(Emblem of Truth divine, whose secret ray Enters the soul, and makes the darkness day!) "Pedro! Rodrigo! (50) there, methought it shone! There-in the west! and now, alas, 'tis gone!"T was all a dream! we gaze and gaze in vain! -But mark, and speak not, there it comes again! It moves!-what form unseen, what being there With torch-like lustre fires the murky air? His instincts, passions, say how like our own! Oh! when will day reveal a world unknown?" CANTO IX. The New World. LONG on the wave the morning mists reposed, Then broke-and, melting into light, disclosed Half-circling hills, whose everlasting woods Sweep with their sable skirts the shadowy floods: And say, when all, to holy transport given, Embraced and wept as at the gates of Heaven, When one and all of us, repentant, ran, And, on our faces, bless'd the wondrous Man; Say, was I then deceived, or from the skies Burst on my ear seraphic harmonies ? "Glory to God!" unnumber'd voices sung, "Glory to God!" the vales and mountains rung, Voices that hail'd Creation's primal morn, And to the Shepherds sung a Savior born. Slowly, bare-headed, through the surf we bore The sacred cross, (51) and, kneeling, kiss'd the shore. But what a scene was there! (52) Nymphs of romance, (53) Youths graceful as the Faun, with eager glance, Spring from the glades, and down the alleys peep, Then headlong rush, bounding from steep to steep, And clap their hands, exclaiming as they run, Come and behold the Children of the Sun!" When hark, a signal-shot! The voice, it came Over the sea in darkness and in flame! They saw, they heard; and up the highest hill, As in a picture, all at once were still! Creatures so fair, in garments strangely wrought, From citadels, with Heaven's own thunder fraught, Check'd their light footsteps-statue-like, they stood, As worshipp'd forms, the Genii of the Wood! At length the spell dissolves! The warrior's lance Rings on the tortoise with wild dissonance! And see, the regal plumes, the couch of state! (54) Still, where it moves, the wise in council wait! See now borne forth the monstrous mask of gold,' And ebon chair' of many a serpent-fold; These now exchanged for gifts that thrice surpass The wondrous ring, and lamp, and horse of brass. (55) What long-drawn tube (56) transports the gazer home, Kindling with stars at noon the ethereal dome? "Tis here: and here circles of solid light 2 Charm with another self the cheated sight; As man to man another self disclose, That now with terror starts, with triumph glows! CANTO X. Cora-luxuriant Vegetation-the Humming-bird-the Fountain of Youth. THEN Cora came, the youngest of her race, The more she search'd, pleased and perplex'd the more! prise; Her lips all mirth, all ecstasy her eyes! But soon the telescope attracts her view; Nor can thy flute, Alonso, now excite, Soon from the bay the mingling crowd ascends, Kindred first met! by sacred instinct Friends! Through citron-groves, and fields of yellow maize, (57) Through plantain-walks where not a sun-beam plays, There forests frown in midnight majesty; Here blue savannas fade into the sky, Ceiba, (58) and Indian fig, and plane sublime, Nature's first-born, and reverenced by Time! There sits the bird that speaks! (59) there, quivering CANTO XI. Evening a banquet-the ghost of Cazziva. There odorous lamps adorn'd the festal rite, There met, as erst, within the wonted grove, broke! And whence that voice? As from the grave it spoke! Hark, o'er the busy mead the shell 2 proclaims 1 P. Martyr, dec. i, 5. 3 Rochefort, c. xx. Twice the moon fill'd her silver urn with light, Then from the Throne an Angel wing'd his flight He, who unfix'd the compass, and assign'd O'er the wild waves a pathway to the wind; Who, while approach'd by none but Spirits pure, Wrought, in his progress through the dread obscure, Signs like the ethereal bow-that shall endure! (73) As he descended through the upper air, Day broke on day as God himself were there! Before the great Discoverer, laid to rest, He stood, and thus his secret soul address'd: (74) The wind recalls thee; its still voice obey, Millions await thy coming; hence, away! To thee blest tidings of great joy consign'd, Another Nature, and a new Mankind! The vain to dream, the wise to doubt shall cease; Young men be glad, and old depart in peace!! Hence! though assembling in the fields of air, Now, in a night of clouds, thy Foes prepare To rock the globe with elemental wars, And dash the floods of ocean to the stars; (75) To bid the meek repine, the valiant weep, And Thee restore thy Secret to the Deep! (76) To other eyes shall Mexico unfold "What though thy grey hairs to the dust descend 1 P. Martyr, Epist. 