,</div> -<div class="verse">Sounds that unhinging shaking cross’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The eternal firmament,—</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Who in that lake of fire and blood,</div> -<div class="verse">Midst crashing masts and raging flood</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of havoc and its train,—</div> -<div class="verse">Who by the light the picture shows,</div> -<div class="verse">May not your blood-stain’d brows disclose,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O! noble chiefs of Spain?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With crimson dyed, or with the brand</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Of sulphurous powder, firm ye stand,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As in the conflict dire,</div> -<div class="verse">The sacrilegious giants rear’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Serene the shining gods appear’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Midst rolling clouds of fire.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Shouts forth your courage hoarsely high</div> -<div class="verse">Bellona’s metal roar, the cry</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The combat to inflame;</div> -<div class="verse">Nor fear ye mortals, when ye view</div> -<div class="verse">The streams of blood the waves imbue,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Your prowess that proclaim.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With iron clogg’d the air, the breath</div> -<div class="verse">Is drawn each with a dart of Death,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Whose skeleton immense</div> -<div class="verse">Rises exulting o’er the scene,</div> -<div class="verse">To see such fury rage, and glean</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His devastation thence.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O! how he crops youth’s fairest flowers,</div> -<div class="verse">Or grief o’er life for ever lowers!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">See there for vengeance strains</div> -<div class="verse">One arm for one that off is torn,</div> -<div class="verse">Or when away the head is borne,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Erect the trunk remains.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But, ah! what fiery column broke</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -<div class="verse">There to the wind, and mid dense smoke</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Then to the abyss down threw</div> -<div class="verse">Heads, bodies, arms and woods confused,</div> -<div class="verse">And hands yet with the swords unloosed</div> -<div class="verse indent1">They for their country drew!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Struck by the sound groans Trafalgar;</div> -<div class="verse">Olympus shakes as in the war</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The savage Titans waged,</div> -<div class="verse">When through the waves their forges roll’d</div> -<div class="verse">Ætna, Vesuvius, and untold</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Volcanoes burning raged.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Trembling the monsters of the deep</div> -<div class="verse">Against each other beating, sweep</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Off to the Herculean Strait;</div> -<div class="verse">In horror heaven is clouded o’er,</div> -<div class="verse">Lashing the seas the north winds roar,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In shame infuriate.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Of its own rage, the foaming brine,</div> -<div class="verse">Is born the tempest, fearful sign</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of more disastrous night;</div> -<div class="verse">Mars at the view restrains his cry;</div> -<div class="verse">Bark Scylla and Charybdis high,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The fiends whom wrecks delight.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Swift as a thunderbolt ye come,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The unhappy relics to consume</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of fire, ye winds and waves!</div> -<div class="verse">O, Night! who may thy fearfulness,</div> -<div class="verse">Thy vast amount of woes express,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Without the tear it craves!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Yield to the cruel element</div> -<div class="verse">At length the ships, that long unbent</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Its haughtiest rage defied;</div> -<div class="verse">Men sink yet living, and for e’er</div> -<div class="verse">Closes o’er them their sepulchre,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The insatiable tide.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Save him, Minerva! who around</div> -<div class="verse">From East to West, the earth’s wide bound,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Was happier once thy care!</div> -<div class="verse">Urania, this thy votary save!</div> -<div class="verse">O, Love! how many fond hearts crave</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That one’s last sigh to share!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Some to their much-loved country swim,</div> -<div class="verse">That horror-struck retires, and dim</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In quicksands seems to fly;</div> -<div class="verse">Hid by the waves them death unveils,</div> -<div class="verse">And to the wreck’d-worn seamen’s wails</div> -<div class="verse indent1">They only fierce reply.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Never may Time, in his long flight,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Join day more terrible and night:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But who in such a strife,</div> -<div class="verse">Who constant overcame such fate,</div> -<div class="verse">Where may we danger find so great</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For dauntless heart in life?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O, Clio! where? yet midst that rage,</div> -<div class="verse">With golden pen and deathless page,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou lovest the brave to greet;</div> -<div class="verse">Gravina, Alava, each name</div> -<div class="verse">Write, and Escanio’s, echoes fame</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Olympic will repeat.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And others, but my voice repels</div> -<div class="verse">The love that in my memory dwells;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O, Cosmo! hard thy lot!</div> -<div class="verse">O, Muses! him the laurels give,</div> -<div class="verse">Whose friend is only left to live,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And weep him unforgot.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Tried adverse fortune to endure,</div> -<div class="verse">Your valour proved sublime and pure,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O, Mariners of Spain!</div> -<div class="verse">Your life your country’s shield and strength,</div> -<div class="verse">Defended and avenged at length,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">She will be yet again.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The Lion and the Eagle yet</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -<div class="verse">May have them Neptune’s arm abet,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Now England’s slave and boast;</div> -<div class="verse">Who from her lofty poops shall view</div> -<div class="verse">Your troops resistless pouring through</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In torrents on her coast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Suffice it now, as tribute paid,</div> -<div class="verse">Her great Chief’s death; the Thames to shade,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Doubling with grief her gloom:</div> -<div class="verse">That cover’d thus with honour’d scars,</div> -<div class="verse">She sees you wait, in happier wars,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The combat to resume.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Ye go, as on the Libyan shore</div> -<div class="verse">The lion walks, that fiercely tore</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The hunter’s cunning snare;</div> -<div class="verse">That not ingloriously o’erborne,</div> -<div class="verse">Calmly and fear’d, though bleeding, worn—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Regains his sandy lair.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p> - -<h4>THE PARTING.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sylvia! the cruel moment’s near,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When I must say farewell!</div> -<div class="verse">For hark! the cannon’s sounds we hear</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of my departure tell.</div> -<div class="verse">Thy lover comes to give thee now</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The last adieu, and part!</div> -<div class="verse">With sorrow overcast his brow,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And sorrowful his heart.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Come, object of my love divine!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Reach me those beauteous arms:</div> -<div class="verse">Would fate my happy lot assign</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My home and rest thy charms,</div> -<div class="verse">The blow that threatens its decree</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To give, I should not meet;</div> -<div class="verse">For sooner then than part, ’twould see</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Me dying at thy feet.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O! had our passion equal force,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or been of equal growth,</div> -<div class="verse">The grief of absence might its course</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Divide between us both!</div> -<div class="verse">But thou a face indifferent,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or pleased, dost give to view,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Whilst I have not ev’n breath content</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To say to thee, Adieu.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A gentle river murmuring by,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In calmness bathes the plain,</div> -<div class="verse">And of its waters the supply</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Sees beauteous flowers attain;</div> -<div class="verse">In silence thou, my lonely grief,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Dost bathe my wretched breast,</div> -<div class="verse">And Sylvia’s pity in relief</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For me canst not arrest.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But what, my Sylvia, dost thou say?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">What means that tender sigh?</div> -<div class="verse">Why do I see, mid tears that stray,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Shine forth thy beaming eye?</div> -<div class="verse">As opens to the sun opposed</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On some clear day the cloud,</div> -<div class="verse">And his rays make the drops disclosed</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To sparkle as they flow’d.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">On me dost thou those languid eyes</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Turn with that tender gaze?</div> -<div class="verse">Loses thy cheek its rosy dyes,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor beauty less displays?</div> -<div class="verse">Thy ruby lips a moment brief</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou opest, and sorrow seals!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -<div class="verse">How fair the very show of grief</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Itself in thee reveals!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Insensate! how I wildly thought</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My bitter griefs would gain</div> -<div class="verse">Some ease, if thou wert also taught</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A portion of my pain!</div> -<div class="verse">Pardon the error that deceived,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O, Sylvia! I implore;</div> -<div class="verse">Me more thy sorrow now has grieved,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Than thy disdain before.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">My bliss! I pray no more to swerve!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Calm those heart-breaking pains:</div> -<div class="verse">Thy grief to have, does not deserve</div> -<div class="verse indent1">All that the world contains.</div> -<div class="verse">May all life’s hours, in calm serene,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Be ever pass’d by thee;</div> -<div class="verse">And all that darker intervene</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Reserved alone for me!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">For me, whose lonely wretched doom</div> -<div class="verse indent1">By heaven has been decreed</div> -<div class="verse">To bear fate’s cruelty and gloom,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Wherever it may lead.</div> -<div class="verse">But not on thee, so lovely born,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Form’d of a power divine,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -<div class="verse">To hold ev’n fate a subject sworn</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To every will of thine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Whilst thou my absence mayst lament,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy comfort mayst descry,</div> -<div class="verse">By fate a thousand lovers sent</div> -<div class="verse indent1">More to thy choice than I.</div> -<div class="verse">Some one she pleases me above</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To favour chance may show;</div> -<div class="verse">But one to love thee as I love,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That none can ever know.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">’Twas not thy graces won my heart,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor yet thy faultless face;</div> -<div class="verse">But ’twas some sympathy apart</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I might from birth retrace.</div> -<div class="verse">I long a picture loved to draw</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of charms I fancied true,</div> -<div class="verse">And thy perfections when I saw,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The original I knew.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">No traveller upon the ground</div> -<div class="verse indent1">By sudden lightning thrown,</div> -<div class="verse">The blow could more at once confound,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Left helpless and alone,</div> -<div class="verse">Than I to see that beauteous brow,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In hapless love was lost;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -<div class="verse">At thy feet forced at once to bow,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To adore whate’er the cost.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But I depart, alas! the pain</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No words can e’er express;</div> -<div class="verse">Heaven only knows it that can scan</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The inmost heart’s recess;</div> -<div class="verse">And saw the hours of deep delight,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">So full now long pass’d by,</div> -<div class="verse">That all my wishes’ utmost height</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Heap’d up could satisfy.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Now while the breezes fair avail,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The waves are gently stirr’d,</div> -<div class="verse">And of the mariners the hail</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Confused afar is heard:</div> -<div class="verse">Now from the deep’s tenacious hold</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The anchor’s fangs they heave,</div> -<div class="verse">And all conspiring are enroll’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Me swifter death to give.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Now with a vacillating foot</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The slender boat I tread,</div> -<div class="verse">Soon destined from the bank to shoot,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As to the great bark sped.</div> -<div class="verse">Sylvia, in this sad moment’s pause,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O! what a mournful crowd</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Of thoughts around thy lover close,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To assault him and o’ercloud!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The sweet requital in return</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou givest my love I know;</div> -<div class="verse">And kind remembrances discern</div> -<div class="verse indent1">All thy affections show;</div> -<div class="verse">Whilst here each proof assures me well</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That naught thy heart can move;</div> -<div class="verse">But in my absence, who can tell</div> -<div class="verse indent1">If thou wilt faithful prove?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">For those divine attractions whence</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Now all my joys arise,</div> -<div class="verse">Perhaps may fate the cause dispense</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of all my miseries;</div> -<div class="verse">And whilst I absent and forlorn</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My pledges lost deplore,</div> -<div class="verse">Some rival gains of me in scorn</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The enchantments I adore!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But no, my bliss, my glory! ne’er</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Were given the winds in vain</div> -<div class="verse">Those vows, which envied me to share</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The universe my gain.</div> -<div class="verse">Let us time’s tyranny defy,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And distance, constant thus</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Remaining in that changeless tie,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That then united us.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When rises first the beamy sun,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When sets his beauteous ray,</div> -<div class="verse">When moon and stars their courses run,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On thee my thoughts will stay.</div> -<div class="verse">From that enchanting form my heart</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No moment will be free;</div> -<div class="verse">And traitress thou, when I depart</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Wilt ne’er ev’n think of me!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">At lonely hours across my thought</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Gulf’d in the ocean vast,</div> -<div class="verse">The scenes to memory will be brought</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With thee I saw and pass’d.</div> -<div class="verse">Then will my sorrows make me feel</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My lot more dark to be,</div> -<div class="verse">And thou more cruel than the steel</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Wilt ne’er ev’n think of me!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“There first her matchless form I saw;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">There first my faith I swore;</div> -<div class="verse">And from her flattering lips could draw</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The happy ‘Yes’ they wore!”</div> -<div class="verse">As these reflections by me file,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Rise griefs in like degree;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And thou, who knows, if thou the while</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Wilt e’er ev’n think of me?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then as I hours of glory call</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Those when I thee beheld;</div> -<div class="verse">And of my griefs the sources all</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When from thy sight repell’d;</div> -<div class="verse">A thousand times the thoughts enhance</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The doom ’tis mine to see,</div> -<div class="verse">Meanwhile who knows, if thou perchance</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Wilt e’er ev’n think of me?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When in the heavens I view unfurl’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The awful signs arise,</div> -<div class="verse">With which the Ruler of the world</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Poor mortals terrifies;</div> -<div class="verse">When sounds are in the deepest caves</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of horrid thunderings nigh,</div> -<div class="verse">And of the seas the troubled waves</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Rage furiously on high;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When by the south wind is impell’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The proud Tyrrhenian main,</div> -<div class="verse">As if from its deep bosom swell’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To assault the starry train;</div> -<div class="verse">When the despairing steersman turns</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To prayer, instead of skill,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Seeing his bark the ocean spurns</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The plaything of its will;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Amid the hoarse and troubled cries</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The people raise around,</div> -<div class="verse">While shines the sword before their eyes</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of death, to strike them bound;</div> -<div class="verse">Ev’n then will I my love’s farewell</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In that dark hour renew,</div> -<div class="verse">And to the winds my sighs shall tell—</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Sylvia! my life, Adieu!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="VI">VI.<br /> -<span class="smaller">MANUEL JOSÈ QUINTANA.</span></h3> - -<p>Connecting the present age of modern Spanish poetry with -that of the past generation, by a happily protracted existence, -as well as by the style and tone of his writings, the venerable -subject of this memoir still survives, to close a life of active -usefulness in a healthy and honoured old age.</p> - -<p>Quintana was born at Madrid, the 11th April, 1772, of -a respectable family of Estremadura. He received his primary -education in classical learning at Cordova, whence he -proceeded to Salamanca, and graduated there in canon and -civil law. In this university he had the advantage of studying -under Melendez Valdes, by whom he was soon favourably -noticed, and was made known to the illustrious Jovellanos, -by whose counsels also he had the good fortune to be assisted. -Thus his natural disposition for the study of elegant literature -was encouraged, both by precept and example, under two -such able directors, to take a higher course than the mere -study of law, for which profession he was destined.</p> - -<p>Having been admitted an Advocate of the Supreme Court, -he has held various appointments, as fiscal of the tribunal -of commerce, and censor of theatres; afterwards chief clerk -of the Secretary-General to the Central Junta of Government, -secretary of decrees and interpretation of languages, membe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>r -of the censorship to the Cortes, and of the commission for -the formation of a new plan of education. In the last, he -was charged with the duty of drawing up a report of all the -works on the subject presented to the government, which -was, in 1835, approved of by the Cortes.</p> - -<p>In the two former of these employments he was interrupted -by the French invasion, when he took an active part against -the invaders. Receiving afterwards the other offices mentioned, -he wrote many of the proclamations and other addresses which -were put forth on the part of the national government, during -the struggle for independence. Throughout those eventful -times, he was in the most advanced rank of the party that -advocated constitutional rights, so that when Ferdinand VII. -returned to the possession of absolute power, in 1814, he -was, amongst the proscribed, made a prisoner, and confined in -the castle of Pamplona.</p> - -<p>There he was kept six years, without being allowed to communicate -with his friends, or make use of his pen. On the -constitutional government becoming re-established, he was -released, and restored to his offices as secretary for the interpretation -of languages, and member of the board of censors. -In 1821, the directorship-general of public education having -been formed, he was made president, until 1823, when the -constitution was again set aside, and he was again deprived -of his employments.</p> - -<p>Hereupon Quintana retired to Estremadura to his family, -and lived there till the end of 1828, when he was permitted -to return to Madrid, to continue his labours and literary -studies. The following year he was named member of the -board for the museum of natural sciences, and in 1833 was re-established -in his former employment, as secretary for interpretations -for which his knowledge of the French, English -and other languages rendered him qualified, and also reapp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>ointed -president of the council of public instruction. He -was shortly after appointed preceptor to her present Majesty, -Queen Isabel II., and although ever maintaining strong liberal -principles, has been since, under the administration of -Narvaez, named a senator of the kingdom.</p> - -<p>Quintana first appeared as an author in 1795, when he -published a small volume of poems, among which was an Ode -to the Sea, considered one of his best compositions. The -greater part, however, of them were of unequal merit, and -those have been omitted in subsequent editions: the next -one was published in 1802, and it has been reprinted with -additions several times. The best and most complete edition -of his poetical works was published at Madrid, in 1820, in -two volumes, entitled, ‘Poems, including the patriotic odes -and tragedies, the Duke of Viseo, and Pelayo.’ Of this edition -five or six surreptitious reprints have been made at Bordeaux -and elsewhere, the laws regarding copyright having only -lately been made accordant with justice in Spain as regards -authors, though they do not yet extend them protection -against piratical republications from abroad.</p> - -<p>The tragedy of the ‘Duke of Viseo,’ imitated from the English, -the ‘Castle Spectre’ of Lewis, was brought forward in -1801, and that of ‘Pelayo’ in 1805. The latter, on a favourite -subject of their ancient history, was received with much -favour by his countrymen, as were also many of his patriotic -odes and poems, written in a spirit accordant with the national -feeling. Most of these were at the time inserted in two -periodical works he had under his direction; the first, ‘Variedades -de Ciencias, Literatura y Artes,’ and the second, the -‘Seminario Patriotico,’ which was of a political character, -and established to promote, and sustain the spirit of independence, -against the French invasion.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p> - -<p>Beyond his original poems, Quintana has done an important -service to Spanish literature by publishing ‘A Collection -of select Spanish Poetry,’ altogether in six volumes, -Madrid, 1830-33, with critical and biographical notices, reprinted -in Paris by Baudry, 1838. These notices are written in -a tone of great impartiality and fairness, and are preceded by -a Dissertation, as an Introduction, on the History of Spanish -Poetry, which, written as it is with eminent ability, Mr. -Wiffen has shown great judgement in translating, prefixed to -his very correct and elegant version of the works of Garcilasso -de la Vega, London, 1823. Besides this valuable collection -of Spanish poetry, Quintana has favoured the public with a -work in three volumes,—‘Lives of celebrated Spaniards,’ of -which the first volume was published in 1807, the other two -in 1830 and 1833 respectively.</p> - -<p>The first volume, which has been translated into English -by Mr. Preston, London, 1823, contains the lives of the -earlier heroes of Spanish history,—the Cid Campeador, -Guzman the Good, Roger de Lauria, the Prince of Viana, -and Gonzalo de Cordova; all bearing impressions of the enthusiastic -and poetic feelings, characteristic of the comparatively -youthful period of life at which they were written. It -was Quintana’s intention to have proceeded with a series of -like biographies; but the subsequent public events, in which -he had to take so active a part, interrupted the task, and -when he resumed it, after the lapse of twenty years, it was -under the influence of other feelings. He then proceeded -principally with the lives of persons distinguished in American -history; the second volume containing those of Vasco Nunez -de Balboa and Francisco Pizarro; and the third volume those -of Alvaro de Luna, and Bartolome de las Casas. Of these -two volumes, the former has been translated into English by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> -Mrs. Hobson, Edinburgh, 1832; and of the third a translation -has been announced, London, 1851; both, and the latter -especially, well deserving of study.</p> - -<p>In the first volume, treating of heroes, whose history, -almost lost in the obscurity of remote times, might be considered -among the fabulous legends prevailing everywhere in -the first formations of society, it seemed only appropriate to -give a colouring of poetry, to characters of whose actions -nothing could be judged, except by their outward bearing. -But in the others he could write as a philosophic historian, -inquiring into the motives of actions, and teaching lessons of -public morality by individual examples. The life of Alvaro -is thus particularly interesting, depicting the caprices of -fortune, as they affect</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">The wish indulged in courts to shine,</div> -<div class="verse">And power too great to keep or to resign.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">In the other lives he maintains the high tone of feeling -shown in his beautiful Ode to Balmis, the philanthropic -introducer of vaccination into America, where the ravages of -the disease, so graphically <a href="#note23" title="See note">described by Humboldt</a>, had made -this benefit more peculiarly desirable.</p> - -<p>The generous sentiments expressed in this ode are such -as to do honour not only to Quintana, but also to the nation, -where they are in the present generation adopted, as we find -them repeated emphatically by <a href="#note24" title="See note">so popular a writer as Larra</a>. -More than thirty years had elapsed after writing that ode, -when Quintana, in the Life of the enthusiastic Las Casas, -proved his consistency of character and principles, by maintaining -them in a work of historical character, as he had done -in poetry in his youth.</p> - -<p>In the prologue to the third volume he says, “The author -will be accused of little regard for the honour of his country, -when he so frankly adopts the sentiments and principles <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>of -the Protector of the Indians, whose imprudent writings have -been the occasion of so much opprobrium, and of subministering -such arms to the detractors of Spanish glories. -But neither the extravagance or fanatical exaggerations of Las -Casas, nor the abuse which the malignity of strangers have -made of them, can erase from deeds their nature and character. -The author has not gone to imbibe them from suspicious -fountains; nor to judge them as he has done, has he -regarded other principles than those of natural equity, or -other feelings than those of his own heart. Documents carefully -appended for this purpose, and the attentive perusal of -Herrera, Oviedo, and others our own writers as impartial and -judicious as those, give the same result in events and opinions. -What then was to be done? To deny the impressions received, -and repel the decision which humanity and justice dictate, on -account of not compromising what is called the honour of -the country? But the honour of a country consists in actions -truly great, noble and virtuous of its inhabitants; not in -gilding with justifications, or insufficient exculpations, those -that unfortunately bear on themselves the seal of being -iniquitous and cruel. To strangers who to depress us, accuse -us of cruelty and barbarity in our discoveries and conquests -of the New World, we might reply with other examples on -their own part, as or more atrocious than ours, and in times -and under circumstances sufficiently less excusable.…</p> - -<p>“The great glories and usefulnesses, which result from -extended conquests and dominations, are always bought at a -great price, whether of blood, or violence, or reputation and -fame: unhappy tribute to be paid even by nations the most -civilized, when the impulse of destiny bears them to the same -situation. Glorious, without doubt, was for us the discovery -of the New World! But at what cost was it bought! For -myself what affects me, leaving apart as not required here<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -the question of the advantages which Europe has derived -from that singular event, I will say, that wherever I find, -whether in the past or the present, aggressors and aggrieved, -oppressors and oppressed, on no account of ulterior utility, -nor even of national consideration, am I able to incline myself -to the former, or to fail in sympathizing with the latter. I -may have put therefore into this historical question more -entireness and candour than is commonly expected, when -referring to our own conduct, but no odious prejudices, nor -an inclination to injure or detract. Let us everywhere give -some place in books to justice, now that unfortunately it is -wont to have so little left it in the affairs of the world.”</p> - -<p>Holding such high opinions in all his writings, it may be -seen that the youth of Spain cannot have a better guide to -take for private study than those writings, the best preparatives -for honourable exertion in life; and Quintana’s own -history shows, that whatever misfortunes may befall any one -individually, he does not labour or suffer in vain, who labours -or suffers honestly in a just cause. In another part of the -same prologue, Quintana says of his own lot, “Of this variety -of circumstances and continued alternations, from good to ill, -and from ill to good, not small has been the part fallen to -the author of this work. Drawn by the force of events from -his study and domestic lares, flattered and excessively exalted -now, afterwards borne down and contemned, falling into imprisonment -and proceeded against capitally, destined to a -long and perhaps indefinite detention, deprived during it of -communications and even of his pen, released from it, when -he least hoped, to rise and prosper, and descending again -soon to be endangered, he has experienced all, and nothing -now can be to him new. Let it not be supposed from this -that he puts it forth here as a merit, and less, that he presents -it in complaint. For of whom should I complain? Of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -men? These in the midst of my greatest calamities, with -very few exceptions, have shown themselves constantly regardful, -benevolent, and even respectful towards me. Of -fortune? And what pledges had she given me to moderate -for me the rigour with which she treated the rest? Were -they not of as much or more value than I? Political and -moral turbulences are the same as the great physical disorders, -in which the elements becoming excited, no one is -sheltered from their fury.”</p> - -<p>Resigning himself thus to his fate, Quintana seems to have -learned the philosophical secret of preserving his equanimity -in all the vicissitudes of life, to the enjoyment of a tranquil -old age. The privilege of attaining this is a favour to every -one, to whom it is granted; but its highest enjoyments must -be consequent only on a life of active usefulness, with a conscience -void of offence. The man of cultivated mind, who -has been called upon to do or to suffer more than others his -fellows in the turmoils of the world, may then be supposed -to receive his greater reward in the remembrances of scenes, -happier perhaps in the retrospect than in the reality, which -may have given them even the semblance of a longer existence. -As perspectives appear lengthened, according to the -number and variety of objects that intervene to the view, so -life itself may appear to have been longer or shorter, according -to the memory and character of events witnessed in its -course. Described as a person of athletic form, yet unbowed -by the burden of fourscore years, Quintana, as before observed, -still survives, to receive the honour justly due to him for his -honourable exertions through life, the remembrances of which -may thus give him more pleasurable enjoyments, than can be -supposed to fall to the lot of ordinary mortals.</p> - -<p>As a poet, if a foreigner may be allowed to expr<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>ess an opinion, -for which he has no native authority to adduce, Quintana -may be said to be more eloquent than poetical. As -Quintilian said of Lucan, both also natives of Spain, “ut -dicam quod sentio, magis oratoribus quam poetis annumerandus.” -Quintana’s eloquence consists in earnestness more -than in flights of fancy. His favourite subjects were the glories -of his country; and his patriotic odes, in which he endeavoured -to incite his countrymen to imitate the examples of -their forefathers, have been pronounced his best compositions. -He has as a poet paid his tribute of admiration to beauty and -the arts; but his whole soul seems to be poured forth when -pathetically mourning over the dimmed glories of his country, -as when at the thought “of our miserable squadrons flying -before the British,” he turns to the Padillias and Guzmans -of former days, “when the Spaniard was master of half of -Europe, and threw himself upon unknown and immense seas -to give a new world to men.”</p> - -<p>As a patriotic poet Quintana has been compared to Beranger, -and is said to have had the same power over the minds -of his countrymen. If the parallel be correct, it may be -curious to consider how characteristically these two poets appeal -to the feelings of their admirers; one by songs and incidents, -which though often trivial, yet speak to the heart in -its most sensitive points, while the other proceeds to the same -object by martial odes of commanding austerity. Besides the -Ode to Balmis, the other one in this work, on the Battle of -Trafalgar, has been chosen for translation, as most likely to -interest the English reader, though it may not be in itself so -much to be admired as some others of his poems. The reader -will perhaps observe a constrained style in it, even beyond -that of translation,—sentiments forced, as if the subject had -not been taken voluntarily. It must not therefore be looked -upon as a favourable specimen of Quintana’s genius, like the -Ode to Balmis, which more fully shows the character of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -mind.</p> - -<p>Quintana, more than other poets of his time, has written in -one style of verse, as in imitation of the Pindaric ode, or of -our Gray and Dryden. Thus with free metres and often -unfettered by rhyme, he has a staid measured tone, well suited -to the subjects he has generally adopted. They are considered -in Spain as of an elegiac character; and as accordant -with them, they have fallen in the translation into the form -of our elegies, or the heroic lines with alternate rhymes, the -style of verse which Dryden, a high authority on such a question, -pronounced “the most magnificent of all the measures -which our language affords.”</p> - -<p>Much as Quintana has published, both of his own works -and of the works of others, for the advancement of sound -learning and moral instruction, we have still great cause to -regret that the circumstances of the times in which he has -lived have prevented him from publishing more. Not only -has he been interrupted in the course of those instructive -biographies, of which we have such valuable beginnings, but -we might have hoped, if he had lived in more peaceful times, -that he would have given the world some work, of a character -more distinctively his own, to place his name still higher in -the history of elegant literature. It was one of the maxims -of the wise Jovellanos, “that it was not sufficient for the purposes -of good government to keep the people quiet, but that -they ought to be kept contented.” Without this condition -the other cannot be expected; and for all public commotions, -therefore, the rulers are always most responsible, as unmindful -of this truth. The greatest evil is, when the whole literary -world has thus also further cause to complain of their misdeeds, -as affecting those who were endowed with talents of a -higher order, such as to make all men interested in their -well-being. It is to be hoped that we are now, under <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>the -benignant reign of Isabel the Second, entitled to expect a -more liberal government, and the advent of a still brighter -æra for the literature of Spain.</p> - -<p>Taking the space of eighty years, as comprehending the -period during which modern Spanish poetry has been peculiarly -distinguished for superior excellence, we may now make -a further division of this period, into the former and latter -parts of it. All the poets, whose lives we have hitherto traced, -wrote their principal works previously to the year 1810; after -which time we have a succession of writers, whose genius may -perhaps be found to take a yet wider range of thought and -feeling, consequent on the extended field of knowledge, which -later events presented to their observation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p> - -<h3>MANUEL JOSÈ QUINTANA.</h3> - -<h4>TO THE SPANISH EXPEDITION FOR THE -PROMOTION OF VACCINATION IN AMERICA, -UNDER DON FRANCISCO BALMIS.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Fair Virgin of the world, America!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou who so innocent to heaven display’st</div> -<div class="verse">Thy bosom stored with plenty’s rich array,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And brow of gentle youth! Thou, who so graced</div> -<div class="verse">The tenderest and most lovely of the zones</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of mother Earth to shine, shouldst be of fate</div> -<div class="verse">The sweet delight and favour’d love it owns,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That but pursues thee with relentless hate,</div> -<div class="verse">Hear me! If ever was a time mine eyes,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When scanning thy eventful history,</div> -<div class="verse">Did not burst forth in tears; if could thy cries</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My heart e’er hear unmoved, from pity free</div> -<div class="verse">And indignation; then let me disclaim’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of virtue be eternally as held,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And barbarous and wicked be one named</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As those who with such ruin thee assail’d.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In the eternal book of life are borne,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Written in blood, those cries, which then sent forth</div> -<div class="verse">Thy lips to Heaven, such fury doom’d to mourn,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And yet against my country call in wrath.</div> -<div class="verse">Forbidding glory and success attend</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The fatal field of crimes. Will they ne’er cease?</div> -<div class="verse">Will not the bitter expiation end</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Sufficed of three eventful centuries?</div> -<div class="verse">We are not now those who on daring’s wing,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Before the world, the Atlantic’s depths disdain’d,</div> -<div class="verse">And from the silence found thee covering,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That fiercely tore thee, bleeding and enchain’d!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“No, ye are not the same. But my lament</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Is not for this to cease: I could forget</div> -<div class="verse">The rigours which my conquerors relent,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their avarice with cruelties beset:</div> -<div class="verse">The crime was of the age, and not of Spain.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But when can I forget the evils sore</div> -<div class="verse">Which I must miserably yet sustain?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Among them one, come, see what I deplore,</div> -<div class="verse">If horror will not you deter. From you,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Your fatal ships first launch’d, the mortal pest,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The poison that now desolates me flew.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As in doom’d plains by ruthless foes oppress’d,</div> -<div class="verse">As serpent that incessantly devours,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">So ever from your coming, to consume</div> -<div class="verse">Has it raged o’er me. See here, how it lowers!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And in the hidden place of death and gloom,</div> -<div class="verse">Buries my children and my loves. Affords</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Your skill no remedy? O! ye, who call</div> -<div class="verse">Yourselves as of America the lords,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Have pity on my agony. See, fall</div> -<div class="verse">Beneath your insane fury, not sufficed</div> -<div class="verse indent1">One generation, but a hundred slain!</div> -<div class="verse">And I expiring, desolate, unprized,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Beseech assistance, and beseech in vain.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Such were the cries that to Olympus rose,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When in the fields of Albion found remote,</div> -<div class="verse">Variola’s fell havocs to oppose,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Kind Nature show’d the happy antidote.</div> -<div class="verse">The docile mother of the herd was found</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Enrich’d with this great gift; there stored attent</div> -<div class="verse">Where from her copious milky founts around</div> -<div class="verse indent1">She gives so many life and aliment.</div> -<div class="verse">Jenner to mortals first the gift reveal’d:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thenceforward mothers to their hearts could press</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Their children without fear to lose them heal’d;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor fear’d thenceforward in her loveliness</div> -<div class="verse">The maiden, lest the fatal venom spoil</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her cheek of roses, or her brow of snow.</div> -<div class="verse">All Europe then is join’d in grateful toil,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For gift so precious and immense to know,</div> -<div class="verse">In praises loud to echo Jenner’s name;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And altars to his skill to raise decrees,</div> -<div class="verse">There to long ages hallowing his fame,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Beside their tutelar divinities.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Of such a glory at the radiant light,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With noble emulation fill’d his breast,</div> -<div class="verse">A Spaniard rose,—“Let not my country slight,”</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He cried, “on such a great occasion’s test,</div> -<div class="verse">Her ancient magnanimity to employ.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">’Tis fortune’s gift discovering it alone;</div> -<div class="verse">That let an Englishman his right enjoy.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Let Spain’s sublime and generous heart be shown,</div> -<div class="verse">Giving her majesty more honour true,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">By carrying this treasure to the lands</div> -<div class="verse">Which most the evil’s dire oppressions knew.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">There, for I feel a deity commands,</div> -<div class="verse">There will I fly, and of the raging wave</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Will brave in bearing it the furious strife;</div> -<div class="verse">America’s infested plains to save</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From death, as planting there the tree of life.”</div> -<div class="verse">He spoke, and scarcely from his burning lip</div> -<div class="verse indent1">These echoes had beneficently flowed,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> -<div class="verse">When floating in the port, prepared the ship,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To give commencement to so blest a road,</div> -<div class="verse">Moved spreading her white canvas to the air.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On his fate launch’d himself the aëronaut.</div> -<div class="verse">Waves of the sea, in favouring calmness bear,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As sacred, this deposit to be brought</div> -<div class="verse">Through your serene and liquid fields. There goes</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of thousand generations long the hope;</div> -<div class="verse">Nor whelm it, nor let thunder it oppose;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Arrest the lightning, with no storms to cope,</div> -<div class="verse">Stay them until that from those fertile shores</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Come forth the prows, triumphant in their pride,</div> -<div class="verse">That fraught remote with all their golden stores,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With vice and curses also come allied.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Honour to Balmis! O, heroic soul!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That in such noble toil devotest thy breath,</div> -<div class="verse">Go fearless to thy end. The dreadful roll</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of ocean always hoarse, and threatening death;</div> -<div class="verse">The fearful whirlpool’s all-devouring throat,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The cavern’d rock’s black face, where dash’d by fate,</div> -<div class="verse">Break the wreck’d barks, the dangers they denote</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Greatest are not most cruel thee that wait.</div> -<div class="verse">From man expect them! Impious, envious man,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In error wrapped and blind, will prove him bent,</div> -<div class="verse">When hush’d against thee is the hurricane,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To combat rough the generous intent.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -<div class="verse">But firmly and secure press forward on;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And hold in mind, when comes for strife the day,</div> -<div class="verse">That without constant, anxious toil, can none</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Hope glory’s palms to seize, and bear away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">At length thou comest; America salutes</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her benefactor, and at once her veins</div> -<div class="verse">The destined balm to purify deputes.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A further generous ardour then regains</div> -<div class="verse">Thy breast; and thou, obedient to the hand</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Divine that leads thee, turn’st the sounding prow</div> -<div class="verse">Where Ganges rolls, and every Eastern land</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The gift may take. The Southern Ocean now</div> -<div class="verse">Astonished sees thee, o’er her mighty breast</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Untiring passing. Luzon thee admires,</div> -<div class="verse">Good always sowing on thy road impress’d:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And as it China’s toilsome shore acquires,</div> -<div class="verse">Confucius from his tomb of honour’d fame,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">If could his venerable form arise,</div> -<div class="verse">To see it in glad wonder might exclaim,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">“’Twas worthy of my virtue, this emprise!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Right worthy was it of thee, mighty sage!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Worthy of that divine and highest light,</div> -<div class="verse">Which reason and which virtue erst array’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To shine in happier days, now quench’d in night.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Thou, Balmis! never mayst return; nor grows</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In Europe now the sacred laurel meet</div> -<div class="verse">With which to crown thee. There in calm repose,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Where peace and independence a retreat</div> -<div class="verse">May find, there rest thee! where thou mayst receive</div> -<div class="verse indent1">At length the august reward of deeds so blest.</div> -<div class="verse">Nations immense shall come for thee to grieve,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Raising in grateful hymns to Heaven address’d</div> -<div class="verse">Thy name with fervorous zeal. And though now laid</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In the cold tomb’s dark precincts thou refuse</div> -<div class="verse">To hear them, listen to them thus convey’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">At least, as in the accents of my Muse.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>ON THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Not with an easy hand wills Fate to give</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nations, or heroes, power and renown:</div> -<div class="verse">Triumphant Rome, whose empire to receive</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A hemisphere submissively bow’d down,</div> -<div class="verse">Yielding itself in silent servitude,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">How often did she vanquish’d groan? repell’d</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> -<div class="verse">As she her course of loftiness pursued!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her ground to Hannibal she scarcely held;</div> -<div class="verse">Italian blood of Trevia the sands,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And wavy Thrasymenus deeply dyed,</div> -<div class="verse">And Roman matrons the victorious bands</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of Cannæ nigh approaching them descried,</div> -<div class="verse">As some portentous comet fearful lower.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who drove them thence? Who from the Capitol</div> -<div class="verse">Turn’d on the throne, that founded Dido’s power,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The clouds that threaten’d then o’er them to roll?</div> -<div class="verse">Who in the fields of Zama, from the yoke</div> -<div class="verse indent1">They fear’d, with direful slaughter to set free,</div> -<div class="verse">At length the sceptre of great Carthage broke,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With which she held her sovereignty, the sea?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Unswerving courage! that alone the shield</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That turns adversity’s sharp knife aside:</div> -<div class="verse">To joy turns sorrow; bids despair to yield</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To glory, and of fortune learns to guide</div> -<div class="verse">The dubious whirlwind, victory in its train;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For a high-minded race commands its fate.</div> -<div class="verse">O, Spain! my country! covering thy domain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The mourning shows how great thy suffering state;</div> -<div class="verse">But still hope on, and with undaunted brow,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From base dejection free, behold the walls</div> -<div class="verse">Of thy own lofty Gades, which avow</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy strength, though fate them now awhile appals;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Which though affrighted, blushing in their shame,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As bathing them around the waves extend,</div> -<div class="verse">Yet loud thy sons’ heroic deeds proclaim,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Far on the sounding billows they defend.