They ascended by steps hewn out in the rock; and, having asked for admittance, were lodged there,Brothers in arms the Guests appear’d;The Youngest with a Princely grace!Short and sable was his beard,Thoughtful and wan his face.His velvet cap a medal bore,And ermine fring’d his broider’d vest;And, ever sparkling on his breast,An image of St. John he wore.[2]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 upon the hilt of his sword; and his white hat and white shoes glittered in the moon-shine.[3]“Not here unwelcome, tho’ unknown.Enter and rest!” the Friar said.The moon, that thro’ the portal shone,Shone on his reverend head.Thro’ many a court and gallery dimSlowly he led, the burial-hymnSwelling from the distant choir.But now the holy men retire;The arched cloisters issuing thro’In long long order, two and two.* * * * *When other sounds had died away,And the waves were heard alone,They enter’d, tho’ unus’d to pray,Where God was worshipp’d, night and day,And the dead knelt round in stone;They enter’d, and from aisle to aisleWander’d with folded arms awhile,Where on his altar-tomb reclin’d[z]The crosier’d Abbot; and the KnightIn harness for the Christian fight,His hands in supplication join’d;—Then said as in a solemn mood,“Now stand we where COLUMBUS stood!”* * * * *“PEREZ,[4]thou good old man,” they cried,“And art thou in thy place of rest?—Tho’ in the western world His grave,[5][a]That other world, the gift He gave,[6]Would ye were sleeping side by side!Of all his friends He lov’d thee best.”* * * * *The supper in the chamber done,Much of a Southern Sea they spake,And of that glorious City[7]wonNear the setting of the Sun,Thron’d in a silver lake;Of seven kings in chains of gold[8]—And deeds of death by tongue untold,Deeds such as breath’d in secret thereHad shaken the Confession-chair!The Eldest swore by our Lady,[9]the Youngest by his conscience;[10]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 one 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.[11]“The curse is heavy,” said he at parting, “but Cortes may live to disappoint it.”—“Aye, and Pizarro too!”[1]The Convent of Rábida.[2]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.[3]Augustin Zaratè, lib. iv. c. 9.[4]Late Superior of the House.[5]In the chancel of the cathedral of St. Domingo.[6]The words of the epitaph. “A Castilia y a Leon nuevo Mundo dio Colon.”[7]Mexico.[8]Afterwards the arms of Cortes and his descendants.[9]Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 63.[10]B. Diaz, c. 203.[11]‘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.’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.ADDITIONAL NOTES.[a]Sung ere his coming—In him was fulfilled the antient prophecy,- - - - - venient annisSecula seris, quibus OceanusVincula rerum laxet, &c.SENECA in Medea, v. 374.Which Tasso has imitated in his Giemsalemme Liberata.Tempo verrà, chie fian d’Ercole i segui Favola vile, &c. c. xv. 30.[b]To lift the veil that cover’d half mankind!An introductory couplet is here omitted.Dying, to-night I would fulfill my vow.Praise cannot wound his generous spirit now.The Poem opens on Friday, the 14th of September, 1402.[c]——the great CommanderIn the original,’ El Almirante.’ In Spanish America, says M. de Humboldt, whenEl Almiranteis pronounced without the addition of a name, that of Columbus is understood; as, from the lips of a Mexican,El Marchesesignifies Cortes.[d]“Thee hath it pleas’d—Thy will be done!” he said,‘It has pleased our Lord to grant me faith and assurance for this enterprize—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 & 37.[e]Whose voice is truth, whose wisdom is from heav’n,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.[f]COLUMBUS err’d not.When these regions were to be illuminated, says Acosta, cùm divino consilio decretum esset, prospectum etiam divinitus est, ut tarn 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’isle 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 main regardoit l’Amérique.”[g]He spoke, and, at his call, a mighty Wind,The more Christian opinion is, that God, at the length, with eyes of compassion as it were looking downe from heaven, intended even then to rayse thosewindes of mercy, whereby…….this newe worlde receyved the hope of salvation.