37-1040 157 anc THE VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS. 1812. Chi se' tu, che vieni-? Da me stesso non vegno. DANTE. PREFACE. THE following Poem (or, to speak more properly, what remains of it') has here and there a lyrical turn of thought and expression. It is sudden in its transitions, and full of historical allusions; leaving much to be imagined by the reader. The subject is a voyage the most memorable in the annals of mankind. Columbus was a person of extraordinary virtue and piety, acting, as he conceived, under the sense of a divine impulse; and his achievement the discovery of a New World, the inhabitants of which were shut out from the light of Revelation, and given up, as they believed, to the dominion of malignant spirits. Many of the incidents will now be thought extravagant; yet they were once perhaps received with something more than indulgence. It was an age of miracles; and who can say that among the venerable legends in the library of the Escurial, or the more authentic records which fill the great chamber in the Archivo of Seville, and which relate entirely to the deep tragedy of America, there are no volumes that mention the marvellous things here described? Indeed the story, as already told throughout Europe, admits of no heightening. Such was the religious enthusiasm of the early writers, that the Author had only to transfuse it into his verse; and. he appears to have done little more; though some of the circumstances, which he alludes to as well-known, have long ceased to be so. By using the language of that day, he has called up Columbus "in his habit as he lived; and the authorities, such as exist, are carefully given by the Translator. INSCRIBED ON THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT. NCLASP me, Stranger; and unfold, If yet, alas, a leaf endure. In Rábida's monastic fane I cannot ask, and ask in vain. The original in the Castilian language, according to the Inscription that follows, was found among other MSS. in an old religious The language of Castile I speak; 197 Mid many an Arab, many a Greek, No earthly thought has here a place, Here, tempest-worn and desolate,1 "Twas here, unknowing and unknown, when? house near Palos, situated on an island formed by the river Tinto, and dedicated to our Lady of La Rábida. "The Writer describes himself as having sailed with Columbus; but his style and manner are evidently of an after-time. We have an interesting account of his first appearance in Spain, that country which was so soon to be the theatre of his glory. According to the testimony of Garcia Fernandez, the Physician of Palos, a sea-faring man, accompanied by a very young boy, stopped one day at the gate of the Convent of La Rábida and asked of the porter a little bread and water for his child. While they were receiving this humble refreshment, the Prior, Juan Perez, happening to pass by, was struck with the look and manner of the stranger, and, entering into conversation with him, soon learnt the particulars of his story. The stranger was Columbus; the boy was his son Diego; and, but for this accidental interview, America might have remained long undiscovered; for it was to the zeal of Juan Perez that he was finally indebted for the accomplishment of his great purpose. See Irving's History of Columbus. 191 And his course of glory run, Awhile as more than man he stood, One hallowed morn, methought, I felt Knelt before the cross and died— Inquire not now. His name no more Glimmers on the chancel-floor, 192 Near the lights that ever shine To me one little hour devote, And lay thy staff and scrip beside thee; And may his gentle spirit guide thee! The book-worm thro' and thro' has gone. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. THERE is a spirit in the old Spanish Chroniclers of the sixteenth century that may be compared to the freshness of water at the fountain-head. Their simplicity, their sensibility to the strange and the wonderful, their very weaknesses, give an infinite value, by giving a life and a character to every thing they touch; and their religion, which bursts out every where, addresses itself to the imagination in the highest degree. If they err, their errors are not their own. They think and feel after the fashion of the time; and their narratives are so many moving pictures of the actions, manners, and thoughts of their contemporaries. What they had to communicate, might well make them eloquent; but, inasmuch as relates to Columbus, the Inspiration went no farther. No National Poem appeared on the subject; no Camoëns did honour to his Genius and his Virtues. Yet the materials, that have descended to us, are surely not unpoetical; and a desire to avail myself of them, to convey in some instances as far as I could, in others as far as I dared, their warmth of colouring and wildness of imagery, led me to conceive the idea of a Poem written not long after his death, when the great consequences of the Discovery were beginning to unfold themselves, but while the minds of men were still clinging to the superstitions of their fathers. The Event here described may be thought too recent for the Machinery; but I found them together. A belief in the agency of Evil Spirits prevailed over both hemispheres; and even yet seems almost necessary to enable us to clear up the Darkness, And justify the ways of God to Men. 3 THE ARGUMENT. COLUMBUS, having wandered from kingdom to kingdom, at length obtains three ships and sets sail on the Atlantic. The compass alters from its ancient direction; the wind becomes constant and anremitting; night and day he advances, till he is suddenly stopped in his course by a mass of vegetation, extending as far as the eye can reach, and assuming the appearance of a country overwhelmed by the sea. Alarm and despondence on board. He resigns himself to the care of Heaven, and proceeds on his voyage, Meanwhile the deities of America assemble in council; and one of the Zemi, the gods of the islanders, announces his approach. "In vain," 'says he, "have we guarded the Atlantic for ages. A mortal Perhaps even a contemporary subject should not be rejected as such, however wild and extravagant it might be, if the manners be foreign and the place distant-major & longinquo reverentia. L'éloignement des pays, says Racine, répare en quelque sorte la trop grande proximité des temps; car le peuple ne met guère de difference entre ce qui est, si j'ose ainsi parler, à mille ans de lui, et ce qui en est à mille lieues. while columns of 15 has baffled our power; nor will our votaries arm against him. Yours are a sterner race. Hence; and, while we have recourse to stratagem, do you array the nations round your altars, and prepare for an exterminating war.' They disperse while he is yet speaking; and, in the shape of a Condor, he directs his flight to the fleet. His journey described. He arrives there. A panic. A mutiny. Columbus restores order; continues on his voyage; and lands in a New World. Ceremonies of the first interview. Rites of hospitality. The ghost of Cazziva. Two months pass away, and an Angel, appearing in a dream to Columbus, thus addresses him: "Return to Europe; though your Adversaries, such is the will of Heaven, shall let loose the hurricane against you. A little while shall they triumph; insinuating themselves into the hearts of your followers, and making the World, which you came to bless, a scene of blood and slaughter. Yet is there cause for rejoicing. Your work is done. The cross of Christ is planted here; and, in due time, all things shall be made perfect! CANTO I. NIGHT-COLUMBUS ON THE ATLANTIC-THE VARIATION AY who, when age on age had rolled away, And still, as sunk the golden Orb of The seaman1 watched him, while he lingered here, So bright his path, so glorious his descent, [Seamen.-Ed. 1839.] 2 In him was fulfilled the ancient prophecy, venient annis Secula seris, quibus Oceanus Vincula rerum laxet, &c. SENECA in Medea, v. 374. Which Tasso has imitated in his Gerusalemme Liberata. Tempo verrà, che fian d'Ercole i segni c. XV. 30. The poem opens on Friday the 14th of September, 1492, |