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><a href="#note25" title="See note">From the proud castled poop</a> that crowns his high</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Indomitable ship, the Briton round</div> -<div class="verse">Look’d, on his power and glory to rely,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And boastful cried, “Companions renown’d!</div> -<div class="verse">See, there they come: new trophies to attain</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Wait your unconquer’d arms; the feeble pines</div> -<div class="verse">That Spain prepares for her defence in vain:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Fate from our yoke exemption none assigns.</div> -<div class="verse">We are the sons of Neptune. Do they dare</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To plough the waves before us? Call to mind</div> -<div class="verse">Aboukir’s memorable day! to share</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Another such a triumph: let us find</div> -<div class="verse">One moment as sufficing us to come,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To conquer, and destroy them. Grant it me,</div> -<div class="verse">Kind fate! and let us crown’d with laurels home</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Our wealthy Thames again returning see.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He spoke, and spread his sails. With swimming prows</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Opening the waves, they follow him elate,</div> -<div class="verse"><a href="#note26" title="See note">Conquerors of winds and waves.</a> With dauntless brow</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The Spaniards view them, and in calmness wait,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Contemning their fierce arrogance, and high</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their bosoms beating with indignant rage.</div> -<div class="verse">Just anger! sacred ardour! “There come nigh</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Those cruel foes, who hasten war to wage,</div> -<div class="verse">And spill our blood, when we reposed secure</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Beneath the wings of peace. They who are led</div> -<div class="verse">By avarice vile; who friendship’s laws abjure;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who in their endless tyranny o’erspread</div> -<div class="verse">Would hold condemn’d the seas; who to unite,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As brothers, pride and insolence of power</div> -<div class="verse">With treachery and rapacity delight;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who”—but with mantle dark night brings the hour</div> -<div class="verse">To enwrap the world. Wandering round the shrouds</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Are frightful shades, dire slaughter that portend</div> -<div class="verse">And fearful expectations raise. Through opening clouds</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The day displays the field, where wildly blend</div> -<div class="verse">Fury and death; and horrid Mars the scene</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Swells loud with shouts of war, upraised in air</div> -<div class="verse">His standard high. To answer intervene</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From hollow brass the mortal roarings glare.</div> -<div class="verse">The echo thunders, and the waves resound,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Dashing themselves in rage to Afric’s shore:</div> -<div class="verse">In conflict fly the ships to ships around,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">By rancour moved. Less violent its store</div> -<div class="verse">Of heap’d-up ice in mountains, the South Pole</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Emits immense, loud thundering through the waves</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -<div class="verse">To glide, and on the adventurous seaman roll.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor with less clamour loosen’d from their caves</div> -<div class="verse">Rush the black tempests, when the East and North,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Troubling the heavens enraged in furious war,</div> -<div class="verse">And dire encounter, all their strength put forth,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And shake the centre of the globe afar.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thrice the fierce islander advanced to break</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Our squadron’s wall, confiding in his might:</div> -<div class="verse">Thrice by the Spanish force repulsed, to shake</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His hopes of victory he sees the fight.</div> -<div class="verse">Who shall depict his fury and his rage,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When with that flag before so proud he saw</div> -<div class="verse">The flag of Spain invincible engage?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">’Tis not to skill or valour to o’erawe,</div> -<div class="verse">Solely he trusts to fortune for success.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Doubling his ships, redoubling them again,</div> -<div class="verse">From poop to prow, from side to side to press,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In an unequal fight is made sustain</div> -<div class="verse">Each Spanish ship a thousand, thousand fires;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And they with equal breath that death receive</div> -<div class="verse">So send it back. No, not to my desires,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">If heaven would grant it me, could I achieve</div> -<div class="verse">The task that day’s heroic deeds to tell,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Not with a hundred tongues; hid from the sun</div> -<div class="verse">By smoke, Fame’s trumpet shall their praises swell,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And bronze and marble for their names be won.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">At length the moment comes, when Death extends</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His pale and horrid hand, to signalize</div> -<div class="verse">Great victims. Brave Alcedo to him bends,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And nobly Moyua, with Castanios, dies.</div> -<div class="verse"><a href="#note27" title="See note">And Alcalà, Churruca, also ye!</a></div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of Betis and Guipuzcoa the pride.</div> -<div class="verse">O! if Fate knew to spare, would it not be</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Enough to soothe, upon your brows allied</div> -<div class="verse">Minerva’s olive with Mars’ laurels seen?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From your illustrious and inquiring mind</div> -<div class="verse">What could the world, or stars, their mysteries screen?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of your great course the traces left behind</div> -<div class="verse">The Cyclades are full, nor less the seas</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of far America. How seeks to mourn,</div> -<div class="verse">New tears from her sad heart her grief to appease,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The widow’d land such heroes from her torn;</div> -<div class="verse">And still she sheds them o’er your cruel fate.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O! that ye two could live, and I in place</div> -<div class="verse">Of grief, of sorrowing song, to consecrate</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To you the funeral accents that I raise,</div> -<div class="verse">Might have opposed my bosom to the stroke,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And thus my useless life my country give!</div> -<div class="verse">That I might thus your cruel lot revoke,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To bear the wounds, so that ye two might live!</div> -<div class="verse">And she might proudly raise her front anew,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Victorious crown’d with rays of glory bright,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Her course ’gainst arduous fortune to pursue,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Triumphant in your wisdom and your might.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><a href="#note28" title="See note">Yet fell ye not, ye generous squadrons!</a> there,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Without revenge and slaughter. Spreading wide,</div> -<div class="verse">Rivers of English blood your powers declare.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And Albion also horror-struck descried</div> -<div class="verse">Mountains of bodies weigh, a heavy pile,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On her so proud Armada. Nelson, too!</div> -<div class="verse">Terrible shade! O, think not, no, that vile</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My voice to name thee, e’er an insult threw</div> -<div class="verse">On thy last sigh. As English I abhor,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But hero I admire thee. O, thy fate!</div> -<div class="verse">Of captive ships a crowd, the spoils of war,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The Thames awaits, and now exults elate</div> -<div class="verse">To hail with shouts the conqueror’s return!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But only pale and cold beholds her Chief!</div> -<div class="verse">Great lesson left for human pride to learn,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And worthy holocaust for Spanish grief.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Yet still the rage of Mars impels the arm</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of destiny; mow’d down unnumber’d lives.</div> -<div class="verse">By fury launch’d, voracious flames alarm;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On every side planks burning. Loosely drives</div> -<div class="verse">Each ship a fierce volcano; blazing high</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Through the wide air ’tis raised, and thrown again</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -<div class="verse">With horrid bursting in the seas to lie,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Engulf’d. Do other havocs yet remain?</div> -<div class="verse">Yes, for that Heaven, displeased to see such foes,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Bids the inclement north winds rise to part</div> -<div class="verse">The furious combatants, and day to close</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In stormy night. ’Tis order’d, and athwart</div> -<div class="verse">They throw themselves the miserable barks,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Lashing the waves on high with cruel wings.</div> -<div class="verse">As each this new unequal combat marks</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For ruin, falls the mast, and over swings</div> -<div class="verse">Trembling beneath the assault. The hulls divide,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And where the gaping seams the waves invite,</div> -<div class="verse">They enter, while the dying Spaniards cried,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">“O! that we were to perish, but in fight!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In that remorseless conflict, high in air,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Then shining forth their glorious forms display’d</div> -<div class="verse">The mighty champions, who of old to bear</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The trident and the spear, supreme had made</div> -<div class="verse">Before the Iberian flag the nations bow.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">There Lauria, Trovar, and Bazan were seen,</div> -<div class="verse">And Aviles, their brother heroes now</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of Spain to welcome, and in death convene.</div> -<div class="verse">“Come among us,” they cried, “among the brave</div> -<div class="verse indent1">You emulate. Already you have gain’d</div> -<div class="verse">Your fair reward. The example that you gave</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of valour, Spain in constancy sustain’d</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Her warriors shows, inciting to prepare</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For other conflicts they undaunted greet.</div> -<div class="verse">Look to the city of Alcides! there</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Gravina, Alavà, and Escanio meet!</div> -<div class="verse">Cisneros and a hundred more combine</div> -<div class="verse indent1">There in firm column, with proud hopes to bless</div> -<div class="verse">Our native land. Come, fly ye here, and shine</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In heaven their stars of glory, and success.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="PART_II">PART II.</h2> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a><br /> -<a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="VII">VII.<br /> -<span class="smaller">FRANCISCO MARTINEZ DE LA ROSA.</span></h3> - -<p>Throughout the civilized world, and even beyond it, this -eminent statesman has long been heard of, as one who, while -devoting his life faithfully to promote the welfare of his own -country, had exerted himself no less assiduously for the general -interests of mankind. As an orator, a statesman and a -political writer, he has thus obtained a deservedly high European -reputation, due to his services and merits. In Spain he -is further known as one of the first literary characters of -whom his country has to boast, and as a dramatist and lyric -poet of a very superior order.</p> - -<p>Martinez de la Rosa was born the 10th March, 1789, at -Granada, where also he received his education, completing it -at the University in that city. Before the age of twenty he -had gone through the usual course of study in the ancient -and some of the modern languages, in philosophy, mathematics, -canon and civil law, with such success as to have -been enabled to undertake a professorship of philosophy there, -perfecting himself in the art of oratory, in which his natural -talents already had become manifest, as they soon afterwards -gave him the means of greater distinction. From those pursuits -he was called away, in 1808, on the occurrence of the -French invasion, to take an active part in the struggle for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -national independence, into which he entered with youthful -ardour, by public declamations, and by writing in a periodical -instituted to maintain it.</p> - -<p>As the French arms advanced victoriously, Martinez de la -Rosa, with others of the party who had been most conspicuous -in their opposition to them, had to take refuge in Cadiz. -He was first employed to proceed to Gibraltar, as his future -colleague, <a href="#note29" title="See note">the Conde de Toreno</a>, had been sent to London, to -obtain a cessation of hostilities, in the war then yet existing -between England and Spain, and concert measures of alliance -against the French. In this mission he had the desired success, -having further obtained from the governor of Gibraltar -arms and ammunition, which enabled the Spanish forces -under Castanios to march and obtain, at Bailen, the memorable -triumph of the 19th July, 1808. In consequence of -this victory, the French had to evacuate Madrid, and the -Central Junta was formed, superseding the first actors in the -conflict. On this, Martinez de la Rosa took advantage of the -circumstances to go to England, and observe there himself, -says his biographer, <a href="#note30" title="See note">the celebrated Pacheco</a>, “in its birth-place, -where it was natural, complete and necessary, that representative -system, which the spirit of reform wished to -bring over for the people of the Continent.” Wolf says he -had there a diplomatic commission, adding, that he took advantage -of it “to familiarize himself with the English constitution, -for which he always had a great predilection.”</p> - -<p>Whether he had public duties entrusted to him or not, -Martinez de la Rosa seems then to have stayed some time in -London, studying the workings of the parliamentary system, -the good fruits of which he, as Mirabeau had before him, -found in his legislative career. There he printed, in 1811, -his poem, Zaragoza, written in competition for the prize offered -by the Central Junta, in celebration of the defence of that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -city in 1809, and there also he wrote several other poems. -The one of Zaragoza seems not to have been reprinted in -Spain till the publication of his collected poems in Madrid in -1833, and no adjudication ever was made on the compositions -prepared at the suggestion of the Junta, but it is stated that -the judges had unanimously agreed to confer on him the -premium offered in the name of the nation.</p> - -<p>In 1811 the French armies had driven the assertors of -national independence from all the other principal parts of -Spain to Cadiz, and there the Cortes were convoked to meet. -There then, Martinez de la Rosa returned, and though not -yet of the age required by law to be chosen a Deputy, he -took part in all the deliberations of the national councils, and -was appointed Secretary to the commission on the freedom of -the press. Meanwhile the siege of Cadiz was commenced by -the French and pressed unremittingly; but the spirit of the -defenders did not fail them. Martinez de la Rosa and Quintana -continued their literary labours, and the former produced -a comedy and a tragedy, both of which were received -with much favour. The latter continues a favourite on the -stage, on a subject well chosen from Spanish history, and entitled -the ‘Widow of Padillia.’ To use his own words, “It -was represented, for the first time, in July 1812, and in days -so unfortunate, that it could not be produced even in the -theatre at Cadiz, on account of the great danger from the -bombs of the enemy, which had nearly caused, a little before, -the destruction of the building, crowded at the time with a -numerous audience. For this reason they had to erect a -theatre of wood in another part of the city, at a distance from -where the French artillery had directed their aim.”</p> - -<p>Shortly after this the siege was raised, and the French -having again evacuated Madrid, the Cortes were convoked to -assemble there, when Martinez de la Rosa was elected De<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>puty -for his native city. He had throughout the struggle joined -the most active members of the liberal party, Arguelles, -Quintana and others, who, all honourable and patriotic characters, -had acted in perfect sincerity in forming the Constitution -of 1812, as it was called, which they hoped would -secure the future freedom of the country.</p> - -<p>In this, however, they found themselves mistaken; the representative -system had scarcely time to develope its advantages, -when it was overthrown entirely on the return of Ferdinand -to Spain, who, by his decree of the 4th of May, 1814, -annulled the Constitution, and dissolved the Cortes. Had he -been contented with this, as in re-assumption of the regal -authority exercised by his predecessors, the liberal party -might have had only to lament the abrupt termination of -their hopes. But, unfortunately, proceedings still more arbitrary -were commenced against their leaders individually, of a -nature unknown, even in Spain, till then, and in comparison -with which the rule of the Prince of the Peace was a pattern -of toleration. As those leaders had not been guilty of any -act which could make them amenable to any legal tribunal, -Ferdinand VII. took on himself to pass the sentences he -chose to inflict on them for the opinions they had held, and -the conduct they had pursued, in the momentous struggle for -national independence, resulting in his restoration. The partisans -of the Absolute King wished to extort from Martinez -de la Rosa a retractation of the opinions he had maintained; -but they miscalculated his character. He refused to listen -to their overtures, and he was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment -in the penal settlement of Gomera in Africa.</p> - -<p>In 1820 a reaction took place, and the constitutional party -again obtained possession of the government. Martinez de -la Rosa had then passed six years of unjust imprisonment, -when he was recalled to Spain, and was received, in his <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>native -city, with triumphal arches erected to welcome him, and other -tokens of public respect and rejoicing. At the first election -of deputies afterwards for the Cortes, he was sent with that -character from Granada, but his sentiments on public affairs -had become considerably modified. Others of the liberal -party had returned from exile or imprisonment with exasperated -feelings; but Martinez de la Rosa had employed his -time more philosophically, in considering the means that -should be adopted, to use his own expression, “for resolving -the problem, most important for the human race, how to -unite order with liberty.” Avoiding all extreme opinions, he -gave his support to the ministry he found existing and their -successors, as the means of preserving order, until they fell -under the combination of unworthy jealousies among their -own party, and the constant attacks of those holding the extreme -opinions of democracy and absolutism.</p> - -<p>On the 1st March, 1821, Martinez de la Rosa was called -on to form a ministry, which duty he finally undertook, -though he had at first strenuously declined it. He had good -reason to decline it, as the king himself was throughout that -period plotting against his own ministers and government, to -re-establish himself in absolute power. At the end of June, -Martinez de la Rosa found himself under the necessity of -tendering his resignation, and insisting upon its being accepted, -though both the king and the council at first refused -to do so. The moderate course which he wished to follow -pleased neither party; and even he, who had suffered six years -of unjust imprisonment in the popular cause, was now looked -on as a traitor by the people, and ran great risk of being -murdered in a public commotion raised in the city. Had he -chosen to take a more decisive part, either on the one side or -the other, the weight of his character would no doubt have -given it the preponderance. As it was, the question was decide<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>d -by the invasion of the French under the Duc d’Angoulême, -who restored Ferdinand VII. to his former authority.</p> - -<p>When the French entered Spain, the constitutionalist government -had retired to Seville; but Martinez de la Rosa -had been obliged, from illness, to remain at Madrid. There -being called upon to give in his adhesion to the authority -imposed by foreign arms on the nation, he declined to do so, -and thought himself fortunate in having no severer penalty -to suffer thereupon, than to have his passport given him to -go from Spain, while others had to suffer so much more -severely. He then retired to Paris, where he resided eight -years, paying occasional visits to Italy, and though not proscribed -directly as an exile, yet he was not allowed to return -to his country.</p> - -<p>During those eight years he devoted his leisure to literary -pursuits, and composed most of those works on which -his fame must permanently rest; such as his poem, ‘Arte -Poetica;’ his very beautiful ‘Ode on the Death of the Duchess -de Frias,’ and several plays; among them the ‘Tragedy of -the Conspiracy of Venice,’ considered the best of all he had -written. Thus occupied in endeavouring to make future -generations wiser and better, Martinez de la Rosa gained -increased respect at home with his increased reputation -abroad; and on the moderating of the first angry party-feelings -in Spain, was at the end of eight years allowed to return -to Granada.</p> - -<p>The events of 1830 had produced the effect in Spain of -milder councils being adopted in the government, which prevailed -still more on the Queen Christina assuming power, -first on the illness of the king, and afterwards as Regent on -his death in 1833. Martinez de la Rosa had then been permitted -to return to Madrid, and in this latter year he published -the first collection of his poems, dedicating himself to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> -writing at the same time his ‘Life of Perez del Pulgar,’ one -of the old warriors of Spain, and other works. From these -labours he was then called to undertake again the duties of -government. The existing ministry formed under a former -line of policy, was not suitable to the exigences of the times, -rendered still more pressing now by the pretensions of Don -Carlos to the throne. It was necessary to oppose those pretensions, -by obtaining the zealous aid of the constitutional -party; and Martinez de la Rosa was chosen as the leader, -embodying in himself the characteristics of moderation and -just principles, to form a ministry.</p> - -<p>It does not become a foreigner, least of all in a purely -literary work, to enter in judgement on any questions of a -political nature. The best-intentioned persons in the world -may take different views of the same question, under the -same emergences, and the wisdom of any particular measure -is not always to be judged of by the result. In the conflicts of -contending parties, the most unscrupulous and daring may -often succeed, where wiser and better men may fail. Of -Martinez de la Rosa, his biographer has observed, that “he -was one of those men who would not conspire even for good -ends unlawfully; and that if he could not obtain what he -wished by just means, he would cross his arms, and leave the -rest to Providence.” The events of those years present -much ground for regret for all parties, and it is a truly -honourable consideration for such a one as Martinez de la -Rosa, that, acting according to the best of his judgement -on many very difficult occasions, he might have been compelled -to yield to force and violence, without any imputation -on his probity or statesmanship.</p> - -<p>But if it be beyond our consideration of duty to enter on -questions of internal polity, there are two others, connected -with his administration, to which we may venture to refer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>, as -to be judged of by those great principles of right and justice, -which are applicable to all times and all countries, and become -thus fairly subject to commendation or censure, as -affecting the general interests of mankind.</p> - -<p>Though Martinez de la Rosa had been one of the principal -actors among those who had established the Constitution of -1812, for which also he suffered as a prisoner and an exile, -he learned soon to perceive that it required considerable -modifications in a country like Spain, where the people were -not fully prepared to receive it. One of his first measures -then was to promulgate what might be termed a new Constitution, -called the Estatuto Real, the general wisdom and -propriety of which may be admitted, or at least not disputed, -while one part of it may be pronounced indefensible. This -was in the design to subvert the ancient <a href="#note31" title="See note">rights of the Basque -people</a>, by amalgamating their provinces into the kingdom, -without obtaining or asking their assent. This was a measure -unjust in itself; and because unjust, also impolitic; leading -to a long-protracted struggle, in which the whole force -of Spain being employed, army after army was destroyed, -and general after general disgraced, by a comparatively inconsiderable -number of undisciplined peasantry. When England -sought to incorporate the Parliaments of Scotland and -Ireland into that of the United Kingdom, it was sought by -what might be called legal, though not always honourable -means. On the same principle, the consent of the Basques -ought to have been obtained by the Spanish government, -rather than the attempt made, furtively or forcibly, to deprive -them of their ancient privileges.</p> - -<p>On another great question affecting humanity, it is pleasing -to consider Martinez de la Rosa among the foremost characters -of the age, in attempting the suppression of the slave -trade with Africa. In 1817 a treaty was made between England<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -and Spain to suppress this traffic, which, after the experience -of a few years, it was found necessary to make more -stringent. Propositions to this effect were therefore made -year after year to successive Spanish governments by the British, -but in vain, until in 1835 Lord Palmerston was successful -enough to find in him a minister of Spain, who had the courage -to consent to those suggestions. The treaty of that year was -then entered into, and signed on the part of the two countries, -by Sir George Villiers, now Earl of Clarendon, and -Martinez de la Rosa, which has had the desired effect of preventing -the trade being protected by the Spanish flag. But -this able statesman has done still more, to entitle him to the -respect of all who look with interest on this important question. -One of the stipulations of the treaty declared that a -penal law should be passed in Spain, in accordance with it, -to punish all Spanish subjects found infringing it. This -stipulation no other Spanish minister could be found to fulfil; -and after the lapse of ten years, having again come into -power, it was left for him in good faith to accomplish the -engagement he had previously undertaken. Accordingly in -1845, he passed a law, answering the purposes required, which -received the approbation of the British government, and which -seems to have been so far effective in its application.</p> - -<p>Great, undoubtedly, is the praise due to those philanthropic -statesmen, who, even at the Congress of Vienna, agreed to -protect the liberty of Africa. But much greater must be -acknowledged due to one who, unsupported almost in his own -country, having to oppose himself to a strong colonial interest, -and the cry they raised against him of acting in subservience -to a foreign power, yet had the moral courage to -follow the dictates of justice and humanity, on behalf of an -injured race, notwithstanding all the enmity he had to encounter -in so doing.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span></p> - -<p>In 1836 Martinez de la Rosa had to yield his place in the -government to other hands; and in 1840 he thought proper -to retire again to Paris, engaging himself in those literary -pursuits from which he had latterly been estranged. It is -not our province to follow his political course, through the -different public questions on which he had to act. During -the four intermediate years various ministries were formed, -to some of which he had to give an honourable support, to -others as honourable an opposition; but the Regency of -Espartero he avoided to acknowledge. When this fell under -the attack of Narvaez, he came forward again into public life, -and accepted office for a short time in the government; but -seemed resolved to take the first opportunity of giving up -the post of active exertion for one of more private character, -though of no less public utility. Accordingly, on the accession -of Pius IX. to the Papacy, he was appointed Ambassador -to Rome, which important office he still continues to hold, -for the advantage of the Roman Catholic church itself, as -well as of his own country, in the several questions that have -come since under discussion, subject to his intervention.</p> - -<p>As a politician, Martinez de la Rosa has been conspicuous for -constant rectitude and consistency of principles. “Not even -in moments of the utmost defamation,” says his biographer, -“has a word been ever raised against his purity of conduct, -nor have his greatest enemies ever permitted themselves to -impugn in the least his intentions.” As an orator, he has -had few to equal him in his time, none to surpass him; but -his eloquence has been modelled by his character to persuade -and defend rather than attack; and thus, if not abounding in -brilliant sallies, it has been found of more essential service -to the cause of good government.</p> - -<p>Beyond the ‘History of Perez del<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> Pulgar,’ Martinez de la -Rosa has written several other works in prose, one of which, -the latest, entitled ‘Spirit of the Age,’ is in fact, so far as -yet published, a History of the French Revolution, preceded -by a few general observations on political questions. It has -already advanced to six volumes, and becoming a political -and philosophical history of contemporaneous events, may be -extended to the utmost limits. A novel which he wrote -earlier in life, ‘Donna de Solis,’ is acknowledged a failure, -as showing “that no man, however eminent, can write successfully -on all kinds of subjects.”</p> - -<p>The principal literary success which Martinez de la Rosa -has had, seems to have been as a dramatist; but into those -works it would be impossible to enter, to treat them with -justice, except by making them a prominent subject of consideration. -His poems, published as before stated in 1833, -contain compositions in various styles, from the light Anacreontic -to the project of an Epic Poem on the Wars of -Granada, of which, however, he has only published fragments. -Besides a translation of Horace’s ‘Art of Poetry,’ he has also -given the world an ‘Ars Poetica,’ for the benefit of his own -countrymen, which he has enriched with many excellent -notes and criticisms.</p> - -<p>Some of the rules laid down in this ‘Ars Poetica’ are well -worthy of study, as giving room for reflection, for carrying -their suggestions even further than he has done. Thus, while -insisting on the young poet depending on the excellency of -his ear for the melody of verse, instead of having to count -the syllables for the requisite purpose, he observes, that as -the ancients regulated their metres by time, making so many -long or short feet of equivalent measure, of which the judgement -must depend on the cadence, so in the verses of the -best Spanish poets, there are often some lines containing -three or four more syllables than others, to which they form -the counterpart, and which are read in the same measure,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -with increased pleasure for the variation.</p> - -<p>The same <a href="#note32" title="See note">observation may apply to English verse</a>, though -perhaps not so fully. Many of our syllables containing -shortly sounded vowels, such as a Hebrew scholar might call -Sheva and its compounds, pronounced distinctly, but two in -the time of an ordinary syllable, may be found to give an -elegance to the line, which would sound faulty with only one -of them. But we may go further, and observe, that as in -music the melody may be continued by the pause, instead of -a note in the bar, so in a line, a pause with one or more long -syllables may have the effect of a syllable, instead of the -sound or foot to make up the measure. Readers of poetry -will not require to be reminded of instances of this adaptation -of sounds, and if they notice any such lines in these -translations, they will perceive that they have been written -in accordance with the precepts referred to.</p> - -<p>It must be acknowledged, that in the generality of his -poems, Martinez de la Rosa has not risen to any such height -of sublimity or fancy as to give him a place in the superior -class of poets. But one of the latest critical writers, Ferrer -del Rio, who has given a more disparaging estimate of his -poetical talents than justice might award, pronounces the -‘Epistle to the Duke de Frias’ as a composition for which -“judges the most grave and least complaisant might place him -on the top of Parnassus.” The ‘Remembrance of Spain,’ Del -Rio declares to be poor in images, without feeling or depth, -but with much of pastoral innocency. The ‘Return to Spain’ -is, according to him, a mere itinerary of his travels, more -than an expression of pleasure on escaping from past evil. -But in the ‘Epistle to the Duke de Frias,’ he finds “true-felt -inspiration, an appropriate expression, and a plan well traced -out,”—“without vagueness or artificial labour, but with -phrases that soften and ideas that satisfy the mind,” becoming<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> -the subject.</p> - -<p>Another anonymous critic finds the writer dwelling too -much on the remembrance of his own sorrows, instead of -offering consolation to the mourner, and some incongruity in -felicitating him on having witnessed the last pangs of mortality. -But these topics, on such an occasion, are true to -nature. Grief is apt to be egotistical, and the mind cannot -but dwell on the subject in which it is absorbed. Nor is the -other a less natural suggestion; and thus we may observe, -that the great master of antiquity represents the sweetest of -his characters lamenting that she had not been by the side of -her lord at such a time, as the height of her misfortune, to -receive his last embrace, and his last word to be remembered -ever after:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Ἕκτορ, ἐμοὶ δὲ μάλιστα λελείψεται ἄλγεα λυγρά.</div> -<div class="verse">Οὐ γάρ μοι θνήσκων λεχέων ἐκ χεῖρας ὄρεξας</div> -<div class="verse">Οὐ δὲ τί μοι εἶπες πυκινὸν ἔπος, οὖ τέ κεν αἰεὶ</div> -<div class="verse">Μεμνῄμην νύκτας τε καὶ ἤματα δακρυχέουσα.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In this ‘Epistle to the Duke de Frias,’ Martinez de la Rosa -has also introduced, as a fit consideration in his grief, the -same topic of the instability of earthly things, which “<a href="#note33" title="See note">the -Roman friend of Rome’s least mortal mind</a>” offered him on -a similar occasion of sympathy. But it also seems a favourite -subject of our poet’s thoughts at all times, as befitting the -philosopher and the scholar, to dwell on the passing nature -of worldly greatness, and so lead the mind to higher suggestions -than those of the present moment. These ideas he -has carried further in another work he has published, ‘Book -for Children,’ in which, like many other eminent characters, -who have given the aid of their talents to the development of -juvenile minds, he has inculcated lessons of virtue, and the -instinct of good taste, with the feelings of patriotism and -religion, as the basis of moral well-being.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p> - -<p>Martinez de la Rosa published his works in a collected -form first, in five volumes, 1827-30, at Paris, where they -have been again lately reprinted. Besides these, there have -been two editions in Spain, one at Madrid and the other at -Barcelona. From Her Catholic Majesty he has received the -decoration of the Golden Fleece, the highest order of Spain, -besides other similar honours. But the world at large will -consider his greatest honour to consist in having raised himself -from mediocrity of station, by his talents and exertions, -to the high position he has attained “without stain or reproach,” -while, by his literary works, he has enabled all mankind -to become benefited by his genius, and interested in his -fame.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span></p> - -<h3>FRANCISCO MARTINEZ DE LA ROSA.</h3> - -<h4>REMEMBRANCE OF SPAIN, -WRITTEN IN LONDON IN 1811.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><a href="#note34" title="See note">I saw upon the shady Thames</a></div> -<div class="verse indent1">Unnumber’d ships with riches fraught;</div> -<div class="verse">I saw the power the nation claims</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Immense, the greatness it has wrought,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And arts that such renown have brought.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But the afflicted mind exhaled</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A thousand sighs; again to view</div> -<div class="verse">The flowery banks the wish prevail’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Where glides the Douro calmly through,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or Henil’s streams their course pursue.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I saw the proud Court’s ladies forth</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their wealth and grandeur gaily show;</div> -<div class="verse">I saw the beauties of the North,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their bright complexions white as snow,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Commingling with the rose’s glow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Their eyes appear’d of heavenly blue,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Their tresses of the purest gold;</div> -<div class="verse">Their stately forms arose to view,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Beneath the veil’s transparent fold,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As white and lovely to behold.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But what avail the gay brocade,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The city’s silks, and jewels’ pride;</div> -<div class="verse">Or charms in rosy smiles array’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With brilliant gaiety supplied,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That all to beauty are allied?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When but is seen my country girl,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Clad in her robe of simple white,</div> -<div class="verse">Shamed are the needless silk and pearl;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And by her pure and blooming light</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Confused hides beauty at the sight.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Where shall I find in icy clime</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her black and beaming eyes of fire?</div> -<div class="verse">That whether scornfully the time,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To look, or kindly they desire,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To rob me of my peace conspire?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Where the black hair that may like hers</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In hue with ebony compare?</div> -<div class="verse">Where <a href="#note35" title="See note">the light foot that never stirs</a>,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When bounding o’er the meadows fair,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The lowly flowers that blossom there?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Maids of the Henil! dark ye be;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">But ne’er would I exchanged resign</div> -<div class="verse">Your charms for all that here I see,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Proud Albion shows, of brows that fine</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ev’n as the polish’d ivory shine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O, father Douro! gentle stream,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Whose sands a golden store supply,</div> -<div class="verse">Deign of my heart the wish supreme</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To hear, thy sacred margins by,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That it may be my lot to die!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>RETURN TO GRANADA, -OCTOBER 27, 1831.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">My loved country! thee again</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I come at length returned to see;</div> -<div class="verse">Thy beauteous soil, thy fields where reign</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Plenty and joy unceasingly!</div> -<div class="verse">Thy radiant sun, thy peaceful skies,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Yes! there extended o’er the plain,</div> -<div class="verse">From hill to hill, I see arise</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The far-famed city! Noble towers,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Midst groves of ever-blooming flowers;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Kissing her walls are crystal streams,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her valley lofty heights surround,</div> -<div class="verse">And the snow-topp’d Sierra gleams,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Crowning the far horizon’s bound.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Not vain thy memory me pursued</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Where’er I stray’d; with that imbued,</div> -<div class="verse">Troubling my hopes, my joys, my rest,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The thoughts my heart and soul oppress’d.</div> -<div class="verse">On the cold margin of the Thames,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or Seine, I thought of thee, and sigh’d</div> -<div class="verse">Again to view the bank that gems</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy Henil’s or thy Douro’s tide.</div> -<div class="verse">And if perchance my voice essay’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Some gayer song, for short relief,</div> -<div class="verse">Soon for lament the attempts I made</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Were check’d, and doubled was my grief.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Vain the delicious Arno show’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Offering to me her fruitful shore,</div> -<div class="verse">Of peace and loves the soft abode,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With flowers enamell’d o’er.</div> -<div class="verse">“More blooming are the plains where flows</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The gentle Henil through,</div> -<div class="verse">And lovelier still Granada shows</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her pleasant site to view!”</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Murmuring such words in mournful thought,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I oft with tearful eyes repined,</div> -<div class="verse">Upraised to Heaven, as memory brought</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My fathers’ homes and hearths to mind.</div> -<div class="verse">At times the solitary view</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of rural scenes more seem’d to soothe;</div> -<div class="verse">From cities terror-struck I flew,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And breathless, anxious, o’er the uncouth</div> -<div class="verse">Rough Alps I took my way.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But not so pure, so vivid show’d</div> -<div class="verse">Their snowy tops the sun’s bright ray,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As from our snow Sierra glow’d</div> -<div class="verse">The streams of light, the god of day</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O’er earth and heaven bestow’d.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">My griefs Pompeii flatter’d more:</div> -<div class="verse">Its fearful ruins, silent streets,</div> -<div class="verse">Deserted porticos, retreats</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of men with grass run o’er.</div> -<div class="verse">And in my troubled mind began</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Grave thoughts to rise, how vain is all</div> -<div class="verse">The power of miserable man.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To abase his fame, his pride to gall,</div> -<div class="verse">How fate delights! and works that vast</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He rears, and dares eternal call,</div> -<div class="verse">Throws over with a blast!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Today the traveller, as he roves</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Along the Tiber, has to trace</div> -<div class="verse">Through ruins, where that was high Jove’s</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Triumphant city had its place!</div> -<div class="verse">The plough breaks up the fruitful mould,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The sacred relics now we see</div> -<div class="verse">Of Herculaneum that enfold,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As in a darksome tomb! If be</div> -<div class="verse">Pompeii’s walls still standing, yet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Are their foundations undermined</div> -<div class="verse">By age, and as the rude winds threat,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">They tremble to their fall inclined.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Thus in my youth I saw the tower</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of the superb Alhambra lower,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Broken, and imminent appal</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The Douro threatening with its fall.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Each rapid moment of my life</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Hasten’d the term with ruin rife;</div> -<div class="verse">And of the Alcazar’s sovereign pride,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Where once the Moorish power enchain’d</div> -<div class="verse">Their fame as left to ages wide,</div> -<div class="verse">Mine eyes may soon not find descried</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Its ruins ev’n remain’d.</div> -<div class="verse">As that dark image o’er me glooms,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My heart sinks heavy in my breast;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> -<div class="verse">I bow myself before the tombs,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In tears with grief oppress’d.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">What is thy magic? what may be</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The ineffable enchantment found,</div> -<div class="verse">O, country! O, sweet name, in thee?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ever so dear to man the sound!</div> -<div class="verse">The sunburnt African will sigh</div> -<div class="verse">For his parch’d sands and burning sky,</div> -<div class="verse">Perchance afar, and round the plains</div> -<div class="verse">However blooming he disdains.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ev’n the rude Laplander, if fate</div> -<div class="verse">In luckless hour him off has torn</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From his own soil, disconsolate</div> -<div class="verse">Will to return there longing mourn;</div> -<div class="verse">Envying the eternal night’s repose,</div> -<div class="verse">His icebound shores and endless snows.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And I, to whom kind fate assign’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My birth within thy happy fold,</div> -<div class="verse">Granada! and my growth as kind</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Within thy blissful bounds to mould,</div> -<div class="verse">Far from my country, and beset</div> -<div class="verse">With griefs, how could I thee forget?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On Africa’s inhuman shore,</div> -<div class="verse">To the wreck’d seaman rough and drear,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy sacred name I o’er and o’er</div> -<div class="verse">Repeated, which the waves to hear</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Back to the Spanish regions bore.</div> -<div class="verse">On the far Pole’s dark furious sea,</div> -<div class="verse">By the Batavian’s energy</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Bridled, again thy name was heard:</div> -<div class="verse">Heard it the Rhone, the foamy Rhine,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The Pyrenæan heights the word</div> -<div class="verse">Repeated with the Apennine,</div> -<div class="verse">And in Vesuvius’ burning cave</div> -<div class="verse">Then first the sound the echos gave.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>EPISTLE TO THE DUQUE DE FRIAS, -ON THE DEATH OF THE DUQUESA.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">From the dark gloomy borders of the Seine,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Where with black clouds around the heaven extends,</div> -<div class="verse">The earth o’erwhelm’d with snow, the heart with pain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thee thy unhappy friend his greeting sends;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">To thee still more unhappy! nor deters</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Him ev’n the fear to touch the wounds unheal’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Yet bleeding sore, or see thee how it stirs</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Fresh tears to bathe thine eyes thy sorrows yield.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">What would he be, if man were not to weep?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A thousand times I’ve thank’d our God, who gave</div> -<div class="verse">The heart to soothe its griefs in tears to steep;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As rain we see subdue the raging wave.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Weep then, ay, weep! others, and abler friends</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As faithful, with success may in thine ears</div> -<div class="verse">Make heard the voice that stoic virtue lends;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But I, who in the world my cup of tears</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Oft to the dregs have drain’d, no cure could find</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For grief, but what from grief I might derive;</div> -<div class="verse">When with vain struggling tired, the powerless mind</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Submissive ceased beneath the weight to strive.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Dear friend! wilt thou believe me? time will come,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When the sharp edge of sorrow worn away,</div> -<div class="verse">That grief and anguish now so burdensome,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">At length a placid sadness will allay;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In which absorb’d, as yet o’erwhelm’d, the soul</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Folds itself up all silently to bear;</div> -<div class="verse">Nor seeks nor envies, as around they roll,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The world’s delights or pleasures more to share.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thou doubt’st perchance; and once there was a time</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">I also doubted it; and endless thought</div> -<div class="verse">My deep affliction, and insulting crime</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To tell me to an end it could be brought.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And yet it was! for so from God to man</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That is another mercy, which alone,</div> -<div class="verse">Amidst so many woes ’tis his to scan,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Aids him this weary life to suffer on.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Hope then, believe my words, and trust in me:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who in this world the unhappy privilege</div> -<div class="verse">Has bought so dear to speak of misery?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">These many years that saw it me assiege,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Saw me no day but as the plaything vile</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of a dire fate, that like a shrub amain</div> -<div class="verse">The hurricane tears up, and raised awhile</div> -<div class="verse indent1">It fiercely dashes to the earth again.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I know it true, against the blows of fate,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When that against ourselves they only glance,</div> -<div class="verse">The firm heart shielded can withstand its hate;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But so it is not oft: and thou, perchance,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Mayst think I never one have lost I loved</div> -<div class="verse indent1">More than my life. If sorrow will give truce</div> -<div class="verse">Thee for a moment, turn thine eyes disproved</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To an unhappy orphan, weak, recluse,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And sorrowing solitary in the world,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Without scarce one to whom to weep his woe;</div> -<div class="verse">For to the grave relentless death had hurl’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">One after one, all he was born to know.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In the same season, thou wilt see sufficed</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy loss to open forth the wounds I bear,</div> -<div class="verse">I lost a mother kind, and idolized,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My joy, and comforter in every care;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">On her steps my reaved father to the grave</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Soon follow’d, and both sank o’erwhelm’d in tears,</div> -<div class="verse">Calling my name afar; the cries they gave</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Fell on my heart, but not upon my ears.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I ran, I flew, I came, but all in vain:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Both now beneath the fatal stone reposed,</div> -<div class="verse">And I my height of anguish to attain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But found the covering earth yet newly closed.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thou in thy grave affliction more hast found</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thee to console, if possible; (how turn</div> -<div class="verse">Rebels against me thy own woes around!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From my rude voice perforce thou hast to learn</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">That he who fortune flatter’d not before,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Will neither flatter grief) thou in thy loss</div> -<div class="verse">Hast found a thousand comforts, which forbore</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My cruel fate to grant my path across;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thou soothing saw’st thy wife in her last pains;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Her last sigh couldst receive; couldst press her hands,</div> -<div class="verse">Her arms raised to thee, and her pledge remains</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In thine, her daughter still thy love demands.