—Certaine Preambles to the Decades of the Ocean.[h]Folded their arms and sat;To return was deemed impossible, as it blew always from home. F. Columbus, c. 19. Nos pavidi—at pater Anchises—lætus.[i]What vast foundations in the Abyss are there,Tasso employs preternatural agents on a similar occasion,Trappassa, et ecco in quel silvestre locoSorge improvisa la città del foco.Gier. Lib, c. xiii. 33.Gli incanti d’Ismeno, che ingannano con delusioni, altro non significano, che la falsità delle ragioni, et delle persuasioni, la qual si genera nella moltitudine, et varietà de’ pareri, et de’ discorsi humani.[j]ATLANTIC kings their barbarous pomp display’d;See Plato’s Timæus; where mention is made of mighty kingdoms, which, in a day and a night, had disappeared in the Atlantic, rendering its waters unnavigable.[k]When towers and temples, thro’ the closing wave,Si quæras Helicen et Burin, Achaïdas urbes,Invenies sub aquis.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 harbour, 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 ofMiserererise from all parts of the city; and immediately all was silent; the sea had entirely overwhelmed 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. Europ. Settlements.[l]“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 backwards or forwards.’ F. Columbus, c. 19.[m]Tho’ chang’d my cloth of gold for amice grey—Many of the first discoverers, if we may believe B. Diaz and other contemporary writers, ended their days in a hermitage, or a cloister.[n]’Twas in the deep, immeasurable cave Of ANDES,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) theMother of Mountains;yet Etna herself is but ‘a mere firework, when compared to the burning summits of the Andes.’[o]Where PLATA and MARAGNON meet the Main.Rivers of South America. Their collision with the tide has the effect of a tempest.[p]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.[q]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.[r]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.Illud vero perquam rarum ac memoria dignum, etiam suprema opera artificum imperfectasque tabulas, sicut Irin Aristidis, Tyndaridas Nicomachi, Medeam Timomachi, et quam diximus Venerem Apellis, in majori admiratione esse, quam perfecta.[s]The soldier, &c.So Fortune smil 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.[t]So Fortune smil’d, careless of sea or land!Among those, who went with Columbus, were many adventurers, and gentlemen of the court. Primero was the game then in fashion. See Vega, p. 2, lib. iii. c. 9.[u]Yet who but He undaunted could exploreMany sighed and wept; and every hour seemed a year, says Herrera.I. i. 9 and 10.[v]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, any thing which might incline your highnesses to remember them. And though I comforted myself with the reflection that our Lord would not suffer so earnest an endeavour for the exaltation of his church to come to nothing, yet I considered that, on account of my unworthiness,’ &c.—F. Columbus, c. 37.[w]Roc of the West! to him all empire giv’n!Le Condor est le même oiseau que le Roc des Orientaux. Buffon. ‘By the Peruvians,’ says Vega, ‘he was antiently worshipped; and there were those who claimed their descent from him.’ In these degenerate days he still ranks above the Eagle.[x]High-hung in forests to the casing snows.A custom not peculiar to the Western Hemisphere. The Tunguses of Siberia hang their dead on trees; ‘parceque la terre ne se laisse point ouvrir.’ Recherches Philos. sur les Americ. I. 140.[y]——and, thro’ that dismal night,‘Aquella noche triste.’ The night, on which Cortes made his famous retreat from Mexico through the street of Tlacopan, still goes by the name of LA NOCHE TRISTE.HUMBOLDT.[z]By his white plume reveal’d and buskins white,It is said that Pizarro used to dress in this fashion; after Gonzalo, whom he had served under in Italy.[a]’Twas MERION’S self, covering with dreadful shade.Now one,Now other, as their shape serv’d best his end.Undoubtedly, says Herrera, the Infernal Spirit assumed various shapes in that region of the world.