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, 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 23, col. 2. By Ocean severed from a world of shade. 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 La plupart de ces îles ne sont en effet que des to have passed some time there, the venerable Guardpointes 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 them the truth." ian, 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 comforted myself with the reflection that our Lord would not suffer so earnest an endeavor for the exaltation of his church to come to nothing, yet I considered that, on account of my unworthiness," etc.F. COLUMBUS, c. 37. Note 29, page 30, col. 2. The great Gonzalo. Gonzalo Fernandes, already known by the name of the Great Captain. Granada surrendered on the 2d of January, 1492. Columbus set sail on the 3d of August following. Note 30, page 30, col. 2. Though Roldan, etc. Probably a soldier of fortune. There were more than one of the name on board. Note 31, page 31, col. 1. The Cross shone forth in everlasting light! The Cross of the South; "una Croce maravigliosa, e di tanta bellezza," says Andrea Corsali, a Florentine, I'mi volsi a man destra, e posi mente, Roc of the West! to him all empire given ! Note 33, page 31, col. 1. Who bears Axalhua's dragon-folds to heaven. As the Roc of the East is said to have carried off the Elephant. See Marco Polo.-Axalhua, or the Emperor, is the name in the Mexican language for the great serpent of America. Note 34, page 31, col. 1. To where Alaska's wintry wilds retire. Call'd on the Spirit within. Disdaining flight, It starts, it speaks! "We live, we breathe no more!" etc. 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."-LuTHERUS, De Missa Privata. Note 42, page 31, col. 2. The same language had been addressed to Isabella.-F. COLUMBUS, c. 15. Note 43, page 31, col. 2. Oh had I perish'd, when my failing frame. Northern extremity of the New World.-See fight off the coast of Portugal.-Ibid. c. 5. Note 35, page 31, col. 1. From mines of gold Mines of Chili; which extend, says Ovalle, to the Strait of Magellan. I, 4. Note 36, page 31, col. 1. 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."-M. PAUW. Note 37, page 31, col. 1. -and, through 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. Note 38, page 31, col. 1. By his white plume reveal'd and buskins white. Pizarro used to dress in this fashion; after Gonzalo, whom he had served under in Italy. Note 39, page 31, col. 1. O'er him a Vampire his dark wings display'd. A species of bat in S. America; which refreshes by the gentle agitation of its wings, while it sucks the blood of the sleeper, turning his sleep into death. -ULLOA Note 40, page 31, col. 1. 'Twas Merion's self, covering with dreadful shade. Now one, Now other, as their shape served best his end. Undoubtedly, says Herrera, the Infernal Spirit sumed various shapes in that region of the world. Note 41, page 31, col. 1. Then, inly gliding, etc. Note 44, page 31, col. 2. The scorn of Folly, and of Fraud the prey. By the Genoese and the Spaniards he was regarded as a man resolved on "a wild dedication of himself to unpathed waters, undreamed shores;" and the court of Portugal endeavored to rob him of the glory of his enterprise, by secretly dispatching a vessel in the course which he had pointed out. "Lorsqu'il avait promis un nouvel hémisphère," says Voltaire, "on lui avait soutenu que cet hémisphère ne pouvoit exister; et quand il l'eut découvert, on prétendit qu'il avait été connu depuis long-temps." Note 45, page 31, col. 2. -He spoke not uninspired. particular assistance; like Moses when he led forth Note 46, page 31, col. 2. "In his own shape shall Death receive you there." This denunciation, fulfilled as it appears to be in the eleventh canto, may remind the reader of the Harpies in Virgil.-En. III, v. 247. Note 47, page 31, col. 2. Rose to the Virgin. Salve, regina. Herrera, I, i, 12.-It was the usual as-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," etc. Relacion Sommaria. The original passage is here translated at full The hymn, O Sanctissima, is still to be heard after length. Then, inly gliding like a subtle flame. Thrice, with a cry that thrill'd the mortal frame, 1-magnum si pectore possit Excussisse deum. sunset along the shores of Sicily, and its effect may be better conceived than described. See BRYDONE, I, 330. Note 48, page 31, col. 2. Chosen of Men! Note 56, page 32, col. 1. For the effects of the telescope, and the mirror, on an uncultivated mind, see WALLIS's Voyage round the World, c. 2 and 6. Note 57, page 32, col. 2. Through citron-groves, and fields of yellow maize. Etas est illis aurea. Apertis vivunt hortis. P. MABTYR, dec. i, 3. Note 58, page 32, col. 2. I believe that he was chosen for this great service; and that, because he was to be so truly an apostle, as in effect he 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 ex- "Cortes," says Bernal Diaz, "took possession of the The wild cotton-tree, often mentioned in History. pressed the wonder he performed; inasmuch as he country in the following manner. Drawing his sword, conveyed to a new world the grace of the Holy he gave three cuts with it into a great Ceiba, and Ghost, etc.