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But I, not wishing it, am in thy breast</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A dagger striking, thus again to view</div> -<div class="verse">That fatal night’s dark image to suggest,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When life with death its fearful struggles drew.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Now ended are her pains, for ever o’er!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Herself she pray’d for it, with pious eyes</div> -<div class="verse">To heaven, and hope, amidst the pangs she bore,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Shone on her brow serene in death to rise.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O! were it given us to penetrate</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The secrets of the tomb, how oft our grief</div> -<div class="verse">Would it not soften down, however great!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In this same moment who of the belief</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Could not assure thee, while thou dost lament,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Unhappy, thy lost wife’s untimely doom,</div> -<div class="verse">That she is there enjoying permanent</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A lot more happy than this side the tomb?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thou, silent, lowly bendest down thy head;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But thou mayst not be silent; answer me;</div> -<div class="verse">Sound, if thou darest it, the abyss to tread,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That separates thy lost loved wife from thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Take through eternity thy course, and then</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Tell me of where she is, what is her state?</div> -<div class="verse">Happy or miserable? or again,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">We should rejoice in, or lament her fate?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">To thee I may repeat it, others gay</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Will laugh at my dark fancy; not long past</div> -<div class="verse">The time I was by that enchanting bay</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of the Tyrrhenian sea; the city vast,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Mother of pleasures, I forsook, and bent,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Absorb’d, my feeble steps, where lowly lies</div> -<div class="verse">Pompeii; palaces with gardens blent</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And fountains brilliant, shone before my eyes;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But deeper penetrates the mind, and sad,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Slowly along I went with heavy heart:</div> -<div class="verse">Flowers amid lava grew! and rich, and glad</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Today the scenes on every side impart</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The towns and villages, which others hide</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That stood as happy there a former day;</div> -<div class="verse">Those now that flourish built up by the side</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of some forgotten that have pass’d away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">At length I came where we the walls descry</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of the deserted city, which the abode</div> -<div class="verse">Proclaim’d it was of men in times gone by;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their sepulchres stood bordering the road!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There for a resting-place the traveller stays,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">For shade and for repose: the gate now gain’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Awhile the vacillating foot delays</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To enter, as if fearing it profaned</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Too bold the mansions of the dead. No word,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No sound, no murmur. It would seem that there</div> -<div class="verse">Ev’n Echo’s self is mute, no answer heard!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Slowly I through the narrow streets repair</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Without a human footstep! Porticos</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And plazas by no living beings trod,</div> -<div class="verse">Walls with deserted hearths, and temples rose</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And altars, without victims or a god.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">How little, mean and miserable seem’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The world before mine eyes, when there I stood!</div> -<div class="verse">A bitter smile upon my features gleam’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To think of man’s ambition, schemes of blood,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And projects without end, when by a blast,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Like smoke, their good and evil are represt;</div> -<div class="verse">Ashes a mighty city overcast,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As light dust covers o’er some poor ants’ nest!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thus wrapp’d in mournful thoughts, I paced along</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That vast and silent precinct, as behind</div> -<div class="verse">Roves some unbodied shade the tombs among;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The ties me yet to this low earth that bind</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I felt to loosen, and the soul set free</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Launch’d itself forth, ev’n into endless space,</div> -<div class="verse">Leaving behind it ages.—Couldst thou see</div> -<div class="verse indent1">What is this wretched life, compared its trace</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With that immensity, most surely, friend,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In thine eyes would remain congeal’d those tears,</div> -<div class="verse">Which now profuse thou shedd’st, and thou wouldst bend</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Down on the earth thy gaze, where soon appears,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thyself must see, the end of all our toil;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The rest that she enjoys beyond the sky,</div> -<div class="verse">For whom thou weep’st, whilst o’er this care-worn soil</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Dragging life’s heavy burden, as do I.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Yet till ’tis granted thee to meet again</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy lost adored, the moments consecrate</div> -<div class="verse">Of absence to her memory that remain:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy heart let her remembrance animate;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Let thy lips ever her dear name repeat:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor how forget that clear ingenuous mind,</div> -<div class="verse">That heavenly beauty, generous soul, to meet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">So rare! the world admired such gifts combined.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But now I see thee to the dusky grove</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of cypress and rose-bay trees take thy way;</div> -<div class="verse">On thy right hand a crown is hanging, wove</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of mournful everlastings; nor astray</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thine eyes scarce raising, fearing to behold</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">The monument of thine eternal grief,</div> -<div class="verse">That guards her ashes! Different she consoled,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Hastening in charity, as for relief</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The poor unhappy and the orphans knew!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For whom she ever show’d a parent’s care:</div> -<div class="verse">They who partook her gifts and kindness true,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Now in long files and slow, thy griefs to share</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Silent and mournful on thy steps attend,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Around her tomb; dost thou not hear them? theirs,</div> -<div class="verse">Theirs are the tearful sobbings that ascend,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And cries that interrupt the funeral prayers.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Not ev’n a flower to deck her sepulchre,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Have I to send thee! flowers may not be grown</div> -<div class="verse">To bud in beds of ice; or if they were,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">They soon would wither at my touch alone.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p> - -<h4>ANACREONTIC.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Let the thunder burst,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Pour out and drink the wine!</div> -<div class="verse">Thou never saw’st a thunderbolt</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Strike the tender vine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Vesuvius himself</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To Bacchus tribute pays,</div> -<div class="verse">And spares the vineyard flourishing,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Where his lava sways.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In Italy in vain</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I hero sought or sage;</div> -<div class="verse">Mine eyes but dusty ruins found,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Mouldering with age.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Of Rome the image scarce</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Remains to be portray’d;</div> -<div class="verse">A tomb is Herculaneum,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Pompeii is a shade.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But I found Falernum,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His nectar rich remain’d,</div> -<div class="verse">And in memory of Horace,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A bottleful I drain’d.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span></p> - -<h4>BACCHANALIAN.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In chorus we sing, of wine, sweet wine,</div> -<div class="verse">Its power benign, and its flavour divine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Against power so sweet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No guard is secure,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor gate, nor yet wall,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor will castle endure,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor doubtings, nor watchings,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">How strict or demure.</div> -<div class="verse right">Chorus.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With thee the fair maiden</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Shows herself fairer,</div> -<div class="verse">With thee has the matron</div> -<div class="verse indent1">New beauty to glare her;</div> -<div class="verse">Ev’n the sad widow</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Finds love an ensnarer.</div> -<div class="verse right">Chorus.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With thee the poor captive,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Though heavy his chains,</div> -<div class="verse">Ne’er feels in his feasting</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or torments or pains,</div> -<div class="verse">But a place with his lord</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As an equal he gains.</div> -<div class="verse right">Chorus.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With thee the worn seaman</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">The south wind defies,</div> -<div class="verse">While echoes the thunder</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He singing replies,</div> -<div class="verse">And of winds and the waves</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Will the fury despise.</div> -<div class="verse right">Chorus.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thou hast power o’er the lip</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of the fool and the sage,</div> -<div class="verse">From the breast to root out</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Gall, venom and rage,</div> -<div class="verse">What rancour and envy</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Would hide, to assuage.</div> -<div class="verse right">Chorus.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With thee will the coward</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of courage make show,</div> -<div class="verse">The niggard so vile</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Learn bounteous to grow,</div> -<div class="verse">And the feeble and old</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Fresh vigour to know.</div> -<div class="verse right">Chorus.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thy colour so pure</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Outrivals the flowers,</div> -<div class="verse">Thy odorous essence</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The rich myrrh’s showers,</div> -<div class="verse">The rosemary honey</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy taste overpowers.</div> -<div class="verse right">Chorus.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Oblivion thou givest</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">To troubles and sorrow,</div> -<div class="verse">Joys fleeting a show</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of eternal to borrow,</div> -<div class="verse">And robb’st of its horrors</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The fate of tomorrow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In chorus we sing, of wine, sweet wine,</div> -<div class="verse">Its power benign, and its flavour divine.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="VIII">VIII.<br /> -<span class="smaller">ANGEL DE SAAVEDRA, -DUKE DE RIVAS.</span></h3> - -<p>There are few persons to whom Fortune can be said to have -“come with both hands full,” more truly than to the illustrious -subject of this notice; even the very reverses of life, -which have fallen to his lot, have come like favours; as they -have been incurred honourably, and have proved the harbingers -of many advantages.</p> - -<p>Angel de Saavedra was born at Cordova, the 1st March, -1791, the second son of Don Juan Martin de Saavedra, -Duke de Rivas, and Donna Maria Ramirez, Marchioness of -Andia, Grandees of Spain, both persons not less eminent for -private virtues than for their exalted rank. He received -his primary education under his father’s care; but he dying -in 1802, Angel was then removed to the College of Nobles -at Madrid. In accordance with the privileges then enjoyed -by youths of noble birth, he was, while yet a child of ten -months, nominated a cornet of cavalry, and held a commission -as captain when but seven years old. At that age, pursuing -his studies, it was observed that he did not show much -application or inclination for abstruser subjects; but his quickness -of apprehension, and felicity of memory gave him a sup<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>eriority -over his companions, many of whom were distinguished -for much greater industry. History and poetry were, from -his earliest years, his favourite subjects of study; and in original -compositions and translations from the classics, he then -already began to show the bent of his genius. At the same -time he also began to show his great talent for drawing, in -which art, no less than in poetry, he has so much excelled; -and it is recorded that for the greatest punishment to be -awarded him for juvenile delinquencies, it was found sufficient -to take away his pencils, and forbid his taking his -drawing lesson for the day.</p> - -<p>In 1806 the regiment, to which he was attached, had orders -to join Napoleon’s army in Germany, with the Spanish contingent; -whereupon the Duchess de Rivas, as her son’s guardian, -procured his exchange into the Royal Guard, by which -he lost rank, having now only that of a sub-lieutenant, in the -rank as a guardsman. Having joined this corps in the beginning -of 1807, it was the lot of Don Angel to witness the -scenes which then occurred in the palace, little creditable to -any of the parties, including the arrest of the Prince of the -Asturias, afterwards Ferdinand VII., and the proceedings -against him. It was perhaps fortunate for the young guardsman -that he was so soon called into active service. A privileged -corps is always a dangerous trial for a young man -entering into life; though, in addition to his own right-mindedness, -he had the good fortune to be joined to the Flemish -battalion of the guard, where he became intimate with a -young Belgian officer of kindred tastes and character, who, -by example and association, confirmed him in his inclinations. -He also became acquainted with some other young men who -had the conducting of a literary periodical, to which he contributed -several articles, both in prose and verse. For a -young man of sixteen, desirous of distinction, this was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -privilege which could not fail of producing good results in -subsequent improvement, if his early efforts were found to be -approved, as an encouragement to continue them.</p> - -<p>From such occupations was Saavedra called away soon, to -engage in the important events, upon which the future fate of -his country was to depend. Napoleon’s troops had crossed -the Pyrenees, and under pretence of marching through the -country to Portugal, had seized upon the principal fortresses -of Spain. The Court of Madrid, aware too late of the -treachery intended, was thrown into irremediable confusion, -heightened by the internal dissensions of the royal family. -The troops at Madrid were summoned in haste to the king -at Aranjuez, when Saavedra among them witnessed the pitiable -scenes, which ended in the abdication of Charles IV. -and the declaration of Ferdinand VII., in whose escort he returned -to Madrid. But the French armies were already in -possession of the country, and had the royal family in their -power. They soon had further possession of Madrid, and -the guards, in which Saavedra’s elder brother, the Duke de -Rivas, was also serving with him, were ordered away to the -Escurial, as the French leaders were aware of the part they -had taken at Aranjuez, and were fearful of their influence -with the people, in the course of resistance then widely -spreading against the invaders.</p> - -<p>Murat, then chief of the French forces, and of the provisional -government, had good reason to fear that so influential -a body as the Royal Guards, all composed of individuals -of rank, might be induced to take part with the insurrectionists -in the rising struggle; and he therefore sent to -them to the Escurial, one of the principal Spanish officers, -also one of the Royal Guard, who had attached himself to -the French interest, to persuade the others to join the same -cause. This officer having accordingly come to the Escur<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>ial, -called together the members of the guard, and stating to -them that the students of the Military College at Segovia -were in a state of rebellion against the authorities, expressed -Murat’s wish that the guards should join the French troops -to suppress the movement, to prevent further ill-consequences. -The assembly received the proposal at first in silence and -perplexity. But it was one of those occasions when a right -mind and strong heart availed more than conventional dignity; -and thus, though perhaps the youngest person present, -Angel de Saavedra rose up, and with all the impetuosity of -youth, declared in impassioned language, that “none of the -guard would do treason to their country, or become an instrument -of foreign tyranny, for the oppression and punishment -of their companions in arms.” He therefore, in the -name of his comrades, gave a positive refusal to the mandate.</p> - -<p>In this, his first harangue, the spirit was as noble, as the -sentiments were bold and patriotic. The manner in which -it was received showed that it was also in unison with the -feelings of the rest of the guard, and Murat’s messenger was -obliged to content himself with attempting to reprove the -young officer, who had ventured to speak before others, so -much his superiors in rank and service. But his efforts were -of no avail, and he had to return to Madrid, with the information -that the guards were also apparently about to join -the national party. These passed the night in watch, with -their arms and horses prepared, for whatever might be the -result. In the morning they received orders to return to -Madrid, and obeying the order, at halting for the night, -came to deliberate on the course they should adopt. Some -thought it would be better to disperse, and go to their respective -provinces, to join the several parties already armed in -resistance against the invaders. Others, among whom were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -the two brothers, Saavedra and the Duke de Rivas, thought -it would be better for them to keep united, and join as a -body, with their standards, the first effective Spanish force -they could meet. Unfortunately there was no one of sufficient -authority present to command; and the first suggestion, -where most of them naturally wished to share the fates of -their families, prevailed. Accordingly they dispersed, and -the two brothers entered Madrid secretly, finding that those -who remained together were too few to remain as a body, -against the numerous bands of the enemy spread over the -country.</p> - -<p>The first wish of the brothers was to join Palafox at Zaragoza, -and they started for that purpose with false passports; -but found the road too closely beset by the French. In one -place, however, they met with a mischance on the other side; -where the people, now risen against the invaders, fancied that -the travellers who were going armed so mysteriously, were -emissaries of the French, and would listen to no declaration -to the contrary. Fortunately there happened to be in the -town a comrade of the guard, well known there, who hearing -the uproar, came and recognized the prisoners, and assuring -the multitude of their true character, made them be received -with as much enthusiastic welcome, as they had just before -been with violence.</p> - -<p>Turning from this course, the two brothers then hastened -back to join the forces under Castanios, flushed with their -triumph at Bailen; and at Sepulveda, Angel Saavedra had -his first encounter in fight with the French. With the army -he joined, he found about 200 of his comrades of the guards, -and these, as a body, now effected much service in the various -skirmishes and actions that took place. They had these with -varied success at Ucles, Tudela, and other places, where the -two brothers distinguished themselves by their activity and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -bravery. At Tudela the Duke had his horse killed, and -received several contusions, which resulted in a fever, on -account of which his brother had to take him to their mother’s -care at Cordova.</p> - -<p>Having recovered from this, they again joined the army, -and were present at “the memorable battle of Talavera,” -after which they had to share in the several encounters of -Caminias, Madrilejos and Herencia. But now a severer trial -awaited them. On the 18th of November, 1809, on the eve -of the disastrous battle of Ocania, the French and Spanish -forces had an encounter at Antigola, when the Royal Guards, -under the Duke de Rivas, though pressed by superior numbers, -charged three times on the enemy, before they retired, -with the loss of one-third of their number, to Ocania.</p> - -<p>In this skirmish, Angel Saavedra had his horse killed at -the beginning of the affray, and then had to fight hand to -hand at a disadvantage. Thus he soon received two wounds -in the head, and another in the breast from a lance which -prostrated him, and left him insensible, while the combatants -were riding over him and others laid in the same state. -About the middle of the night he recovered his sensibility, -and found he had been robbed of his clothes. He attempted to -rise, but fell down again, unable to move. Happily for him -he had sufficient strength to call to a man he saw near, who -proved to be a Spanish soldier seeking for spoils, and he, -learning the name of the wounded officer, put him on his -horse, and took him to his brother. The Duke, who had -already been searching for him, and had sent others out for -the same purpose unavailingly, now hastened to procure for -him medical assistance. With much difficulty he found a -surgeon, who, on seeing the patient, declared the case hopeless, -and left him to attend to others. The cold air had -arrested the bleeding, which now burst forth from the motion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> -of the horse and the warmth of the room used for the hospital, -so as to leave him apparently dying. The Duke was in despair, -when the people about him brought the barber of the -place to dress the wounds, which he did with great skill, -giving him hopes of success in saving his brother’s life.</p> - -<p>As the morning broke, the drums were heard beating for -action, announcing the advance of the enemy. The Duke -had barely time to procure a common cart of the country -into which to place his brother, who was found to have no -fewer than eleven wounds upon him, and send him away with -seven other wounded companions, before he had to join his -troop. Going slowly along, the seven died by his side one -after another, and in a few hours they were overtaken by -fugitives, whose flight showed the ill-fortune of the day. -Saavedra might have shared this ill-fortune further; but one -of the escort knew the country well and took him along by-paths -to a retired place, where his wounds were again dressed, -and afterwards to Baeza, in which city he found better attendance. -There, after three weeks, all his wounds were healed, -except the one in the breast, and one in the hip, from which -he was lame for some years afterwards. He then was enabled -to proceed to his mother at Cordova, and there was received, -in his native place, with marks of public respect, which could -not fail of being very gratifying to his feelings, though at the -expense of so much suffering.</p> - -<p>In the beginning of 1810 the French came marching towards -Cordova, and Saavedra and his mother fled to Malaga. -He had frequent bleeding, apparently from the lungs, and -his medical advisers were fearful that any extraordinary exertion -would have a fatal result. Before they could embark at -Malaga for any other place, the French had got possession of -the city, and Saavedra and the Duchess had to take refuge, -disguised, in a fisherman’s hut. In this extremity they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> -found by a Spanish officer in the French interest, who had -formerly shared their hospitality at Cordova, and he repaid it -now by procuring for them passports and giving them the -means to get to Gibraltar, whence they passed over to Cadiz, -then the last hope of Spain.</p> - -<p>Arrived at Cadiz, Saavedra was received with the consideration -due to his merits. He was put into active service, as -far as his strength would allow, and on the staff his talents -for drawing as well as for ready composition were found of -great value. Many of the military reports were written by -him; and he also wrote a defence of the military establishments -against a pamphlet which had been published, conducting -at the same time a military periodical, published -weekly, at Cadiz, throughout 1811. Thrown into association -with such men as the Conde de Noronia, Arriaza, Quintana, -and Martinez de la Rosa, his love for poetry was further excited, -and he composed verses like them, some of which have -been preserved among his later works, while he has allowed -others to be forgotten. He continued also cultivating his -taste for drawing, attending the schools at Cadiz to draw -from life as well as from the models; while at leisure moments -on duty he amused himself with sketching portraits of -his comrades, or of the scenes presented to their view.</p> - -<p>But his military duties did not cease at Cadiz. Having -been sent out on important commissions with orders, he was -led away by his ardour to join in the encounter which took -place with the French at Chiclana, in forgetfulness of the -commission with which he was charged. Afterwards a division -of the army being found in a state of resistance to the -orders of the Regency, on account of their general refusing -to acknowledge the Duke of Wellington as commander-in-chief, -Saavedra was sent with full powers to arrest the disorder. -This he did effectually, drawing the division out of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> -Cordova in good order, after deposing the general and other -chiefs of the insurrection, who but for this might have brought -further reverses on the Spanish arms, such as so many other -incapable officers had done previously, influenced in like -manner by their presumption and self-conceit.</p> - -<p>Saavedra, so far from joining in the vanity and folly of -those of his countrymen, who fancied themselves competent to -act independently of the British commander, on the contrary, -sought to be employed on the staff under the immediate orders -of Lord Wellington, but he could not effect it. The wound in -his breast again occasioned large effusions of blood from the -mouth, and he was obliged to return to Seville, and ultimately -was quartered at Cordova. When the war came to an end, -he, under these circumstances, retired from military service -with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.</p> - -<p>While at Cadiz, Saavedra had joined, unreservedly, in the -councils of those who framed and attempted to establish -in Spain the constitution of 1812. When Ferdinand VII. -returned and set it aside, he therefore fully expected that he -would be included in the proscription directed against Martinez -de la Rosa and others who had distinguished themselves -in the assertion of liberal opinions. But instead of this, the -king, who probably considered him more of a military than a -political character, received him favourably, and gave him the -rank of colonel, assigning him Seville for his residence. There -accordingly he retired, and while Spain was subjected to the -rule of absolutism, employed himself in literary pursuits and -drawing, for which the magnificent paintings of Murillo and -other Spanish masters in that city gave one of his inclinations -so great an incentive. In 1813 he published a volume of -poems, and in the following six years brought forward several -plays, some of which were represented at Seville with considerable -applause, and one had the “marked honour of being prohibited<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> -by the censorship.” These he republished in a second -edition of his works at Madrid in 1821, but though favourably -received at the time, they are all acknowledged now to be of -little merit. In fact, at that time, having studied principally -the later poets of the classical school as it was termed, his -mind had not yet attained that expansiveness and vigour -which subsequent years of study were destined to give it.</p> - -<p>In 1820 Saavedra happened to be in Madrid, probably engaged -in superintending this edition of his works, when the -events of that year brought into power the party with whom -he had been associated at Cadiz at the time of the siege. -With characteristic ardour he entered again into close alliance -with them, resuming the principles he had previously maintained -with them. But though now those friends were in -office, he sought nothing for himself further than leave to -travel into neighbouring countries, which permission he had -sought in vain from the previous government. This favour -he now obtained, with full salary allowed, and a commission -to examine the military establishments of other nations, and -to report to the government on their advances and improvements. -He went accordingly to Paris, and after a careful -attention to the duties entrusted to him, was about proceeding -to Italy, when he was called back to Spain to engage in a -new career of public importance.</p> - -<p>Before going to Paris, Saavedra had paid a short visit to -his native city, and there formed a close intimacy with Alcala -Galiano, one of the most learned and talented men of his age, -who, with Don Javier Isturitz (the present respected Minister -of her Catholic Majesty at London), was now at the head of -the government. Galiano, by the fascination of his eloquence, -had completely won the good feelings of the young poet, and -inspired by the desire of having so able and popular a follower -in the legislature, had procured his election as Deputy to <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>the -Cortes from Cordova. Flattered by the favour shown him -by his fellow-townsmen, Saavedra entered with his accustomed -ardour on his duties, and was appointed Secretary to -the Cortes, where he came forward as one of the most vehement -speakers in the maintenance of liberal opinions. But -those opinions were not responded to by the great mass of -the people, and were opposed by the foreign courts of Europe. -Saavedra had voted for the removal of the court to Seville, -and there further voted for the suspension of the king and -his transference to Cadiz, when the entry of the French army -re-established Ferdinand on his throne. On the 1st October, -1822, Saavedra and Galiano had to take flight from Cadiz to -Gibraltar, where he remained till the following May, when -he proceeded to London to join the other emigrants there, -Isturitz, Galiano, the celebrated Arguelles, whom his countrymen, -on account of his remarkable eloquence, have termed -the divine, and others.</p> - -<p>Even during his short political career, Saavedra had continued -his literary pursuits, and now in London he renewed -them, writing his poem ‘Florinda’ and minor pieces, as well as -continuing his recreative art of drawing. For his participation -in the proceedings against the king, he had been sentenced -to death, and his property had been sequestrated. This same -measure had been visited on his brother, the Duke de Rivas, -who had taken part also in the proceedings, and thus Saavedra -had become reduced to very straitened circumstances. Their -mother, with natural feeling, forwarded him all the supplies -in her power; but these were scanty, and it was necessary for -him to seek means of subsistence for himself. He therefore -determined on going to Italy to perfect himself in the art of -painting, as the best means of employment left him, finding -the climate of England also too rigorous for his constitution.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p> - -<p>As the Spanish emigrants were forbidden to go to Italy, -the Duchess de Rivas besought the Pope’s Nuncio at Madrid -to grant her son a passport and obtain for him permission to -go there for the purposes specified. The Nuncio having -communicated with Rome, was enabled to reply, that “as -Don Angel Saavedra engaged neither to speak nor to write -on political subjects in Italy, nor to frequent English society, -his passport would be granted him, assuring him he would -there find hospitality and protection.” The required securities -having been given, and the Nuncio’s authorization obtained, -on which he had himself written, “Given by express order -of His Holiness,” Saavedra left London in December, 1824, -for Gibraltar, where he remained till the June following. In -the meantime he there married, according to previous arrangement, -Donna Maria de la Encarnacion Cueto, daughter of a -distinguished colonel of artillery, and then, with his young -wife, proceeded to Leghorn. Arrived at this city, and presenting -his passport to the Roman consul, he was told that, -notwithstanding the assurances given him, he was now forbidden -to go to Rome; besides which he received an order -from the Tuscan government to leave their territories within -three days. Finding all remonstrances useless, Saavedra now, -in right of a passport from Gibraltar, applied for aid to the -British consul, who took him to his house, and as the only -means of putting him in safety, embarked him on board a -small Maltese vessel then about to sail for that island. After -a protracted voyage, with wretched accommodations and subjected -to great peril in a storm, when the men abandoned -their tasks, and the captain and Saavedra had to compel -them by blows even to resume their labours, they at length -reached Malta. Here Saavedra intended to have remained -only until he could obtain the means of returning to Gibraltar; -but the advantages of climate, of cheapness of living,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -and the reception he met with from the English authorities, -induced him to continue there, until his stay at length extended -to five years’ residence.</p> - -<p>Fortunately for him, there happened then to be residing at -Malta Mr. J. H. Frere, formerly British Minister at Madrid, -who, in addition to a highly cultivated taste and great general -knowledge, was well conversant with the Spanish language -and literature also in particular. With this gentleman -Saavedra soon entered into terms of intimate friendship, and -was taught by him to turn his thoughts from the tame class of -poetry he had copied from the French school, and elevate his -mind to the high tone of the older poets of Spain, as well as -to the study of English literature. These lessons he followed, -and thus proved another instance of the remark of Plutarch, -that the Muses often suggest the best and most approved -productions of genius, taking exile as their means to aid them: -Καὶ γὰρ τοῖς παλαιοῖς (ὥς ἔοικεν) αἱ Μοῦσαι τὰ κάλλιστα -τῶν συνταγμάτων καὶ δοκιμώτατα, φυγὴν λάβουσαι σύνεργον, -ἐπετέλεσαν.</p> - -<p>At first Saavedra continued his former style of writing, -but after a short time his mind seemed suddenly to expand, -and to act under the influence of another genius. He finished, -after his arrival at Malta, his poem of ‘Florinda,’ and wrote -there several plays, of the same character as those he had -formerly written, but at the same time showed that a change -was coming over his mind, by an ‘Ode to the Lighthouse at -Malta,’ known to the reader by Mr. Frere’s translation of it, -which for spirit and range of thought proved itself the offspring -of another and truer inspiration. The expectations -thus raised were destined to be fully realized, and the poem -he then began, and published subsequently, the ‘Moro -Esposito,’ or ‘Foundling Moor,’ proved one of a class entirely -unknown to Spanish literature, but quite in accordan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>ce -with the national genius, so as to be at once accepted by -the Spanish public, as entitled to their unqualified admiration. -To use the words of <a href="#note36" title="See note">his biographer, Pastor Diaz</a>, himself -a writer of considerable reputation, “This work, which -had no model, nor has yet had a rival, is one of the most -precious jewels of our literature, and in our judgement the -most beautiful flower of his poetic crown.”</p> - -<p>But it was not to poetry alone that Saavedra gave his -attention at Malta. He continued also his application to -painting, not having forgotten his original intention of -adopting this art professionally. Notwithstanding <a href="#note37" title="See note">the advantages -he enjoyed there</a>, however, he was anxious to be -nearer his own country, and sought permission to go to -France, for which purpose he had an English vessel of war -assigned to take him to Marseilles. On arriving there, instead -of being allowed to go to Paris as he desired, he was -directed to fix his residence at Orleans, where, having exhausted -the means afforded him for subsistence, he found it -necessary to establish a school for drawing. In this he met -with some success, having obtained various pupils and commissions -for portraits, and a painting which he had finished -with care and ability having been bought at a high price for -the museum of the city. Four others of his paintings are -in the choir of the cathedral at Seville.</p> - -<p>After a few months’ residence at Orleans, the revolution of -July, 1830, allowed him to go to Paris, where he found his -valued friends Isturitz and Galiano, both, like himself, having -moderated the warmth of early opinions by the effect of observation -as well as of time. Instead of interfering in political -questions therefore, he continued his artistic labours. -Several portraits he had painted appeared in the Exhibition of -1831 at the Louvre, and his name is to be found in the list -for that year of professional artists established in Paris. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -consequence of the cholera having broken out there, Saavedra -soon after retired to Tours, where he finished his poem, the -‘Moro Esposito,’ and the Tragedy, ‘Don Alvaro,’ publishing -the former at Paris in two volumes, in 1833.</p> - -<p>On the death of Ferdinand VII., under the milder sway -of Queen Christina, the emigrants hitherto excluded from -Spain were allowed to return to their country. Angel -Saavedra hastened to take advantage of the amnesty, and -arrived in Spain the 1st of January, 1834, to take the oaths -required; after which he took up his residence at Madrid, -and gave his adhesion to the government over which Martinez -de la Rosa then presided. Now, however, an important -change came over his fortunes, which brought him still more -prominently before the world, and involved him again in the -vicissitudes of public life.</p> - -<p>On the 15th of May, 1834, his elder brother died without -children; and Angel Saavedra thereupon succeeded to his -honours as Duke de Rivas, and to the family estates entailed -with the title. As a Grandee of Spain, the new Duke had -to take his place in the Chamber of Peers, where he was -chosen, on the 24th of July following, second Secretary, and -shortly after, first Secretary of the Chamber and Vice-President. -Here again, as formerly in the Cortes, he then took -his part in the public debates, having on several occasions -shown himself to possess great oratorical abilities. One -speech he made on the exclusion of Don Carlos and his -descendants from the Spanish throne, has been particularly -mentioned as combining much eloquence with high political -considerations.</p> - -<p>But notwithstanding his elevation and parliamentary duties, -he still continued his literary pursuits. Having finished the -Tragedy of ‘Don Alvaro,’ he now brought it forward, and it -is not too much to say that never had a drama been produced<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> -in Spain of so high a character, or that was attended with -such success. At first it was received with wonder, then -with long and loud applause; it was repeated at every theatre -in Spain, and still continues to excite the admiration of audiences, -casting into the shade all his former dramatic productions, -and in fact causing a revolution in the dramatic -art of the Spanish stage. The old worn-out characters and -constantly recurring self-same incidents that had encumbered -the scenes have since been swept away, and a higher tone -has been in consequence adopted by later writers, though -still this remarkable production remains without a rival on -the Spanish stage. Yet it is not without faults, and it has -been subjected to severe criticisms; but on the representation, -so absorbing is the interest which it is said to excite, -that all faults are lost sight of in admiration. The subject -of the drama is that of the old Greek tragedy, Fatality. -Don Alvaro is an Œdipus, destined for misfortune, and not -even religion can save him from his mission of crime. “It is -a character which belongs to no determinate epoch, perhaps -more universal in this as it belongs to all, like the heroes of -Shakespeare.” There can be no question but that it was -the study of Shakespeare which elevated his genius to the -production of this masterpiece of the modern Spanish theatre, -as had the study of Walter Scott and Byron enabled him to -give the world the great poem of the ‘Moro Esposito.’</p> - -<p>On the 15th of May, 1836, the Duke de Rivas was called -on to join the government formed by his friends Isturitz and -Galiano, to which he consented with much reluctance. But -this ministry was doomed to be of short duration, and was -overthrown in the midst of popular commotions. The Duke -had to take refuge in the house of the British Minister, the -present Earl of Clarendon, where he remained twenty-four -days, refusing to emigrate as others of his colleagues had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> -done, though at last he felt himself compelled to do so. -With much difficulty he then escaped, and after many perils, -passing through Portugal, arrived at Gibraltar.</p> - -<p>The moderate counsels of the Isturitz ministry were not -agreeable to the temper of the public, and thus the Duke de -Rivas was now driven into banishment by his former friends -the liberals, as he had formerly been by their mutual enemies -the Absolutists. At Gibraltar he thereupon remained a year, -dedicating himself again to poetry and painting, having then -composed much of his next, and perhaps most popular work, -‘Historical Romances.’ On the promulgation of the constitution -of 1837, accepted by the Queen, the Duke gave in -his adhesion to it, and was thus enabled to return to his -family from his second exile, on the 1st of August of that -year.</p> - -<p>In the ensuing elections, the Duke was elected Senator -for Cadiz, when, in consonance with his principles, he gave -his general support to the ministry, and distinguished himself -by several animated discourses he pronounced in the -Chamber; particularly one in favour of returning to the -nunneries their sequestrated properties, and another for -maintaining to the Basque provinces their ancient privileges -and rights. For this just and disinterested advocacy of their -interests, the constituents inhabiting the two provinces of -Biscay and Alava respectively elected him to the Senate in -1840, though the government which then existed did not -think proper to sanction their choice.</p> - -<p>Shortly after this, another change occurred in the government, -and under the administration of Narvaez, the Duke de -Rivas was appointed Minister from Her Catholic Majesty to -the Court at Naples, in which city he continued upwards of -five years in that mission; during also the residence of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>Pius -IX. there, while a fugitive from Rome. On the marriage of -the Conde de Montemolin, eldest son of Don Carlos, with a -sister of the King of the two Sicilies, he demanded his passport, -leaving his post, for which he received the approbation -of his sovereign. Since his return to Spain, the Duke has -been again appointed Vice-President of the Senate, but -seems to have taken little part in public affairs.</p> - -<p>Mr. Borrow, in his very amusing work, ‘The Bible in -Spain,’ describes the Duke de Rivas, in 1836, as “a very -handsome man;” and so his portraits represent him, agreeing -with all the accounts of his personal appearance and courtly -manners. Favoured by fortune with the possession of high -rank and ample means, he has been still further favoured in -his domestic relations, and with a large family, the solace of -his age. We have thus traced him through life, distinguished, -in every stage in which he has had to exert himself, for -eminent ability as well as honourable conduct. As a soldier, -engaged in the noblest of causes, the defence of his country, -he showed himself conspicuous among the most active and -bravest of her defenders. In public life, as an orator, a -diplomatist and a statesman, he has proved equally eminent. -In private life, he has been no less exemplary for the exercise -of the domestic virtues, having in his needs exerted himself -to discharge his duty to his family, by the practice of the -talents with which he had been endowed, as an artist of -superior proficiency. As a dramatist, his works have in -that most difficult department gained the fullest success; -and in poetry he is the only modern writer in Spain who has -given the world a poem of the highest class, combining -varied incidents with well-drawn characters and a sustained -interest. Our greatest poet of modern days felt constrained -to say,</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent9">I twine</div> -<div class="verse">My hopes of being remember’d in my line</div> -<div class="verse">With my land’s language;</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">and in such aspirations may the Duke de Rivas indulge in -the retrospect of his past labours to ensure for him a like -future remembrance.</p> - -<p>Passing by the poems written under the influence of an -adhesion to the rules of the classical school, we find the -poem of the ‘Moro Esposito,’ or ‘Cordova and Burgos in -the fifteenth century,’ well-deserving of being classed with -the poetical romances of Sir Walter Scott, on the model of -which it was written. The subject is the History of the -Seven Infantes of Lara, made known to the English reader -by Southey and Lockhart, and it contains many passages of -extraordinary merit, though severe criticism would point out -many faults. “To make felt,” says his biographer, “or to -record all the beauties of this book, a book as large would be -necessary, and they may well compensate for the defects, -notwithstanding that at times those same beauties make us -see at what small cost the author might have sent forth his -work more finished.” As in every-day life, he has joined in -his narration scenes of the most opposite character, the most -magnificent descriptions with what is most ludicrous, and -the tenderest with what is oppressing to sensibility. The -passages referring to his native city of Cordova are peculiarly -beautiful, and show the feelings of the exile, as they lean to -his country, in all ages and under all circumstances,—to -“sweet Argos” or sacred Athens—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent6">γενοίμαν,</div> -<div class="verse">ἵν’ ὑλᾶεν ἔπεστι πόντου</div> -<div class="verse">πρόβλημ’ ἁλίκλυστον, ἄκραν</div> -<div class="verse">ὑπὸ πλάκα Σουνίου,</div> -<div class="verse">τὰς ἱερὰς ὅπως προσείποιμεν Ἀθάνας.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">The dedication to Mr. Frere has the singularity of being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> -written in the English language.</p> - -<p>The ‘Ode to the Lighthouse at Malta’ is another exemplification -of the Duke’s patriotic feeling, as well as the poem -of ‘The Exile,’ which has been translated into English by -Mr. Reade. One of his latest works is in the form of a -drama, but, like those of Lord Byron, it is not intended for -the stage. It is entitled, ‘Undeception in a Dream,’ and represents -the life of man, contrasting its vicissitudes and events -with his hopes and desires. Like the tragedy of ‘Alvaro,’ it is -a highly poetical conception, and worthy of the reputation of -the noble writer.</p> - -<p>It has already been intimated that the most popular of the -Duke’s works is one published at Madrid in 1841, ‘Historical -Romances,’ from which has been taken, for translation, the -‘Alcazar of Seville.’ These romances are, in fact, ballads on -various subjects in Spanish history, written in the ballad -measure of octosyllabic lines, with asonante rhymes for the -second and fourth of each quatrain, similar to our own ballads. -In the prologue to this work the Duke has written a defence -of this measure, which required no defence beyond his own -adoption of it, with the example of such writers in it as Melendez -and Arriaza in modern times, and almost all the best -writers in the language previously. Ochoa has praised “above -all” the romance of the Conde de Villa Mediana, and readers -generally find most interesting the ‘Tale of a Veteran,’ so -that it may require an explanation for the choice of the one -taken, that the character of <a href="#note38" title="See note">Pedro, surnamed the Cruel</a>, was -best known to the English public, as associated with English -history. That of the Conde de Villa Mediana is a lively description -of some scenes which led to his assassination by order -of the king, who was influenced by jealousy; the ‘Tale of the -Veteran’ gives an account of an adventure in a nunnery, where -a nun invites an officer to her cell and poisons him in revenge -for his slight to her sister. She then shows him the corpse -of a brother officer, who had already fallen a victim to her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> -arts for the like wrong to herself, and she tells him the whole -history of her motives and conduct, while she induces him to -dig a grave for the first victim, with whom, she tells her -second, that he is also to be placed.</p> - -<p>Few writers have given the world so many works of a -superior order, distinguishable separately for varied excellence, -as the Duke de Rivas. He has concentrated in his -later productions all the chief merits of a poet, in the choice -of his subjects, in the delineation of character and the power -of maintaining throughout the interest of the narrative. If -he has failed too often in the mechanical execution, in attending -to the harmony of verse or poetic expression of the -thoughts, these are faults which we may hope will be corrected -in subsequent editions, so as to leave him still greater -claims on the admiration of his readers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span></p> - -<h3>THE DUKE DE RIVAS.</h3> - -<h4>THE ALCAZAR OF SEVILLE.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<h5>I.</h5> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Magnificent is the Alcazar,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For which Seville is renown’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Delicious are its gardens,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With its lofty portals crown’d.</div> -<div class="verse">With woods all carved elaborate,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In a thousand forms about,</div> -<div class="verse">It raises high its noble front</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With cornice jutting out;</div> -<div class="verse">And there in ancient characters</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A tablet may be seen,</div> -<div class="verse"><span class="antiqua">Don Pedro built these palaces</span>,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The sculptures placed between.</div> -<div class="verse">But ill beseem in its saloons</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The modern triflings rear’d,</div> -<div class="verse">And in its proud courts men without</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The antique vest or beard.</div> -<div class="verse">How many a soft and balmy eve,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In pleasant converse there,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Have I with Seville’s mirthful sons,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And Seville’s daughters fair,</div> -<div class="verse">Traversed those blooming bowers along,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On entering which are rude</div> -<div class="verse">Gigantic shapes in myrtles cut,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of various attitude;</div> -<div class="verse">And rose-bay trees, in long arcades,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With oranges unite,</div> -<div class="verse">And shady labyrinths form, the which</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To thefts of love invite;</div> -<div class="verse">And hidden jets of water spring</div> -<div class="verse indent1">All sudden from the floor,</div> -<div class="verse">When trod the painted pebbles laid</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In rich mosaic o’er,</div> -<div class="verse">That sprinkle on the stranger there,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">While shouts of laughter rise,</div> -<div class="verse">From those who warn’d by former fate</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Now shun such pleasantries!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In summer time, at close of day,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When mid the light cloud’s fold,</div> -<div class="verse">The sun declines, encircling them</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With scarlet and with gold,</div> -<div class="verse">That bright transparent heaven above,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With purple mists o’erspread,</div> -<div class="verse">Cut in a thousand varied hues,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">By softest zephyrs led,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> -<div class="verse">That glowing atmosphere, in which</div> -<div class="verse indent1">One seems to breathe of fire,</div> -<div class="verse">How temper they the languid frame,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And soul divine inspire!</div> -<div class="verse">The view too of those baths, that gain</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From all who know them praise,</div> -<div class="verse">And that proud edifice which Moors</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And Goths combined to raise,</div> -<div class="verse">In some parts harsh, in some more light,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Here ruins, there repair’d,</div> -<div class="verse">The different dominations pass’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Are thus by each declared;</div> -<div class="verse">With records, and remembrances</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of ages long pass’d by,</div> -<div class="verse">And of more modern years alike</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To arrest the fantasy.</div> -<div class="verse">The lemon’s and the jasmine’s flowers,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">While they the eyes enchant,</div> -<div class="verse">Embalm the circumambient air</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With sweets they lavish grant.