[b]Then, inly gliding, &c.The original passage is here translated at full length.Then, inly gliding like a subtle flame,Thrice, with a cry that thrill’d the mortal frame,Call’d on the Spirit within. Disdaining flight,Calmly she rose, collecting all her might.[1]Dire was the dark encounter! Long unquell’d,Her sacred seat, sovereign and pure, she held.At length the great Foe binds her for his prize,And awful, as in death, the body lies!Not long to slumber! In an evil hourInform’d and lifted by the unknown Power,It starts, it speaks’. “We live, we breathe no more!” &c.Many a modern reader will exclaim in the language of Pococurantè, ‘Quelle triste extravagance!’ Let a great theologian of that day, a monk of the Augustine order, be consulted on the subject. ‘Corpus ille perimere vel jugulare potest; nec id modò, verùm et animam ita urgere, et in angustum coarctare novit, ut in momento quoque illi excedendum sit.’[1]—magnum si pectore possitExcussisse deum.[c]The scorn of Folly, and of Fraud the prey;Nudo nocchier, promettitor di regni!By the Genoese and the Spaniards he was regarded as a man resolved on ‘a wild dedication of himself to unpath’d waters, undream’d shores;’ and the court of Portugal endeavoured to rob him of the glory of his enterprise, by secretly dispatching a vessel in the course which he had pointed out. ‘Lorsqu’il avail promis un nouvel hémisphère,’ says Voltaire, ‘on lui avait soutenu que cet hémisphère ne pouvait exister; et quand il l’eut découvert, on prétendit qu’il avait été connu depuis long-temps.’[d]The hand that snatch’d it sparkling in the tide,The drinking cups of the Islanders, if we may believe a contemporary of Columbus, wereex lignu…lucido confecta, el arte mirá lalorata.P. Martyr, dec. i. 5.[e]Rose to the Virgin.Salve, regina. Herrera, I. i. 12.—It was the usual service, and always sung with great solemnity. ‘I remember one evening,’ says Oviedo, ‘when the ship was in full sail, and all the men were on their knees, singing Salve, regina, &c. Relacion Sommaria.—The hymn, O Sanctissima, is still to be heard after sunset along the shores of Sicily, and its effect may be better conceived than described. See Brydone, I. 330.[f]Chosen of Men!I believe that he waschosenfor this great service; and that, because he was to be so truly an apostle, as in effect be proved to be, therefore was his origin obscure; that therein he might resemble those who were called to make known the name of the Lord from seas and rivers, and not from courts and palaces. And I believe also, that, as in most of his doings he was guarded by some special providence, his very name was not without some mystery: for in it is expressed the wonder he performed; inasmuch as he conveyed to a new world the grace of the Holy Ghost, &c. F. COL. c. 1.[g]Slowly to land the sacred cross we bore,Signifying to the Infernal Powers (all’ infierno todo) the will of the Most High, that they should renounce a world over which they had tyrannised for so many ages. OVALLE, iv. 5.[h]But how the scene pourtray?‘This country excels all others, as far as the day surpasses the night in splendour.—Nor is there a better people in the world. They love their neighbour as themselves; their conversation is the sweetest imaginable, their faces always smiling; and so gentle, so affectionate are they, that I swear to your highnesses,’ &c. F. COL. c. 30, 33.[i]Nymphs of romance,Dryades formosissimas, aut nativas fontium nymphas, de quibus fabulatur antiquitas, se vidisse arbitrati sunt. P. MARTYR, dec. i. lib. 5.[j]Youths graceful as the Faun,An eminent Painter, when he first saw the Apollo of the Belvidere, was struck with its resemblance to an American warrior. West’s discourse in the Royal Academy, 1794.[k]But see, the regal plumes, the couch of state!‘The Cacique came down to the shore in a sort of palanquin—attended by his antient men.—The gifts, which he received from me, were afterwards carried before him.’ F. COLUMBUS, c. 32.[l]The wondrous ring, and lamp, and horse of brass.The ring of Gyges, the lamp of Aladdin, and the horse of the Tartar king.