Day, when it came, came only with its light. Then sunk his generous spirit, and he wept. Oft in the silent night-watch doubt and fear Its holy texts and arabesques of gold) Tho' Roldan,+ sleep and death to him alike, Grasped his good sword, and half unsheathed to strike. "Come on," he cried, and threw his glove in scorn, "Oh! had he vow'd with pilgrim-staff to roam, * His public procession to the convent of Rabida on the day before he set sail. It was there that his sons had received their education; and he himself appears to have passed some time there, the venerable guardian, Juan Perez de Marchena, being his zealous and affectionate friend. The ceremonies of his departure and return are represented in many of the fresco-paintings in the palaces of Genoa. † Gonzalo Fernandez already known by the name of The Great Captain. Granada surrendered on the second of January, 1492. Columbus set sail on the third of August following. + Probably a soldier of fortune. There were more than one of the name on board. "Or with banditti sought the sheltering wood, Twice the moon fill'd her silver urn with light. "The wind recalls thee; its still voice obey. "Hence! tho' assembling in the fields of air, σε Now, in a night of clouds, thy foes prepare "And thee restore thy secret to the deep!T "Not then to leave thee! to their vengeance cast, "Thy heart their aliment, their dire repast!** * It is remarkble that these phenomena still remain among the mysteries of nature. Te tua fata docebo. Virg.-Saprai di tua vita il viaggio. Dante. + P. Martyr, Epist. 133. 152. When he entered the Tagus, all the seamen ran from all parts to behold, as it were some wonder, a ship that had escaped so terrible a storm. F. Columbus, c. 40. I wrote on a parchment that I had discovered what I had promised; and, having put it into a cask, 1 threw it into the sea. Ibid, c. 37. ** See the Euminedes of Æschylus, v. 305, &c. "To other eyes, from distant cliff descried,* "Chains thy reward! beyond the Atlantic wave "What tho' thy gray hairs to the dust descend, " 'By dogs of carnage, howling loud and long,+ "Swept-till the voyager, in the desert air, "Not thine the olive, but the sword to bring, "Here, in his train, shall arts and arms attend, "Arts to adorn, and arms but to defend! "Assembling here, all nations shall be blest;** "Untouch'd shall drop the fetters from the slave; * Balboa immediately concluded it to be the ocean for which Columbus had searched in vain; and when, at length, after a toilsome march among the mountains, his guides pointed out to him the summit from which it might be seen, he commanded his men to halt, and and went up alone. Herrera, I. x. l. I always saw them in his room, and he ordered them to be buried with his body. F. Columbus, c. 86. One of these, ou account of his extraordinary sagacity and fierceness, received the full allowance of a soldier. His name was Bezerillo. § No unusual effect of an exuberant vegetation. The air was so vitiated,' says an African traveller, 'that our torches burnt dim, and seemed ready to be extinguished; and even the human voice lost its natural tone.' ¶ See Washington's farewell address to his fellow citizens. ** North America became instantly an asylum for the oppressed; huguenots, and catholics, and sects of every name and country. Such were the first settlers in Carolina and Maryland, Pennsylvania and New England. Nor is South Ame rica altogether without a claim to the title. Even now, while I am writing, the ancient house of Braganza is on its passage across the Atlantic, Cum sociis, natoque, Penatibus, et magnis dîs. "Hence, and rejoice. The glorious work is done. ORIGINAL POETRY.-FOR THE PORT FOLIO. TO A ROSE BUD, ON MY STUDY TABLE. ILLFATED bud! and must thou bloom, And must thou find an early tomb, 1 Where flowery fragrance never breath'd before, Thou shalt not "uncommended die," For I a verse will sing. * See Paradise Lost. X. † Cortes, Pizarro.- Almost all,' says Las Casas, have perished. The innocent blood, which they had shed, called aloud for vengeance; the sighs, the tears of so many victims went up before God.' L'Espagne a fait comme ce roi insensé qui demanda que toute ce qu'il toucheroit se convertit en or, et qui fut oblige de revenir aux dieux pour les prier de finir aa misère. Montesq. Such as the youthful bard in fancy's dream, Of doubt that chills and hope that warms, FOR THE PORT FOLIO. TO MARIA. You did not like my lay uncouth, 'Tis true, I was a silly elf, Yes, yes, I should have been more wise, Toiling, with tropes and figures fine, If I had said, to form your eyes, That Nature search'd through all the skies, If I had called you mild as even, H. |