</div> -<div class="verse">The fountains’ murmurs, and afar</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The city’s varied cries,</div> -<div class="verse">With those that from the river near,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or Alameda rise,</div> -<div class="verse">From Triana, and from the bridge,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">All lost, confused amain,</div> -<div class="verse">With sound of bells vibrating loud</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In high Hiralda’s fane;—</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> -<div class="verse">A scene that never is forgot</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Enchanted forms the whole,</div> -<div class="verse">The thoughts of which unceasing cause</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To beat my heart and soul.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Many delicious nights, when yet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My now all-frozen breast</div> -<div class="verse">Beat warmly, have I seen those halls</div> -<div class="verse indent1">By youthful footsteps press’d;</div> -<div class="verse">Fill’d with a chosen concourse gay</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In country dance to meet,</div> -<div class="verse">Or light quadrille, while festive sounds</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The orchestras repeat:</div> -<div class="verse">And from the gilded roofs rebound</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The steps, the laugh perchance</div> -<div class="verse">And talk of happy pairs, by love</div> -<div class="verse indent1">United in the dance;</div> -<div class="verse">With sound of music mix’d the while,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Confused and blended o’er,</div> -<div class="verse">As sent according echos forth</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From the enamell’d floor.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><a href="#note39" title="See note">Yet, ah! those lovely bowers along</a></div> -<div class="verse indent1">I never once have stray’d,</div> -<div class="verse">But saw as in a mental dream</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Padillia’s gentle shade,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Flitting before my view to pass,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Heaving a sigh profound,</div> -<div class="verse">Light as a vapour, or a cloud</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That skims the trees around.</div> -<div class="verse">Nor ever enter’d I those halls,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But fancying arise</div> -<div class="verse">I saw the founder’s phantom, stain’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With blood congeal’d the dyes.</div> -<div class="verse">Nor in that vestibule obscure,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Where with the cornice blend</div> -<div class="verse">The portraits of the kings, arranged</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In columns to extend,</div> -<div class="verse">To that which is blue-tiled below,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And enamell’d is on high,</div> -<div class="verse">Which shows on every side around</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A rich-set balcony,</div> -<div class="verse">And gilded lattice roof above</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That crowns it with dark shade,</div> -<div class="verse">But thought I saw upon the ground</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A lifeless body laid!</div> -<div class="verse">Yet on that pavement may be seen</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A dark stain to this day!</div> -<div class="verse">Indelible, which ages pass</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And never wash away:</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis blood that dark tenacious stain;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Blood of the murder’d dead:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Alas! how many throng it o’er,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor think on what they tread!</div> -</div> -<h5>II.</h5> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Five hundred years shone younger</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The Alcazar to the day,</div> -<div class="verse">Its lofty walls yet lustrous,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And faultless its array;</div> -<div class="verse">And brilliant were the enamels</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Which its gilded roofs reveal,</div> -<div class="verse">It showed itself the mansion fit</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of the king of proud Castile;</div> -<div class="verse">When on one balmy morn it chanced</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of florid May betide,</div> -<div class="verse">In that saloon whose balcony</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Is on the plaza’s side,</div> -<div class="verse">Two persons of illustrious mien</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In silence deep were there;</div> -<div class="verse">One was a Cavalier, and one</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A Lady passing fair.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A Barbary carpet richly wove</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Upon the floor was laid,</div> -<div class="verse">The gift or tribute which the Moor</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Granada’s king had paid;</div> -<div class="verse">A silken curtain, bright with flowers,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And ribbons curious wrought,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -<div class="verse">With various eastern colours deck’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Which to our Spain had brought</div> -<div class="verse">Venetian galleys, as perchance</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her Doge’s gift of state,</div> -<div class="verse">Was thrown across the balcony,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The light to moderate.</div> -<div class="verse">In the recess in front, with woods</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Well carved, and richly graced</div> -<div class="verse">With mother-o’-pearl inlayings,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Was an Oratory placed;</div> -<div class="verse">Where of the sovereign Virgin</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The image stood devout,</div> -<div class="verse">The sculpture somewhat rude, but yet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Attractions not without;</div> -<div class="verse">Which with a plate of silver,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For ornament was crown’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Its rim reflecting amethysts,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And emeralds around.</div> -<div class="verse">A manuscript of holy prayers,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Which miniatures adorn,</div> -<div class="verse">Precious with gold and ivory</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Upon its coverings borne,</div> -<div class="verse">Was seen there placed upon a stand,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Form’d of an angel’s wings,</div> -<div class="verse">The figure badly sculptured,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But with neat finishings.</div> -<div class="verse">And on the floor of gold brocade</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A cushion one might see,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Which by its sunken pressure show’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The marks of bended knee.</div> -<div class="verse">And on the pure white walls were hung</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Bright arms along the space,</div> -<div class="verse">And interspersed were banners,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And trophies of the chase.</div> -<div class="verse">An ornamental table stood</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In the middle of the floor,</div> -<div class="verse">On which a well-tuned lute was placed,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Though partly covered o’er;</div> -<div class="verse">A rich-cut board for game of draughts,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And a coffer by its side</div> -<div class="verse">Of silver filigree, and jars</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With chosen flowers supplied.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The Lady near the balcony</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Sat very pensively,</div> -<div class="verse">In a great gilded chair of state,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Whose back was form’d to be</div> -<div class="verse">A canopy, or cover o’er,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And in gay curvings down</div> -<div class="verse">Were lions, castles, and the whole</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Surmounted with a crown.</div> -<div class="verse">Her dress a silken robe of green,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Which show’d a various tinge,</div> -<div class="verse">In twisted threads, with pearls and gold</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The embroidery and fringe.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Her head-dress than the snow appear’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ev’n whiter to behold,</div> -<div class="verse">And covering o’er the fine clear lawn</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her long dark tresses roll’d.</div> -<div class="verse">Her face was heavenly, and her neck</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Divine, but in their hue</div> -<div class="verse">Like wax, the colour which fear paints,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And long-known sorrow too.</div> -<div class="verse">Her eyes were like two beaming suns</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Beneath their lashes tall,</div> -<div class="verse">Where shone two precious pearly drops</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As ready down to fall.</div> -<div class="verse">She was a lily fair, whom death</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Was rudely threatening seen,</div> -<div class="verse">For a corroding worm the heart</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Was tearing deep within.</div> -<div class="verse">Now in her thin pale hands, convulsed</div> -<div class="verse indent1">It seems with fear or doubt,</div> -<div class="verse">Her kerchief white, of border’d lace</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And points, she twists about;</div> -<div class="verse">Or with absorb’d distracted mien</div> -<div class="verse indent1">She agitates the air,</div> -<div class="verse">With fan, whose feathers Araby</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Had sent, the choicest there.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The Cavalier was slightly form’d,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">And of the middle size,</div> -<div class="verse">With reddish beard, a restless mouth,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And most unquiet eyes.</div> -<div class="verse">His visage pale and dry appear’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nose sharp and of a crook,</div> -<div class="verse">Noble his port, but sinister</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And terrible his look.</div> -<div class="verse">In a red mantle he was wrapp’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With golden plates o’erspread,</div> -<div class="verse">And gracefully his cap was placed</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On one side on his head.</div> -<div class="verse">With measured steps, from end to end,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He paced along the room,</div> -<div class="verse">And different passions o’er his face</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Though silent seem’d to come.</div> -<div class="verse">At times he reddens, <a href="#note40" title="See note">darting round</a></div> -<div class="verse indent1">Fierce looks, that seem to tell,</div> -<div class="verse">As flames cast forth from eyes of fire,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The very deeds of hell.</div> -<div class="verse">And now a fierce and bitter smile</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The extended lip displays,</div> -<div class="verse">Or on the gilded roof he fix’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A darkly lowering gaze.</div> -<div class="verse">Now hastening on his course, from head</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To foot he trembles o’er,</div> -<div class="verse">And now proceeds his noble mien</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of calmness to restore.</div> -<div class="verse">Thus have I seen a tiger fierce,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Now tranquil, now with rage</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Revolve himself each side across,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And round his narrow cage.</div> -<div class="verse">Thus pacing o’er the carpet there</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His footsteps are not heard,</div> -<div class="verse">But soundless they, yet were distinct</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As ever that he stirr’d,</div> -<div class="verse"><a href="#note41" title="See note">The crackling of his arms and knees:</a></div> -<div class="verse indent1">In distant lands, ’tis said,</div> -<div class="verse">That with like noise has Heaven supplied,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For man to shun in dread,</div> -<div class="verse">O, wonder rare! a serpent, named</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thence Rattlesnake, that springs</div> -<div class="verse">Quick at the moment it comes nigh,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And kills whome’er it stings.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The Lady was Padillia,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That sat in mournful strain;</div> -<div class="verse">And the stern silent Cavalier</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Don Pedro, King of Spain.</div> -</div> -<h5>III.</h5> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As round some solitary tower,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">At setting of the sun,</div> -<div class="verse">Fierce birds of prey are whirling seen,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Revolving one by one,</div> -<div class="verse">Thus with Don Pedro in their turn</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Have various thoughts a trace,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Whose shadows darken as they pass</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The expression of his face.</div> -<div class="verse">Now occupies his angry mind</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His brother’s power and state,</div> -<div class="verse">Of those whose mother he had slain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And birth would criminate.</div> -<div class="verse">Now of unquietnesses borne,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Great scorn and insult shown,</div> -<div class="verse">Or of his failing treasury,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor means to fill it known.</div> -<div class="verse">Now of the fair Aldonza’s charms,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His fortune ’twas to gain,</div> -<div class="verse">Or of the blood-stain’d forms of those</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He had unjustly slain.</div> -<div class="verse">Now some projected enterprise,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Some treaty to defeat,</div> -<div class="verse">Faith-breaking with Granada’s Moor,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or treason or deceit.</div> -<div class="verse">But as the birds the lonely tower,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The broken heights between,</div> -<div class="verse">Are all at length, as one by one,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Retiring hiding seen;</div> -<div class="verse">And constant only one remains,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Revolving it infest,</div> -<div class="verse">The fiercest, strongest on the wing,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That will admit no rest;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Thus all that multitude confused</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of passions wild and strange,</div> -<div class="verse">Of which Don Pedro for a while</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Was tangled in the range,</div> -<div class="verse">At length from breast and head alike</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Fled finding a retreat,</div> -<div class="verse">And living left distinct alone,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With horror great replete,</div> -<div class="verse">The image of Fadrique,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His eldest brother famed,</div> -<div class="verse">The pride of knights and Master those</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of Santiago named.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Now from Humillia’s conquer’d walls,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With matchless courage won,</div> -<div class="verse">In triumph had Fadrique come</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O’er vanquish’d Aragon.</div> -<div class="verse">Where erst the bars, the castles now</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He floating left abroad,</div> -<div class="verse">And to present the keys he brings</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His brother, king and lord.</div> -<div class="verse">Well knows the king no rebel he,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But friend and ally true,</div> -<div class="verse"><a href="#note42" title="See note">And more than Tello madly hates,</a></div> -<div class="verse indent1">And more than Henry too.</div> -<div class="verse">’Twas he Fadrique had the charge</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From France to bring the queen,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The Lady Blanche, but he allow’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A year to intervene.</div> -<div class="verse">With her in Narbonne he delay’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And rumours thus of those,</div> -<div class="verse">Which whether true or false alike</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Are poisonous, arose.</div> -<div class="verse">And in Medina’s tower the price</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The Lady Blanche now pays,</div> -<div class="verse">Of all the palace whisperings,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And journey’s long delays.</div> -<div class="verse">And on his shoulders yet untouch’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His head Fadrique wears,</div> -<div class="verse">Because of his great wealth and power</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And honour’d name he bears.</div> -<div class="verse">But, woe for him! the ladies all</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Him as their idol own,</div> -<div class="verse">For his gay port and gallant mien,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And manly courage known.</div> -<div class="verse">And if he cause the throne no fear,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In his fidelity,</div> -<div class="verse">He gives what’s worse, though that were bad,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The heart strong jealousy.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Meanwhile the fair Padillia,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Whose judgement clear and great,</div> -<div class="verse">Her royal lover’s secret thoughts,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Though deepest penetrate,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -<div class="verse">In whom the goodness of her heart</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The enchantment still excels,</div> -<div class="verse">That in her beauteous face and form</div> -<div class="verse indent1">So marvellously dwells,</div> -<div class="verse">Unhappy victim lives of fears,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That ever her attend,</div> -<div class="verse">Because she loves the king, and sees</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His course in evil end:</div> -<div class="verse">She knows that based in blood and grief,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And persecution’s train,</div> -<div class="verse">A palace never is secure,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No throne can fix’d remain.</div> -<div class="verse">And she has two young tender girls,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who with another sire,</div> -<div class="verse">Whate’er their lot, might all have gain’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their hearts could best require;</div> -<div class="verse">And in Fadrique’s worth she sees</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A stay and partisan.</div> -<div class="verse">She knows he comes to Seville now,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And as from words can scan</div> -<div class="verse">Her fierce lord’s brow dark lowering,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In evil hour he came,</div> -<div class="verse">And to allay suspicions,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or give them higher aim,</div> -<div class="verse">At length, though with a trembling lip,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The silence breaking dared</div> -<div class="verse">To speak, and thus the words that pass’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Between the two declared:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> -<div class="verse">“Your brother then, Fadrique,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Triumphant comes today?”</div> -<div class="verse">“And certainly in coming,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The wretch makes long delay.”</div> -<div class="verse">“He serves you well, and hero-like,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As does Humillia show,</div> -<div class="verse">Of loyalty gives proofs, and brave</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He is”—“Sufficient so.”</div> -<div class="verse">“You may be sure, Sire, that his heart</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Will ever true remain.”</div> -<div class="verse">“Tomorrow still more sure of that.”</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Both silent were again.</div> -</div> -<h5>IV.</h5> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With joy the Master to receive,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Through Seville’s streets along,</div> -<div class="verse">Great rumour spreads, and arms resound,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And men and horses throng.</div> -<div class="verse">And shouts of welcoming, amidst</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Repeated echoes rise,</div> -<div class="verse">Which from Hiralda’s lofty tower</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Are scattered to the skies.</div> -<div class="verse">Now comes the crowd approaching near,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But less the shouts resound,</div> -<div class="verse">And now the palace gates they reach</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Mid silence all around:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -<div class="verse">As if the Alcazar had enjoy’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The privilege to appear,</div> -<div class="verse">In sight, and still the enthusiast flow,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And turn it into fear.</div> -<div class="verse">Thus mute and breathless, motionless,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The people stood in dread,</div> -<div class="verse">As if with magical respect</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The plaza’s bounds to tread;</div> -<div class="verse">And enters there the Master now,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With but a scanty train,</div> -<div class="verse">And of his order some few knights,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The palace gates to gain.</div> -<div class="verse">And forward on his course directs,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As one without alarms,</div> -<div class="verse">Who goes to meet a brother kind,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With open heart and arms:</div> -<div class="verse">Or as some noble chieftain comes,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For glorious deeds the cause,</div> -<div class="verse">From grateful monarch to receive</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Due honours and applause.</div> -<div class="verse">Upon a dark and mettled steed,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That breathes of foam and fire,</div> -<div class="verse">And while the bridle scarce restrains,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Seems proud of its attire,</div> -<div class="verse">With a white mantle o’er him cast,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Flung loosely to the air,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> -<div class="verse">O’er which the collar and red cross</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His dignity declare;</div> -<div class="verse">And cap of crimson velvet girt</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His brows, whereon unfold</div> -<div class="verse">The winds the feathers’ snowy plumes,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And tassels bound with gold.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">All pale as death, the furious King</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His brother saw from far,</div> -<div class="verse">When on the plaza entering first,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And fix’d as statues are,</div> -<div class="verse">Awhile he stood upon the floor,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And from his angry eyes</div> -<div class="verse">Seem’d burning horrid lightning thence</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In flashes to arise.</div> -<div class="verse">But starting soon, himself around</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He turn’d the room to leave,</div> -<div class="verse">As if he would some welcome guest</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Right affably receive.</div> -<div class="verse">When thus Padillia saw him turn,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her heart beyond relief</div> -<div class="verse">Of anguish full, and countenance</div> -<div class="verse indent1">So beauteous mark’d with grief,</div> -<div class="verse">She rose, and to the balcony</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Went troubled, by the square,</div> -<div class="verse">And to the Master motions wild,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With gestures to declare,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> -<div class="verse">In evil hour he comes, and waves</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her kerchief him away,</div> -<div class="verse">And by mute signs thus bids him seek</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Safety without delay.</div> -<div class="verse">Nothing of this he comprehends,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But for saluting takes</div> -<div class="verse">The warning, and discreetly thus</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A gallant answer makes.</div> -<div class="verse">And to the open’d portal comes,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With guards and bowmen lined,</div> -<div class="verse">Who give him passage free, but leave</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His followers behind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If he knew not Padillia’s signs,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Don Pedro knew them well,</div> -<div class="verse">As he before the chamber door</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A moment seem’d to dwell,</div> -<div class="verse">In deep suspense o’er his resolve,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When turning back his eye,</div> -<div class="verse">He saw the Lady warn him thus</div> -<div class="verse indent1">By motions thence to fly.</div> -<div class="verse">O, heaven! then was that noble act,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of pure intent to be</div> -<div class="verse">What call’d the executioners forth,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And seal’d the stern decree.</div> -<div class="verse">Follow’d by two esquires alone,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The Master scarce in haste</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Upon the royal vestibule</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His foot confiding placed,</div> -<div class="verse">Where various men-at-arms were seen,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In double iron barr’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Pacing along as sentinels</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The entrance stairs to guard,</div> -<div class="verse">When over from the balcony,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Like fiendish shape of ill,</div> -<div class="verse">The King looks out, and “Mace-bearers,”</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He shouts, “the Master kill.”</div> -<div class="verse">Quick as the lightning in a storm</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Comes ere the thunders call,</div> -<div class="verse">Six well-appointed maces down</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On Don Fadrique fall.</div> -<div class="verse">He raised his hand to grasp his sword,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But in his tabard’s gird</div> -<div class="verse">The hilt was bound, impossible</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To draw it at the word.</div> -<div class="verse">He fell, a sea of blood around</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ran from the shattered brain,</div> -<div class="verse">Raising a cry which reached to heaven,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And doubtless not in vain.</div> -<div class="verse">Of deed so horrible the news</div> -<div class="verse indent1">At once around was spread,</div> -<div class="verse">And thence the brotherhood and knights</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Together quickly fled.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -<div class="verse">To hide them in their houses fled</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The people, trembling sore</div> -<div class="verse">With horror, and the Alcazar’s bounds</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Were desert as before.</div> -</div> -<h5>V.</h5> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">’Tis said, the sight of blood so much</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Is wont to infuriate</div> -<div class="verse">The tiger, that he still rends on</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With stomach satiate;</div> -<div class="verse">Solely because ’tis his delight</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With blood the earth to stain,</div> -<div class="verse">So doubtless with the King it was</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Such feelings grew amain.</div> -<div class="verse">For when he saw Fadrique laid,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thus prostrate on the ground,</div> -<div class="verse">After the squires in search he ran</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The palace all around;</div> -<div class="verse">Who tremblingly and livid fled</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The apartments various o’er,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor find they any hiding-place,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or whence to fly a door.</div> -<div class="verse">One happily at length succeeds,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To hide or fly outright;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The other, Sancho Villiegas,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Less happy or adroit,</div> -<div class="verse">Seeing the King still follow him,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Enter’d half dead with fear</div> -<div class="verse">Where was Padillia on her couch,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With her attendants near;</div> -<div class="verse">They trembling, as she senseless laid,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And by her side reclined</div> -<div class="verse">Her two young tender girls, who were</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Angels in form and mind.</div> -<div class="verse">The unhappy youth still seeing there</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The spectre following nigh,</div> -<div class="verse">That even this asylum mocks,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In his arms quickly high</div> -<div class="verse">Snatches the Lady Beatrice,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who scarce six years has known,</div> -<div class="verse">The child for whom the King has e’er</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The most affection shown.</div> -<div class="verse">But, ah! naught serves him this resource,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As in the desert naught</div> -<div class="verse">The holy cross avails, that clasps</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The pilgrim hapless caught;</div> -<div class="verse">When roars the south wind, burns the sky,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And seems as if up-driven</div> -<div class="verse">A frightful sea, of waves of sand,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Commingling earth and heaven;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Thus with the child between his arms,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And on his knees compress’d,</div> -<div class="verse">The furious dagger of the King</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Was planted in his breast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As if that day had witness’d naught</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The palace new or rare,</div> -<div class="verse">The King sat at the table calm</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To eat as usual there;</div> -<div class="verse">Play’d afterwards a game of draughts,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Then went out pacing slow</div> -<div class="verse">To see the galleys, arming soon</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To Biscay’s shores to go.</div> -<div class="verse">And when the night the hemisphere</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Had with its mantle veil’d,</div> -<div class="verse">He enters in the Golden Tower,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Where he shut up has held</div> -<div class="verse">The fair Aldonza, whom he took</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From Santa Clara’s walls,</div> -<div class="verse">And as in blind idolatry</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who now his heart enthralls.</div> -<div class="verse">With Levi then his treasurer,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who though a Hebrew vile</div> -<div class="verse">Has all his confidence, he goes</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On state affairs awhile;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And very late retires to rest,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With no attendants nigh,</div> -<div class="verse">Only a Moor, a wretch perforce,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His favourite waiting by.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Enter’d the lofty vestibule,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The Alcazar’s tranquil bound,</div> -<div class="verse">One moment paused the King and pass’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His gaze in turn around.</div> -<div class="verse">A large lamp from the vaulted roof</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Was hanging loose, and cast</div> -<div class="verse">Now lights, now shadows, as it swung,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As by the breezes pass’d.</div> -<div class="verse">Between the polish’d columns placed</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Two men in armour were,</div> -<div class="verse">But only two dark figures show’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Watching in silence there.</div> -<div class="verse">And still was Don Fadrique laid</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Extended on the ground,</div> -<div class="verse">With his torn mantle o’er him spread,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In a lake of blood around.</div> -<div class="verse">The King approach’d him, and awhile</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Attentively survey’d,</div> -<div class="verse">And seeing that his brother yet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Was not entirely dead,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Since he perchance as breathing seem’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His breast a heave to make,</div> -<div class="verse">He gave him with his foot a push,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Which made the body shake;</div> -<div class="verse">Whereon he, giving to the Moor</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His sharpen’d dagger bare,</div> -<div class="verse">Said, “Finish him,” and quietly</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To sleep went up the stair.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="IX">IX.<br /> -<span class="smaller">MANUEL BRETON DE LOS HERREROS.</span></h3> - -<p>In the country of Lope de Vega and Calderon de la Barca, -it was not to be supposed, that on the general revival of the -national literature, the drama could be left neglected, in a -state unworthy of its ancient reputation. From the time of -those great writers until the present, notwithstanding the -predilection of the Spanish people for the stage, and the encouragement -consequently given for genius to exert itself, no -dramas had been produced to equal them in the public admiration. -The younger Moratin, who may be justly termed -the Spanish Molière, had rather introduced into Spain a new -style of drama, that which we call genteel comedy, than followed -the track of the ancient masters. It was reserved for -a later writer, the subject of this notice, to appear as a rival -to them in the exuberance of composition, and possession of -popular favour, though it may be a question for future ages -to decide on his relative merit.</p> - -<p>Breton de los Herreros was born at Quel, a small village -in the province of Logronio, the 19th December, 1796. Of -his early history, we are only informed that he was educated -at the school of San Antonio Abad at Madrid, and that he -entered a regiment of infantry as a volunteer, when yet a boy -of fourteen. The world at large may be considered to be,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> -with regard to contemporary characters of another nation, in -the relation of posterity, making distance have, as Bishop Atterbury -remarked to Lord Bolingbroke, the effect of time; -and they will thus inquire eagerly into the particulars of the -life of one distinguished for genius, however humble his birth, -while they will pass heedlessly by the noblest born personage, -who has given them no peculiar right of interest in his history. -But, as on reading the life of the Duke de Rivas, we feel it -a subject of congratulation, that the lance of a French marauder -did not cut off one who was destined to be the ornament -of his country’s literature, so we rejoice again equally -that the chance passed away favourably, when a stray ball -might have deprived the world of the works of Breton de los -Herreros. Serving in his humble line, he was present at -various skirmishes with the invaders on their final expulsion -from Valencia and Catalonia, at the same time composing -patriotic songs on the national triumphs. In 1812, when -yet a boy of fifteen, he wrote an Ode to the Constitution, -and distinguished himself as an orator among his comrades -on the popular subjects of discussion. On the return of -Ferdinand VII. to absolute power, he must have been compelled -to restrain his tendencies for liberalism, and it may be -supposed that his time was at least as well employed in noting -the characters of those around him, and the scenes he had to -witness, as a storehouse of useful observations for his future -writings.</p> - -<p>In 1822 he obtained his discharge from the army, and -after various attempts made to obtain an eligible employment -in the provinces, he went to Madrid, in the summer of 1824, -for the same purpose. There again he was equally unsuccessful, -and as a last resource, took to the director of the -theatre, a comedy which he had written some years previously -for pastime. Fortunately for him, the director happ<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>ened to -be in want of a new piece to bring out on the king’s birthday, -and thinking the one presented would answer his purpose, -he undertook its production with more than usual care, -on account of the occasion. It was accordingly performed on -the 24th October, 1824, and met with such decided success, -that the literary fame of the author was at once secured.</p> - -<p>The profits accruing from the representation of his comedies -were exceedingly trifling; but his natural inclinations -led him to writing for the stage, where he now found -himself respected as a successful writer; and as he had -no other resource for maintenance, he applied himself to -this labour with better hopes. A succession of pieces he -wrote were equally successful, produced with a rapidity that -reminded the world of the fertility that had characterized -the genius of Lope de Vega or Calderon. One of his -pieces was so much relished, that at the close, the audience -insisted on its being repeated all over a second time, with -which extraordinary demand the actors had to comply. In -1831 he brought out his comedy of ‘Marcela, or Which of the -Three?’—the most popular of all his productions, the subject -being, which of three lovers, all unworthy of her, the heroine, -who is amiability personified, should accept. It was repeated -at all the theatres in the kingdom, and went through six -editions on publication, besides several surreptitious ones, -having some of the verses even passing into “household -words,” as popular expressions.</p> - -<p>In the same year, 1831, he published a small volume of -poems, containing lyrical and miscellaneous pieces, and has -since written many more of the same character in the different -periodicals of Madrid. None of these are, however, deserving -of note, except the satirical ones, many of which abound with -the wit and humour for which his comedies are remarkable. -He is now engaged in publishing at Madrid a collection of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> -all his works, the last volume being intended to contain the -miscellaneous poems, which, corrected and collected together -from the different papers in which they at first appeared, will -no doubt prove to be more worthy of his fame than those -published in 1831. In the lyrical poems he is avowedly a -follower of the so-called classical school, and rises no higher -than those of the same class that had preceded him; their -utmost praise being to be characterized as—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Coldly correct and classically dull.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In the satirical pieces, however, he seems in his proper -element, playing on words and treating his rhymes with a -command of language truly surprising. For this reason, and -on account of the numerous local and national allusions contained -in them, it is very difficult for a foreigner fully to -understand, and almost impossible to be able to translate -them. Those pieces attempted in this work may perhaps -give some faint image of his style; but they have been chosen -as most easy for translation, rather than as the best. Of the -Satires published separately after the volume above mentioned, -the most applauded have been those entitled, ‘Against -the Philharmonic Rage;’ ‘Against the Mania for Writing for -the Public;’ ‘Against the Abuses introduced into Theatrical -Declamation;’ ‘Moral Epistle on the Manners of the Age;’ -and ‘The Rage for Travelling.’ With the Spaniards of the -present day as with their Roman ancestors, satire is a -favourite species of composition, and it has been observed, -that a manual of the history of the national dissensions -might be composed out of the works of this popular author -alone.</p> - -<p>Breton, independently of his original writings, has had the -editorship of one of the periodicals of Madrid, and occasional -engagements connected with others. He also had at one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> -time an appointment in one of the offices of the government, -which he seems to have lost in 1840, on his writing some -satirical effusion on the change that had then taken place. -Literature has been in every age a grievous exaction, for -those who had to follow it as a profession, except under -peculiar circumstances. He had only his genius to befriend -him, and apparently had not even the virtue of prudence for -a counsellor. Thus he has had often to submit to circumstances, -which though harassing at the time, he had the -wisdom to make subjects of merriment afterwards, to the -gain of his literary reputation.</p> - -<p>In Spain there can scarcely yet be said to be formed a -“reading public,” notwithstanding the great number of -good works that have been lately published, to supply the -demand whenever it shall arise. The most evident and -flattering of all the applauses that a literary man can there -receive, are those awarded to dramatic successes, and of these, -he has had the reward that was certainly due to him. In -such a climate as that of Spain, and with such a people, -theatrical amusements are more a matter of popular necessity -than they are in a colder climate, with people of more domestic -requirements; and yet even in England it may be a -cause of surprise, considering the honour given to the author -of a successful play, that more works of genius have not been -produced for the stage. In both countries there is a complaint -of the public requiring “novelties;” but the fact is, -that in seeking novelties, they are only seeking excellence. -When any really good work is presented them, they know -how to appreciate it, and in seeking for others even of the -same author, they are only expressing their sense of his -merits.</p> - -<p>In the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>prospectus of the proposed new edition of his works, -he had the satisfaction of stating he had to republish more -than sixty original dramas, that had met with a successful -reception from the audiences of Madrid. He has besides -these produced several that have not been successful, and has -translated from the French a great number of others. These -have been principally tragedies, and he has adapted them for -the Spanish stage, rather than translated them, showing a -talent, it has been observed by Del Rio, in so doing equivalent -to making them to be counted in the number of his original -works. Del Rio cites as a particular example, the translation -from Delavigne’s Tragedy of ‘The Sons of Edward.’ -Breton’s talent is evidently pre-eminent for comedy; but he -has written several tragedies also, of which one, the ‘Merope,’ -brought forward in 1835, was received with much favour.</p> - -<p>This work, as it has been more than once already intimated, -is intended mainly to give an account of the lyrical poetry of -Spain as nourishing at present; and, therefore, it would be -entering on subjects foreign to our purpose, to inquire at large -into the merits of any specific dramatic performances. The -Spanish drama may, no doubt, be worthy of especial study, -but I confess that I have not felt it deserving of the extravagant -praises which some writers have bestowed on it. It would -surely be much happier for the people of every country to -seek their greatest enjoyments in those of a domestic nature, -rather than in those miscellaneous congregations where the -quieter virtues can have little exercise. But as human nature -is constituted, and public amusements cannot be avoided, it -is the duty of every friend of the popular interests to support -their being given on the foundation of good taste and moral -principles. Though Breton’s works do not appear free from -all blame in this respect, and though sometimes his witticisms -may be observed scarcely fitting even for the stage, -yet they show, on the whole, compared with the dramatic -productions of other countries, at least equal refin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>ement, as -they certainly do more inventive talent than we can point -out elsewhere in our age.</p> - -<p>Larra, the most discriminating critic of Spain, has observed -of Breton, “that in nothing does his peculiar poetical talent -shine more than in the simplicity of his plans. In all his -comedies it is known that he makes a study and show of -forming a plot extremely simple,—little or no action, little or -no artifice. This is conceded to talent only, and to superior -talent. A comedy, full of incidents, which any one invents, -is easy to be passed off on a public always captivated by what -interests and excites curiosity. Breton despises these trivial -resources, and sustains and carries to a happy conclusion, -amid the continual laughter of the audience, and from applause -to applause, a comedy based principally on the -depicting of some comic characters, in the liveliness and -quickness of repartee, in the pureness, flow and harmony of -his easy versification. In these gifts he has no rival, though -he may have them in regard to intention, profoundness or -philosophy.”</p> - -<p>Ferrer del Rio says of him, “that he has cultivated a style -so much his own, that at the first few verses of one of his -works, the spectators cry out his name from all parts. Originality -is thus one of the qualities that recommend him. -He tyrannizes over the public, obliging them to cast away -ill-humour, and laugh against their will from the time the -curtain rises till the representation ends, and this the same -whether in the comedies they applaud, or those they disapprove. -He is consequently mirthful and witty in the extreme, -and no one can dispute the palm with him under this -consideration. None of his scenes fatigue from weariness; -none of his verses fail of fullness and harmony; they do not -appear made one after another, but at one blow, and as by -enchantment. Thus all hail him as a perfect versifier and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> -easy colloquist. Infinite are the matters he has introduced -in his comedies, multiplied the characters sketched by his -pen, innumerable the situations imagined, and undoubtedly -there is due to him the well-founded ascription of a fertile -genius. Originality, wit, easy dialogue, sonorous versification, -an inexhaustible vein, would not be sufficient to form a -good comic writer of manners without the criterion of observation, -fit for filling up his pictures with exactness. This -criterion also he possesses in a high degree.”</p> - -<p>High as is this encomium, the writer says of him further, -that if it were decreed by Providence that a new race of barbarians -should overrun Spain, destroying libraries and other -depositaries of human knowledge, yet the name of Breton de -los Herreros would survive the disaster, and some vestige of -his comedies would remain. “Histories, books of learning, -works of legislation, science, philosophy and politics are, no -doubt, more profound than his comedies, though from their -peculiar nature not so popular. Thus what we have said is -to be understood as a means of distinguishing between -writings which, that they may not perish in the course of -ages, require studious men to adopt them for a test, and -learned men to illustrate them by their commentaries, and -those compositions that, to succeed in obtaining the honours -of immortality, require only a people to recite and transmit -them verbally from father to son. The name of Breton may -become traditional in Spain, that of other celebrated writers -will belong to history.”</p> - -<p>Breton has been elected a member of the Royal Spanish -Academy, and certainly one so highly gifted as he is in his -department, is well deserving of every literary honour. The -times are gone by when a writer of comedies could be all in -all with the public as their favourite author; but probably -there is no other existing in Spain who enjoys so much popu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>lar -regard. As such, notwithstanding the inferior merit -of his lyrical and miscellaneous poetry, excepting his satirical -writings, it would have been a blameworthy omission to have -left his name out of the list of the modern poets of Spain. -It was, however, for this reason more advisable to make the -selections from those satirical writings; though independently -of this consideration, it would have been also desirable, in a -work attempting to give a general view of modern Spanish -poetry, that so essential and popular a branch of it should -not be left unnoticed.</p> - -<p>For the poems under this head, Breton has only given the -general term “Satirical Letrillias,” so that with those translated -his numbering only could be adopted for reference. -The Letrillia, it may be proper to observe, is what our musical -writers call Motetts or small pieces, having generally -some well-known proverbial saying for the close of each verse.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p> - -<h3>MANUEL BRETON DE LOS HERREROS.</h3> - -<h4>SATIRICAL LETRILLIAS.—III.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Such is, dear girl, my tenderness,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Naught can its equal be!</div> -<div class="verse">If thou a dowry didst possess</div> -<div class="verse">The charms to rival of thy face,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I would marry thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thou wert my bliss, my star, my all!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">So kind and fair to see;</div> -<div class="verse">And me thy consort to instal,</div> -<div class="verse">At once for witness Heaven I call,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I would marry thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thou dost adore me? yes, and I,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy love so raptures me,</div> -<div class="verse">If thou wouldst not so anxious try</div> -<div class="verse">To know my pay, and what I buy,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I would marry thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If thou wert not so always coy,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Ne’er listening to my plea,</div> -<div class="verse">But when I, fool! my cash employ</div> -<div class="verse">To bring thee sweets, or some fine toy,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I would marry thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If thou must not instructions wait,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As may mamma agree,</div> -<div class="verse">To write or speak to me, or state</div> -<div class="verse">When thou wilt meet me at the gate,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I would marry thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If ’twere not when to dine, the most</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy <a href="#note43" title="See note">meagre soup bouillie</a></div> -<div class="verse">Thou givest, as many airs thou show’st,</div> -<div class="verse">As Roderic at the hanging-post,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I would marry thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If for my punishment instead</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of ease and quiet, we</div> -<div class="verse">Might not three hungry brothers dread,</div> -<div class="verse">And mother too, to keep when wed,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I would marry thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If ’twere not when these plagues combine</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With thy tears flowing free,</div> -<div class="verse">The virtues of a heavenly sign</div> -<div class="verse">I see must solace me, not thine,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I would marry thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Go, get another in thy chain,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">And Heaven for you decree</div> -<div class="verse">A thousand joys, for me ’tis vain;</div> -<div class="verse">I know thee cheat, and tell thee plain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I will not marry thee.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>SATIRICAL LETRILLIAS.—IV.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse"><a href="#note44" title="See note">Whene’er Don Juan has a feast at home,</a></div> -<div class="verse">I am forgotten as if at Rome;</div> -<div class="verse">But he will for funerals me invite,</div> -<div class="verse">To kill me with the annoyance quite:</div> -<div class="verse indent9">Well, so be it!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Celeste, with thousand coy excuses,</div> -<div class="verse">Will sing the song that set she chooses,</div> -<div class="verse">And all about that her environ,</div> -<div class="verse">Though like an owl, call her a Siren:</div> -<div class="verse indent9">Well, so be it!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A hundred bees, without reposing,</div> -<div class="verse">Work their sweet combs, with skill enclosing;</div> -<div class="verse">Alas! for an idle drone they strive,</div> -<div class="verse">Who soon will come to devour the hive:</div> -<div class="verse indent9">Well, so be it!