[m]Ceiba,The wild cotton tree, often mentioned in History. ‘Cortes,’ saysBernal Diaz, ‘took possession of the Country in the following manner.Drawing his sword, he gave three cuts with it into a great Ceibaand said———’[n]Half bird, half fly,Here are birds so small, says Herrera, that, though they are birds, they are taken for bees or butterflies.[o]Reigns there, and revels, &c.There also was heard the wild cry of the Flamingo.What clarion winds along the yellow sands?Far in the deep the giant-fisher stand,Folding his wings of flame.[p]Who now danc’d forth, &c.Their dances, which continued from evening to the dawn, were accompanied with singing. P. MARTYR, dec. iii. 7.[q]Who among us a life of sorrow spoil,For a summary of his life and character see ‘An Account of theEuropean Colonies.’ P. I. c. 8.[r]To other eyes, from distant cliff descried,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, andwent up alone. HERRERA, I.x. 1.[s]Hung in thy chamber, buried in thy grave!I always saw them in his room, and he ordered them to be buried with his body. F. COL. c. 86.[t]Thy reverend formHis person, says Herrera, had an air of grandeur. His hair, from many hardships, had long been grey. In him you saw a man of an unconquerable courage, and high thoughts; patient of wrongs, calm in adversity, ever trusting in God:—and, had he lived in antient times, statues and temples would have been erected to him without number, and his name would have been placed among the stars.[u]Swept—till the voyager, in the desert air,With my own eyes I saw kingdoms as full of people, as hives are full of bees; and now where are they? LAS CASAS.[v]Here, in His train, shall arts and arms attend,‘There are those alive,’ said an illustrious orator, ‘whose memory might touch the two extremities. Lord Bathurst, in 1704, was of an age to comprehend such things—and, if his angel had then drawn up the curtain, and, whilst he was gazing with admiration, had pointed out to him a speck, and had told him, “Young man, there is America—which, at this day, serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners; yet shall, before you taste of death,”’ &c. BURKE in 1775.[w]Assembling here, &c.How simple were the manners of the early colonists! The first ripening of any European fruit was distinguished by a family-festival. Garcilasso de la Vega relates how his dear father, the valorous Andres, collected together in his chamber seven or eight gentlemen to share with him three asparaguses, the first that ever grew on the table-land of Cusco. When the operation of dressing them was over (and it is minutely described) he distributed the two largest among his friends; begging that the company would not take it ill, if he reserved the third for himself,as it was a thing from Spain.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 America altogether without a claim to the title. Even now, while I am writing, the antient house of Braganza is on its passage across the Atlantic,Cum sociis, natoque, Penatibus, et magnis dîs.[x]Untouch’d shall drop the fetters from the slave ,Je me transporte quelquefois au delà d’un siècle. J’y vois le bonheur à côté de l’industrie, la douce tolerance remplacant la farouche inquisition; j’y vois un jour de fête; Péruvians, Mexicains, Américains libres, François, s’embrassant comme des frères, et bénissant le règne de la liberté, qui doit amener partout une harmonic universelle.—Mais les mines, les esclaves, que deviendront-ils? Les mines se fermerout; les esclaves seront les frères de leurs maitres. Nouv. Voy. dans l’Amérique.[y]The spoiler spoil’d of all;Cortes. A peine put-il obtenir audience de Charles-Quint. un jour il fendit la presse qui entourait le coche de l’empereur, et monta sur l’étrier de la portière. Charles demanda quel était cet homme: ‘C’est,’ repondit Cortez, ‘celui qui vous a donné plus d’etats que vos pères ne vous ont laissé de villes.’ VOLTAIRE.[z]Where on his altar-tomb, &c.An Interpolation.[a]Tho’ in the western world His grave,An Anachronism. The body of Columbus was not yet removed from Seville.It is almost unnecessary to point out another in the Ninth Canto. The telescope was not then in use; though described long before with great accuracy by Roger Bacon.