133, 152. 2 See the Eumenides of Eschylus, v. 305, etc. 4 See the Eumenides, v. 246. 2 P. Martyr, dec. iii, c. 7. 3 Clavigero, VII. 52. 41 These gardens of the sun, sacred to song, "Not thine the olive, but the sword to bring, Here, in His train, shall arts and arms attend, (83) "Hence, and rejoice. The glorious work is done. The spoiler spoil'd of all; (86) the slayer slain; (87) ON the two last leaves, and written in another hand, are some stanzas in the romance or ballad measure of the Spaniards. The subject is an adventure soon related. Thy lonely watch-tower, Larenille, Had lost the western sun; And loud and long from hill to hill When Hernan, rising on his oar, Two Strangers at the Convent-gate. They ascended by steps hewn out in the rock; and, having asked for admittance, were lodged there. Brothers in arms the Guests appear'd; And ermine fringed his broider'd vest; The eldest had a rougher aspect, and there was craft in his eye. He stood a little behind in a long black mantle, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword; and his white hat and white shoes glittered in the moonshine.$ 1 See Washington's farewell-address to his fellow-citizens. 2 See Paradise Lost, X. 3 The Convent of Rábida. 4 See Bernal Diaz, c. 203; and also a well-known portrait of Cortes, ascribed to Titian. Cortes was now in the 43d, Pizarro in the 60th year of his age 5 Augustin, Zarate, lib. iv, c. 9. When other sounds had died away, The supper in the chamber done, Of seven kings in chains of gold, The Eldest swore by our Lady, the Youngest by his conscience; while the Franciscan, sitting by in his grey habit, turned away and crossed himself again and again. "Here is a little book," said he at last, "the work of him in his shroud below. It tells of things you have mentioned; and, were Cortes and Pizarro here, it might perhaps make them reflect for a moment." The youngest smiled as he took it into his hand. He read it aloud to his companion with an unfaltering voice; but, when he laid it down, a silence ensued; nor was he seen to smile again that night. "The curse is heavy," said he at parting, "but Cortes may live to disappoint it."-" Ay, and Pizarro too!" A circumstance, recorded by Herrera, renders this visit not improbable. "In May 1528, Cortes arrived unexpectedly at Palos; and, soon after he had landed, he and Pizarro met and rejoiced; and it was remarkable that they should meet, as they were two of the most renowned men in the world." B. Diaz makes no mention of the interview; but, relating an occurrence that took place at this time in Palos, says, "that Cortes was now absent at Nuestra Senora de la Rábida." The Convent is within half a league of the town. 1 Late Superior of the House. 2 In the chancel of the cathedral of St. Domingo. 3 The words of the epitaph. "A Castilia y a Leon nuevo Mundo dio Colon." 4 Mexico. 5 Afterwards the arms of Cortes and his descendants. 6 Fernandez, lib. iì, c. 63. 7 B. Díaz, c. 203. 8 "After the death of Guatimotzin," says B. Diaz, "he became gloomy and restless; rising continually from his bed, and wandering about in the dark."-"Nothing prospered with him, and it was ascribed to the curses he was loaded with." NOTES. Note 1, page 28, col. 2. -descried of yore. In him was fulfilled the ancient prophecy -venient annis Secula seris, quibus Oceanus Vincula rerum laxit, etc. Seneca in Medea, v. 374. ways from home.