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Man to his like moves furious war,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> -<div class="verse">As if were not too numerous far</div> -<div class="verse">Alone the medical squadrons straight</div> -<div class="verse">The world itself to depopulate!</div> -<div class="verse indent9">Well, so be it!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There are of usurers heaps in Spain,</div> -<div class="verse">Of catchpoles, hucksterers, heaps again,</div> -<div class="verse">And of vintners too, yet people still</div> -<div class="verse">Are talking of robbers on the hill:</div> -<div class="verse indent9">Well, so be it!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">In vain may the poor, O Conde! try</div> -<div class="verse">Thy door, for the dog makes sole reply;</div> -<div class="verse">And yet to spend thou hast extollers,</div> -<div class="verse">Over a ball two thousand dollars:</div> -<div class="verse indent9">Well, so be it!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Enough today, my pen, this preaching;</div> -<div class="verse">A better time we wait for teaching:</div> -<div class="verse">If vices in vain I try to brand,</div> -<div class="verse">And find I only write upon sand,</div> -<div class="verse indent9">Well, so be it!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span></p> - -<h4>SATIRICAL LETRILLIAS.—VII.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O! what a blockhead is Don Andres,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">So spending his gold without measure,</div> -<div class="verse">Who ruins, perhaps, to be a Marquess,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His house by the waste of his treasure!</div> -<div class="verse">A cross on his breast to wear so prim,</div> -<div class="verse">Much be the good it will do to him!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Louis is passing the whole long night,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In the dance, what a fancy to take!</div> -<div class="verse">So foolish too, when he easier might</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On his warm soft bed his comfort make;</div> -<div class="verse">To stretch as he pleased each weary limb:</div> -<div class="verse">Much be the good it will do to him!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O, how short-sighted is Avarice!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Cenon exposes himself to shame,</div> -<div class="verse">For the few pounds more he gains amiss,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To lose his office and his good name;</div> -<div class="verse">For a paltry bribe his fame to dim,</div> -<div class="verse">Much be the good it will do to him.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And Clara! what of thee shall I say?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When slowly along I see thee go,</div> -<div class="verse">As if quite lame on the public way,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And on thy long broad foot bestow</div> -<div class="verse">A short narrow shoe for us to see?</div> -<div class="verse">Much be the good it will do to thee!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Can it be possibly true, Jerome,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Though yearly he sees his rents decrease,</div> -<div class="verse">When his fat steward shall bring him home</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His bills, will sign them as he may please?</div> -<div class="verse">Without any search to scarcely skim?</div> -<div class="verse">Much be the good it will do to him!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Fabio wedded with Jane, when above</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A sixpence they neither had, but then</div> -<div class="verse">“He loved her so!” Long life to that love,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Bravo! tomorrow if he seem fain</div> -<div class="verse">To hang himself with vexation grim,</div> -<div class="verse">Much be the good it will do to him.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Wouldst thou engage with the bulls in fight,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My friend! thy wish to be gratified,</div> -<div class="verse">When to the best champion known will light</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Some luckless thrust give through the right side?</div> -<div class="verse">To try thy skill thou art surely free:</div> -<div class="verse">Much be the good it will do to thee!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Martin goes a poor rabbit to chase,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When he could buy for a trifle one</div> -<div class="verse">Fully as good in the market-place;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And he gets fever-struck by the sun!</div> -<div class="verse">Well, at the least he has had his whim:</div> -<div class="verse">Much be the good it will do to him!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If when such a thing he least expects,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His house should tumble upon his head,</div> -<div class="verse">Because a doubloon Anton neglects</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To give for mending the roof instead,</div> -<div class="verse">The hole some rat had made in the rim,</div> -<div class="verse">Much be the good it will do to him!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If should some crusty reader exclaim</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Over these lines,—What a wretched style!</div> -<div class="verse">What a bad taste to make it his aim!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My pen more gracefully could the while</div> -<div class="verse">Have made the verse go easy and trim,</div> -<div class="verse">Much be the good it will do to him!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="X">X.<br /> -<span class="smaller">JOSÈ MARIA HEREDIA.</span></h3> - -<p>The people of Cuba have good cause to be proud of a poet -born in their island, whose genius seems always to have found -its highest inspiration in expatiating on the charms of the -place of his birth.</p> - -<p>Heredia was born the 31st December, 1803, at Santiago -de Cuba, in which city his family had taken refuge when -driven away by the revolution from the island of Santo Domingo, -where they had been previously settled. His father, -whose profession was that of the law, was shortly afterwards -appointed a Judge in Mexico, where he accordingly went -with his family, taking his son there for his education under -his special superintendence. This duty he had the privilege -allowed him to accomplish, when he died in 1820, leaving a -reputation for ability and uprightness so eminent as to prove -highly advantageous to his son in his subsequent necessities. -On his father’s death, Heredia returned with his mother and -three sisters to Cuba, where he had an uncle and other relations -residing, and there he engaged in a course of study for -the profession of the law, at the termination of which he was, -in 1823, admitted an Advocate in the Supreme Court of t<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span>he -island. From his earliest years he had always shown himself -possessed of a very studious disposition, and some of his poems -seem to have been written when only eighteen years of age.</p> - -<p>In the pursuit of the profession he had adopted, with his -talent and energy, Heredia might have hoped soon to acquire -a very honourable position; but unfortunately for his future -comfort in life, he had imbibed too strongly the principles -then prevailing to consider the domination of Spain as an -evil which ought to be removed. It is stated, that there was -a conspiracy even then formed to declare the independence of -the island, in which he was implicated; and that on his being -denounced to the government in consequence, he was obliged -to fly from the island. Proceedings under this charge were -notwithstanding instituted against him, under which he was -formally declared banished. He thereupon went, in November -1823, to New York, where he passed the following three -years, appearing, from the accounts that reached his friends, -to have lived there during that time in great privations. -These, and the variableness of the climate, operating severely -on his constitution, as a native of the tropics, were no doubt -the causes of his becoming a victim to that fatal disease which -terminated his existence a few years afterwards.</p> - -<p>In New York he acquired soon an accurate knowledge of -the English language, which enabled him also to become -familiarly acquainted with English literature. Of this he -showed no inconsiderable tokens, in a volume of poems which -he published there in 1825, having included among them -several translations from the English, though he has not acknowledged -them generally as such. He continued the same -neglect in the edition of his works published subsequently in -Mexico in 1832, which was a much superior edition to the -former, being more than doubled in regard to its contents, -and having the poems formerly published now much correct<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span>ed -and improved.</p> - -<p>Not finding his residence in New York offering him any -hopes of advancement in life, and despairing of being able to -return to his family in Cuba, he determined to go thence to -Mexico and seek the assistance of his father’s friends in that -city. He accordingly went there in 1826, and had scarcely -arrived when he was at once appointed to a situation in the -office of the Secretary of State. From this minor post he was -soon afterwards promoted to discharge various important -offices in the provinces, and finally to be named one of the -Judges of the Supreme Court of Mexico and a Senator of the -Republic. It was while holding one of those appointments -as a local judge at Toluca that he published there the second -edition of his works just mentioned.</p> - -<p>After the death of Ferdinand VII., in 1833, the Regent, -Queen Christina, wisely accorded a general amnesty to all -expatriated Spaniards, when Heredia, notwithstanding the -favourable position he held in Mexico, where also he had -married in 1827, wished to take advantage of it to return to -his family. On making application, however, for permission -to do so, he was refused it by the Captain-General of Cuba, -and all he could obtain was permission to go there for two -months to visit his aged mother and other relatives, subject -to the observation of the police. He went there accordingly -in 1836, when, by a singular coincidence, he joined his family -again on the same day of the month that thirteen years before -he had parted from them.</p> - -<p>On his arrival in Cuba, he was subjected to some of those -petty annoyances which military governments too often impose -on people under their sway. A friend of his who had -gone to meet him, found him, notwithstanding his rank in -the Mexican republic, or his reputation as a literary character, -or his evident state of ill-health, seated on a bench in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span> the -court of the government office, to wait his turn at the pleasure -of the official, who thought he was showing his dignity by -exposing to unnecessary delay those whom he had to note -under his inspection. Heredia was so altered that his friend -could scarcely recognize him, and his relatives soon had to -become apprehensive that his health was seriously endangered. -He had given the most solemn assurance to the authorities -that he would not in any way during his visit interfere in the -public questions of the day, and he fulfilled his promise. If -he really had entered in his youth into any plot against the -government, the most dangerous conspirator in it could -scarcely have been a young man of nineteen, who seems to -have been the principal sufferer. But in any case, he had by -time and reflection become very altered in sentiment, and his -failing strength would not admit of any extraordinary exertion, -even if he had remained the same enthusiast for political -liberty as he was in his youth. He would have wished to -stay the remainder of his life with his family, but it was his -duty to return to Mexico after the expiration of the period -allowed him, and there he died of consumption on his return, -the 6th May, 1839. After his death, his widow and her children -came to Cuba, where she died the 16th June, 1844, -leaving a son and two daughters in the kindly charge of his -relatives.</p> - -<p>The Toluca edition of Heredia’s poems in two volumes, -1832, does great credit to the Mexican press, being one of -the best printed Spanish works to be found. But it is extremely -scarce, and therefore deserves a more detailed account -of it than might be requisite with works better known. In -addition to those contained in the first edition, which is yet -comparatively frequently to be met with, it contains his philosophic -and patriotic poems, some of which are very spirited, -and one, the ‘Hymn of the Banished,’ an extremely fine one.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> -The copies of the work sent to Havana had these patriotic -poems taken out, as otherwise they would have been seized -by the authorities; so that most of the copies of the work existing -are deficient with regard to them. In the place of the -odes thus taken out, another poem, ‘On Immortality,’ was -inserted, which, however, is principally taken from the Seventh -Book of Young’s Night Thoughts, though not so stated. The -other principal poems, in respect of length, are, ‘On the Worth -of Women,’ and ‘the Pleasures of Melancholy.’ Of another -very fine ode, ‘To Niagara,’ a very excellent translation into -English blank verse has appeared in the United States Review.</p> - -<p>In the preface to the second edition, he states that he had -been induced to undertake it, upon finding that several of -the poems in the first had been reprinted in Paris, London, -Hamburg and Philadelphia, and had been received with -much favour in his own country, where <a href="#note45" title="See note">the celebrated Lista</a> -had pronounced him “a great poet.” There can be no -doubt that other editions would have met with very favourable -reception, had it not been for the circumstance of his -being considered an author obnoxious to the Spanish government. -As it is, the Creoles of Cuba have manuscript copies -of his poems circulating amongst themselves, generally faulty -as dependent on the taste of the individuals who had copied -them. The effect of this is apparent in the only edition I -am aware of, that has been published in Spain, that of Barcelona, -in 1840, acknowledged to be taken from a manuscript -copy, in which not only are some of his best compositions -omitted, such as the ‘Lines to his Horse,’ and the poem -entitled, ‘The Season of the Northers,’ but some others, -for instance, the ‘Ode to the Sun,’ are given imperfectly. In -return, it gives a poem on receiving the portrait of his -mother, which had not appeared in the former editions, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> -which is not unworthy of being compared with Cowper’s on -the same subject, though treated differently.</p> - -<p>In the prologue to this edition the editor observes, that -“in all his productions is seen an excellency of heart and an -imagination truly poetical, enabling us to assert with Lista -that he is a great poet, and one of the best of our day.” He -adds, “the poems of Heredia have, in our judgement, the -merit of a purity of language, which unfortunately begins to -be unknown in Spain. They are of a kind equally apart -from the monotony and servileness, ascribed perhaps with -reason to the classicists, and from the extravagant aberration -of those who affect to be called Romanticists, and believe -they are so, because they despise all rules in their compositions, -substituting words and phrases unknown to our better -writers and poets.”</p> - -<p>The language of Heredia in his poems is by the concurrent -opinion of all Spanish critics very pure, and even -strangers can feel its simplicity and nature in connexion -with the truly poetical thoughts they contain, free from all -conceits or affectations. In his best original compositions, -the sentiments expressed are generally of a tender and melancholy -character, as might be expected from his history, of -one banished from his country and family, while suffering -from privations and ill-health, and at length sinking under -a fatal disease. Like many other poets, he thus also writes -most affectingly when dwelling on his own personal feelings, -as if to verify the declaration of Shelley, that</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent9">… most men</div> -<div class="verse">Are cradled into poetry by wrong;</div> -<div class="verse">They learn in suffering what they teach in song.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The ‘Lines to his Horse’ and ‘The Season of the -Northers’ bear intrinsic evidence of their origin, and also -the Ode entitled ‘Poesy.’ This one bears a stro<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span>ng resemblance -in its general tone to the ‘Epistle to His Brother’ -and the poem of ‘Sleep and Poetry’ by Keats, whose character -and fate also were in some degree the same as his. -They have the same sentiment, as conscious of fame awaiting -them, common to all poets, but peculiarly to those of -more sensitive temperament, the ‘non omnis moriar,’ the hope -of immortality,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Ἐλπίδ’ ἔχω κλέος εὑρέσθαι</div> -<div class="verse indent1">κεν ὑψηλὸν πρόσω.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>If the extravagant eulogiums bestowed on the merit of the -Sonnet, as a form of verse, by some Italian writers, and -echoed by Boileau and others, be at all deserved, Heredia’s -claims to superiority may be put forward very confidently, in -respect of that to ‘His Wife’ in dedication of the second -edition of his works. It contains all the conditions required -for a perfect composition of this kind, in the poetical statement -of the subject, the application of it, the beautiful simile -given as a counterpart, and the strikingly appropriate idea -with which it closes. Of this idea, the classical reader will -at once perceive the elegance and force; but he cannot do -so fully, unless he have also seen in the churches of seaport -towns on the continent, as for instance, that of Santa Maria -del Socorro, at Cadiz, the votive offerings of gratitude for -deliverances from danger.</p> - -<p>The ‘Ode to Night’ might have been considered worthy -of equally unqualified commendation, were it not for the -circumstance that <a href="#note46" title="See note">twelve out of the nineteen stanzas</a> it contains -are almost a paraphrase from the Italian of Ippolito -Pindemonte. At the time of making the translation hereafter -given, I had not read that very pleasing writer, but -have since found the source of the poem in his ‘Poesie Campestri, -Le quattro parti del giorno,’ to which, therefore, -justice requires the acknowledgement to be given. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> -much to be regretted that Heredia did not distinguish his -original compositions in all cases from imitations, as there is -no statement with regard to this one, of its having been taken -from another author. There are other instances of the same -neglect, as in a close translation from Campbell of ‘The Ode -to the Rainbow,’ equally unacknowledged. The interests of -literature require that such acknowledgements should be -uniformly made, that we should know gold from imitations, -and give every one his right and place. As the same Italian -poet remarked in his ‘Opinioni Politiche,’</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Conosco anch’io negli ordini civili</div> -<div class="verse">L’oro dal fango, ed anch’io veggio che altra</div> -<div class="verse">Cosa è il nascere Inglese, ed altra Turco.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Heredia’s original poems, many of them written to, or -respecting his near relatives or other friends, betoken so -much true poetic feeling, as well as flow of poetical ideas, -that we cannot suppose the neglect of which we have complained -to have been more than an oversight. He might -even in some cases have lost remembrance of his obligations, -and repeated from memory when he thought he was writing -from inspiration. The latter <a href="#note47" title="See note">part of his first volume is entirely -taken up with “Imitations;”</a> but those we have noticed -above are in the second volume, without any distinction from -the original poems.</p> - -<p>He had, however, in early life so many privations to endure, -and so many daily necessities for which to make a -daily provision, that we may not be surprised at his inexactness -in minor matters. In the preface to the second edition, -he says, that “the revolutionary whirlwind had made him -traverse over a vast course in a short time, and that with -better or worse fortune he had been an advocate, a soldier, a -traveller, a teacher of languages, a diplomatist, a journalist, -a judge, a writer of history, and a poet at twenty-five years<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> -of age. All my writings,” he observes, “must partake of -the variableness of my lot. The new generation will enjoy -serener days, and those who then dedicate themselves to the -Muses will be much more happy.” On his first going to -Mexico, it is to be supposed that he had to enter on military -duties in the unsettled state of the country, and that he had -some diplomatic commissions entrusted to him by the government, -of which, however, we have no other account. -This, in fact, may be said to be the first biographical notice -of him published, obtained from information given by his -relatives, who, having been long separated from him, could -not explain the particular references more fully.</p> - -<p>As a writer of history, he had published, also in Mexico, a -work in four volumes, 8vo. which was chiefly a compilation -from Tytler, but with additions in Spanish and Mexican -history, suited to the community, for whose benefit it was -intended. In this respect, as in so many other parts of his -career, the knowledge he had acquired of the English language -was of essential assistance to him, while it was no -less evident that his knowledge of English literature had improved -his taste and strengthened his powers of mind also in -his own compositions.</p> - -<p>In private life Heredia appears to have been a most amiable -character: courteous, generous, and possessed of the most lively -sensibility, he made himself beloved by all who had to enter -into communication with him. He was also remarkable for -the exceeding great ingenuousness of his disposition, which, -while it rendered him incapable of vanity in himself, made -him at the same time as incapable of dwelling on the faults -of others. Several of his poems show further a religious -feeling, which no doubt enabled him to bear with becoming -equanimity the various trials to which he had been subjected.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span></p> - -<p>Those trials it seemed were appointed to attend him further, -even if it had pleased the Almighty to prolong his existence. -Shortly before his death, the Mexican legislature -passed a law declaring that no one should hold any office -under the republic who was not a natural born citizen; and -thus he was, among others, deprived of the offices he had -held with credit to himself and advantage to the state. If -the measure were directed against him personally, it was of -short operation, and political intrigues could not avail to deprive -him of the consciousness of having fulfilled his duties -honourably, or of the claim he had to leave on the remembrance -of future ages.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span></p> - -<h3>JOSÈ MARIA HEREDIA.</h3> - -<h4>SONNET. -DEDICATION OF THE SECOND EDITION -OF HIS POEMS, -TO HIS WIFE.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">When yet was burning in my fervid veins</div> -<div class="verse">The fieriness of youth, with many a tear</div> -<div class="verse">Of grief, ’twas mine of all my feelings drear,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To pour in song the passion and the pains;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And now to Thee I dedicate the strains,</div> -<div class="verse">My Wife! when Love, from youth’s illusions freer,</div> -<div class="verse">In our pure hearts is glowing deep and clear,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And calm serene for me the daylight gains.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thus lost on raging seas, for aid implores</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of Heaven the unhappy mariner, the mark</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of tempests bearing on him wild and dark;</div> -<div class="verse">And on the altars, when are gain’d the shores,</div> -<div class="verse">Faithful to the Deity he adores,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He consecrates the relics of his bark.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span></p> - -<h4>TO HIS HORSE.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Friend of my hours of melancholy gloom,</div> -<div class="verse">To soothe me now, come, scouring o’er the plain;</div> -<div class="verse">Bear me that I forgetfulness may gain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Lost in thy speed from my unhappy doom.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">The fond illusions of my love are gone,</div> -<div class="verse">Fled never to return! and with them borne</div> -<div class="verse">Peace, happiness and hope: the veil is drawn,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And the bared cheat shows frenzy’s end alone.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">O! how the memory of pleasures past</div> -<div class="verse">Now wearies me! horrible that soul’s state,</div> -<div class="verse">Of flowers of hope, or freshness desolate!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">What then remains it? Bitterness o’ercast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">This south wind kills me: O! that I could rest</div> -<div class="verse">In sweet oblivion, temporary death!</div> -<div class="verse">Kind sleep might moderate my feverish breath,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And my worn soul again with strength be blest.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">My Horse, my friend, I do implore thee, fly!</div> -<div class="verse">Though with the effort break my frame so weak:</div> -<div class="verse">Grant for thy master’s brows he thus may seek</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Sleep’s balmy wings spread forth benignantly.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Let him from thee gain such refreshment kind;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Though much another day it caused me shame,</div> -<div class="verse">In my mad cruelty and frenzy’s blame,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My crimson’d heels, and thy torn flanks to find.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Pardon my fury! beats upon my eye</div> -<div class="verse">The sorrowing tear. Friend, when my shouts declare</div> -<div class="verse">Impatience, then the biting spur to spare</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Wait not, but toss thy mane, thy head, and fly.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>THE SEASON OF THE NORTHERS.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">The wearying summer’s burning heat</div> -<div class="verse">Is now assuaged; for from the North</div> -<div class="verse">The winds from frost come shaken forth,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">’Midst clouds o’er Cuba rushing fleet,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And free us from the fever’s wrath.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Deep roars the sea, with breast swell’d high,</div> -<div class="verse">And beats the beach with lashing waves;</div> -<div class="verse">Zephyr his wings in freshness laves,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And o’er the sun and shining sky,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Veil-like, transparent vapours fly.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Hail, happy days! by you o’erthrown</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> -<div class="verse">We see the altar, which ’mong flowers</div> -<div class="verse">May rear’d to Death: attendant lowers,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With pallid face, vile Fever lone,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And with sad brilliancy it shone.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Both saw the sons, with anxious brow,</div> -<div class="verse">Of milder realms approaching nigh,</div> -<div class="verse">Beneath this all-consuming sky:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With their pale sceptres touched, they bow,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And in the fatal grave are now.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">But their reign o’er, on outspread wing,</div> -<div class="verse">To purify the poison’d air,</div> -<div class="verse">The north winds cold and moisture bear;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Across our fields they sounding spring,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And rest from August’s rigours bring.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">O’er Europe’s gloomy climates wide,</div> -<div class="verse">Now from the North fierce sweeps the blast;</div> -<div class="verse">Verdure and life from earth are past:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With snow man sees it whelm’d betide,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And in closed dwellings must abide.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">There all is death and grief! but here,</div> -<div class="verse">All life and joy! see, Phœbus smile</div> -<div class="verse">More sooth through lucid clouds, the while</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Our woods and plains new lustres cheer,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And double spring inspires the year.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">O, happy land! his tenderest care</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Thee, favour’d! the Creator yields,</div> -<div class="verse">And kindest smile: ne’er from thy fields</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Again may fate me fiercely tear!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O, let my last sun light me there!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">How sweet it is to hear the rain,</div> -<div class="verse">My love! so softly falling thus</div> -<div class="verse">On the low roof that shelters us!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And the winds whistling o’er the plain</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And bellowings of the distant main.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Fill high my cup with golden wine;</div> -<div class="verse">Let cares and griefs be driven away;</div> -<div class="verse">That proved by thee, my thirst to stay,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Will, my adored! more precious shine,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">So touch’d by those sweet lips of thine.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">By thee on easy seat reclined,</div> -<div class="verse">My lyre how happy will I string;</div> -<div class="verse">My love and country’s praise to sing;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My blissful lot, thy face and mind,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And love ineffable and kind!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span></p> - -<h4>POESY, AN ODE.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Soul of the universe, bright Poesy!</div> -<div class="verse">Thy spirit vivifies, and, like the blast</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That’s burning in the desert swiftly free,</div> -<div class="verse">In its course all inflames where it has past.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Happy the man who feels within his breast</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The fire celestial purely is possess’d!</div> -<div class="verse">For that to worth, to virtue elevates,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And to his view makes smile the shadowy forms</div> -<div class="verse">Confused of joys to come, and future fates:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of cruel fortune ’gainst the gathering storms</div> -<div class="verse">It shields him, causing him to dwell among</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The beings of his own creation bright:</div> -<div class="verse">It arms him daringly with wings of light,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And to the world invisible along</div> -<div class="verse">Bears him, to wondering mortals to unseal</div> -<div class="verse">The mysteries which the horrid depths reveal.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">High inspiration! O, what hours of joy,</div> -<div class="verse">Deep and ineffable, without alloy,</div> -<div class="verse">Hast thou benign conceded to my breast!</div> -<div class="verse">On summer nights, with brilliant hues impress’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">’Tis sweet to break with sounding prow the wave</div> -<div class="verse">Of the dark surging sea, which shows behind</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">A lengthen’d streak of light the current gave.</div> -<div class="verse">’Tis sweet to bound where lofty mountains wind,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or on thy steed to scour along the plain;</div> -<div class="verse">But sweeter to my fiery soul ’tis far</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To feel myself whirl’d forward in the train</div> -<div class="verse">Of thy wild torrent, and as with a star</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The brow deck’d proudly, hear thy oracles</div> -<div class="verse">Divine; and to repeat them, as of old</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Greece listen’d mute to those from Delphic cells</div> -<div class="verse">The favour’d priestess of Apollo told;</div> -<div class="verse">While she with sacred horror would unfold</div> -<div class="verse">The words prophetic, trembling to refer</div> -<div class="verse">To the consuming god that frenzied her.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">There is of life a spirit that pervades</div> -<div class="verse">The universe divine: ’tis he who shades</div> -<div class="verse">All Nature’s loveliest scenes with majesty,</div> -<div class="verse">And glory greater: beauty’s self ’tis he,</div> -<div class="verse">Who robes with radiant mantle, and endows</div> -<div class="verse">Her eye with language eloquent, while flows</div> -<div class="verse">Soft music from her voice; ’tis he who lends</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To her the magic irresistible,</div> -<div class="verse">And fatal, which her smile and look attends,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Making men mad and drunk beneath her spell.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">If on the marble’s sleeping forms he breathe,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> -<div class="verse">To life they start the chisel’s touch beneath:</div> -<div class="verse">In Phædra, Tancred, Zorayde he wrings</div> -<div class="verse">The heart within us deep; or softly brings</div> -<div class="verse">Love-fraught delight, as do their strains inspire</div> -<div class="verse">Anacreon, or Tibullus, or the lyre</div> -<div class="verse">Of our Melendez, sweetest languishings.</div> -<div class="verse">Or wrapt in thunder snatches us away</div> -<div class="verse">With Pindar, or Herrera, or thy lay,</div> -<div class="verse">Illustrious Quintana! to the heights,</div> -<div class="verse">Where virtue, and where glory too invites.</div> -<div class="verse">By him compels us Tasso to admire</div> -<div class="verse">Clorinda; Homer fierce Achilles’ ire;</div> -<div class="verse">And Milton, elevated all beyond,</div> -<div class="verse">His direful angel, arm’d of diamond.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O’er all, though invisible, this spirit dwells;</div> -<div class="verse">But from ethereal mansions he descends</div> -<div class="verse">To show himself to men, and thus portends</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His steps the night rain, and the thunder tells.</div> -<div class="verse">There have I seen him: or perhaps serene</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In the sun’s beam, he wanders to o’erflow</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Heaven, earth and sea, in waves of golden glow.</div> -<div class="verse">On music’s accent trembles he unseen;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And solitude he loves, he lists attent</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The waters’ rush in headlong fury sent:</div> -<div class="verse">The wandering Arabs o’er their sands he leads,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And through their agitated breasts inspires</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> -<div class="verse">A feeling undefined, but great to deeds</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of desperate and wild liberty that fires.</div> -<div class="verse">With joy he sits upon the mountain heights,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or thence descends, to mirror in the deep,</div> -<div class="verse">In crystal fixedness, or animates</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The tempest with his cries along to sweep:</div> -<div class="verse">Or if its clear and sparkling veil extend</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The night, upon the lofty poop reclined,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With ecstasy delights to inspire his mind,</div> -<div class="verse">Who raptured views the skies with ocean blend.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Noble and lovely is the ardour felt</div> -<div class="verse">For glory! for its laurel pants my heart;</div> -<div class="verse">And I would fain, this world when I depart,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of my steps leave deep traces where I dwelt.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">This of thy favour, spirit most divine!</div> -<div class="verse">I well may hope, for that eternal lives</div> -<div class="verse">Thy glowing flame, and life eternal gives.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Mortals, whom fate gave genius forth to shine,</div> -<div class="verse">Haste anxious to the sacred fount, where flows</div> -<div class="verse">Thy fiery inspiration; but bestows</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The world unworthy guerdon on their pains:</div> -<div class="verse">While them a mortal covering enshrouds,</div> -<div class="verse">Obscure they wander through the listless crowds;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Contempt and indigence their lot remains,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Perchance ev’n impious mockery all their gains:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> -<div class="verse">At length they die, and their souls take the road</div> -<div class="verse">Of the great fount of light whence first they flow’d;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And then, in spite of envy, o’er their tomb</div> -<div class="verse">A sterile laurel buds, ay, buds and grows,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And thus protects the ashes in the gloom,</div> -<div class="verse">’Neath its immortal shade; but vainly shows</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To teach men justice. Ages onward fleet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The lamentable drama to repeat,</div> -<div class="verse">Without regret or shame. Homer! thou divine,</div> -<div class="verse">Milton sublime, unhappy Tasso thine,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The fate to tell it. Genius yet the while</div> -<div class="verse">Faces misfortune undismayed; his ears</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Dwell only on the applauses to beguile,</div> -<div class="verse">His songs will happy gain in future years;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His glory, his misfortunes will excite</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Sweet sympathy; posterity will requite</div> -<div class="verse">Justice against their sires, who thus condemn</div> -<div class="verse">Him now to grief and misery, shame on them!</div> -<div class="verse">From his tomb he will reign; his cherish’d name</div> -<div class="verse">Will beauty with respect and sighs proclaim.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On her eye gleams the bright and precious tear</div> -<div class="verse">His burning pages then will draw from her,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Kind-hearted loveliness! he sees it near;</div> -<div class="verse">His heart beats, he is moved; and strong to incur</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The cruelty and injustice, is consoled;</div> -<div class="verse">And waiting thus his triumph to obtain,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Enjoying it, though but in death to hold,</div> -<div class="verse">Flies his Creator’s bosom to regain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">O, sweet illusion! who has had the power</div> -<div class="verse">To save himself from thee, who was not born</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Than the cold marble, or the rough trunk lower?</div> -<div class="verse">With ardour I embrace, and wait thee lorn.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Yet of my Muse perchance some happier strains</div> -<div class="verse">Will me survive, and my sepulchral stone</div> -<div class="verse">Will not be left to tell of me alone!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Perhaps my name, which rancour now detains</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Proscribed, will yet resound o’er Cuba’s plains,</div> -<div class="verse">On the swift trumpet of enduring fame!</div> -<div class="verse">Correggio, when he saw his canvas flame</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With life, “a painter,” it was his to cry,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">“I also am!”—A poet too am I.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>ODE TO NIGHT.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Night reigns; in silence deep around</div> -<div class="verse">Dreams whirl through empty space;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Clothing with her pure light the ground,</div> -<div class="verse">The moon shows bright her face:</div> -<div class="verse">Soft hour of peace; without a trace</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of Man, where rise these heights uphurl’d,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">I sit abandon’d of the world.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">How Nature’s quietude august</div> -<div class="verse">Delights the feeling mind,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That heeds her voice, and learns to trust</div> -<div class="verse">Its joys with her to find!</div> -<div class="verse">Sweet silence! here I rest reclined,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With but the river’s murmurings heard,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or leaves by gentle breezes stirr’d.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Now its repose on languid wings,</div> -<div class="verse">Its freshness Night supplies;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To shaded heaven which faithful clings,</div> -<div class="verse">And blaze of daylight flies:</div> -<div class="verse">Unseen by that, mysterious lies</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On mount and plain, to please though sad,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Still beauteous ev’n in horrors clad.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">How is the ecstatic soul impress’d</div> -<div class="verse">With melancholy thought!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The lovely picture here possess’d</div> -<div class="verse">Sublime with sadness fraught!</div> -<div class="verse">How more its music to be sought,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And peace, than all that may entrance</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The echoes of the noisy dance.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Around the proud saloon reflect</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Each face the mirrors there;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With diamonds, pearls, and gold bedeck’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Light dance the gentle fair;</div> -<div class="verse">And with their witching grace and air,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O’er thousand lovers holding sway,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their vows and plaudits bear away.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Lovely is that! I one day too,</div> -<div class="verse">When childhood scarce above,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Through balls and banquets would pursue</div> -<div class="verse">The object of my love.</div> -<div class="verse">And from the young beloved I strove,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As magic treasure, to obtain</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A passing look, or smile to gain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">But now by cares subdued, and bound</div> -<div class="verse">By languor and disease,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Than gilded halls, these plains around</div> -<div class="verse">Me more the night hours please:</div> -<div class="verse">To the gay dance preferring these,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The calm asylum they supply,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To meditate beneath this sky.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">O! ever shine on me the stars,</div> -<div class="verse">In a clear heaven as now!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And as my Maker that avers,</div> -<div class="verse">There let me turn my brow.</div> -<div class="verse">O! God of heaven, to Thee I bow!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And raise by night my humble strain,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">The voice of my consuming pain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Thee, also, friendly Moon! I hail;</div> -<div class="verse">I always loved thee dear:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou, Queen of heaven! me ne’er didst fail,</div> -<div class="verse">In fortunes fair or drear,</div> -<div class="verse">To guide, to counsel, and to cheer:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou know’st how oft, to enjoy thy ray,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I chide the blaze and heat of day.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Oft seated on the wide sea-shore,</div> -<div class="verse">Whose waves reflected thee,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To muse alone, thou smiling o’er,</div> -<div class="verse">I pass’d the night hours free;</div> -<div class="verse">And ’midst my clouded hopes to see</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy face serene, I found relief,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In sweet complaint to pour my grief.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">For throbs, alas! my breast with pain,</div> -<div class="verse">Consumption’s wounds to bear;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And pales my cheek, as thou must wane</div> -<div class="verse">Beneath the morning’s glare.</div> -<div class="verse">When I shall sink, grant this my prayer,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That thy light ne’er to shine defer,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On thy friend’s humble sepulchre.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">But, hark! what dulcet notes arise</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The neighbouring woods among?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Causing these tender thoughts and sighs</div> -<div class="verse">My lonely breast to throng.</div> -<div class="verse">Sweet Nightingale, it is thy song!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I always loved thy wood-notes wild,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Like me from sorrow ne’er beguiled.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Perish whoe’er for thy soft note</div> -<div class="verse">Seeks thee to oppress or take.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Why rather not like me remote,</div> -<div class="verse">Thee follow through the brake,</div> -<div class="verse">Where these thick woods our shelter make?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Fly free and happy round thy nest;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Enslaved I wish none, none oppress’d.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Night, ancient goddess! Chaos thee</div> -<div class="verse">Produced before the sun;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And the last sun ’tis thine to see</div> -<div class="verse">When the world’s course is run;</div> -<div class="verse">And the Lord wills his work undone!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Hear me, while this life’s breath is raised,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">By me thou shalt be loved and praised.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Before time was, in Chaos vast</div> -<div class="verse">Thou laid perhaps mightst view</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy coming beauties, as forecast</div> -<div class="verse">Thy destined glories grew:</div> -<div class="verse">Looking thy veil of shadows through</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With face obscured, to meditate</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Calm on thy future power and state.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou camest, O Queen! from Ocean’s bars</div> -<div class="verse">At the Creator’s voice,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With sceptre raised, and crown’d with stars,</div> -<div class="verse">And mantle glittering choice;</div> -<div class="verse">And bade the silent world rejoice,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To see through space thy brow severe</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Shine with the kind moon’s silvery sphere.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">How many high truths have I learn’d</div> -<div class="verse">Beneath thy solemn shade!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">What inspirations in me burn’d</div> -<div class="verse">’Mid the wood’s silence laid!</div> -<div class="verse">In thee I saw sublime display’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The Almighty’s power, and seized my lyre,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And fervid dared to Heaven aspire.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Great Goddess, hail! in thy calm breast</div> -<div class="verse">Let me soothe every care!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy peaceful balm may give me rest</div> -<div class="verse">From ills my heart that tear.</div> -<div class="verse">Sweet pitying friend! to whom repair</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Poets and mourners for repose,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O, Night! in soft peace end my woes.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="XI">XI.<br /> -<span class="smaller">JOSÈ DE ESPRONCEDA.</span></h3> - -<p>In the introductory part of this work, while acknowledging -the merits of the earlier poets of Spain, it may be remembered -that a claim was made in favour of the still superior excellences -of their successors in the present day. If the reader, -who has followed us so far through these notices, has not -already come to the same conclusion, his assent may be confidently -expected to the assertion, in consideration of the surpassingly -poetical genius of the two writers who have now to -come under his review.</p> - -<p>In considering the merits of their earlier poets, the best -critics of Spain have not been so blinded by national partiality -as to be led into awarding them unqualified commendations. -In the very able prologue to the ‘Moro Esposito’ of the Duke -de Rivas, said to have been written by the celebrated Alcalà -Galiano, we find an estimation of them which we can adopt, -as correct in judgement as it is unexceptionable for an authority. -He says, “Though the tenderness of Garcilasso, the -warmth of Herrera, the fancy, at once lively and thoughtful, -of Rioja, and, above all, those strong feelings of devotion -which give to Fray Luis de Leon a character so original, even -when he is most an imitator, are sources of great perfections, -and most glorious crowns of the Spanish Parnassus, yet we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> -are obliged to confess, that in the Spanish poets, lyric and -pastoral, we see too great a sameness, that their stock of ideas -and images is limited and common to them all, and that if -varied and choice in expression, they are uniform in their -arguments and plans, founding their merit more in the gala -and pomp of language, in the floridness and sonorousness of -verse, and in the ingenious dexterity of making variations -on one theme, than in the vigour and originality of their -thoughts, or in the strength and profoundness of the emotions -which they felt, or which their works excite in the -minds of their readers.”</p> - -<p>Entirely coinciding in the opinions thus expressed, we feel, -on the other hand, with regard to the modern Spanish poets, -that while they have fully maintained the grace and beauty -that distinguished their predecessors in former ages, their -genius has expanded over far wider fields, and embraced subjects -of as varied and powerful interest as the contemporary -poetry of any other country can present to delight or captivate. -As instances in support of this opinion, we have, in -particular, to refer to the comparatively few but exceedingly -brilliant compositions of Espronceda, whose early loss, at only -thirty-two years of age, the whole literary world has to deplore.</p> - -<p>We have great cause to be thankful to Ferrer del Rio that -we have any account at all of this very eminent lyric poet, -though the one he has given is far from being so full as the -admirers of his genius might have desired. From that account, -we learn that it was in the spring of 1810, during the -most momentous period of the war of independence, a colonel -of cavalry, after some long and harassing marches, was obliged -to halt at the small town of Almendralejo, in the province of -Estremadura, in the face of the enemy, on account of his wife, -who had followed him through the campaigns, having there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> -had a son born, the subject of this narrative. We have no -other particulars of his earlier years, than that on the conclusion -of the war his parents settled at Madrid, where he was -placed at an early age under the tuition of Lista, a writer -who enjoyed considerable reputation at the time as a poet, -but whose chief merit consisted in his critical and elementary -works. Under such a preceptor, his natural genius found a -congenial course of tuition, and verse-making seems to have -been a part of his usual studies. It was remarked, that -though he was by no means inclined to steady application, -yet, that by the force of his quick comprehension, he shone -as prominently as others of greater industry, and when a -mere boy produced verses which gave tokens of future eminence.</p> - -<p>When only fourteen years of age he joined a society of -youths who called themselves Numantines, and was elected -one of their tribunes. In their meetings, no doubt, there was -much intended treason debated, for which, whether deservedly -or not, the government of the day thought proper to proceed -against them at law, and Espronceda, with others, was sentenced -to three months’ imprisonment in the convent of Guadalajera, -in which town his father then resided. There, in -the solitude of his imprisonment, his active mind found employment -in poetry, and he was bold enough to begin an epic -poem on the subject of the national hero, Pelayo. Of this -poem there are fragments given among his works, from which -we may judge favourably of what it might have proved when -completed, containing as it does many striking passages. The -representation of Hunger, and the Dream of the King, Don -Roderic, are bold conceptions, and if they were not the additions -of after-years, were truly remarkable as the productions -of any one at so early an age.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span></p> - -<p>On his release from the convent he returned to Madrid, -but feeling himself under restraint as subject to the observation -of the police, and desirous also of visiting other countries, -he shortly afterwards went to Gibraltar and thence to Lisbon. -There he seems to have been subjected to great privations, -which, however, did not prevent his being involved in romantic -adventures, characteristic of one of his temperament, -such as he subsequently described with all the warmth of -poetic feeling. But the ministers of the king, now restored -to absolute power by French intervention, could not allow -Spanish emigrants to be congregated so near to Spain, and at -their instance Espronceda and others were obliged to go from -Lisbon to London. How he maintained himself, during these -wanderings, we are not informed, but his relatives probably -had the means to afford him sufficient for his pressing necessities, -and the love of adventure would lead him, oftentimes -willingly, into situations from which most others would have -recoiled.