They ascended by steps hewn out in the rock; and, having asked for admittance, were lodged there,
Brothers in arms the Guests appear’d;The Youngest with a Princely grace!Short and sable was his beard,Thoughtful and wan his face.His velvet cap a medal bore,And ermine fring’d his broider’d vest;And, ever sparkling on his breast,An image of St. John he wore.[2]
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 upon the hilt of his sword; and his white hat and white shoes glittered in the moon-shine.[3]
“Not here unwelcome, tho’ unknown.Enter and rest!” the Friar said.The moon, that thro’ the portal shone,Shone on his reverend head.Thro’ many a court and gallery dimSlowly he led, the burial-hymnSwelling from the distant choir.But now the holy men retire;The arched cloisters issuing thro’In long long order, two and two.* * * * *When other sounds had died away,And the waves were heard alone,They enter’d, tho’ unus’d to pray,Where God was worshipp’d, night and day,And the dead knelt round in stone;They enter’d, and from aisle to aisleWander’d with folded arms awhile,Where on his altar-tomb reclin’d[z]The crosier’d Abbot; and the KnightIn harness for the Christian fight,His hands in supplication join’d;—Then said as in a solemn mood,“Now stand we where COLUMBUS stood!”* * * * *“PEREZ,[4]thou good old man,” they cried,“And art thou in thy place of rest?—Tho’ in the western world His grave,[5][a]That other world, the gift He gave,[6]Would ye were sleeping side by side!Of all his friends He lov’d thee best.”* * * * *The supper in the chamber done,Much of a Southern Sea they spake,And of that glorious City[7]wonNear the setting of the Sun,Thron’d in a silver lake;Of seven kings in chains of gold[8]—And deeds of death by tongue untold,Deeds such as breath’d in secret thereHad shaken the Confession-chair!
The Eldest swore by our Lady,[9]the Youngest by his conscience;[10]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 one 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.[11]“The curse is heavy,” said he at parting, “but Cortes may live to disappoint it.”—“Aye, and Pizarro too!”
[1]The Convent of Rábida.
[2]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.
[3]Augustin Zaratè, lib. iv. c. 9.
[4]Late Superior of the House.
[5]In the chancel of the cathedral of St. Domingo.
[6]The words of the epitaph. “A Castilia y a Leon nuevo Mundo dio Colon.”
[7]Mexico.
[8]Afterwards the arms of Cortes and his descendants.
[9]Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 63.
[10]B. Diaz, c. 203.
[11]‘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.’
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.
[a]Sung ere his coming—In him was fulfilled the antient prophecy,
- - - - - venient annisSecula seris, quibus OceanusVincula rerum laxet, &c.SENECA in Medea, v. 374.
Which Tasso has imitated in his Giemsalemme Liberata.
Tempo verrà, chie fian d’Ercole i segui Favola vile, &c. c. xv. 30.
[b]To lift the veil that cover’d half mankind!An introductory couplet is here omitted.
Dying, to-night I would fulfill my vow.Praise cannot wound his generous spirit now.
The Poem opens on Friday, the 14th of September, 1402.
[c]——the great CommanderIn the original,’ El Almirante.’ In Spanish America, says M. de Humboldt, whenEl Almiranteis pronounced without the addition of a name, that of Columbus is understood; as, from the lips of a Mexican,El Marchesesignifies Cortes.
[d]“Thee hath it pleas’d—Thy will be done!” he said,‘It has pleased our Lord to grant me faith and assurance for this enterprize—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 & 37.
[e]Whose voice is truth, whose wisdom is from heav’n,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.
[f]COLUMBUS err’d not.When these regions were to be illuminated, says Acosta, cùm divino consilio decretum esset, prospectum etiam divinitus est, ut tarn 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’isle 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 main regardoit l’Amérique.”
[g]He spoke, and, at his call, a mighty Wind,The more Christian opinion is, that God, at the length, with eyes of compassion as it were looking downe from heaven, intended even then to rayse thosewindes of mercy, whereby…….this newe worlde receyved the hope of salvation.—Certaine Preambles to the Decades of the Ocean.