-F. COLUMBUS, c. 19. Nos pavidi —at pater Anchises—lætus. Note 8, page 28, col. 2. What vast foundations in the Abyss are there. Trappassa, ed ecco in quel silvestre loco xiii, 33. Which Tasso has imitated in his Gierusalemme tro non significano, che la falsità delle ragioni, e delle Liberata : persuasioni, la qual si genera nella moltitudine, e varietà de' pareri, e de' discorsi umani. Note 9, page 28, col. 2. Atlantic kings their barbarous pomp display'd. See Plato's Timeus; where mention is made of mighty kingdoms, which, in a day and a night, had disappeared in the Atlantic, rendering its waters un Si quæras Helicen et Burin, Achaïdas urbes, In the original, El Almirante. "In Spanish Amer-navigable. ica," says M. de Humboldt, "when El Almirante is pronounced without the addition of a name, that of Columbus is understood; as, from the lips of a Mexican, El Marchese signifies Cortes ;" and as among the Florentines, Il Segretario has always signified Machjavel. Note 3, page 28, col. 2. "Thee hath it pleased-Thy will be done!" he said. "It has pleased our Lord to grant me faith and assurance for this enterprise-He has opened my understanding, and made me most willing to go." See his Life by his son, Ferd. Columbus, entitled, Hist. del Almirante Don Christoval Colon, c. 4 and 37. Note 4, page 28, col. 2. Whose voice is truth, whose wisdom is from heaven. The compass might well be an object of superstition. A belief is said to prevail even at this day, that it will refuse to traverse when there is a dead body on board-Hist. des Navig. aux Terres Australes. Note 5, page 28, col. 2. Columbus erred not. At the destruction of Callao, in 1747, no more than one of all the inhabitants escaped; and he by a providence the most extraordinary. This man was on the fort that overlooked the harbor, going to strike the flag, when he perceived the sea to retire to a considerable distance; and then, swelling mountain-high, it returned with great violence. The people ran from their houses in terror and confusion; he heard a cry of Miserere rise from all parts of the city; and immediately all was silent; the sea had entirely over whelmed it, and buried it for ever in its bosom: but the same wave that destroyed it, drove a little boat by the place where he stood, into which he threw himself and was saved. Note 10, page 29, col. 1. "Land!" and his voice in faltering accents died. Historians are not silent on the subject. The sailors, according to Herrera, saw the signs of an inundated country (tierras anegadas); and it was the general expectation that they should end their lives there, as others had done in the frozen sea, "where St. Amaro suffers no ship to stir backward or forward." F. COLUMBUS, c. 19. Note 11, page 29, col. 1. When these regions were to be illuminated, says Acosta, cùm divino concilio decretum esset, prospectum etiam divinitus est, ut tam longi itineris dux certus hominibus præberetur.-De Natura Novi Orbis. A romantic circumstance is related of some early | navigator in the Histoire Gen. des Voyages, I. i. 2. "On trouva dans l'ile de Cuervo une statue équestre, couverte d'un manteau, mais la tête nue, qui tenoit de la main gauche la bride du cheval, et qui montroit l'occident de la main droite. Il y avoit sur le bas d'un | roc quelques lettres gravées, qui ne furent point entendues; mais il parut clairement que le signe de la am servant of Him," etc.-F. COLUMBUS, c. 2. main regardoit l'Amérique." And (whence or why from many an age withheld). The author seems to have anticipated his long slumber in the library of the Fathers. Note 6, page 28, col. 2. He spoke, and, at his call, a mighty Wind. Note 12, page 29, col. 1. Hast led thy servant "They may give me what name they please. I Note 13, page 29, col. 1. From world to world their steady course they keep. As St. Christopher carried Christ over the deep The more Christian opinion is that God, at the waters, so Columbus went over safe, himself and his length, with eyes of compassion as it were, looking company.-F. COLUMBUS, c. 1. coverers, if we may believe B. Diaz and other contemporary writers, ended their days in a hermitage, or a cloister. Note 16, page 29, col. 1. 