</p> - -<p>In London, we are informed, that he enjoyed the happiest -period of his life, though not abounding in resources; passing -his time between his studies and gaieties, which resulted in -confirmed dissipation. He learned to read Shakespeare and -Milton, as well as Byron, and considering his inclinations, his -habits and his writings, we need not be surprised to find him -supposed to have taken the last for his model. There he -began the series of compositions which place him in the first -rank of lyric poets, though we have to lament that they are -tinctured with a spirit of such evil character. His ‘Elegy to -Spain,’ dated London, 1829, is in the original written with -peculiar sweetness of expression, which Del Rio finds in the -style of the Prophet of the Lamentations, and which, though -not so well suited for translation as most of his other poem<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span>s, -has been chosen as the effusion of the patriotic muse of Spain, -no less worthy of note than others of more general application.</p> - -<p>From London he passed over to Paris, and happening to be -there during the three memorable days of July 1830, he took -part in the fearful scenes which then took place with all the -ardour of his character as well as of youth. He joined afterwards -the small band of emigrants who crossed the Pyrenees -in the hopeless attempt of subverting the despotic sway that -then prevailed, resulting in the death of Don Joaquin de Pablo, -whom his friends regarded as falling heroically, and to whose -memory Espronceda has left a poem of great beauty. Returning -to Paris, he entered himself in the rank of the bold -spirits who volunteered to lend their aid in the regeneration -of Poland, from which, and other similar schemes, he was -rescued by the promulgation of the first amnesty, of which -he took advantage immediately to return to Spain.</p> - -<p>On his arrival in Madrid, he entered himself in the Royal -Guard, where he soon won the goodwill and affections of his -officers and comrades, and might have risen to distinction, -but for an unfortunate though characteristic occurrence. He -had written some verses on passing events connected with the -service, which were recited at a banquet, and having been -much applauded and passed from hand to hand, came to the -knowledge of the ministry, who thereupon, notwithstanding -the efforts of his colonel to the contrary, dismissed Espronceda -from the corps, and banished him to the town of Cuellar. -There he composed a work, which he called a novel, under the -title of the ‘Sancho of Saldania,’ but which, though containing -some good sketches and descriptions, is only worthy of -notice as having been one of his compositions.</p> - -<p>“On the dawning of liberty in Spain with the p<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span>romulgation -of the Estatuto,” by Martinez de la Rosa, he came forward -as a journalist, connected with the paper published as -‘The Age.’ His proud spirit could not submit to the censorship -previously existing, but even now he had to feel its influence. -The fourteenth number of his paper, the most violent -of the time, was found to contain some articles which -were forbidden by the censor, and as the time pressed, the -editors did not know how to supply the deficiency. The -ready genius of Espronceda suggested a scheme, which, after -a little hesitation, was adopted: this was to publish the sheet -in blank, with merely the headings, which had not been -struck out of the manuscript by the censor. Accordingly, -the usual sheet appeared with the titles only of the subjects -it had originally to bear, namely—“The Amnesty;” “Domestic -Policy;” “Letter from Don Miguel and Don Manuel -Bravedeed in defence of their honour and patriotism;” “On -the Cortes;” “Song on the Death of Don Joaquin de -Pablo.” The effect was startling, and perhaps more powerful -than the forbidden articles would have proved. The -people supplied the deficiencies according to their individual -feelings, and the ingenuity of the device had its fullest success. -As the result, the publication of the paper was forbidden, -and the managers had to hide themselves for a time to -escape further prosecution.</p> - -<p>In the years 1835 and 1836, there were several serious -commotions in Madrid in which he joined, erecting barricades -in the principal square, and making violent harangues -to the people. On both occasions the disturbances were soon -put down by the military, and he had to hide himself in the -provinces, until, in the year 1840, Espartero having put himself -at the head of the liberal party, the public principles prevailed -for which Espronceda had so exerted himself. He -then came forth again from his retirement, and made himself -conspicuous by appearing as an advocate in a ca<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>se in which -a paper named the ‘Hurricane’ had been denounced at law -for a seditious article it contained. Espronceda’s speech in -defence, from some passages of it given by Del Rio, appears -to have been very energetic, and as inflammatory as the -article accused, but he was successful, and the proprietor of -the paper was acquitted.</p> - -<p>In the same year, 1840, he published the volume of poems -on which his fame rests, as perhaps the first lyric poet that -Spain has produced. Most of the contents had been previously -given in the periodical publications of Madrid, but it -was a great service to literature to have them collected. They -contained the fragment of the epic poem, ‘Pelayo,’ and a -short dramatic piece, entitled, ‘The Student of Salamanca,’ -in which his own character is supposed to have been depicted; -as well as the lyric odes and other poems. They are comparatively -few in number, not exceeding fifteen altogether, but -of such rare excellence as to make us regret that so gifted a -writer was to be so soon cut off, depriving the literary world -of the hopes of still further excellence they gave reason to -expect. In the following year, 1841, he published his poem, -‘The Devil World, El Diablo Mundo,’ in four cantos, to -which three others were afterwards added, found among his -papers after his death. His friends had long feared that he -was not destined to attain a prolonged period of life, but their -fears were unhappily realized much sooner than they had -imagined.</p> - -<p>In December 1841, Espronceda was sent to the Hague -as Secretary of Legation, but the coldness of the climate -affecting too severely his enfeebled constitution, he was -obliged, almost immediately, to return to Spain. He had -meanwhile been elected Deputy to the Cortes for Almeria, -and he attempted to take accordingly his share of public -duties. But his health and strength had been undermined<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> -by the life of hazard, of privations and excesses he had undergone, -and the journey to the Hague in the depth of winter -seemed to give the final shock to his frame, from which -it could not recover. On the 23rd of May, 1842, his friends -and admirers were thrown into unexpected grief by hearing -that he had died that morning, after what was termed a four -days’ illness. The immediate cause was said to have been -some disorder affecting the throat, and his sufferings have -been described by an intimate friend and schoolfellow, who -was with him at the time, as very painful. The loss to Spain -and the whole literary world was as great as it was irreparable; -and so the people seemed to feel it, by the general expression -of regret over his fate, such as it seldom falls to the lot of any -one to excite.</p> - -<p>The moralist might dilate on the evil courses which probably -hastened his death, and all must lament that a man -of such extraordinary genius should have sunk under them; -but before we judge any one severely, we should be certain of -being able to form a right judgement. The utmost remark, -therefore, we permit ourselves to make, may be to consider -his history as a lesson to all under similar circumstances of -life, that if they will not take heed to a moral in others, they -may become a warning themselves. Every man’s character -may be taken as a whole, in which his good and evil qualities -are often so blended together as to make them inseparable. -The excesses of youth are often “the flash and outbreak of a -fiery mind,” which shows itself in its true characters in other -respects, though often with the alloy of lower passions to -lead them to a fatal end. Thus Byron and Espronceda, two -kindred geniuses in our days, have sunk prematurely into the -grave, most unhappily, when new fields of glory seemed to -be opened before them to retrieve the past errors of life, and -make it in future as honourable as they had already rende<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span>red -it renowned.</p> - -<p>The genius of Espronceda was kindred to Byron’s, of whom -he has been accused of having been an imitator. But this -seems to me unquestionably a mistake. During his residence -in England he had certainly acquired a good knowledge of -the English language and literature, much to his advantage; -but he could scarcely have acquired such a knowledge of -either as to put him in the position of an imitator. The -utmost that can be alleged of him in this respect is, that -the style of Byron’s writing was so congenial to his own taste -and talent, as to make him imbibe it intuitively, and so obtain -a more decided character for his own than perhaps it -would have otherwise attained.</p> - -<p>It is certain that Spanish poetry never before presented -such depth of thought and feeling, and such fulness and -vigour of expression, as he gave to it; and it is apparent, in -every page of his works, that he had studied in a higher -school and become imbued with a brighter inspiration than -he could have done on the Continent. But what ordinary -imitators would have considered the characteristics of Byron -as models to follow, he had the good sense entirely to discard. -He has none of the egotism and affectation which distinguish -that school; and if he indulged in some of its propensities, it -is clear that they were the natural results of the circumstances -in which he was placed, and not the wilful perversions of misdirected -abilities. His poem to Harifa is written with an -earnestness of feeling that must be felt, even through the -haze of translation, giving tokens of its origin too distinct -to admit any supposition of its being a suggestion from any -other source than his own experience of life. Neither in this -poem nor in any other of his works is there any of those -mysterious suggestions of dark histories, or of those morbid -denunciations of imaginary wrongs which abound in the pr<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span>oductions -of the Byronian school. His complaints are the -evident effusions of a mind maddened at finding itself in a -state unworthy of its powers, and thus, instead of venting his -rage on others, he turned it against his own misdeeds, in -giving way to excesses that he scorned, and which he felt -degraded him. But even in his aspirations for higher thoughts, -he had the same leaven of earth to keep him from attaining -them. He had not learned the lessons which Jovellanos -inculcated in the Epistle to Bermudez, to seek wisdom where -only it ought to be sought; as he might have done even from -the heathen poet, that the hidden things of God could not -be found out, though he were to traverse over all space in -search of them.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Ἀλλ’ οὐ γὰρ ἆν τὰ θεία, κρύπτοντος Θεοῦ,</div> -<div class="verse">Μάθεις ἆν, οὐδ’ εἰ πάντ’ ἐπεξελθοις σκότων.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In somewhat of the same strain with these lines is the -second canto of his poem, the ‘Diablo Mundo,’ addressed -to Theresa, which, however, has no connexion with the rest -of the poem to which it is attached. The verses ‘To a Star,’ -contain also poetical thoughts no less exquisite, though perhaps -not of so decided a character; and they are all valuable -at least in this, that instead of gilding over vices and follies, -they show the confession of one so highly gifted by nature, -that the indulgences of sensual gratifications are in reality -only sources of unhappiness.</p> - -<p>Two other of his poems, ‘The Mendicant’ and ‘The Executioner,’ -are no less distinguishable for the power of thought -and expression they display; but they also unfortunately indicate -such objectionable tendencies, as to make us regret that -his extraordinary talents had not been directed to nobler -subjects. Not so the two poems selected for translation, -‘The Song of the Pirate,’ and that of the ‘Criminal Condemned -to Die,’ in addition to those previously mentioned.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> -Of these, the latter is one of such peculiarly energetic character, -as to need no comment. The other is one of the most -favourite poems known in Spain, and having been set to -music, is therefore heard repeated more frequently. It has -been said to have been taken from the French, but I believe -erroneously. It bears strongly the impress of Espronceda’s -genius; and if the poem intended be either of those by Floran -or Victor Hugo, any one who will take the trouble of comparing -them will observe that they are essentially different, -as each also is from the song of Lord Byron’s ‘Corsair.’</p> - -<p>At the first view of it, the ‘Diablo Mundo’ appears to be -an imitation of ‘Don Juan;’ but it would be as unjust to -declare it so, as to say the latter had been copied from the -various Italian poems written in the same style. Espronceda -might have had the idea suggested by reading Lord Byron’s -poem, or Goëthe’s ‘Faust,’ or both, but he has carried it -much higher, and given the outlines of a nobler conception -than either. He begins by supposing that, absorbed in meditation, -during the silence of the night, he hears an extraordinary -noise, which calls back his feelings and arouses them. -That confused noise, with sublime music and solemn sound, -are all the passions of the world, all the interests found in -life,—the affections and hatreds, love, glory, wealth, the vices -and the virtues; they are, in fine, the complaint of the whole -universe that comes like a revolving whirlwind, and displays -before the fancy a thousand allegorical monsters, traced with -inimitable facility and astonishing vigour.</p> - -<p>The visions pass away, the noise goes gradually off, losing -itself in the distance, until it ceases, where begins the introduction -of the poem. The first canto is the exposition of -the great drama proposed to be developed.</p> - -<p>A man bowed down with age and embittered <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>by sorrowful -and useless experience, shuts in despair a book he was reading, -and mournfully convinced of the barrenness of learning, -falls asleep. Death then presents itself, and intones a hymn -inviting him to the peace of the grave. With pleasure he -feels his benumbed limbs growing stiff with cold, and is -enjoying himself in the enervation of his spirit, when Immortality -suddenly rises up before him and sings another -hymn in opposition to that of Death, and like that also offering -herself to the man about to die.</p> - -<p>The election is immediate; he chooses Immortality, and is -re-endowed with youth. The song of this deity, however, -does not lead to the immortality of the spirit, but of the -material part of man, and it is that he receives. The image -of death is invested with melancholy beauty; it is soft and -gentle; that which is desired when, free from prejudices, we -feel the heart worn and the soul discontented. The immortality -that rises over the pale front of death, effaces it with a -magnificent lustre. “It is impossible,” says Ros de Olano, -who has written the prologue to this beautiful poem, “to approach, -by any words of ours whatever, to the luxuriousness -of thought, of expression, and of knowledge displayed in this -sublime description, the most happy perhaps yet presented -in the Spanish language.” Grand, extended and immense is -the field which the poet has displayed to trace out a course -for his hero, and the variety of tones he employs are like the -face of the world, over which he has to range. As the character -is developed, the hero, with the body of a man and the -soul of a child, is placed in situations equally original and -interesting, and the whole scheme is one which gave full -scope to the writer for an unlimited work, even if he had -been permitted to live to the utmost period of human existence.</p> - -<p>Del Rio states, that Espronceda was in his public discourses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> -an ineffective speaker, and ascribes it to the physical -weakness of his frame; he describes him as having been -distinguished for sarcasms, and only at intervals powerful in -declamation. “In conversation he made an affectation of -laughing at the restraints and virtues which are necessary -for the order of society, and yet in private life no one was -more remarkable for kindness and generosity. When the -cholera was raging in Madrid, he was one of the most active -in disregarding its attacks, and in attending to the wants of -those near him who were suffering from it.” “All who knew -him loved him, and even to his faults he knew how to give a -certain impression of greatness.” Del Rio proceeds to describe -him as having been graceful in his bearing, endowed -with manly beauty, and his countenance marked with a melancholy -cast that rendered it more interesting. He concludes -by observing, that notwithstanding the years that -have passed since his friends had to lament his loss, a garland -of everlastings never fails to be found renewed over his -grave.</p> - -<p>In 1848 Baudry published another edition of Espronceda’s -works, at Paris, but, with the exception of the fifth and sixth -cantos of the ‘Diablo Mundo,’ there is no additional poem -given, though Del Rio points out six other pieces published -in different periodicals. This omission is much to be regretted, -as undoubtedly every line that proceeded from his -pen was worthy of being gathered together as a rare treasure. -It is to be hoped that some admirer of his genius may soon -collect those scattered relics, and give them in an edition -worthy of their character in Spanish literature. Another Life -of him also would be most desirable, as in the Paris edition -there is only repeated the account given by Ferrer del Rio, -which, though ably written as a sketch, is still on the same -scale with a number of other writers in the same work of far -inferior merits, and utterly unworthy of so great a genius a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span>s -Espronceda. Spanish versification under his influence has -become “revolutionized.” He has extended the powers apparently -even of the language itself, and by the force of his -style as well as by the varied character of his poems, has -certainly shown its capabilities more decidedly than any poet -who preceded him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span></p> - -<h3>JOSÈ DE ESPRONCEDA.</h3> - -<h4>TO SPAIN, AN ELEGY. -LONDON, 1829.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">How solitary is the nation now</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That peopled countries vast a former day!</div> -<div class="verse">That all beneath her sovereignty to bow,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From East to West extended once her sway!</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Tears now profuse to shed, unhappy one,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Queen of the world! ’tis thine; and from thy face,</div> -<div class="verse">Enchanting yet in sorrow, there is none</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Its overwhelming traces to erase.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">How fatally o’er thee has death pour’d forth</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Darkness and mourning, horrible and great!</div> -<div class="verse">And the stern despot in his madden’d wrath</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Exulted wildly o’er thy low estate.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Nothing or great or beautiful he spared,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">My country! the young warrior by him fell,</div> -<div class="verse">The veteran fell, and vile his war-axe glared,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Pleased all its fury o’er thee to impel.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Ev’n the pure maiden fell beneath the rage</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of the unpitying despot, as the rose</div> -<div class="verse">Condemn’d the summer’s burning sun to engage</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her bloom and beauty withering soon must close.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Come, O! ye inhabiters of the earth,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And contemplate my misery! can there,</div> -<div class="verse">Tell me, be any found of mortal birth</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Bearing the sorrows I am doom’d to bear?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I wretched, banish’d from my native land,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Behold, far from the country I adore,</div> -<div class="verse">Her former glories lost and high command,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And only left her sufferings to deplore.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Her children have been fatally betray’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">By treacherous brethren, and a tyrant’s power;</div> -<div class="verse">And these her lovely fertile plains have made</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Fields o’er which lamentations only lower.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Her arms extended wide unhappy Spain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her sons imploring in her deep distress:</div> -<div class="verse">Her sons they were, but her command was vain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Unheard the traitor madness to repress.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Whate’er could then avail thee, tower or wall,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">My country! still amid thy woes adored?</div> -<div class="verse">Where were the heroes that could once appal</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The fiercest foe? where thy unconquer’d sword?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Alas! now on thy children’s humbled brow</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Deeply is shame engraved, and on their eyes,</div> -<div class="verse">Cast down and sorrowfully beating now,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The tears alone of grief and mourning rise.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Once was a time for Spain, when she possess’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A hundred heroes in her hour of pride;</div> -<div class="verse">And trembling nations saw her manifest</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her power and beauty, dazzling by their side.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As lofty shows itself in Lebanon</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The cedar, so her brow she raised on high;</div> -<div class="verse">And fell her voice the nations round upon,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As terrifies a girl the thunders nigh.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But as a stone now in the desert’s wild</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou liest abandon’d, and an unknown way</div> -<div class="verse">Through strangers’ lands, uncertain where, exiled</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The patriot’s doom’d unfortunate to stray.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Her ancient pomp and power are cover’d o’er</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With sand and weeds contemptuous; and the foe,</div> -<div class="verse">That trembled at her puissance before,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Now mocks exulting and enjoys her woe.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Maidens! your flowing locks dishevell’d tear,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">To give them to the wandering winds; and bring</div> -<div class="verse">Your harps in mournful company to share</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With me the sorrowful laments I sing.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thus banish’d from our homes afar away</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Still let us weep our miseries. O! Spain,</div> -<div class="verse">Who shall have power thy torments to allay?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who shall have power to dry thy tears again!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>THE CONDEMNED TO DIE.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<h5>I.</h5> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">His form upon the ground reclined,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With bitter anguish inward drawn,</div> -<div class="verse">Full of the coming day his mind,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That soon will sadly dawn,</div> -<div class="verse">The culprit waits, in silence laid,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The fatal moments hastening now,</div> -<div class="verse">In which his last sun’s light display’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Will shine upon his brow.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O’er crucifix and altar there,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The chapel cell in mourning hung,</div> -<div class="verse">From the dim candle’s yellow glare</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A funeral light is flung;</div> -<div class="verse">And by the wretched culprit’s side,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His face with hood half cover’d o’er,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span> -<div class="verse">The friar, with trembling voice to guide,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Is heard his prayers implore.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">His brow then raises he again,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And slowly lifts to heaven his eyes;</div> -<div class="verse">Perhaps a prayer for mercy fain</div> -<div class="verse indent1">May in his grief arise.</div> -<div class="verse">A tear flows: whence had that release?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Was it from bitterness or fear?</div> -<div class="verse">Perhaps his sorrows to increase</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Some thought to memory dear?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">So young! and life, that he had dream’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Was full of golden days to glide,</div> -<div class="verse">Is pass’d, when childhood’s tears it seem’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As scarcely yet were dried.</div> -<div class="verse">Then on him of his childhood burst</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The thought, and of his mother’s woe,</div> -<div class="verse">That he whom she so fondly nursed</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Was doom’d that death to know.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And while that hopelessly he sees</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His course already death arrest,</div> -<div class="verse">He feels his life’s best energies</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Beat strongly in his breast;</div> -<div class="verse">And sees that friar, who calmly now</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Is laid, with sleep no more to strive,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span> -<div class="verse">With age so feebly doom’d to bow,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Tomorrow will survive.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But hark! what noise the silence breaks</div> -<div class="verse indent1">This hour unseasonably by?</div> -<div class="verse">Some one a gay guitar awakes</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And mirthful songs reply;</div> -<div class="verse">And shouts are raised, and sounds are heard</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of bottles rattling, and perchance</div> -<div class="verse">Others, remember’d well, concurr’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of lovers in the dance.</div> -<div class="verse">And then he hears funereal roll,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Between each pause in accents high,</div> -<div class="verse">“Your alms, for prayers to rest the soul</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of him condemn’d to die.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And so combined the drunkard’s shout,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The toast, the strifes, and fancies wild</div> -<div class="verse">Of all that Bacchanalian rout,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With wanton’s songs defiled,</div> -<div class="verse">And bursts of idle laughter, reach</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Distinct into the gloomy cell,</div> -<div class="verse">And seem far off ejected each</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The very sounds of hell.</div> -<div class="verse">And then he hears, funereal roll</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Between each pause, those accents high,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span> -<div class="verse">“Your alms, for prayers to rest the soul</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of him condemn’d to die.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He cursed them all, as one by one</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The impious echos each express’d;</div> -<div class="verse">He cursed the mother as a son</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who nursed him at her breast:</div> -<div class="verse">The whole world round alike he cursed,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His evil destiny forlorn,</div> -<div class="verse">And the dark day and hour when first</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That wretched he was born.</div> -</div> -<h5>II.</h5> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The moon serene illumes the skies,</div> -<div class="verse">And earth in deepest stillness lies;</div> -<div class="verse">No sound is heard, the watchdog’s mute,</div> -<div class="verse">And ev’n the lover’s plaintive lute.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Madrid enveloped lies in sleep;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Repose o’er all its shade has cast,</div> -<div class="verse">And men of him no memory keep</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who soon will breathe his last.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Or if perchance one thinks to wake</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">At early dawn, no thoughts whate’er</div> -<div class="verse">Rise for the wretched being’s sake,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Who death is waiting there.</div> -<div class="verse">Unmoved by pity’s kind control,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Men hear around the funeral cry,</div> -<div class="verse">“Your alms, for prayers to rest the soul</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of him condemn’d to die.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sleeps in his bed the judge in peace;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And sleeps and dreams of how his store,</div> -<div class="verse">The executioner, to increase;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And pleased he counts it o’er.</div> -<div class="verse">Only the city’s silence breaks,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And destined place of death portrays,</div> -<div class="verse">The harden’d workman who awakes</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The scaffolding to raise.</div> -</div> -<h5>III.</h5> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Confused and mad his heated mind,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With raving feverish dreams combined,</div> -<div class="verse">The culprit’s soul exhaustion press’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His head sunk heavy on his breast.</div> -<div class="verse">And in his dreams he life and death</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Confounds, remembers, and forgets;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And fearful struggling every breath,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And sigh he gives besets.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And in a world of darkness seems</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As now to stray; feels fear and cold,</div> -<div class="verse">And in his horrid madness deems</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The cord his neck infold:</div> -<div class="verse">And so much more, in desperate fight,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In anguish to escape his lot,</div> -<div class="verse">He strives, with so much more the might</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He binds the fatal knot:</div> -<div class="verse">And voices hears, confused the whole,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of people round, and then that cry,</div> -<div class="verse">“Your alms, for prayers to rest the soul</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of him condemn’d to die!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Or fancies now that he is free;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And breathes the fresh pure air, and hears</div> -<div class="verse">Her sigh of love, the maid whom he</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Had loved in happier years:</div> -<div class="verse">Beauteous and kind as e’er of old,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Sweet flower of spring-time’s gay resort,</div> -<div class="verse">As could for love the meads behold,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or gallant April court.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">And joyful he to see her flies,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">And seeks to reach her, but in vain;</div> -<div class="verse">For as with anxious hands he tries</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His hoped-for bliss to gain,</div> -<div class="verse">The illusion suddenly to break,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">He finds the dream deceitful fled!</div> -<div class="verse">A cold stiff corpse the shape to take,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And scaffold in its stead.</div> -<div class="verse">And hears the mournful funeral knoll,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And hollow voice resounding nigh,</div> -<div class="verse">“Your alms, for prayers to rest the soul</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of him condemn’d to die!”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>THE SONG OF THE PIRATE.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The breeze fair aft, all sails on high,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ten guns on each side mounted seen,</div> -<div class="verse">She does not cut the sea, but fly,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A swiftly sailing brigantine;</div> -<div class="verse">A pirate bark, the ‘Dreaded’ named,</div> -<div class="verse">For her surpassing boldness famed,</div> -<div class="verse">On every sea well known and shore,</div> -<div class="verse">From side to side their boundaries o’er.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The moon in streaks the waves illumes;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Hoarse groans the wind the rigging through;</div> -<div class="verse">In gentle motion raised assumes</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The sea a silvery shade with blue;</div> -<div class="verse">While singing gaily on the poop,</div> -<div class="verse">The pirate Captain, in a group,</div> -<div class="verse">Sees Europe here, there Asia lies,</div> -<div class="verse">And Stamboul in the front arise.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sail on, my swift one! nothing fear;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor calm, nor storm, nor foeman’s force</div> -<div class="verse">Shall make thee yield in thy career,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or turn thee from thy course.</div> -<div class="verse">Despite the English cruisers fleet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">We have full twenty prizes made;</div> -<div class="verse">And see their flags beneath my feet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A hundred nations laid.</div> -<div class="verse">My treasure is my gallant bark,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My only god is liberty;</div> -<div class="verse">My law is might, the wind my mark,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My country is the sea.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There blindly kings fierce wars maintain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For palms of land, when here I hold</div> -<div class="verse">As mine, whose power no laws restrain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Whate’er the seas infold.</div> -<div class="verse">Nor is there shore around whate’er,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or banner proud, but of my might</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Is taught the valorous proofs to bear,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And made to feel my right.</div> -<div class="verse">My treasure is my gallant bark,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My only god is liberty;</div> -<div class="verse">My law is might, the wind my mark,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My country is the sea.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Look when a ship our signals ring,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Full sail to fly how quick she’s veer’d!</div> -<div class="verse">For of the sea I am the king,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My fury’s to be fear’d;</div> -<div class="verse">But equally with all I share</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Whate’er the wealth we take supplies;</div> -<div class="verse">I only seek the matchless fair</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My portion of the prize.</div> -<div class="verse">My treasure is my gallant bark,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My only god is liberty;</div> -<div class="verse">My law is might, the wind my mark,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My country is the sea.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I am condemn’d to die! I laugh;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For, if my fates are kindly sped,</div> -<div class="verse">My doomer from his own ship’s staff</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Perhaps I’ll hang instead.</div> -<div class="verse">And if I fall, why what is life?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For lost I gave it then as due,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> -<div class="verse">When from slavery’s yoke in strife</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A rover I withdrew.</div> -<div class="verse">My treasure is my gallant bark,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My only god is liberty;</div> -<div class="verse">My law is might, the wind my mark,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My country is the sea.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">My music is the north wind’s roar,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The noise when round the cable runs,</div> -<div class="verse">The bellowings of the Black Sea’s shore,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And rolling of my guns.</div> -<div class="verse">And as the thunders loudly sound,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And furious as the tempests rave,</div> -<div class="verse">I calmly rest in sleep profound,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">So rock’d upon the wave.</div> -<div class="verse">My treasure is my gallant bark,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My only god is liberty;</div> -<div class="verse">My law is might, the wind my mark,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My country is the sea.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span></p> - -<h4>TO HARIFA, IN AN ORGY.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Thy hand, Harifa! bring it me;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Come near, and place it on my brow;</div> -<div class="verse">As on some lava’s boiling sea</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I feel my head is burning now.</div> -<div class="verse">Come, bring with mine thy lips to meet,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Though they but madden me astray,</div> -<div class="verse">Where yet I find the kisses beat,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">There left thy loves of yesterday.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">What is virtue, what is joy,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or love, or purity, or truth?</div> -<div class="verse">The false illusions of a boy,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The cherish’d flatteries of my youth.</div> -<div class="verse">Then bring me wine; there let me try</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Remembrance drown’d to hold repress’d,</div> -<div class="verse">Without a pang from life to fly;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In frenzy death may give me rest.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O’erspreads my face a burning flood,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And red and glaring wildly start</div> -<div class="verse">My eyes forth out in heated blood,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And forth leaps restlessly my heart.</div> -<div class="verse">Woman! I hate thee; fly thee—go:</div> -<div class="verse indent1">I feel thy hands my hands infold,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> -<div class="verse">And feel them freezing, cold as snow,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">As snow thy kisses are as cold.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Ever the same, try, tempters weak!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Other endearments to enthral;</div> -<div class="verse">Another world, new pleasures seek,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For such your joys I curse them all.</div> -<div class="verse">Your kisses are a lie; a cheat</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Is all the tenderness you feign;</div> -<div class="verse">Your beauty ugly in deceit,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The enjoyment suffering and pain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I wish for love, ethereal, high,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For some diviner joy my lot;</div> -<div class="verse">For such my heart will imaged sigh,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For such as in the world is not.</div> -<div class="verse">And ’tis that meteor light afar,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The phantom that deceived my mind,</div> -<div class="verse">The treacherous guide, the vapour star,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That leads me wandering and blind.</div> -</div> -<div class="hr"></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Why is my soul for pleasure dead,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And yet alive to grief and care?</div> -<div class="verse">Why doom’d in listless stupor laid</div> -<div class="verse indent1">This arid loathing still to bear?</div> -<div class="verse">Why this consuming wild desire,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">This restless passion vague and strange?</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span> -<div class="verse">That well I know I rave, ’tis fire,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Yet plunge in its deceitful range.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Why do I dream of love and joy,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That I am sure a lie will prove?</div> -<div class="verse">Why where fantastic charms decoy,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Will thus my heart delirious move,</div> -<div class="verse">If soon it finds for meads and flowers,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But arid wastes and tangled thorns,</div> -<div class="verse">And soon a loathing rage o’erpowers</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The mad or mournful love it scorns?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Flung as a rapid comet wide,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On ardent fancy’s wings I flew,</div> -<div class="verse">Where’er my wayward mind espied</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or joys or triumphs to pursue.</div> -<div class="verse">I launch’d myself, in daring flight,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Beyond the world through heavenward space,</div> -<div class="verse">And found but doubt, and all so bright</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That seem’d, illusive proved the chase.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then on the earth I anxious sought</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For virtue, glory, love sublime;</div> -<div class="verse">And my worn spirit found there nought</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But fetid dust and loathsome slime.</div> -<div class="verse">Mid clouds with heavenly hues o’ercast</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Women of virgin lustre shone;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span> -<div class="verse">I saw, I touched them, and they pass’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And smoke and ashes left alone.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I found the illusion fled; but rife,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Unquench’d desires their longings crave;</div> -<div class="verse">I felt the real, I hated life,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And peace believed but in the grave.</div> -<div class="verse">And yet I seek, and anxious seek,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">For pleasures still I ask and sigh,</div> -<div class="verse">And hear dread accents answering speak,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">“Unhappy one! despair, and die.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Die: Life is torment, joy a cheat,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Hope not for good on earth for thee,</div> -<div class="verse">But fruitless struggles look to meet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In thy vain longings endlessly!</div> -<div class="verse">For so God punishes the soul</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That in its madness dares espy</div> -<div class="verse">The unfathom’d secrets of the scroll</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of truth, denied to mortal eye!”</div> -</div> -<div class="hr"></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O! cease: no more I ask to know,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No more to see: my soul oppress’d</div> -<div class="verse">Is humbly bow’d, and prostrate low,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Now only asks, and longs for rest.</div> -<div class="verse">In me let feeling then lie dead,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Since died my hopes of happiness,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Nor joys nor griefs be o’er me spread</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My soul returning to depress.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Pass, as in magic optic glass,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And other youthful hearts deceive,</div> -<div class="verse">Bright images of glory! pass,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That crowns of gold and laurel weave.</div> -<div class="verse">Pass, ye voluptuous fair ones, on!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With dance and mirthful songs attuned,</div> -<div class="verse">Like vaporous visions, pass, begone!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No more my heart to move or wound.</div> -<div class="verse">And let the dance, and festal din,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O’er my revolted fancy reign,</div> -<div class="verse">And fled the night, see morn begin,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Surprised in senseless stupor’s chain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Harifa, come! Like me this woe</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou too hast borne! Thou ne’er dost weep!</div> -<div class="verse">But, ah! how wretched ’tis to know</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Feelings so bitter and so deep!</div> -<div class="verse">The same our sufferings and care;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In vain thou hold’st thy tears apart;</div> -<div class="verse">Like me thou also hast to bear</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A wounded and an aching heart!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="XII">XII.<br /> -<span class="smaller">JOSÈ ZORRILLA.</span></h3> - -<p>It has been said that “the life of a poet is ever a romance.” -Perhaps this observation may apply equally well to the history -of every man of ardent genius who enters with characteristic -enthusiasm into the affairs of life, so as to invest even ordinary -circumstances with the glow and hue of his own excited imagination. -But this is more especially the case with poets who -make us participate in their feelings, their joys or their sorrows, -so as to give a character of romance to incidents that -with other persons would have passed away as unnoticed. -In the course of the preceding narratives, no doubt, many instances -may be remembered to verify this remark, and the -life of the eminent and deservedly popular poet with which -we have to close the series, even in his yet youthful career, -may be found to afford a further exemplification of it.</p> - -<p>On the 14th February, 1837, a funeral car, over which -was placed a crown of laurel, had to traverse the streets of -Madrid, bearing to their resting-place in the cemetery, the -remains of the talented but wrong-minded Larra. The car -was followed by an immense concourse of mourners, principally -young men of the first classes of Madrid, who were so -testifying their regret for the loss they had sustained. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span> -whole scene presented a spectacle of homage paid to genius, -such as had seldom been witnessed. It was such as power -might have envied, and as worth scarcely ever attained. Melancholy -as had been the end of the unhappy being they -mourned, envy and hatred had become silenced, morality and -charity joined in regret, and no one disputed the propriety of -the funeral honours paid to the dead.</p> - -<p>It was already late when the ceremonies were concluded, -and the darkening shadows of the night, in such a place and -on such an occasion, gave the countenances of all assembled -an extraordinary character. The shock they had felt, to lose -so suddenly from among them one so well-known to them -all, in the fulness of youth and intellect, in the height of -fame and popularity, without any apparent motive and enveloped -in mystery, was of itself sufficient to penetrate their -minds with sorrow. They felt that a bright light had been -extinguished, and they feared there was no hope of another -arising to shine in its place. A strange spell seemed to -have come over the bystanders, and they lingered round the -vault with an unaccountable disinclination to separate.</p> - -<p>The eloquent Señor Roca de Togares, distinguished both -as an orator and a poet, pronounced a discourse he had -hastily prepared, in which he portrayed the general sensation -of sorrow, as he eulogized the talents and the principal -literary successes of the deceased. But his eloquence had -only the effect of exciting still further the prevalent feeling, -which was that of something still more appropriate being required -to give expression to their grief, and they instinctively -looked round for some one to give utterance to it in the language -of mournful inspiration with which to take their final -farewell.</p> - -<p>At that m<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span>oment, in the midst of, it may be supposed, -almost painful silence, a young man, unknown to them, of a -slight figure and boyish appearance, stood forward, and with -a tremulous voice began reading some verses in unison with -their feelings, which at the first accents seemed to seize irresistibly -on the minds of the listeners. He was himself so -much affected by the scene, and perhaps under the sense of -his own temerity, that he could not finish his task, and Roca -de Togares took the paper out of his hands and read the -verses again audibly. Had they been possessed of only ordinary -merit, they would no doubt, on such an occasion, have -been favourably received; but expressed as they were in -highly poetical language, with appropriate sentiments, the -effect was to excite the utmost astonishment and admiration. -The author’s name, Josè Zorrilla, was eagerly called for and -repeated on all sides with loud applauses, and they who had -followed sorrowfully shortly before the remains of the man of -genius they had lost, now returned to the city attending in -triumph another poet they had found, with all the tokens of -enthusiastic rejoicing. The young poet, on his part, had -found an audience ready to welcome him, and he was at once -launched forth into that “tide in the affairs of men which -taken at the flood leads on to fortune.”</p> - -<p>The history of the new aspirant for fame was now an object -of interest, and the public learned that he was the son of -Don Josè Zorrilla, a person well known as an eminent lawyer -who had held several judicial offices with credit in Spain. It -was while holding one of those offices, in Valladolid, that his -son, the subject of this narrative, was born there, the 21st of -February, 1817. From Valladolid, the father having been -promoted to other duties in Burgos, Seville, and finally at -Madrid, the son followed him, and received his primary education -in the various cities they inhabited, under circumstances -which must have operated powerfully on his mind. -On arriving at Madrid he was placed at the Seminary of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span> -Nobles, where he remained six years, thus giving that celebrated -institution the just merit of claiming him, as well as -so many others of the ablest writers and public men of Spain, -among those they had educated. There he seems to have -gone through his course of studies without apparently other -distinction than an early inclination to write verses and attend -the theatres, which predilection his tutors disapproved, -but in consideration of his father’s position passed over more -leniently than they otherwise would have done. This indulgence, -however, there is no doubt gave that decided turn to -his mind which led to his subsequent career.</p> - -<p>On leaving the Seminary, Zorrilla had to go to his father -at his estate in the province of Castille, where he now lived -in retirement, having lost the favour of the government. -There soon a discordance rose between them as to his future -course in life. The father wished him to graduate in the -profession of the law, in which he had acquired wealth and -fame, and sent him, notwithstanding his repugnance, to Toledo, -to study in the university of that city. He passed accordingly -a year there, but with only sufficient application to -go through the ordinary routine respectably. Other studies, -more congenial to his taste, engaged all his thoughts. Toledo -is a city rich in historical and poetical remembrances -and legends. Its monuments and ruins are among the most -interesting that exist in Spain, and in the contemplation of -these Zorrilla was constantly absorbed. To Toledo he owed -his poetical education, as to it he has dedicated some of his -sweetest poetry. He shunned the society of his fellow-students, -and seemed to pass an eccentric and even mysterious -life. Out no one knew where, at strange hours, disregarding -the university rules and dress and etiquette, allowing his -hair to grow long over his shoulders, and composing songs, not -to the taste of his tutors, he was considered half-mad, an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>d his -father was informed of his strange conduct as not amenable -to study and discipline. On going home for the vacation, -his father therefore received him with coldness and displeasure, -and made him read law with him, notwithstanding his -continued disinclination to it, though in secret he made -amends for the restraint by indulging in reading more agreeable -to himself. It is recorded more especially that he then -studied the Sacred Scriptures, in whose pages he found the -truest inspiration of poetry, as he certainly seems in his -writings generally to have imbibed the purest principles of -morality and religion.</p> - -<p>In the hope of his entering on a more diligent course of -study at another place than Toledo, Zorrilla was then sent to -Valladolid, as if by changing universities he could be expected -to change the tendency of mind which urged him to his -destiny. There he was watched on all sides by his father’s -directions, and it was reported to him that his son still continued -his former course of conduct; that instead of passing -his hours in study, he was ever out on lonely walks, lying -under the shade of trees by the side of the river or the broken -rock, absorbed in his own meditations. There is a hint also -given, of even the discovery that he had found some dream -of youthful love to indulge in, as if it were something extraordinary -for one of his age and enthusiastic character. The -father must have been one of the class that Chateaubriand -suffered under, or Mirabeau; and happy it was for Zorrilla -that he did not sink into the recklessness of the one or the -inanities of the other, while he had also to submit to similar -discouragements. As it was, the father came to the conclusion -that no hope was to be entertained of his son’s application -to study, to take that position in the world which he had -planned out for him, and in which were centred all his own -ideas of honourable activity. He therefore resolved to ta<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>ke -him from Valladolid, and sent a trusty messenger to bring -him home.