[h]Folded their arms and sat;To return was deemed impossible, as it blew always from home. F. Columbus, c. 19. Nos pavidi—at pater Anchises—lætus.
[i]What vast foundations in the Abyss are there,Tasso employs preternatural agents on a similar occasion,
Trappassa, et ecco in quel silvestre locoSorge improvisa la città del foco.Gier. Lib, c. xiii. 33.
Gli incanti d’Ismeno, che ingannano con delusioni, altro non significano, che la falsità delle ragioni, et delle persuasioni, la qual si genera nella moltitudine, et varietà de’ pareri, et de’ discorsi humani.
[j]ATLANTIC kings their barbarous pomp display’d;See Plato’s Timæus; where mention is made of mighty kingdoms, which, in a day and a night, had disappeared in the Atlantic, rendering its waters unnavigable.
[k]When towers and temples, thro’ the closing wave,Si quæras Helicen et Burin, Achaïdas urbes,Invenies sub aquis.
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 harbour, 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 ofMiserererise from all parts of the city; and immediately all was silent; the sea had entirely overwhelmed 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. Europ. Settlements.
[l]“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 backwards or forwards.’ F. Columbus, c. 19.
[m]Tho’ chang’d my cloth of gold for amice grey—Many of the first discoverers, if we may believe B. Diaz and other contemporary writers, ended their days in a hermitage, or a cloister.
[n]’Twas in the deep, immeasurable cave Of ANDES,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) theMother of Mountains;yet Etna herself is but ‘a mere firework, when compared to the burning summits of the Andes.’
[o]Where PLATA and MARAGNON meet the Main.Rivers of South America. Their collision with the tide has the effect of a tempest.
[p]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.
[q]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.
[r]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.Illud vero perquam rarum ac memoria dignum, etiam suprema opera artificum imperfectasque tabulas, sicut Irin Aristidis, Tyndaridas Nicomachi, Medeam Timomachi, et quam diximus Venerem Apellis, in majori admiratione esse, quam perfecta.
[s]The soldier, &c.So Fortune smil 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.
[t]So Fortune smil’d, careless of sea or land!Among those, who went with Columbus, were many adventurers, and gentlemen of the court. Primero was the game then in fashion. See Vega, p. 2, lib. iii. c. 9.
[u]Yet who but He undaunted could exploreMany sighed and wept; and every hour seemed a year, says Herrera.I. i. 9 and 10.
[v]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, any thing which might incline your highnesses to remember them. And though I comforted myself with the reflection that our Lord would not suffer so earnest an endeavour for the exaltation of his church to come to nothing, yet I considered that, on account of my unworthiness,’ &c.—F. Columbus, c. 37.
[w]Roc of the West! to him all empire giv’n!Le Condor est le même oiseau que le Roc des Orientaux. Buffon. ‘By the Peruvians,’ says Vega, ‘he was antiently worshipped; and there were those who claimed their descent from him.’ In these degenerate days he still ranks above the Eagle.
[x]High-hung in forests to the casing snows.A custom not peculiar to the Western Hemisphere. The Tunguses of Siberia hang their dead on trees; ‘parceque la terre ne se laisse point ouvrir.’ Recherches Philos. sur les Americ. I. 140.
[y]——and, thro’ that dismal night,‘Aquella noche triste.’ The night, on which Cortes made his famous retreat from Mexico through the street of Tlacopan, still goes by the name of LA NOCHE TRISTE.HUMBOLDT.
[z]By his white plume reveal’d and buskins white,It is said that Pizarro used to dress in this fashion; after Gonzalo, whom he had served under in Italy.
[a]’Twas MERION’S self, covering with dreadful shade.Now one,Now other, as their shape serv’d best his end.
Undoubtedly, says Herrera, the Infernal Spirit assumed various shapes in that region of the world.
[b]Then, inly gliding, &c.The original passage is here translated at full length.