'T was in the deep, immeasurable cave Vast indeed must be those dismal regions, if it be true, as conjectured (Kircher. Mund. Subt. I. 202), that Etna, in her eruptions, has discharged twenty times her original bulk. Well might she be called by Euripides (Troades, v. 222) The Mother of Mountains; yet Etna herself is but "a mere firework, when compared to the burning summits of the Andes." Note 17, page 29, col. 2. One-half the globe; from pole to pole confess'd. Gods, yet confessed later.-MILTON.Ils ne laissent pas d'en être les esclaves, et de les honorer plus que le grand Esprit, qui de sa nature est bon.LAFITAU. Note 18, page 29, col. 2. Where Plata and Maragnon meet the main. Note 23, page 29, col. 2. He spoke; and all was silence, all was night! These scattered fragments may be compared to shreds of old arras, or reflections from a river broken and confused by the oar; and now and then perhaps the imagination of the reader may supply more than is lost. Si qua latent, meliora putat. "It is remarkable," says the elder Pliny, "that the Iris of Aristides, the Tyndarides of Nicomachus, and the Venus of Apelles, are held in higher admiration than their finished works." And is it not so in almost everything? Call up him that left half-told In the Lusiad, to beguile the heavy hours at sea, Veloso relates to his companions of the second watch the story of the Twelve Knights. L. vi. Note 25, page 30, col. 1. So Fortune smiled, careless of sea or land! Among those who went with Columbus, were many Rivers of South America. Their collision with adventurers, and gentlemen of the court. Primero was the tide has the effect of a tempest. Note 19, page 29, col. 2. Of Huron or Ontario, inland seas. Lakes of North America. Huron is above a thousand miles in circumference. Ontario receives the waters of the Niagara, so famous for its falls; and discharges itself into the Atlantic by the river St. Lawrence. Note 20, page 29, col. 2. By Ocean severed from a world of shade. La plupart de ces îles ne sont en effet que des pointes de montagnes: et la mer, qui est au-delà, est une vrai mer Méditerranée.-BUFFON. Note 21, page 29, col. 2. Hung in the tempest o'er the troubled main. The dominion of a bad angel over an unknown sea, infestandole con sus torbellinos y tempestades, and his flight before a Christian hero, are described in glowing language by Ovalle.-Hist. de Chile, IV. 8. Note 22, page 29, col. 2. No voice, as erst, shall in the desert rise; Alluding to the oracles of the Islanders, so soon to become silent; and particularly to a prophecy, delivered down from their ancestors, and sung with loud lamentations (Petr. Martyr. dec. 3, lib. 7) at their solemn festivals (Herrera, I, iii, 4) that the country would be laid waste on the arrival of strangers, completely clad, from a region near the rising of the sun. Ibid. II, 5, 2. It is said that Cazziva, a great Cacique, after long fasting and many ablutions, had an interview with one of the Zemi, who announced to him this terrible event (F. Columbus, c. 62), as the oracles of Latona, according to Herodotus (II, 152) predicted the overthrow of eleven kings of Egypt, on the appearance of men of brass, risen out of the sea. Nor did this prophecy exist among the Islanders alone. It influenced the councils of Montezuma, and extended almost universally over the forests of America. Cortes. Herrera. Gomara. "The demons whom they worshipped,' says Acosta," in this instance told hem the truth." the game then in fashion.-See VEGA, p. 2, lib. iii, c. 9. Note 26, page 30, col. 1. Yet who but He undaunted could explore. Many sighed and wept; and every hour seemed a year, says Herrera.-I, i, 9 and 10. Note 27, page 30, col. 2. The solemn march, the vows in concert given. His public procession to the convent of Rábida 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. Note 28, page 30, col. 2. While his dear boys-ah, on his neck they hung. But I was most afflicted, when I thought of my two sons, whom I had left behind me in a strange country-before I had done, or at least could be known to have done, anything which might incline your highnesses to remember them. And though I would not suffer so earnest an endeavor for the excomforted myself with the reflection that our Lord altation of his church to come to nothing, yet I considered that, on account of my unworthiness," etc.F. COLUMBUS, c. 37. |