</p> - -<p>On the way the messenger gave Zorrilla to understand -that his father had resolved to employ him on his estate, to -dress the vines and perform other labours of country occupation. -It seems the father had even talked about fitting him -out in a labourer’s working garb, as not being calculated for -nobler employment, while he himself was unconscious or careless -of the wonderful power of mind which lay hid from his -observation in the son’s apparent inability to fulfil his expectations. -On this intimation, however, Zorrilla at once formed -his determination. Shortly before reaching home, he stayed -at the house of a relative, where he collected together the few -valuable things he could carry away, and appropriating to his -necessity a horse belonging to his cousin, he hastened back -to Valladolid. There he was fortunate enough to arrive and -sell the horse before the messenger sent after him again -could arrest him on his flight. He then transferred himself -without loss of time to Madrid, where for a length of time -he succeeded in escaping the vigilant search made for him -by his friends, who not having seen him since he was a boy, -were not able now to penetrate his disguise.</p> - -<p>At Madrid under these circumstances, a fugitive from his -father’s house, he had now passed almost a year, when he -came forth before the public, as we have narrated, on the -occasion of Larra’s funeral. How he had passed those months -we are not informed further, than that he had to submit to -every kind of annoyances and privations, which he surmounted -by the firmness of his determination and the elevated character -of his hopes. He had in the interval sent several -pieces of poetry to the different periodicals, by which his -name had already become sufficiently known to a number of -those who hailed him on the 14th February as supplying the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span> -place of the popular writer they had lost.</p> - -<p>On the following day, Zorrilla could say, like Lord Byron, -that he awoke and found himself famous. The verses on -Larra were in every one’s mouth, and all others that could be -obtained of his writing were eagerly collected. Editors and -proprietors of periodicals were anxious to obtain his cooperation -for their works, and his period of difficulties had passed -away. Before the year closed, the first volume of his poems -appeared with an introduction by Pastor Diaz, and that was -so eagerly bought that he was induced to bring out others in -succession, with a prolificness unknown almost even in Spain. -Seven other closely printed volumes of his poems were published, -including several plays, within about three years afterwards, -and eight or nine other volumes have appeared since. -His works have been reprinted in Paris and in various parts -of Spanish America, and received everywhere with unbounded -admiration, so as at once to prove him one of the most -favourite poets that Spain has produced.</p> - -<p>While he was thus rising to fame and competence, his -father, on the other hand, had fallen into misfortune. A high -prerogative lawyer, he had maintained the doctrines of absolutism, -and at length openly espoused the cause of Don -Carlos. On the failure of this prince’s attempts to gain the -throne, the elder Zorrilla, with other adherents, was proscribed -and had his property confiscated. His son had not -heard from him after this event for some years, when he received -a letter from his father from Bayonne, stating that he -was in difficulties, and requesting him to apply to a former -friend, whom he named, for a loan for his assistance. Zorrilla -wrote back to say that there was no occasion to incur an -obligation from one not related to him, and that he himself -was happy to have it in his power to send him the sum required, -which he would repeat at stated intervals. This he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span> -accordingly did, until he received his father’s directions to -discontinue it, as not requiring it any more.</p> - -<p>Another instance of Zorrilla’s high-mindedness and true -Castilian pride has been recorded. On his father’s property -having been sequestrated by the government, it was intimated -to him that if he applied he might have the administration -of it, which was tantamount to giving him possession of it. -But he replied that he would neither apply for it nor accept -it, for while his father lived, he could acknowledge -no one else as entitled to it. His father having since died, -Zorrilla has come by law into possession of his estates, and -has thus had the rare fortune, for a poet, to be possessed of -considerable wealth. He has had several offers of appointments -from the government, but he has declined them, contented -to live according to his own fancies and occupied with -his own peculiar pursuits. His extraordinary facility for -composing verses is such as scarcely to allow his compositions -to be termed studies; but with them and his attendances at -the theatre, and other recreations, or at literary reunions, -he is said to pass away his hours in ease and contentment. -The first volume of his poems, it has been already intimated, -was published before he was twenty-one years of age. Within -three years afterwards seven others were published; and in -the eighth, to the poem of ‘The Duke and the Sculptor,’ was -appended the following note to his wife:—“Dedicated to the -Señora Matilda O’Reilly de Zorrilla. I began the publication -of my poems with our acquaintance, and I conclude them -with thy name. Madrid, 10 October, 1840.”</p> - -<p>What were the circumstances attending this acquaintance -or union, we are not informed; but it is fortunate for the -world that the intimation it might convey of its being the -conclusion of his literary works has not been fulfilled. Since -then he has published ‘Songs of the Troubadour,’ in three<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span> -volumes, and other minor poems and plays separately. A -larger work he meditated on the conquest of Granada, to be -entitled ‘The Cross and the Crescent,’ has not been completed; -and another he projected with the title ‘Maria,’ intending -to celebrate the different characters under which the -Holy Virgin is venerated in Roman Catholic countries, he has -published, with the greater part supplied by a friend, all very -inferior to what might have been expected from him.</p> - -<p>It is much to be regretted that Zorrilla has in all his works -allowed carelessnesses to prevail, which too often mar the -effect of his verses, and still more that he has often inserted -some that were of very inferior merit compared with the rest. -It is not to be supposed that an author can be equally sustained -in all his productions, but it is somewhat extraordinary -in his volumes to find some poems of such transcendent merit, -and others so inferior. These, however, are very few, and -probably were hastily composed and hastily published, to -supply the demand arising for the day. He is probably the -only author in Spain who has profited by the sale of his -writings to any extent, and to do this he must have been -often under the necessity of tasking his mind severely, without -regard to its spontaneous suggestions. Thus then, when -he found his inspiration failing, he has often had recourse to -memory, and repeated from himself, and even from others, -verses previously published. It is to be hoped that he may -be induced soon to give the world a revised edition of his -works, in which the oversights may be corrected, and the -poems unworthy of his fame may be omitted.</p> - -<p>On reading over dispassionately the ‘Lines to Larra,’ by -which he was first brought so prominently into notice, it -may occasion some surprise to learn they had produced so -remarkable an effect. If they had previously been read over -alone to any one of the auditors, he probably might not <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span>have -considered them so ideal, so beautiful, or so original as they -seemed at the public recital. Some phrase might have appeared -incomprehensible, some sentiment exaggerated or not -true; some expression or line, hard or weak or forced. He -might have observed a want of order or connection in the -ideas, or the whole to be vague and leaving no fixed thought -in the mind; or he might have pronounced them, as they -have been since pronounced, an imitation of Victor Hugo or -Lamartine. But to the auditors assembled, in the excited -state of their feelings, there was no time for reflection or criticism. -It was a composition of the hour for that particular -scene,—for themselves, in language and feelings with which -they could sympathize. Thus the verses seized on their -minds and electrified them, so that they had no time to -dwell on any discussion or dispute of their merits, but yielded -at once to the fascination of the melodious verse they heard, -and the appropriate application of the homage they testified.</p> - -<p>In the first volume of poems that Zorrilla published, containing -his earliest productions, are to be found all the selections -made for translation in this work. They may not be -so highly finished as some afterwards published, nor so -marked by that distinctive character he has made his own; -but they show the first promises of the fruit that was in -store, to be afterwards brought to such maturity. As he had -scarcely emerged from boyhood when he began to tread the -path to fame, his first steps could scarcely fail to betray that -sort of uncertainty which attends on all who are going on an -unknown road. Thus then through the volume he appears -to be seeking a ground whereon to fix his energies and build -the temple for his future fame, without being able confidently -to fix on any place in preference. His poetry from the first, -always sonorous and easy, often evidently spontaneous and -true to nature, at times is weak and deficient in the depth o<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span>f -thought that at other times distinguishes it, especially in the -compositions of a philosophic cast, which require fuller age -and reflection to give them with perfectness. Subject to these -remarks, independently of the poems hereafter given in the -translations, there are others, ‘To Toledo,’ ‘The Statue of -Cervantes,’ ‘The Winter Night,’ more clearly portraying the -peculiar character of his poetry as afterwards developed.</p> - -<p>In the second volume published about six months afterwards, -he seems already to have taken his ground and to proceed -with a more decided step. The poem, ‘The Day without -Sun,’ is full of poetic vigour and richness of description, -and several tales of greater length and legendary character -show the bent of his mind and the direction it was in future -to take. In the third volume it was reserved for his genius -to be fully developed. It opens with a magnificent composition, -‘To Rome,’ in which deep philosophy and reflection are -combined with exquisite description, all so clear and distinct -as fully to captivate the mind and leave an impression of -complete satisfaction. But beyond this it contains the poem -‘To the last Moorish King of Granada, Boabdil the Little,’ -which is generally considered his best. He was already recognized -as an admirable descriptive poet, but he now proved -his power of moving the inmost feelings to be as great as his -power of imagination. It is undoubtedly a splendid composition -and highly finished, so as to be well worthy of study -for the Spanish reader, though too long for translation for -this work. The same volume contains another poem, also -worthy of mention, ‘To a Skull,’ as written with much force -and effect, but in the style of the French imitators of Byron, -whom Zorrilla has too much copied, though it must be stated -without their affectation and exaggerations.</p> - -<p>In the following volumes he continues the co<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span>urse now so -markedly his own as a national poet. He avowedly chooses, -as becoming him in that character, subjects taken from the -traditions and legends current in Spain, and clothing them -in glowing language reproduces them to his delighted readers -as the dreams and remembrances of their youth. He is -especially partial to the tales connected with the Moorish -wars, and in so doing, with great poetic effect, always represents -the Moors in the most favourable light. Thus he -throughout makes them worthy rivals of the Christians, and -thereby renders greater the merit of the conquerors. The -richness of his diction is truly extraordinary, often so as to -make us lose sight of the paucity of ideas contained in his -poems, and that those again are too much the same repeated -constantly over.</p> - -<p>If it was a wonderful and admirable triumph for one so -young to achieve by one bound the unqualified commendations -of his countrymen, and to sustain the success then acquired -by subsequent efforts, we have still to regret that -there were evils attending that precocity to prevent his attaining -apparently the highest excellence. Perhaps there is -no one we can point out as so truly exemplifying the maxim -“poeta nascitur.” He was truly born a poet; and though -he often writes showing that he had been reading Calderon or -some other of the elder writers of Spain, or even some of the -French poets, yet he always gives the colouring of his own -mind to those imitations so as to make them his own. This -often again leads him to a mannerism and repetition of himself; -but notwithstanding these faults or occasional errors of -carelessness, his compositions always remain uniformly and -irresistibly captivating.</p> - -<p>Besides his poems, Zorrilla has published upwards of twenty -dramatic pieces, some of which have been repeatedly produced -on the stage with the fullest success. They are all remarkable -for the richness of versification and high tone of poetry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> -which distinguish his lyrical compositions, and, like them, all -tend to honour and promote the chivalrous spirit for which -the Spanish nation has ever been renowned.</p> - -<p>The modern poetry of Spain shows that her nationality is -still as distinct, her genius as elevated, and her sense of -honour as pure, as in any former period of her history. It -shows itself in unison with the spirit that has always animated -the people in their public conduct, in their loyalty and -devotion, the same now as a thousand years since, making -every hill a fortress and every plain a battle-field, to dispute -the ground at every foot with the enemy till they were -driven from their soil. The poets of Spain have still, as ever, -the most stirring tasks before them, to commemorate the -glories of their romantic country, and they are worthy of -their task.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span></p> - -<h3>JOSÈ ZORRILLA.</h3> - -<h4>THE CHRISTIAN LADY AND THE MOOR.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Hastening to Granada’s gates,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Came o’er the Vega’s land,</div> -<div class="verse">Some forty Gomel horsemen,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And the Captain of the band.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He, entering in the city,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Check’d his white steed’s career;</div> -<div class="verse">And to a lady on his arm,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Borne weeping many a tear,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Said, “Cease your tears, fair Christian,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That grief afflicting me,</div> -<div class="verse">I have a second Eden,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Sultana, here for thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“A palace in Granada,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With gardens and with flowers,</div> -<div class="verse">And a gilded fountain playing</div> -<div class="verse indent1">More than a hundred showers.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And in the Henil’s valley</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">I have a fortress gray,</div> -<div class="verse">To be among a thousand queen</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Beneath thy beauty’s sway.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“For over all yon winding shore</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Extends my wide domain,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor Cordova’s, nor Seville’s lands,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A park like mine contain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“There towers the lofty palm-tree,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The pomegranate’s glowing there,</div> -<div class="verse">And the leafy fig-tree, spreading</div> -<div class="verse indent1">O’er hill and valley fair.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“There grows the hardy walnut,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The yellow nopal tall,</div> -<div class="verse">And mulberry darkly shading</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Beneath the castle wall;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And elms I have in my arcades</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That to the skies aspire,</div> -<div class="verse">And singing birds in cages</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of silk, and silver wire.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And thou shalt my Sultana be,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My halls alone to cheer;</div> -<div class="verse">My harem without other fair,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Without sweet songs my ear.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And velvets I will give thee,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">And eastern rich perfumes,</div> -<div class="verse">From Greece I’ll bring thee choicest veils,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And shawls from Cashmere’s looms:</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And I will give thee feathers white,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To deck thy beauteous brow,</div> -<div class="verse">Whiter than ev’n the ocean foam</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Our eastern waters know.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And pearls to twine amid thy hair,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Cool baths when heat’s above,</div> -<div class="verse">And gold and jewels for thy neck,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And for thy lips be—love!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“O! what avail those riches all,”</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Replied the Christian fair,</div> -<div class="verse">“If from my father and my friends,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My ladies, me you tear?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Restore me, O! restore me, Moor,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To my father’s land, my own;</div> -<div class="verse">To me more dear are Leon’s towers</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Than thy Granada’s throne.”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Smoothing his beard, awhile the Moor</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In silence heard her speak;</div> -<div class="verse">Then said as one who deeply thinks,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With a tear upon his cheek,</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“If better seem thy castles there</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Than here our gardens shine,</div> -<div class="verse">And thy flowers are more beautiful,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Because in Leon thine;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“And thou hast given thy youthful love</div> -<div class="verse indent1">One of thy warriors there,</div> -<div class="verse">Houri of Eden! weep no more,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">But to thy knights repair!”</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Then giving her his chosen steed,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And half his lordly train,</div> -<div class="verse">The Moorish chieftain turn’d him back</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In silence home again.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>ROMANCE. THE WAKING.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">No sound is in the midnight air,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No colour in its shade,</div> -<div class="verse">The old are resting free from care,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Duenna’s voice is stay’d;</div> -<div class="verse">But when all else in slumber meet,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">We two are waking nigh,</div> -<div class="verse">She on the grated window’s seat,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And at its foot am I.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I cannot see her beaming eyes,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor her clear brow above,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor her face with its rosy dyes,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor yet her smile of love:</div> -<div class="verse">I cannot see the virgin flush</div> -<div class="verse indent1">That heightens her cheek’s glow,</div> -<div class="verse">The enchantments of that maiden blush,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">She is but fifteen now.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Nor can my searching eyes behold</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her form scarce wrapp’d about;</div> -<div class="verse">Nor from the flowing garment’s fold</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her white foot peeping out;</div> -<div class="verse">As on some gentle river’s spring,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To glide the foam between,</div> -<div class="verse">Spread forth her snowy floatsome wing,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The stately swan is seen.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Nor can I see her white neck shine,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Or shoulders as they part;</div> -<div class="verse">Nor from her face can I divine</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Her restlessness of heart;</div> -<div class="verse">While like a guard, too watchful o’er,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The grated bars I find;</div> -<div class="verse">Audacious love is there before,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Poor virtue is behind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But in despite of that thick grate,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">And shades that round us twine,</div> -<div class="verse">I have, my dove, to compensate,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My soul embathed in thine:</div> -<div class="verse">My lips of fire I hold impress’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On thine of roses free;</div> -<div class="verse">And well I feel there’s in that breast</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A heart that beats for me.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But see along the East arise</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The unwelcome god of day,</div> -<div class="verse">Enveloped in the humid skies,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The darkness drive away.</div> -<div class="verse">And when a maid has watch’d the night,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With gallant by her side,</div> -<div class="verse">The bright red dawn has too much light</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Its coming to abide!</div> -</div> -<div class="hr"></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The smiling morn is shedding round</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Its harmony and hues,</div> -<div class="verse">And fragrant odours o’er the ground</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The breezes soft diffuse:</div> -<div class="verse">Robbing the rose, the lily fair,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And cherish’d pinks they fly,</div> -<div class="verse">And leave upon the laurels there</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A murmur moaning by.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Murmurs the fountain’s freshening spring,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Beneath its crystal veil,</div> -<div class="verse">And the angelic turtles sing</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Their tender mournful tale;</div> -<div class="verse">The love-sick dove the morning light</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Drinks with enraptured throat,</div> -<div class="verse">Mixing the balmy air so bright</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With her unequal note.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Paces the while the noble youth</div> -<div class="verse indent1">The garden’s paths along,</div> -<div class="verse">And lowly sings, his soul to soothe,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">His love-inspiring song;</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“O! soundless midnight hour, again</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Come with thy kindly shade,</div> -<div class="verse">When rest thy old from cares, and when</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Duenna’s voice is stay’d;</div> -<div class="verse">For then, while they in slumber meet,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">We two are waking nigh,</div> -<div class="verse">She on the grated window’s seat,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And at its foot am I.”</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span></p> - -<h4>ORIENTAL ROMANCE,—BOABDIL.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Lady of the dark head-dress,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And monkish vest of purple hue,</div> -<div class="verse">Gladly would Boabdil give</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Granada for a kiss of you.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He would give the best adventure</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of the bravest horseman tried,</div> -<div class="verse">And with all its verdant freshness</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A whole bank of Darro’s tide.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">He would give rich carpets, perfumes,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Armours of rare price and force,</div> -<div class="verse">And so much he values you,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A troop, ay, of his favourite horse.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Because thine eyes are beautiful,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Because the morning’s blushing light</div> -<div class="verse">From them arises to the East,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And gilds the whole world bright.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“From thy lips smiles are flowing,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">From thy tongue gentle peace,</div> -<div class="verse">Light and aërial as the course</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of the purple morning’s breeze.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“O! lovely Nazarene, how choice!</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">For an Eastern harem’s pride,</div> -<div class="verse">Those dark locks waving freely</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy crystal neck beside.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Upon a couch of velvet,</div> -<div class="verse">I n a cloud of perfumed air,</div> -<div class="verse">Wrapp’d in the white and flowing veil</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of Mahomet’s daughters fair.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“O, Lady! come to Cordova,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">There Sultana thou shalt be,</div> -<div class="verse">And the Sultan there, Sultana,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Shall be but a slave for thee.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">“Such riches he will give thee,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And such robes of Tunisine,</div> -<div class="verse">That thou wilt judge thy beauty,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">To repay him for them, mean.”</div> -</div> -<div class="hr"></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O! Lady of the dark head-dress!</div> -<div class="verse">That him a kiss of thee might bless,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Resign a realm Boabdil would!</div> -<div class="verse">But I for that, fair Christian, fain</div> -<div class="verse">Would give of heavens, and think it gain,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A thousand if I only could.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span></p> - -<h4>THE CAPTIVE.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">I go, fair Nazarene, tomorrow</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To queenly Cordova again;</div> -<div class="verse">Then thou, my song of love and sorrow</div> -<div class="verse indent2">To hear, no longer mayst complain,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Sung to the compass of my chain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">When home the Christians shall return,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In triumph o’er the Moorish foe,</div> -<div class="verse">My cruel destiny wouldst thou learn?</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The history of my loves to know,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The blood upon their hands shall show.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Better it were at once to close,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">In this dark tower a captive here,</div> -<div class="verse">The life I suffer now of woes,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Than that today thou sett’st me clear;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Alas! thou sell’st it very dear.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Adieu! tomorrow o’er, thy slave</div> -<div class="verse indent2">May never vex thy soul again,</div> -<div class="verse">But vain is all the hope it gave:</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Still must I bear the captive’s chain,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Thine eyes my prison still remain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Fair Christian! baleful is my star;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">What values it this life to me,</div> -<div class="verse">If I must bear it from thee far?</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Nor in Granada’s bowers may be,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Nor, my fair Cordova, with thee?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Today’s bright sun to me will seem</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A lamp unseasonably by:</div> -<div class="verse">Daughter of Spain, thy beauties gleam</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Alone my sun and moon on high,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The dawn and brightness of my sky.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Since then I lose thy light today,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Without that light I cannot live!</div> -<div class="verse">To Cordova I take my way;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">But in the doom my fortunes give,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Alas! ’tis death that I receive.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A paradise and houri fair</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Has Mahomet promised we shall prove:</div> -<div class="verse">Aye, thou wilt be an angel there,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">And in that blissful realm above</div> -<div class="verse indent2">We meet again, and there to love.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span></p> - -<h4>THE TOWER OF MUNION.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Dark-shadow’d giant! shame of proud Castille,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Castle without bridge, battlements or towers,</div> -<div class="verse">In whose wide halls now loathsome reptiles steal,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Where nobles once and warriors held their bowers!</div> -<div class="verse">Tell me, where are they? where thy tapestries gay,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy hundred troubadours of lofty song?</div> -<div class="verse">Thy mouldering ruins in the vale decay,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thou humbled warrior! time has quell’d the strong:</div> -<div class="verse">Thy name and history to oblivion thrown,</div> -<div class="verse">The world forgets that there thou standst, Munion.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">To me thou art a spectre, shade of grief!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">With black remembrances my soul’s o’ercast;</div> -<div class="verse">To me thou art a palm with wither’d leaf,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Burnt by the lightning, bow’d beneath the blast.</div> -<div class="verse">I, wandering bard, proscribed perchance my doom</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In the bier’s dust nor name, nor glory know;</div> -<div class="verse">With useless toil my brow’s consumed in gloom;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Of her I loved, dark dwelling-place below,</div> -<div class="verse">Whom I was robb’d of, angel from above,</div> -<div class="verse">Cursed be thy name, thy soil, as was my love.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">There rest, aye, in thy loftiness,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">To shame the plain around,</div> -<div class="verse">Warderless castle, matron lone,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">In whom no beauty’s found.</div> -<div class="verse">At thee time laughs, thy towers o’erthrown,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Scorn’d by thy vassals, by thy Lord</div> -<div class="verse">Deserted, rest, black skeleton!</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Stain of the vale’s green sward.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Priestless hermitage of Castille,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">On thee no banners wave;</div> -<div class="verse">Unblazon’d gate, thy pointed vaults</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No more their weight can save:</div> -<div class="verse">Thou hast no soldier on thy heights,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No echo in thy halls,</div> -<div class="verse">And rank weeds festering grow uncheck’d</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Beneath thy mouldering walls.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Chieftain dead in a foreign land,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Forgotten of thy race,</div> -<div class="verse">While storm-torn fragments from thy brow</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Are scatter’d o’er thy place;</div> -<div class="verse">And men pass careless at thy feet,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Nor seek thy tale to find;</div> -<div class="verse">Because thy history is not read,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thy name’s not in their mind.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">But thou hast one, who in a luckless hour</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Inscribed another’s name on thy worn stone:</div> -<div class="verse">’Twas I, and that my deep relentless shame</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Remains with thee alone.</div> -<div class="verse">When my lips named that name, they play’d me false;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">When my hands graved it, ’twas a like deceit;</div> -<div class="verse">Now it exists not; in time’s impious course</div> -<div class="verse indent1">’Twas swept beneath his feet.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent2">And that celestial name,</div> -<div class="verse indent3">To time at length a prey,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A woman for my sin,</div> -<div class="verse indent3">For a seraph snatch’d away;</div> -<div class="verse indent2">The hurricane of life</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Has left me, loved one, worse</div> -<div class="verse indent2">For my eternal grief,</div> -<div class="verse indent3">In pledge as of a curse,</div> -<div class="verse">Thy name ne’er from my thoughts to part,</div> -<div class="verse">Nor thy love ever from my heart.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span></p> - -<h4>THE WARNING.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Yesterday the morning’s light</div> -<div class="verse">Shone on thy window crystal bright,</div> -<div class="verse">And lightsome breezes floating there</div> -<div class="verse">Gave richest perfumes to the air,</div> -<div class="verse">Which the gay flowers had lent to them,</div> -<div class="verse">All scatter’d from the unequal stem.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The nightingale had bathed his wing</div> -<div class="verse">Beneath the neighbouring murmuring spring;</div> -<div class="verse">And birds, and flowers, and streamlets gay,</div> -<div class="verse">Seem’d to salute the new-born day;</div> -<div class="verse">And in requital of the light,</div> -<div class="verse">Their grateful harmony unite.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">The sun was bright, the sky serene,</div> -<div class="verse">The garden fresh and pleasant seen;</div> -<div class="verse">Life was delight, and thou, sweet maid,</div> -<div class="verse">No blush of shame thy charms betray’d;</div> -<div class="verse">For innocence ruled o’er thy breast,</div> -<div class="verse">Alike thy waking and thy rest.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Maiden, or angel upon earth,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Thy laugh, and song of gentle mirth,</div> -<div class="verse">In heaven were surely heard; thine eyes</div> -<div class="verse">Were stars, and like sweet melodies</div> -<div class="verse">Thy wandering tones; thy breath perfume,</div> -<div class="verse">And dawn-like thy complexion’s bloom.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As phantoms then thou didst not find</div> -<div class="verse">The hours pass heavy on thy mind,</div> -<div class="verse">A poet, under Love’s decree,</div> -<div class="verse">Sang melancholy songs to thee;</div> -<div class="verse">And of his griefs the voice they lend</div> -<div class="verse">Thou didst not, maiden, comprehend.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Poor maiden, now what change has come</div> -<div class="verse">O’er that glad brow and youthful bloom?</div> -<div class="verse">Forgotten flower, thy leaves are sere,</div> -<div class="verse">Thy fruitless blossoms dried appear;</div> -<div class="verse">Thy powerless stem all broken, low,</div> -<div class="verse">May to the sun no colours show.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">O! dark-eyed maid of ill-starr’d birth,</div> -<div class="verse">Why camest thou on this evil earth?</div> -<div class="verse">Rose amid tangled briars born,</div> -<div class="verse">What waits thee from the world but scorn?</div> -<div class="verse">A blasting breath around thee, see,</div> -<div class="verse">Thy bloom is gone, who’ll ask for thee?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Return, my angel, to thy sphere,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Before the world shall see thee here:</div> -<div class="verse">The joys of earth are cursed and brief,</div> -<div class="verse">Buy them not with eternal grief!</div> -<div class="verse">Heaven is alone, my soul, secure</div> -<div class="verse">The mansion for an angel pure.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h4>MEDITATION.</h4> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Upon the obscure and lonely tomb,</div> -<div class="verse">Beneath the yellow evening’s gloom,</div> -<div class="verse">To offer up to Heaven I come,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">For her I loved, my prayer!</div> -<div class="verse">Upon the marble bow’d my head,</div> -<div class="verse">Around my knees the moist herbs spread,</div> -<div class="verse">The wild flowers bend beneath my tread,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">That deck the thicket there.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Far from the world, and pleasures vain,</div> -<div class="verse">From earth my frenzied thoughts to gain,</div> -<div class="verse">And read in characters yet plain</div> -<div class="verse indent5">Names of the long since past;</div> -<div class="verse">There by the gilded lamp alone,</div> -<div class="verse">That waves above the altar stone,</div> -<div class="verse">As by the wandering breezes moan,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">A light’s upon me cast.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Perchance some bird will pause its flight</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Upon the funeral cypress height,</div> -<div class="verse">Warbling the absence of the light,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">As sorrowing for its loss;</div> -<div class="verse">Or takes leave of the day’s bright power,</div> -<div class="verse">From the high window of the tower,</div> -<div class="verse">Or skims, where dark the cupolas lower,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">On the gigantic cross.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With eyes immersed in tears, around</div> -<div class="verse">I watch it silent from the ground,</div> -<div class="verse">Until it startled flies the sound</div> -<div class="verse indent5">The harsh bolts creaking gave;</div> -<div class="verse">A funeral smile salutes me dread,</div> -<div class="verse">The only dweller with the dead,</div> -<div class="verse">Lends me a hard and rough hand, led</div> -<div class="verse indent5">To ope another grave.</div> -</div> -<div class="hr"></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Pardon, O God! the worldly thought,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">Nor mark it midst my prayer;</div> -<div class="verse">Grant it to pass, with evil fraught,</div> -<div class="verse">As die the river’s murmurings brought</div> -<div class="verse indent5">Upon the breezy air.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Why does a worldly image rise</div> -<div class="verse indent5">As if my prayer to stain?</div> -<div class="verse">Perchance in evil shadow’s guise,</div> -<div class="verse">Which may when by the morrow flies</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent5">Sign of a curse remain.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Why has my mind been doom’d to dream</div> -<div class="verse indent5">A phantom loveliness?</div> -<div class="verse">To see those charms transparent gleam,</div> -<div class="verse">That brow in tranquil light supreme,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">And neck’s peculiar grace?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Not heighten’d its enchantments shine</div> -<div class="verse indent5">By pomp or worldly glow;</div> -<div class="verse">I only see that form recline</div> -<div class="verse">In tears, before some sacred shrine,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">Or castle walls below.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Like a forgotten offering lone,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">In ruin’d temple laid;</div> -<div class="verse">Upon the carved and time-worn stone,</div> -<div class="verse">Where fell it by the rough wind thrown,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">So bent beneath the shade.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With such a picture in my mind,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">Such name upon my ear,</div> -<div class="verse">Before my God the place to find,</div> -<div class="verse">Where the forgotten are consign’d,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">I come, and bow down here.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">With eyes all vaguely motionless,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent5">Perhaps my wanderings view</div> -<div class="verse">The dead, with horror and distress,</div> -<div class="verse">As, roused up in their resting-place,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">They look their dark walls through.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">’Twas not to muse I hither came</div> -<div class="verse indent5">Of nothingness my part;</div> -<div class="verse">Nor of my God, but of a name,</div> -<div class="verse">That deep in characters of flame</div> -<div class="verse indent5">Is written on my heart.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Pardon, O God! the worldly thought,</div> -<div class="verse indent5">Nor mark it midst my prayer;</div> -<div class="verse">Grant it to pass, with evil fraught,</div> -<div class="verse">As die the river’s murmurings brought</div> -<div class="verse indent5">Upon the breezy air.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="NOTES">NOTES.</h2> - -<h3 id="note1">1. <a href="#Page_3">Page 3.</a> “Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos.”</h3> - -<p>This name (pronounced Hovellianos) was formerly written as -two distinct names, Jove Llanos, as it is still by several members -of the family, one, an Advocate, at present at Madrid, and another -the Spanish Consul at Jamaica.</p> - -<h3 id="note2">2. <a href="#Page_3">Page 3.</a> “An able and distinguished writer,” &c.</h3> - -<p>Antonio Alcalà Galiano, author also of the able article in the -Foreign Quarterly Review on Jovellanos, afterwards mentioned. -He was born at Cadiz, in 1789, the son of a distinguished officer -in the Spanish navy, who was killed at Trafalgar. In his youth, -Alcalà Galiano studied the English language so assiduously as to -receive much benefit from his knowledge of it when he had to -take refuge in London, on the various political changes that took -place in Spain. He then wrote much for the Westminster and -Foreign Quarterly Reviews, as well as other publications, and was -subsequently named one of the Professors of Languages in the -London University. Having returned to Spain, on the death of -Ferdinand VII., he was appointed a Minister of State, with the -Señor Isturitz, and has held, at various times, several high offices -in the government. In the Cortes he was considered one of the -most able orators of his time, having been put on a rivalry with -Martinez de la Rosa and Argüelles. He has published a few -poems, and contributed several valuable papers for the different -learned societies of Madrid, besides having written much for the -periodicals, according to the continental system for public men -seeking to disseminate their opinions. His principal work as an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span> -author is a ‘History of Spain.’ Ferrer del Rio says of him, that -“he writes Spanish with an English idiom, and though he puts his -name to a history of Spain, it seems a translation from the language -of Byron.” Few foreigners have ever obtained so complete a knowledge -of the English language; in fact his writings in the several -reviews might be pointed out as compositions which would do -credit to our own best writers. As an instance of his knowledge -of the state of literature in England, we may quote a few observations -from an article bearing his name in the first number of the -Madrid Review. He says, “The Bible and the Plays of Shakespeare, -if they may be named together without profanation, are -the two works which have most influence on the thoughts of the -English;” adding, that “classical literature is there better cultivated -than in France, or at least cultivated with more profound -knowledge,” deducing the conclusion, “that the English drama -is consequently radically different from the French.”</p> - -<h3 id="note3">3. <a href="#Page_11">Page 11.</a> “Bermudez, his biographer.”</h3> - -<p>This industrious writer was born at Gijon, in 1749, and died at -Cadiz in 1829. He may be termed the Vasari of Spain, as the -historian of the artists of his country. His two biographical -works, the one on her painters, the other on her architects, are a -rich mine of materials. The former was published in six volumes -8vo, in 1800: the latter, in four volumes 4to, was almost the -last work on which he was engaged, and did not appear till 1829. -Besides these, he was the author of various other publications on -the principal edifices in Seville, and had completed a ‘History of -the Roman Antiquities in Spain;’ a ‘General History of Painting;’ -a work on ‘Architecture,’ and other pieces, which yet remain unedited. -As a fellow-townsman, as well as an artist of considerable -genius, he was much assisted by Jovellanos, who, when Minister -of State, gave him a valuable appointment at Madrid under the -government. When that eminent individual fell, his friends had -to suffer also, and Cean Bermudez, deprived of his appointment, -had to return to Seville, where he instituted a school for dra<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span>wing. -It was no doubt under the feelings of regret, occasioned by the -reflection of having his friends involved in his misfortunes, that -Jovellanos wrote to him the Epistle selected for translation in this -work.</p> - -<h3 id="note4">4. <a href="#Page_16">Page 16.</a> “Merit of first bringing into favour.”</h3> - -<p>See Hermosilla, ‘Juicio Critico de los principales Poetas Españoles -de la ultima era,’ vol. i. p. 11.</p> - -<h3 id="note5">5. <a href="#Page_18">Page 18.</a> “Epistle to Cean Bermudez.”</h3> - -<p>From Works of Jovellanos, Mellado’s edition, vol. iv. p. 226.</p> - -<h3 id="note6">6. <a href="#Page_30">Page 30.</a> “To Galatea’s Bird.”</h3> - -<p>From the same, p. 369.</p> - -<h3 id="note7">7. <a href="#Page_32">Page 32.</a> “To Enarda.—I.”</h3> - -<p>From the same, p. 368. In submission to the recommendations -of several friends to give the original of at least part or the whole -of some one poem of each author, from whose works the translations -have been made, selections of such as the English students -of Spanish literature would probably most desire, are offered for -their comparison.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Riñen me bella Enarda</div> -<div class="verse">Los mozos y los viejos,</div> -<div class="verse">Por que tal vez jugando</div> -<div class="verse">Te escribo dulces versos.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Debiera un magistrado</div> -<div class="verse">(Susurran) mas severo,</div> -<div class="verse">De las livianas Musas</div> -<div class="verse">Huir el vil comercio.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Que mal el tiempo gastas!</div> -<div class="verse">Predican otros,—pero</div> -<div class="verse">Por mas que todos riñan</div> -<div class="verse">Tengo de escribir versos.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Quiero loar de Enarda</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span> -<div class="verse">El peregrino ingenio</div> -<div class="verse">Al son de mi zampoña</div> -<div class="verse">Y en bien medidos metros.</div> -<div class="verse">Quiero de su hermosura</div> -<div class="verse">Encaramar al cielo</div> -<div class="verse">Las altas perfecciones;</div> -<div class="verse">De su semblante quiero</div> -<div class="verse">Cantar el dulce hechizo</div> -<div class="verse">Y con pincel maestro</div> -<div class="verse">Pintar su frente hermosa</div> -<div class="verse">Sus traviesos ojuelos,</div> -<div class="verse">El carmin de sus labios,</div> -<div class="verse">La nieve de su cuello;</div> -<div class="verse">Y vàyanse à la … al rollo</div> -<div class="verse">Los Catonianos ceños</div> -<div class="verse">Las frentes arrugadas</div> -<div class="verse">Y adustos sobrecejos,</div> -<div class="verse">Que Enarda serà siempre</div> -<div class="verse">Celebrada en mis versos.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h3 id="note8">8. <a href="#Page_33">Page 33.</a> “To Enarda.—II.”</h3> - -<p>From Works of Jovellanos, vol. iv. p. 364.</p> - -<h3 id="note9">9. <a href="#Page_46">Page 46.</a> “Epistle to Domingo de Iriarte.”</h3> - -<p>From Works of Tomas Iriarte, 1805, vol. ii. p. 56.</p> - -<p>Domingo Iriarte was subsequently much engaged in the diplomatic -service of Spain, and signed the treaty of peace with France -of 1795, as Plenipotentiary, along with the celebrated M. Barthélemy.</p> - -<h3 id="note10">10. <a href="#Page_50">Page 50.</a> “But now the confines of,” &c.</h3> - -<p>The following is the original of this passage:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent1">Mas ya dexar te miro</div> -<div class="verse">Los confines Germanos,</div> -<div class="verse">Y el polìtico giro</div> -<div class="verse">Seguir hasta los ùltimos Britanos.</div> -<div class="verse">Desde luego la corte populosa</div> -<div class="verse">Cuyas murallas baña</div> -<div class="verse">La corriente anchurosa</div> -<div class="verse">Del Tàmesis, la imàgen te presenta</div> -<div class="verse">De una nacion en todo bien extraña:</div> -<div class="verse">Nacion en otros siglos no opulenta,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Hoi feliz por su industria, y siempre esenta:</div> -<div class="verse">Nacion tan liberal como ambiciosa;</div> -<div class="verse">Flemàtica y activa;</div> -<div class="verse">Ingenua, pero adusta;</div> -<div class="verse">Humana, pero altiva;</div> -<div class="verse">Y en la causa que abraza, iniqua ó justa</div> -<div class="verse">Violenta defensora,</div> -<div class="verse">Del riesgo y del temor despreciadora.</div> -<div class="verse">Alli serà preciso que te asombres</div> -<div class="verse">De ver (qual no habràs visto en parte alguna)</div> -<div class="verse">Obrar y hablar con libertad los hombres.</div> -<div class="verse">Admiraràs la rapida fortuna</div> -<div class="verse">Que alli logra el valor y la eloqüencia,</div> -<div class="verse">Sin que ni el oro, ni la ilustre cuna</div> -<div class="verse">Roben el premio al mèrito y la ciencia.</div> -<div class="verse">Adverteràs el numeroso enxambre</div> -<div class="verse">De diligentes y habiles Isleños</div> -<div class="verse">Que han procurado, del comercio Dueños</div> -<div class="verse">No conocer la ociosidad ni el hambre;</div> -<div class="verse">Ocupados en ùtiles inventos</div> -<div class="verse">En fàbricas, caminos, arsenales,</div> -<div class="verse">Escuelas, academias, hospitales,</div> -<div class="verse">Libros, experimentos,</div> -<div class="verse">Y estudios de las Artes liberales.</div> -<div class="verse">Alli sabràs, en fin, à quanto alcanza</div> -<div class="verse">La sabia educacion, y el acertado</div> -<div class="verse">Mètodo de patriòtica enseñanza,</div> -<div class="verse">La privada ambicion bien dirigida</div> -<div class="verse">Al pùblico provecho del Estado;</div> -<div class="verse">La justa recompensa y acogida</div> -<div class="verse">En que fundan las Letras su esperanza,</div> -<div class="verse">Y el desvelo de un pròvido Gobierno</div> -<div class="verse">Que al bien aspira, y à un renombre eterno.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>This Epistle is addressed to his brother, as the reader may observe, -in the second person singular, which, in Spanish, has a tone -of more familiarity than in English, and understanding it so intended, -I have altered it, in the translation, into our colloquial -form of the second person plural.</p> - -<p>The above extract is the same in his printed works of both editions; -but I have in my possession a collection of his manuscripts, -among which is a copy of this Epistle, with several variations, less -flattering to England. Had he lived to superintend the secon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span>d -edition, these variations might probably have been adopted in it. -They are not, however, of any material variance, but they seem to -me to show that his eulogium had not been favourably received in -some quarters, and that he had therefore thought it prudent to -soften it in preparing for another edition. The publisher of the -edition of 1805 does not seem to have been aware of these manuscripts, -nor indeed to have taken the trouble of doing more for -Iriarte’s memory than merely to reprint the first edition, without -even any biographical or critical notice of him or his writings, as -he might well have done, Iriarte having been then deceased fourteen -years.</p> - -<p>For another eloquent and encomiastic description of English -usages and institutions, the student of Spanish literature would -do well to read a work, published in London in 1834, by the -Marques de Miraflores, ‘Apuntes historico-criticos para escribir -la Historia de la Revolucion de España.’ This distinguished -nobleman was born the 23rd December, 1792, at Madrid, and -succeeded to the honours and vast property of his ancient house -in 1809, on the death of his elder brother, during the campaign -of that year. He has been much engaged in public affairs, having -held various offices in the state. He has been twice Ambassador -to England; the last time, Ambassador Extraordinary on the coronation -of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. The Marques has written -several works on political subjects, of which the one above-mentioned -is particularly deserving of study.</p> - -<h3 id="note11">11. <a href="#Page_52">Page 52.</a> “Saying as Seneca has said of yore.”</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Stet quicumque volet potens</div> -<div class="verse">Aulæ culmine lubrico:</div> -<div class="verse">Me dulcis saturet quies.</div> -<div class="verse">Obscuro positus loco</div> -<div class="verse">Leni perfruar otio.</div> -<div class="verse">Nullis notus Quiritibus</div> -<div class="verse">Ætas per tacitum fluat.</div> -<div class="verse">Sic cum transierint mei</div> -<div class="verse">Nullo cum strepitu dies,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Plebeius moriar senex.</div> -<div class="verse">Illi mors gravis incubat</div> -<div class="verse">Qui notus nimis omnibus</div> -<div class="verse">Ignotus moritur sibi.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Thyestes, Act II. The critical reader will observe, that the -translation into English has been made from the Spanish rather -than the Latin.</p> - -<h3 id="note12">12. <a href="#Page_53">Page 53.</a> “Fables.”