Then, inly gliding like a subtle flame,Thrice, with a cry that thrill’d the mortal frame,Call’d on the Spirit within. Disdaining flight,Calmly she rose, collecting all her might.[1]Dire was the dark encounter! Long unquell’d,Her sacred seat, sovereign and pure, she held.At length the great Foe binds her for his prize,And awful, as in death, the body lies!Not long to slumber! In an evil hourInform’d and lifted by the unknown Power,It starts, it speaks’. “We live, we breathe no more!” &c.
Many a modern reader will exclaim in the language of Pococurantè, ‘Quelle triste extravagance!’ Let a great theologian of that day, a monk of the Augustine order, be consulted on the subject. ‘Corpus ille perimere vel jugulare potest; nec id modò, verùm et animam ita urgere, et in angustum coarctare novit, ut in momento quoque illi excedendum sit.’
[1]—magnum si pectore possitExcussisse deum.
[c]The scorn of Folly, and of Fraud the prey;Nudo nocchier, promettitor di regni!By the Genoese and the Spaniards he was regarded as a man resolved on ‘a wild dedication of himself to unpath’d waters, undream’d shores;’ and the court of Portugal endeavoured to rob him of the glory of his enterprise, by secretly dispatching a vessel in the course which he had pointed out. ‘Lorsqu’il avail promis un nouvel hémisphère,’ says Voltaire, ‘on lui avait soutenu que cet hémisphère ne pouvait exister; et quand il l’eut découvert, on prétendit qu’il avait été connu depuis long-temps.’
[d]The hand that snatch’d it sparkling in the tide,The drinking cups of the Islanders, if we may believe a contemporary of Columbus, wereex lignu…lucido confecta, el arte mirá lalorata.P. Martyr, dec. i. 5.
[e]Rose to the Virgin.Salve, regina. Herrera, I. i. 12.—It was the usual service, and always sung with great solemnity. ‘I remember one evening,’ says Oviedo, ‘when the ship was in full sail, and all the men were on their knees, singing Salve, regina, &c. Relacion Sommaria.—The hymn, O Sanctissima, is still to be heard after sunset along the shores of Sicily, and its effect may be better conceived than described. See Brydone, I. 330.
[f]Chosen of Men!I believe that he waschosenfor this great service; and that, because he was to be so truly an apostle, as in effect be proved to be, therefore was his origin obscure; that therein he might resemble those who were called to make known the name of the Lord from seas and rivers, and not from courts and palaces. And I believe also, that, as in most of his doings he was guarded by some special providence, his very name was not without some mystery: for in it is expressed the wonder he performed; inasmuch as he conveyed to a new world the grace of the Holy Ghost, &c. F. COL. c. 1.
[g]Slowly to land the sacred cross we bore,Signifying to the Infernal Powers (all’ infierno todo) the will of the Most High, that they should renounce a world over which they had tyrannised for so many ages. OVALLE, iv. 5.
[h]But how the scene pourtray?‘This country excels all others, as far as the day surpasses the night in splendour.—Nor is there a better people in the world. They love their neighbour as themselves; their conversation is the sweetest imaginable, their faces always smiling; and so gentle, so affectionate are they, that I swear to your highnesses,’ &c. F. COL. c. 30, 33.
[i]Nymphs of romance,Dryades formosissimas, aut nativas fontium nymphas, de quibus fabulatur antiquitas, se vidisse arbitrati sunt. P. MARTYR, dec. i. lib. 5.
[j]Youths graceful as the Faun,An eminent Painter, when he first saw the Apollo of the Belvidere, was struck with its resemblance to an American warrior. West’s discourse in the Royal Academy, 1794.
[k]But see, the regal plumes, the couch of state!‘The Cacique came down to the shore in a sort of palanquin—attended by his antient men.—The gifts, which he received from me, were afterwards carried before him.’ F. COLUMBUS, c. 32.
[l]The wondrous ring, and lamp, and horse of brass.The ring of Gyges, the lamp of Aladdin, and the horse of the Tartar king.