-F. COLUMBUS, c. 1. said- "" Ceiba. Note 59, page 32, col. 2. The Parrot, as described by Aristotle.-Hist. Animal. viii, 12. Folding his wings of flame. Note 63, page 32, col. 2. Soon in the virgin's graceful ear to shine. qui portent en pendans d'oreilles deux de ces charIl sert après sa mort a parer les jeunes Indiennes, mans oiseaux.-BUFFON. Note 64, page 32, col. 2. 'Mid branching palms and amaranths of gold! According to an ancient tradition. See Oviedo, Vega, Herrera, etc. Not many years afterwards a nym-search of it: and no wonder, as Robertson observes, Spaniard of distinction wandered everywhere in when Columbus himself could imagine that he had found the seat of Paradise. Dryades formosissimas, aut nativas fontium phas de quibus fabulatur antiquitas, se vidisse arbitrati sunt.-P. MARTYR, dec. i, lib. v. And an eminent Painter of the present day, 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. says Herodotus, the children bury their fathers; in time of war the fathers bury their children! But the Gods have willed it so.-I, 87. Note 68, page 33, col. 1. Cazziva. Note 79, page 33, col. 2. Thy reverend form. His 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 adver An ancient Cacique, in his life-time and after his sity, ever trusting in God :—and, had he lived in andeath, employed by the Zemi to alarm his people-cient times, statues and temples would have been See F. COLUMBUS, c. 62. Note 78, page 33, col. 2. Hung in thy chamber, buried in thy grave. I always saw them in his room, and he ordered erected to him without number, and his name would have been placed among the stars. 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,' etc."-BURKE in 1775. Note 84, page 34, col. 1. Assembling here, etc. 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 ancient house of Braganza is on its passage across the Atlantic, Cum sociis, natoque, Penatibus, et magnis dîs. Untouch'd, shall drop the fetters from the slave. thern to be buried with his body.-F. COLUMBUS, C. 86. J'y vois le bonheur à côté de l'industrie, la douce Note 87, page 34, col. 1. -the slayer slain. tolérance remplaçant la farouche inquisition; j'y vois, un jour de fête, Péruviens, Mexicains, Américains libres, François s'embrassant comme des frères, et bénissant le régne de la liberté, qui doit amener partout une harmonie universelle.-Mais les mines, les esclaves, que deviendront-ils? Les mines se fermeront, of so many victims went up before God." les esclaves seront les frères de leurs maîtres. BRISSOT. There is a prophetic stanza, written a century ago by Bp. Berkeley, which I must quote, though I shall suffer by the comparison. Westward the course of empire takes its way. A fifth shall close the drama with the day. Note 86, page 34, col. 1. The spoiler spoil'd of all. Cortes. "A peine put-il obtenir audience de CharlesQuint; un jour il fendit la presse qui entourait la coche de l'empereur, et monta sur l'étrier de la portière. Charles demanda quel étoit cet homme: 'C'est,' répondit Cortez, 'celui qui vous a donné plus d'états que vos pères ne vous ont laissé de villes.'"-VOLTAIRE. Cortes, Pizarro.-" Almost all," says Las Casas, have perished. The innocent blood, which they had shed, cried aloud for vengeance; the sighs, the tears Note 88, page 34, col. 1. 'Mid gems and gold, unenvied and unblest. L'Espagne a fait comme ce roi insensé qui demanda que tout ce qu'il toucheroit se convertît en or, et qui fut obligé de revenir aux dieux pour les prier de finir sa misère.-MONTESQUIEU. Note 89, page 34, col. 2. Where on his altar-tomb, etc. An interpolation. Note 90, page 34, col. 2. Though 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, m the Ninth Canto. The telescope was not then in use; though described long before with great accuracy by Roger Bacon. Italy; A POEM. PREFACE. A FEW copies of this Poem were printed off in the autumn of the year before last, while the Author was abroad. It is now corrected, and republished with some additions. Whatever may be its success, it has led him in many an after-dream through a beautiful country; and may not perhaps be uninteresting to those who have learnt to live in past times as well as present, and whose minds are familiar with the events and the people that have rendered Italy so illustrious. The stories, taken from the old Chroniclers, are given without exaggeration; and are, he believes, as true to the original text as any of the Plays that may be said to form our popular history. May 1st, 1823. PART I. I. THE LAKE OF GENEVA. DAY glimmer'd in the east, and the white Moon Hung like a vapor in the cloudless sky, Yet visible, when on my way I went, Glad to be gone-a pilgrim from the north, Now more and more attracted as I drew Nearer and nearer. Ere the artisan, Drowsy, half-clad, had from his window leant, With folded arms and listless look to snuff "T is not a tale that every hour brings with it. 1 Rousseau. |