</h3> - -<p>The Fables translated are numbered respectively III., VIII., -XI., LIII. and LIV., in the original collection. The two -first, III. and VIII., having been given by Bouterwek as specimens -of Iriarte’s style, without any translation, I took them for -my first essays, and had already versified them, before finding -Roscoe had done the same also in his translation of Sismondi, -and it was subsequently to that I became aware of other similar -versions. Having, however, made those translations, I have, notwithstanding -the others, allowed them to remain in this work. -The fable of the Two Rabbits has been selected as particularly -noticed by Martinez de la Rosa, and the others almost without -cause of peculiar preference. The last one contains an old but -good lesson, which cannot be too frequently and earnestly repeated:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent3">Ego nec studium sine divite venâ</div> -<div class="verse">Nec rude quid prosit video ingenium, alterius sic</div> -<div class="verse">Altera poscit opem res et conjurat amicè.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h3 id="note13">13. <a href="#Page_64">Page 64.</a> “Iglesias and Gonzalez.”</h3> - -<p>Diego Gonzalez was born at Ciudad Rodrigo in 1733, and died -at Madrid, 1794. Josè Iglesias de la Casa was born at Salamanca -in 1753, and died there in 1791. His poems were first published -seven years after his death, and have been several times reprinted. -The best edition is that of Barcelona, 1820, from which the one -of Paris, 1821, was taken. The poems of Gonzalez also were first -published after his death, and have been several times reprinted. -Both wrote very pleasing verses, and are deservedly popular in -Spain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="note14">14. <a href="#Page_69">Page 69.</a> “It was for his detractors,” &c.</h3> - -<p>Hermosilla, author of a work, ‘Juicio Critico de los principales -Poetas Españoles de la ultima era,’ published after his death, -Paris 1840, gives in it, as Mr. Ticknor pithily observes, “a criticism -of the poems of Melendez so severe that I find it difficult to -explain its motive;” at the same time that he gives “an unreasonably -laudatory criticism of L. Moratin’s works.” Hermosilla -appears to have been a man of considerable learning, but little -judgement. His criticisms are generally worthless, and the only -excuse for him, with regard to his book, is, that he did not publish -it. With regard to Melendez, taking every opportunity to depreciate -his merits, he is constantly found constrained to acknowledge -them, and sometimes even in contradiction to himself. Thus, -having several times intimated, as at p. 31, that the erotic effusions -of Melendez only were praiseworthy, he says, at p. 297, -when speaking of his Epistles, that they are “his best compositions; -thoughts, language, style, tone and versification, all in -general are good.” In another part he censures Melendez for -his poems addressed to different ladies, especially some to ‘Fanny,’ -who appears to have been an Englishwoman; and yet those -epistles, addressed to her, on the death of her husband, are among -the purest and most elegant specimens that can be pointed out of -consolation to a mourner. It is but justice to his editor, Salva, -to say, that he has expressed his dissent from these criticisms, -though he thought proper to publish the work.</p> - -<h3 id="note15">15. <a href="#Page_73">Page 73.</a> “The Duke de Frias.”</h3> - -<p>This estimable nobleman, who died in 1850, was descended -from the Counts of Haro, one of the three great families of Spain. -He was the munificent friend of literary men, and in the case of -Melendez extended his protection to the dead, having taken much -personal trouble to have his remains removed from the common -burying-ground to a vault, where they might not afterwards be -disturbed. He also wrote verses occasionally, of which have <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span>been -preserved, by Del Rio, a ‘Sonnet to the Duke of Wellington,’ and -by Ochoa, an ‘Elegy on the Death of his Duchess,’ whose virtues -will be found hereafter commemorated by Martinez de la Rosa.</p> - -<h3 id="note16">16. <a href="#Page_76">Page 76.</a> “Best edition, that by Salvà.”</h3> - -<p>In taking the edition of 1820 for the text, Salvà, in his edition, -has exercised much judgement in giving some of the poems as -they were originally published, rather than as Melendez afterwards -had left them, weakened by over-correction.</p> - -<p>Salvà was in early life distinguished for learning and study, -having been, when only twenty years of age, named Professor of -Greek in the University of Alcalà de Henares. On the French -invasion he returned to his native city Valencia, and engaged in -trade as a bookseller, in which occupation he continued in London, -when obliged to emigrate hither in 1823, in consequence of his -having joined in the political events of the times. He had been, -during those events, Deputy from Valencia, and Secretary to the -Cortes. In 1830 he transferred his house to Paris, where he continued -his pursuits, publishing many valuable works of his own -compilation, as a Grammar and Dictionary of the Spanish language, -as well as editing and superintending the publication of -many other standard works. He closed his useful life, in his -native city, in 1850.</p> - -<h3 id="note17">17. <a href="#Page_77">Page 77.</a> “Juvenilities.”</h3> - -<p>Works of Melendez, Salvà’s Edition, vol. i. p. 39.</p> - -<p>This piece was also taken for translation from Bouterwek, when -first entering on a study of Spanish literature. From Bouterwek -it was copied by Sismondi, when borrowing, as he did largely, -from that compiler; but Mr. Roscoe has not given a translation -of this, as he probably found it difficult to do so satisfactorily. It -is in fact almost as difficult to translate Melendez as it is to translate -Anacreon, their peculiar simplicity and grace being so nearly -allied.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="note18">18. <a href="#Page_79">Page 79.</a> “The Timid Lover.”</h3> - -<p>Works of Melendez, <i>ibid.</i>, p. 263.</p> - -<p>This poem having been particularly mentioned by Martinez de -la Rosa as favourably characteristic of the style of the author, -may be considered best to be selected as an exemplification of it. -It is what is termed a Letrillia.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<h4><span class="smcap">El Amante timido.</span></h4> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">En la pena aguda</div> -<div class="verse">Que me hace sufrir</div> -<div class="verse">El Amor tirano</div> -<div class="verse">Desde que te vi</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Mil veces su alivio</div> -<div class="verse">Te voy à pedir,</div> -<div class="verse">Y luego, aldeana,</div> -<div class="verse">Que llego ante ti,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Si quiero atreverme</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No sè que decir.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Las voces me faltan</div> -<div class="verse">Y mi frenesí</div> -<div class="verse">Con mìseros ayes</div> -<div class="verse">Las cuida suplir</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Pero el dios que aleve</div> -<div class="verse">Se burla de mi</div> -<div class="verse">Cuanto ansio mas tierno</div> -<div class="verse">Mis labios abrir</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Se quiero atreverme</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No sè que decir.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Sus fuegos entonces</div> -<div class="verse">Empieza à sentir</div> -<div class="verse">Tan vivos el alma</div> -<div class="verse">Que pienso morir,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Mis làgrimas corren,</div> -<div class="verse">Mi agudo gemir</div> -<div class="verse">Tu pecho sensible</div> -<div class="verse">Conmueve, y al fin</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Si quiero atreverme</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No sè que decir.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">No lo sè, temblando</div> -<div class="verse">Si por descubrir</div> -<div class="verse">Con loca esperanza</div> -<div class="verse">Mi amor infeliz,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Tu lado por siempre</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[367]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Tendrè ya que huir:</div> -<div class="verse">Sellàndome el miedo</div> -<div class="verse">La boca: y asì</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Si quiero atreverme</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No sè que decir.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Ay! si tu, adorada,</div> -<div class="verse">Pudieras oir</div> -<div class="verse">Mis hondos suspiros</div> -<div class="verse">Yo fuera feliz.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Yo, Filis, lo fuera</div> -<div class="verse">Mas, triste de mi!</div> -<div class="verse">Que tìmido al verte</div> -<div class="verse">Burlarme y reir,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Si quiero atreverme</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No sè que decir.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h3 id="note19">19. <a href="#Page_81">Page 81.</a> “My Village Life.”</h3> - -<p>This and the two following poems are taken from those at pages -94, 110 and 64 of the first volume of the Works of Melendez -Valdes; the Disdainful Shepherdess from the one at p. 62 of -vol. ii.</p> - -<h3 id="note20">20. <a href="#Page_95">Page 95.</a> “Merits of their national dramas.”</h3> - -<p>For an excellent criticism on the Spanish drama, see the article -in the twenty-fifth volume of the Quarterly Review.</p> - -<h3 id="note21">21. <a href="#Page_104">Page 104.</a> “There, says his biographer,” &c.</h3> - -<p>In the sketch prefixed to the edition by Rivadeneyra, from -which the two poems following are taken, at pages 581 and 582. -The one to Jovellanos has been justly praised by Mr. Ticknor as -one of his best, and from it we may in preference extract the commencement, -as an exemplification of his style.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Si, la pura amistad, que en dulce nudo</div> -<div class="verse">Nuestras almas uniò, durable existe</div> -<div class="verse">Jovino ilustre, y ni la ausencia larga</div> -<div class="verse">Ni la distancia, ni interpuestos montes</div> -<div class="verse">Y proceloso mar que suena roco,</div> -<div class="verse">De mi memoria apartaràn tu idea.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Duro silencio à mi cariño impuso</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[368]</a></span> -<div class="verse">El son de Marte, que suspende ahora</div> -<div class="verse">La paz, la dulce paz. Sè que en obscura</div> -<div class="verse">Deliciosa quietud, contento vives,</div> -<div class="verse">Siempre animado de incansable celo</div> -<div class="verse">Por el pùblico bien; de las virtudes</div> -<div class="verse">Y del talento protector y amigo.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Estos que formo de primor desnudos,</div> -<div class="verse">No castigados de tu docta lima,</div> -<div class="verse">Fàciles versos, la verdad te anuncien</div> -<div class="verse">De mi constante fe; y el cielo en tanto</div> -<div class="verse">Vuèlvame presto la ocasion de verte</div> -<div class="verse">Y renovar en familiar discurso</div> -<div class="verse">Cuanto à mi vista presentò del orbe</div> -<div class="verse">La varia escena. De mi patria orilla</div> -<div class="verse">A las que el Sena turbulento baña,</div> -<div class="verse">Teñido en sangre, del audaz Britano</div> -<div class="verse">Dueño del mar, al aterido Belga,</div> -<div class="verse">Del Rin profundo à las nevades cumbres</div> -<div class="verse">Del Apenino, y la que en humo ardiente</div> -<div class="verse">Cubre y ceniza à Nàpoles canora,</div> -<div class="verse">Pueblos, naciones, visitè distintas</div> -<div class="verse">Util sciencia adquirì, que nunca enseña</div> -<div class="verse">Docta leccion en retirada estancia,</div> -<div class="verse">Que alli no ves la diferencia suma</div> -<div class="verse">Que el clima, el culto, la opinion, las artes,</div> -<div class="verse">Las leyes causan. Hallaràsla solo</div> -<div class="verse">Si al hombre estudias en el hombre mismo.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h3 id="note22">22. <a href="#Page_113">Page 113.</a> “Juan Bautista de Arriaza.”</h3> - -<p>This poet’s name is pronounced Arriatha; the two poems -selected for translation are taken, the first from p. 60 of Book -III. of his works, edition of 1829. ‘The Parting, or the Young -Sailor’s Farewell,’ from <i>ibid.</i>, Book I. p. 77.</p> - -<p>The eighth stanza, beginning in the translation, ‘With venal -aid of hate assists,’ is in the original—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Què de ministros vendes a su encono,</div> -<div class="verse">Anglia infecunda! de las nieblas trono,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Campos que el sol no mira,</div> -<div class="verse">Que en sonrisa falsa, Flora reviste</div> -<div class="verse">De esteril verde, en que la flor es triste,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Y Amor sin gloria espira.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span></p> - -<p>Which stanza is thus translated by Maury:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Combien te sied le mal, Angleterre inféconde,</div> -<div class="verse">Amante de vapeurs, jeteé où l’œil du monde</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Te regarde si peu!</div> -<div class="verse">Champs où la brume arrose une oiseuse verdure,</div> -<div class="verse">Où Flore est sans gaieté, l’automne sans parure,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">L’Amour sans traits de feu!</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Of thirty-three stanzas in the original, Maury has only taken -fifteen for his translation, and of ‘The Parting’ he has only taken -eighteen out of twenty-five. The four concluding stanzas are in -the original—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Crisol de adversidad claro y seguro</div> -<div class="verse">Vuestro valor probò sublime y puro,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">O Marinos Hispanos!</div> -<div class="verse">Broquel fue de la patria vuestra vida</div> -<div class="verse">Que al fin vengada y siempre defendida</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Serà por vuestras manos.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Rinda al Leon y al Aguila Neptuno</div> -<div class="verse">El brazo tutelar, con que importuno</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Y esclavo al Anglia cierra:</div> -<div class="verse">Y ella os verà desde las altas popas</div> -<div class="verse">Lanzar torrentes de invencibles tropas</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Sobre su infausta tierra.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Bàsteos, en tanto, el lùgubre tributo</div> -<div class="verse">De su muerte Adalid doblando el luto</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Del Tàmesis umbrio,</div> -<div class="verse">Que, si, llenos de honrosas cicatrices</div> -<div class="verse">Se os ve, para ocasiones mas felices</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Reservar vuestro brio.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sois cual leon, que en Libico desierto</div> -<div class="verse">Con garra atroz, del cazador experto</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Rompiò asechanza astuta;</div> -<div class="verse">Que no inglorioso, aunque sangriento y laso</div> -<div class="verse">Temido si, se vuelve paso à paso</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A su arenosa gruta.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h3 id="note23">23. <a href="#Page_145">Page 145.</a> “Described by Humboldt.”</h3> - -<p>Political Essay on New Spain, Book II. chapter 5.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="note24">24. <a href="#Page_145">Page 145.</a> “So popular a writer as Larra.”</h3> - -<p>Mariano Josè de Larra was born at Madrid, 24th March, 1809. -His father had joined the French army as a medical officer, and -after the peace went to France, taking his son with him, where he -forgot his native language, so that he had to learn it as a novice -on his return to Spain. It is not improbable that his education -in that country, where also he passed some time subsequently, -gave Larra’s mind that tendency for scepticism and perverted -feeling which led to his miserable end. From his earliest years -he showed great aptitude for learning, and had studied the Greek, -English and Italian languages, before he went to Valladolid to -prepare for the profession of the law. After a short residence -there, he went to Valencia on some disappointment he suffered, -which, to one of his temperament, seemed a greater misfortune -than what perhaps any other person would have considered it. -At Valencia he obtained employment in a public office, which, -however, did not suit his taste, and having then married, he returned -to Madrid and determined to write for the public. His -first efforts were not successful, and have not been subsequently -reprinted with his works, but after a short time he began writing -a series of essays on passing events, under the signature of Figaro, -which at once attained great popularity. He also wrote several -plays and a few poems, which, as written by Figaro, were favourably -received. But the essays, under that title, were the foundation -of his popularity. They were in the style of our essayists of -the reign of Queen Anne, containing criticisms, and sketches of -manners and characters, written in a style of great ease and elegance, -marked with much wit and humour, as well as vigour. -These works have been very many times reprinted in Spain, and -also in France and South America. The student who wishes to -form a correct style in learning Spanish, cannot do better than -take Larra for a model. By his writings he had attained a respectable -place in literary society, and it was understood that his -fortunes were thereby also in a state of competence. He was, -however, possessed of an ill-regulated mind and headstrong passions, -so that, as it seems intimated, baffled in some object of unlawful -desire, he put an end to his existence by a pistol shot the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span> -13th February, 1837.</p> - -<p>In his review of Quintana’s Life of Las Casas, he unreservedly -subscribes to all the sentiments therein expressed.</p> - -<h3 id="note25">25. <a href="#Page_160">Page 160.</a> “From the proud castled poop,” &c.</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Se alzò el Breton en el soberbio alcazar</div> -<div class="verse">Que corona su indòmito navio;</div> -<div class="verse">Y ufano con su gloria y poderio</div> -<div class="verse">Alli estan, exclamò.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h3 id="note26">26. <a href="#Page_161">Page 161.</a> “Conquerors of winds and waves.”</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent4">… sus nadantes proras</div> -<div class="verse">Del viento y de las ondas vencedoras.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h3 id="note27">27. <a href="#Page_163">Page 163.</a> “And Alcalà, Churruca, also ye!”</h3> - -<p>Of those who fell at Trafalgar, the names of Alcalà and Churruca -seem to be remembered with peculiar affection. The latter is referred -to by Arriaza also, and seems to have been an officer of -great skill and bravery in his profession, as well as of most amiable -qualities in private life. Alcalà was an officer of very superior attainments. -He was author of a learned Treatise on taking Observations -of Longitude and Latitude at Sea, published at Madrid, -1796. With the copy of this work in my possession, there is -bound up an unedited treatise of his original manuscript, ‘On the -Trigonometrical Calculation of the Height of Mountains.’ He -has already been referred to in Note 2.</p> - -<p>The Spanish navy is at the present day much distinguished for -the superior attainments and character of the officers, as well as -in former years. In addition to the poet Arriaza, they have to -boast of the late learned Navarrete, one of the most eminent and -industrious writers of our times, principally on scientific subjects -connected with his profession, geography, hydrography, and voyages, -though in various biographical works he has extended his -labours to the memory of poets and others, as well as the naval -heroes of his country: see his memoir in Ochoa, vol. ii.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[372]</a></span> p. 586, -copied from one by the Bishop of Astorga.</p> - -<h3 id="note28">28. <a href="#Page_164">Page 164.</a> “Yet fell ye not, ye generous squadrons.”</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">No empero sin venganza y sin estrago,</div> -<div class="verse">Generoso escuadron alli caiste:</div> -<div class="verse">Tambien brotando à rios</div> -<div class="verse">La sangre Inglesa inunda sus navios.</div> -<div class="verse">Tambien Albion pasmada</div> -<div class="verse">Los montes de cadàveres contempla</div> -<div class="verse">Horrendo peso à su soberbia armada.</div> -<div class="verse">Tambien Nelson alli, Terrible sombra,</div> -<div class="verse">No esperes, no, cuando mi voz te nombra</div> -<div class="verse">Que vil insulte à tu postrer suspiro;</div> -<div class="verse">Inglès te aborrecì, y hèroe te admiro.</div> -<div class="verse">Oh, golpe! oh, suerte! El Tàmesis aguarda</div> -<div class="verse">De las naves cautivas</div> -<div class="verse">El confuso tropel, y ya en idea</div> -<div class="verse">Goza el aplauso y los sonoros vivas</div> -<div class="verse">Que al vencedor se dan. Oh suerte! El puerto</div> -<div class="verse">Solo le verà entrar pàlido y yerto:</div> -<div class="verse">Ejemplo grande à la arrogancia humana,</div> -<div class="verse">Digno holocausto à la afliccion Hispana.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The two poems from Quintana are at pages 16 and 93 respectively -of the fourth edition of his works, published in 1825.</p> - -<h3 id="note29">29. <a href="#Page_170">Page 170.</a> “The Conde de Toreno.”</h3> - -<p>This able and enlightened statesman was born at Oviedo in -1786, and died at Paris in 1845. His work, on the ‘Rising, War, -and Revolution of Spain,’ is one well deserving of the fame it has -attained, having been translated into all the principal languages of -Europe.</p> - -<h3 id="note30">30. <a href="#Page_170">Page 170.</a> “The celebrated Pacheco.”</h3> - -<p>Born at Ecija, near Seville, in 1808, he came to Madrid in 1833, -and was admitted an Advocate in the courts of law, but has been -since engaged actively in conducting various publications, principally -of a political character. He has been several times chosen -member of the legislature, and had to undertake his share of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span> -public duties, but he has declined office, and in his whole public -life shown a freedom from ambition, remarkable, as Del Rio intimates, -from the contrast it presents with the conduct of other -men of far inferior abilities. He has announced ‘A History of -the Regency of Queen Christina,’ of which he has published a -preliminary volume, comprising a detail of antecedent events. He -has also written various plays and poems, but not of such a character -as to be worthy of his fame as a public speaker and journalist. -His life of Martinez de la Rosa, given in a publication -entitled ‘Galeria de Españoles celebres contemporaneos, 1842,’ -(which work has now extended to many volumes, including persons -of distinction in all ranks of life,) is very pleasingly written, -and has been taken as the principal authority in this compilation.</p> - -<h3 id="note31">31. <a href="#Page_176">Page 176.</a> “Rights of the Basque people.”</h3> - -<p>For a just statement of these rights, see the late Earl of Carnarvon’s -‘Portugal and Galicia,’ vol. ii.</p> - -<h3 id="note32">32. <a href="#Page_180">Page 180.</a> “Observation may apply to English verse.”</h3> - -<p>Our best poets, and Milton especially, afford many exemplifications -of this practice.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">O’er many a frozen, many a fiery alp,</div> -<div class="verse">Rocks, caves, lakes, fens, bogs, dens and shades of death</div> -<div class="verse center">…</div> -<div class="verse">Perverse, all monstrous, all prodigious things</div> -<div class="verse">Abominable, inutterable and worse.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Many of our syllables also are in effect double syllables, as in the -words <i>brave</i>, <i>grave</i>, <i>clave</i>, &c., as singers often have to regret, -causing them, on that account, to slur over them. But these -rules are only a continuation of Quinctilian’s maxim, “Optime de -illa judicant aures. Quædam arte tradi non possunt.”</p> - -<h3 id="note33">33. <a href="#Page_181">Page 181.</a> “The Roman friend,” &c.</h3> - -<p>See note 23 to the Fourth Canto of Childe Harold.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[374]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="note34">34. <a href="#Page_183">Page 183.</a> “I saw upon the shady Thames.”</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Vi en el Tàmesis umbrio</div> -<div class="verse">Cien y cien naves cargadas</div> -<div class="verse indent1">De riqueza;</div> -<div class="verse">Vi su inmenso poderio</div> -<div class="verse">Sus artes tan celebradas</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Su grandeza.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Mas el ànima afligida</div> -<div class="verse">Mil suspiros exhalaba</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Y ayes mil;</div> -<div class="verse">Y ver la orilla florida</div> -<div class="verse">Del manso Dauro anhelaba</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Y del Genil.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Vi de la soberbia corte</div> -<div class="verse">Las damas engalanadas</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Muy vistosas;</div> -<div class="verse">Vi las bellezas del norte</div> -<div class="verse">De blanca nieve formadas</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Y de rosas.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sus ojos de azul del cielo,</div> -<div class="verse">De oro puro parecia</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Su cabello;</div> -<div class="verse">Bajo transparente velo</div> -<div class="verse">Turgente el seno se via</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Blanco y bello.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Mas que valen los brocados</div> -<div class="verse">Las sedas y pedreria</div> -<div class="verse indent1">De la ciudad?</div> -<div class="verse">Que los rostros sonrosados</div> -<div class="verse">La blancura y gallardia</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ni la beldad?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Con mostrarse mi zagala,</div> -<div class="verse">De blanco lino vestida,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Fresca y pura,</div> -<div class="verse">Condena la inutil gala</div> -<div class="verse">Y se esconde confundida</div> -<div class="verse indent1">La hermosura.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Dò hallar en climas helados</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Sus negros ojos graciosos,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Que son fuego?</div> -<div class="verse">Ora me miren airados</div> -<div class="verse">Ora roben cariñosos</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Mi sosiego.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Dò la negra caballera</div> -<div class="verse">Que al èbano se aventaja?</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Y el pie leve</div> -<div class="verse">Que al triscar por la pradera</div> -<div class="verse">Ni las tiernas flores aja,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ni aun las mueve?</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Doncellas las del Genil</div> -<div class="verse">Vuestra tez escurecida</div> -<div class="verse indent1">No trocara</div> -<div class="verse">Por los rostros de marfil</div> -<div class="verse">Que Albion envanecida</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Me mostrara.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Padre Dauro! manso rio,</div> -<div class="verse">De las arenas doradas,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Dìgnate oir</div> -<div class="verse">Los votos del pecho mio,</div> -<div class="verse">Y en tus màrgenes sagradas</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Logre morir!</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Works of Martinez de la Rosa, edition of Barcelona, 1838, vol. iv. -p. 1. The other translations are taken from the same, pages 113, -104, 48 and 34 respectively.</p> - -<p>In the prologue, he enters on the discussion, so common a few -years since, as to the relative merits of what were called the Classical -and Romantic schools of poetry, which discussion, it is to be -hoped, may now be considered at an end. The pretensions of -different writers, who affected to range themselves under one or -other of these denominations, were in fact generally only the devices -of mediocrity to shelter their deficiencies. Those who write -spontaneously from the true inspiration of genius, will never submit -to the shackles of any system, and for all writers the wisest -aim is to seek the clearest style of expressing those thoughts -which they have to convey. As Martinez de la Rosa has well<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[376]</a></span> -observed in this prologue, “I do not remember any one sublime -passage, in whatever language it may be, that is not expressed -with the utmost simplicity; and without this most essential -quality, they cannot excite in the mind that lively and instantaneous -impression which distinguishes them.”</p> - -<h3 id="note35">35. <a href="#Page_184">Page 184.</a> “The light foot that never stirs,” &c.</h3> - -<p>An Andalusian poet may be excused entering into hyperbolical -praise of his countrywomen, but we find an English traveller -almost as hyperbolical in praise of them also. “It is beyond the -power of language to describe those slow and surpassingly graceful -movements which accompany every step of the Andalusa; her -every attitude is so flowing, at the same time so unforced, that -she seems upborne by some invisible power that renders her independent -of the classically moulded foot she presses so lightly on -the ground.”—<cite>Murray’s Cities and Wilds of Andalusia.</cite></p> - -<h3 id="note36">36. <a href="#Page_216">Page 216.</a> “His biographer, Pastor Diaz,” &c.</h3> - -<p>In the work already mentioned, ‘Galeria de Españoles contemporaneos,’ -under his own superintendence, and from which the -notices in this compilation are principally taken. Pastor Diaz -was born at Vivero in Galicia, in the year 1811, and was educated -at Alcalà de Henares. Having been admitted an Advocate in the -courts of law, he engaged, in 1833, in the public service, and has -held various offices under the government in the provinces. In -1847 he published a volume of poems, of which two,—one, ‘The -Black Butterfly,’ and the other, an ‘Ode to the Moon,’—Ochoa -declares, in his opinion, “two of the most beautiful pieces that -have been written for many years in Spain.” Disagreeing very -much with this opinion, it is only quoted in token of the estimation -in which Pastor Diaz is held among his countrymen. (Ochoa, -vol. ii. p. 628.)</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="note37">37. <a href="#Page_216">Page 216.</a> “The advantages he enjoyed there.”</h3> - -<p>In his poem of the ‘Moro Esposito,’ the Duke has inserted an -interesting episode referring to his residence in Malta, “whose -good and honest inhabitants he found under the dominion of the -most wealthy, free, enlightened, noble and powerful nation that -the sun admires from the zodiac.” (Book VI.) In the notes he details -the particulars under which he arrived there, acknowledging -gratefully the hospitality he had received.</p> - -<h3 id="note38">38. <a href="#Page_222">Page 222.</a> “Pedro, surnamed the Cruel.”</h3> - -<p>This name is pronounced Ped-ro. The true character of the -monarch is yet a disputed question, and has only within the last -year been offered as a subject for inquiry by the Spanish Academy. -The learned Llorente, in his ‘Historical Notices,’ vol. v., has, I -think, clearly shown that Pedro was no more deserving of the -epithet peculiarly than others of his age, including his half-brother -and successor, by whose hand he fell, in retributive justice for the -death of their other brother Fadrique. The legend of this prince’s -death has been variously given, and thus Salvador Bermudez de -Castro, who has also a poem on the subject, takes some different -details to those repeated by the Duke de Rivas. The traditions -of the people have handed down Don Pedro’s memory more -favourably, and, perhaps, more justly, than the historians of the -time, whose accounts no doubt were tinctured as darkly as they -could be, partly to please the reigning monarch, and partly because -Don Pedro had not been so submissive to priestly rule as -they had desired.</p> - -<h3 id="note39">39. <a href="#Page_227">Page 227.</a> “Yet, ah! those lovely bowers along,” &c.</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Mas, ay! aquellos pensiles</div> -<div class="verse">No he pisado un solo dia</div> -<div class="verse">Sin ver (sueños de mi mente!)</div> -<div class="verse">La sombra de la Padilla,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Lanzando un hondo gemido</div> -<div class="verse">Cruzar leve ante mi vista,</div> -<div class="verse">Como un vapor, como un humo</div> -<div class="verse">Que entre los àrboles gira:</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Ni entrè en aquellos salones</div> -<div class="verse">Sin figuràrseme erguida</div> -<div class="verse">Del fundador la fantasma</div> -<div class="verse">En helada sangre tinta;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ni en vestibulo oscuro</div> -<div class="verse">El que tiene en la cornisa</div> -<div class="verse">De los reyes los retratos,</div> -<div class="verse">El que en colunas estriba,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Al que adornan azulejos</div> -<div class="verse">Abajo, y esmalte arriba</div> -<div class="verse">El que muestra en cada muro</div> -<div class="verse">Un rico balcon, y encima</div> -<div class="verse indent1">El hondo arteson dorado</div> -<div class="verse">Que lo corona y atrista,</div> -<div class="verse">Sin ver en tierra un cadaver.</div> -<div class="verse">Aun en las losas se mira</div> -<div class="verse">Una tenaz mancha oscura</div> -<div class="verse">Ni las edades limpian!</div> -<div class="verse">Sangre! sangre! oh, cielos, cuantos</div> -<div class="verse">Sin saber que lo es, la pisan!</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>This romance was originally printed with the ‘Moro Esposito,’ -Paris 1834, vol. ii. p. 451. It was subsequently included among -the ‘Romances Historicos,’ Madrid 1841, p. 19. The Alcazar -of Seville has been described by so many travellers that it is unnecessary -to add to their accounts of it, or to the graphic details of -the romance. The stain on the floor may remind the reader of the -legends of Holyrood and the Alhambra, as well as of other places.</p> - -<h3 id="note40">40. <a href="#Page_233">Page 233.</a> “Darting round fierce looks,” &c.</h3> - -<p>This description of anger, as again at <a href="#Page_241">p. 241</a>, seems a favourite -one with the Duke, as well as other poets; thus Virgil—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent6">Totoque ardentis ab ore</div> -<div class="verse">Scintillæ absistunt, oculis micat acribus ignis.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h3 id="note41">41. <a href="#Page_234">Page 234.</a> “The crackling of his arms and knees.”</h3> - -<p>From the peculiarity of this formation, the king was recognized -by an old woman who had witnessed his killing a man he had met -in a night rencontre in the street opposite her house, and she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[379]</a></span> -having given evidence to that effect, he ordered his statue to be -beheaded, and so placed in the street in memorial of the sentence -against himself.</p> - -<h3 id="note42">42. <a href="#Page_236">Page 236.</a></h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“And more than Tello madly hates,</div> -<div class="verse">And more than Henry too.”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The two brothers of Fadrique, of whom Henry was his successor -on the throne, after he had killed Don Pedro in fight by his own -hand. In another romance, the Duke de Rivas describes this -“fratricide,” and represents that Don Pedro had the advantage -at first, but that the page of the other came to his master’s -assistance, and attacking Don Pedro from behind, diverted his attention -so as to enable him to give the King the death-wound. -From the accounts handed down to us, it is clear that Don Pedro -had sufficient grounds for suspecting treason from the brothers, -which occasioned his animosity against them and their adherents, -for which they afterwards blackened his memory.</p> - -<h3 id="note43">43. <a href="#Page_259">Page 259.</a> “Meagre soup bouillie.”</h3> - -<p>In the original, Gazpacho, “the name of a dish universal in and -peculiar to Spain. It is a sort of cold soup, made of bread, pot-herbs, -oil and water. Its materials are easily come by, and its -concoction requires no skill.” Mr. W. G. Clark has taken this -name for the title of his lively ‘Sketches of Spain,’ London 1850.</p> - -<h3 id="note44">44. <a href="#Page_260">Page 260.</a> “Whene’er Don Juan,” &c.</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Siempre que tiene una broma</div> -<div class="verse indent1">El señor don Juan me olvida</div> -<div class="verse">Como si estuviera en Roma;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Y à un entierro me convida</div> -<div class="verse">Para matarme de pena!</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Sea enhorabuena.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Despues de melindres mil</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[380]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent1">Canta Celestina el duo</div> -<div class="verse">Que le han puesto en atril,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Y aunque canta como un buho</div> -<div class="verse">Todos la llaman Sirena.</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Sea enhorabuena.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Cien abejas sin reposo</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Labrando à porfia estàn</div> -<div class="verse">El dulce panal sabroso.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Ay! que un zàngano holgazàn</div> -<div class="verse">Se ha de tragar la colmena!</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Sea enhorabuena.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">El hombre à su semejante</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Mueve guerra furibundo,</div> -<div class="verse">Cual si no fuera bastante</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Para despoblar el mundo</div> -<div class="verse">El escuadron de Avicena.</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Sea enhorabuena.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Hay en España usureros</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Hay esbirros à montones,</div> -<div class="verse">Y chalanes y venteros,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Y dicen que los ladrones</div> -<div class="verse">Estan en Sierra Morena!</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Sea enhorabuena.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">En vano à tu puerta, Conde,</div> -<div class="verse">Llegan los pobres desnudos,</div> -<div class="verse">Que el perro solo responde,</div> -<div class="verse">Y gastas dos mil escudos</div> -<div class="verse">En un baile y una cena!</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Sea enhorabuena.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Basta por hoy de sermon.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Aqui mi pluma suspendo</div> -<div class="verse">Hasta mejor ocasion.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Si el vicio en vano reprendo</div> -<div class="verse">Y escribo sobre la arena,</div> -<div class="verse indent4">Sea enhorabuena.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>The selections from Breton de los Herreros are taken from the -edition of 1831, at pages 61, 63 and 71 respectively.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="note45">45. <a href="#Page_269">Page 269.</a> “The celebrated Lista.”</h3> - -<p>This celebrated writer was born at Seville in 1775, and in early -life adopted the ecclesiastical profession, having therein principally -dedicated himself to the education of youth, in which he has been -eminently successful. He has written a continuation of Mariana’s -‘History of Spain,’ and translated from the French Segur’s ‘Universal -History,’ besides several mathematical and other elementary -works. In 1822 he published a volume of poems, of which a -second edition has been since published, highly praised by the -different writers who have treated of modern Spanish literature. -They are however avowedly of the classical school, and their -greatest merit must be supposed to consist in their elegance of -expression. His critical writings are numerous and valuable.</p> - -<h3 id="note46">46. <a href="#Page_271">Page 271.</a> “Twelve out of the nineteen stanzas.”</h3> - -<p>The stanzas 6, 9, 10, 11, 16 and 17 seem to be of his addition, -and it must be acknowledged that they are in no respect inferior -to the others. One stanza in Pindemonte he has not taken into -his version.</p> - -<h3 id="note47">47. <a href="#Page_272">Page 272.</a> “Part of his first volume is taken up with -imitations.”</h3> - -<p>Before observing that this part had been so expressed at the -beginning, I made a translation of one small piece, which may -give an idea of the others.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<h4><span class="smcap">En el Album de una Senorita.</span></h4> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Cual suele en màrmol sepulcral escrito</div> -<div class="verse">Un nombre detener al pasagero,</div> -<div class="verse">Pueda en aquesta pàgina mi nombre</div> -<div class="verse">Fijar tus ojos, ay! por los que muero.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Miralo, cuando ya de ti apartado,</div> -<div class="verse">No te pide mi amor mas recompensa;</div> -<div class="verse">De mi te acuerda como muerte y piensa</div> -<div class="verse">Que aqui mi corazon queda enterrado.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[382]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<h4><span class="smcap">In a Lady’s Album.</span></h4> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As on sepulchral marble writ</div> -<div class="verse indent1">A name to stay the passer-by,</div> -<div class="verse">So let my name on this page meet</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Thine eyes, for which, alas! I die.</div> -<div class="verse">Look on it when I am far from thee;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">My love asks no return more dear;</div> -<div class="verse">As of one dead remember me,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And think my heart is buried here.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>It was only on translating the last line that I recognized them -as Lord Byron’s.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<h4><span class="smcap">Written in an Album.</span></h4> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">As o’er the cold sepulchral stone</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Some name arrests the passer-by,</div> -<div class="verse">Thus when thou view’st this page alone</div> -<div class="verse indent1">May mine attract thy pensive eye.</div> -<div class="verse">And when by thee that name is read</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Perchance in some succeeding year,</div> -<div class="verse">Reflect on me as on the dead,</div> -<div class="verse indent1">And think my heart is buried here.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h3 id="note48">48. <a href="#Page_275">Page 275.</a> “Sonnet, Dedication,” &c.</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<h4><span class="smcap">A mi Esposa.</span></h4> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse indent1">Cuando en mis venas fèrvidas ardia</div> -<div class="verse">La fiera juventud, en mis canciones</div> -<div class="verse">El tormentoso afan de mis pasiones</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Con dolorosas làgrimas vertia.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Hoy à ti las dedico, Esposa mia,</div> -<div class="verse">Cuando el amor mas libre de ilusiones</div> -<div class="verse">Inflama nuestros puros corazones,</div> -<div class="verse">Y sereno y de paz me luce el dia.</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Asi perdido en turbulentos mares</div> -<div class="verse">Mìsero navegante al cielo implora,</div> -<div class="verse">Cuando le aqueja la tormenta grave;</div> -<div class="verse indent1">Y del naufragio libre, en los altares</div> -<div class="verse">Consagra fiel à la Deidad que adora</div> -<div class="verse">Las hùmedas reliquias de su nave.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>This sonnet, and the two following translations, are taken respectively -from pages 8, 18 and 46 of the first volume of the -Toluca edition. The imitation of Lord Byron is at page 83 of -the same. The Odes to ‘Poesy’ and to ‘Night’ are a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span>t pages 13 -and 72 of the second volume.</p> - -<h3 id="note49">49. <a href="#Page_282">Page 282.</a> “Milton elevated all beyond.”</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Y Milton mas que todos elevado</div> -<div class="verse">A su angel fiero de diamante armado.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h3 id="note50">50. <a href="#Page_305">Page 305.</a> “Josè de Espronceda.”</h3> - -<p>This name is to be pronounced Esprontheda. The translations, -taken from the original poems, may be found in the Paris edition -of 1848, at pages 49, 58, 73 and 79 respectively. The one translated, -‘The Condemned to Die,’ El Reo de Muerte, literally, ‘The -Guilty of Death,’ has the signification given to this phrase by our -translators of the New Testament, and it may be necessary to explain -that the refrain “Your alms for prayers,” &c., is in the -original merely “To do good for the soul of him who is about to -be executed.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Para hacer bien al alma</div> -<div class="verse">Del que van à ajusticiar!</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In Spain, when a criminal is about to be executed, it is the custom -for the Brothers of the religious order De la Humanidad, to -go about the public ways, in their peculiar garb, with salvers for -receiving alms for masses to be said for him, repeating words to -the effect above given.</p> - -<h3 id="note51">51. <a href="#Page_315">Page 315.</a> “Sail on, my swift one, never fear.”</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Navega, velero mio,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Sin temor,</div> -<div class="verse">Que ni enemigo navio,</div> -<div class="verse">Ni tormenta, ni bonanza,</div> -<div class="verse">Tu rumbo à torcer alcanza</div> -<div class="verse">Ni à sujetar tu valor.</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Veinte presos</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Hemos hecho</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A despecho</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Del Ingles,</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Y han rendido</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Sus pendones</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[384]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Cien naciones</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A mis piès.</div> -<div class="verse">Que es mi barco mi tesoro,</div> -<div class="verse">Que es mi Dios la libertad,</div> -<div class="verse">Mi ley la fuerza y el viento,</div> -<div class="verse">Mi ùnica patria la mar.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Allà muevan feroz guerra</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Ciegos reyes</div> -<div class="verse">Por un palmo mas de tierra;</div> -<div class="verse">Que yo tengo aqui por mio</div> -<div class="verse">Cuanto abarca el mar bravio</div> -<div class="verse">A quien nadie impuso leyes.</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Y no hay playa</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Sea cual quiera</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Ni bandera</div> -<div class="verse indent2">De esplendor</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Que no sienta</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Mi derecho</div> -<div class="verse indent2">Y dè pecho</div> -<div class="verse indent2">A mi valor.</div> -<div class="verse">Que es mi barco mi tesoro.…</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">A la voz de ‘barco viene!’</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Es de ver</div> -<div class="verse">Como vira, y se previene</div> -<div class="verse">A todo trapo à escapar;</div> -<div class="verse">Que yo soy el rey del mar</div> -<div class="verse">Y mi furia es de temer.</div> -<div class="verse indent3">En las presas</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Yo divido</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Lo cogido</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Por igual:</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Solo quiero</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Por riqueza</div> -<div class="verse indent3">La belleza</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Sin rival</div> -<div class="verse">Que es mi barco mi tesoro.…</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sentenciado estoy à muerte!</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Yo me rio;</div> -<div class="verse">No me abandone la suerte,</div> -<div class="verse">Y al mismo que me condena</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Colgarè de alguna entena</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Quizà en su proprio navio.</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Y si caigo</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Que es la vida?</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Por perdida</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Ya la di,</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Cuando el yugo</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Del esclavo</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Como un bravo</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Sacudì.</div> -<div class="verse">Que es mi barco mi tesoro.…</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Son mi música mejor</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Aquilones;</div> -<div class="verse">El estrépito y temblor</div> -<div class="verse">De los cables sacudidos,</div> -<div class="verse">Del negro mar los bramidos,</div> -<div class="verse">Y el rugir de mis cañones;</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Y del trueno</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Al son violento,</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Y del viento</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Al rebramàr,</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Yo me duermo</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Sosegado,</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Arrullado</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Por el mar.</div> -<div class="verse">Que es mi barco mi tesoro,</div> -<div class="verse">Que es mi Dios la libertad,</div> -<div class="verse">Mi ley la fuerza y el viento,</div> -<div class="verse">Mi ùnica patria la mar.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<h3 id="note52">52. <a href="#Page_323">Page 323.</a> “Josè Zorrilla.”</h3> - -<p>The name of this eminently great poet is to be pronounced as -Thorrillia; the translations made from his works are of the poems -at pages 62, 99, 34, 97, 102, 28 and 65, respectively, of the first -volume, as stated in the memoir, published at Madrid in 1837. -The headings, for the sake of distinction, have been given somewhat -differently from the originals, where they are generally only -entitled ‘Oriental,’ or ‘A Romance;’ and the piece named ‘The -Warning’ is but part of a longer poem, the conclusion of which -is not in the same good taste as the beginning. All the other -selections translated in this work, of the different authors, have -been given fully.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[386]</a></span></p> - -<h3 id="note53">53. <a href="#Page_347">Page 347.</a> “The Tower of Munion.”</h3> - -<p>This tower is a shapeless ruin, the remains of an ancient castle -in the plain of Arlanza near Burgos. The history of the castle is -unknown, further than that Don Fernan Gonzalez assembled there, -on one occasion, the Grandees of Castille, during his wars with -the Moors.</p> - -<h3 id="note54">54. <a href="#Page_352">Page 352.</a> “Meditation.”</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<h4><span class="smcap">La Meditacion.</span></h4> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Sobre ignorada tumba solitaria,</div> -<div class="verse">A la luz amarilla de la tarde,</div> -<div class="verse">Vengo à ofrecer al cielo mi plegaria</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Por la muger que amè.</div> -<div class="verse">Apoyada en el màrmol mi cabeza,</div> -<div class="verse">Sobre la hùmeda yerba la rodilla,</div> -<div class="verse">La parda flor que esmalta la maleza</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Humillo con mi piè.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Aquì, lejos del mundo y sus placeres,</div> -<div class="verse">Levanto mis delirios de la tierra,</div> -<div class="verse">Y leo en agrupados caractères</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Nombres que ya no son;</div> -<div class="verse">Y la dorada làmpara que brilla</div> -<div class="verse">Y al soplo oscila de la brisa errante,</div> -<div class="verse">Colgada ante el altar en la capilla</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Alumbra mi oracion.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Acaso un ave su volar detiene</div> -<div class="verse">Del fùnebre ciprès entre las ramas</div> -<div class="verse">Que a lamentar con sus gorjeos viene</div> -<div class="verse indent3">La ausencia de la luz:</div> -<div class="verse">Y se despide del albor del dia</div> -<div class="verse">Desde una alta ventana de la torre</div> -<div class="verse">O trepa de la cùpula sombria</div> -<div class="verse indent3">A la gigante cruz.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Anegados en làgrimas los ojos</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[387]</a></span> -<div class="verse">Yo la contemplo inmòvil desde el suelo</div> -<div class="verse">Hasta que el rechinar de los cerrojos</div> -<div class="verse indent3">La hace aturdida huir.</div> -<div class="verse">La funeral sonrisa me saluda</div> -<div class="verse">Del solo ser que con los muertos vive,</div> -<div class="verse">Y me presta su mano àspera y ruda</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Que un fèretro va a abrir.</div> -</div> -<div class="hr"></div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Perdon! no escuches Dios mio</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Mi terrenal pensamiento!</div> -<div class="verse">Deja que se pierda impio</div> -<div class="verse">Como el murmullo de un rio</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Entre los pliegues del viento.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Por que una imàgen mundana</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Viene à manchar mi oracion?</div> -<div class="verse">Es una sombra profana</div> -<div class="verse">Que tal vez serà mañana</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Signo de mi maldicion.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Por que ha soñada mi mente</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Ese fantasma tan bello?</div> -<div class="verse">Con esa tez transparente</div> -<div class="verse">Sobre la tranquila frente</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Y sobre el desnudo cuello.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Que en vez de aumentar su encanto</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Con pompa y mundano brillo,</div> -<div class="verse">Se muestra anegada en llanto</div> -<div class="verse">Al piè de altar sacrosanto</div> -<div class="verse indent3">O al piè de pardo castillo.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Como una ofrenda olvidada</div> -<div class="verse indent3">En templo que se arruinò</div> -<div class="verse">Y en la piedra cincelada</div> -<div class="verse">Que en su caida encontrò</div> -<div class="verse indent3">La mece el viento colgada.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Con su retrato en la mente,</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Con su nombre en el oido,</div> -<div class="verse">Vengo à prosternar mi frente</div> -<div class="verse">Ante el Dios omnipotente</div> -<div class="verse indent3">En la mansion del olvido.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Mi crimen acaso ven</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[388]</a></span> -<div class="verse indent2">Con turbios ojos inciertos,</div> -<div class="verse">Y me abominan los muertos,</div> -<div class="verse">Alzando la hedionda sien</div> -<div class="verse indent3">De los sepulcros abiertos.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Cuando estas tumbas visito,</div> -<div class="verse indent3">No es la nada en que naci,</div> -<div class="verse">No es un Dios lo que medito,</div> -<div class="verse">Es un nombre que està escrito</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Con fuego dentro de mi.</div> -</div> -<div class="stanza"> -<div class="verse">Perdon! no escuches Dios mio</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Mi terrenal pensamiento!</div> -<div class="verse">Deja que se pierda impio</div> -<div class="verse">Como el murmullo de un rio,</div> -<div class="verse indent3">Entre los pliegues del viento.</div> -</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="titlepage">THE END.</p> - -<p class="titlepage">PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR,<br /> -RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Modern Poets and Poetry of Spain, by James Kennedy - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MODERN POETS AND POETRY OF SPAIN *** - -***** This file should be named 53671-h.htm or 53671-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/6/7/53671/ - -Produced by Josep Cols Canals and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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