[m]Ceiba,The wild cotton tree, often mentioned in History. ‘Cortes,’ saysBernal Diaz, ‘took possession of the Country in the following manner.Drawing his sword, he gave three cuts with it into a great Ceibaand said———’
[n]Half bird, half fly,Here are birds so small, says Herrera, that, though they are birds, they are taken for bees or butterflies.
[o]Reigns there, and revels, &c.There also was heard the wild cry of the Flamingo.
What clarion winds along the yellow sands?Far in the deep the giant-fisher stand,Folding his wings of flame.
[p]Who now danc’d forth, &c.Their dances, which continued from evening to the dawn, were accompanied with singing. P. MARTYR, dec. iii. 7.
[q]Who among us a life of sorrow spoil,For a summary of his life and character see ‘An Account of theEuropean Colonies.’ P. I. c. 8.
[r]To other eyes, from distant cliff descried,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, andwent up alone. HERRERA, I.x. 1.
[s]Hung in thy chamber, buried in thy grave!I always saw them in his room, and he ordered them to be buried with his body. F. COL. c. 86.
[t]Thy reverend formHis person, says Herrera, had an air of grandeur. His hair, from many hardships, had long been grey. In him you saw a man of an unconquerable courage, and high thoughts; patient of wrongs, calm in adversity, ever trusting in God:—and, had he lived in antient times, statues and temples would have been erected to him without number, and his name would have been placed among the stars.
[u]Swept—till the voyager, in the desert air,With my own eyes I saw kingdoms as full of people, as hives are full of bees; and now where are they? LAS CASAS.
[v]Here, in His train, shall arts and arms attend,‘There are those alive,’ said an illustrious orator, ‘whose memory might touch the two extremities. Lord Bathurst, in 1704, was of an age to comprehend such things—and, if his angel had then drawn up the curtain, and, whilst he was gazing with admiration, had pointed out to him a speck, and had told him, “Young man, there is America—which, at this day, serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners; yet shall, before you taste of death,”’ &c. BURKE in 1775.
[w]Assembling here, &c.How simple were the manners of the early colonists! The first ripening of any European fruit was distinguished by a family-festival. Garcilasso de la Vega relates how his dear father, the valorous Andres, collected together in his chamber seven or eight gentlemen to share with him three asparaguses, the first that ever grew on the table-land of Cusco. When the operation of dressing them was over (and it is minutely described) he distributed the two largest among his friends; begging that the company would not take it ill, if he reserved the third for himself,as it was a thing from Spain.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 America altogether without a claim to the title. Even now, while I am writing, the antient house of Braganza is on its passage across the Atlantic,Cum sociis, natoque, Penatibus, et magnis dîs.
[x]Untouch’d shall drop the fetters from the slave ,Je me transporte quelquefois au delà d’un siècle. J’y vois le bonheur à côté de l’industrie, la douce tolerance remplacant la farouche inquisition; j’y vois un jour de fête; Péruvians, Mexicains, Américains libres, François, s’embrassant comme des frères, et bénissant le règne de la liberté, qui doit amener partout une harmonic universelle.—Mais les mines, les esclaves, que deviendront-ils? Les mines se fermerout; les esclaves seront les frères de leurs maitres. Nouv. Voy. dans l’Amérique.
[y]The spoiler spoil’d of all;Cortes. A peine put-il obtenir audience de Charles-Quint. un jour il fendit la presse qui entourait le coche de l’empereur, et monta sur l’étrier de la portière. Charles demanda quel était cet homme: ‘C’est,’ repondit Cortez, ‘celui qui vous a donné plus d’etats que vos pères ne vous ont laissé de villes.’ VOLTAIRE.
[z]Where on his altar-tomb, &c.An Interpolation.
[a]Tho’ in the western world His grave,An Anachronism. The body of Columbus was not yet removed from Seville.It is almost unnecessary to point out another in the Ninth Canto. The telescope was not then in use; though described long before with great accuracy by Roger Bacon.