Part 12

5. She spoke the Castilian[399] with much elegance and correctness. She had an easy fluency of discourse, which, though generally of a serious complexion, was occasionally seasoned with agreeable sallies, some of which have passed into proverbs. She was temperate, even to abstemiousness,[400] in her diet, seldom or never tasting wine: and so frugal in her table, that the daily expenses of herself and family did not exceed the moderate sum of forty ducats.[401]

6. She was equally simple and economical in her apparel. On all public occasions, indeed, she displayed a royal magnificence;[402] but she had no relish for it in private, and she freely gave away her clothes and jewels, as presents to her friends.

7. Naturally of a sedate, though cheerful temper, she had little taste for the frivolous amusements which make up so much of a court life; and, if she encouraged the presence of minstrels and musicians in her palace, it was to wean her young nobility from the coarser and less intellectual pleasures to which they were addicted.

8. Among her moral qualities, the most conspicuous, perhaps, was her magnanimity.[403] She betrayed nothing little or selfish, in thought or action. Her schemes were vast, and executed in the same noble spirit in which they were conceived. She never employed doubtful agents, or sinister measures, but the most direct and open policy. She scorned to avail herself of advantages offered by the perfidy[404] of others.

9. Where she had once given her confidence, she gave her hearty and steady support: and she was scrupulous to redeem any pledge she had made to those who ventured in her cause, however unpopular. She sustained Ximenes[405] in all his obnoxious[406] but salutary reforms. She seconded Columbus in the prosecution of his arduous enterprise, and shielded him from the calumny[407] of his enemies. She did the same good service to her favorite, Gonsalvo de Cordova;[408] and the day of her death was felt, and, as it proved, truly felt, by both, as the last of their good fortune.

10. Artifice[409] and duplicity[410] were so abhorrent to her character, and so averse from her domestic policy, that when they appear in the foreign relations of Spain, it is certainly not imputable to her. She was incapable of harboring any petty distrust, or latent malice; and, although stern in the execution and exaction of public justice, she made the most generous allowance, and even, sometimes, advances, to those who had personally injured her.

11. But the principle which gave a peculiar coloring to every feature of Isabella’s mind, was piety. It shone forth from the very depths of her soul with a heavenly radiance, which illuminated her whole character. Fortunately, her earliest years had been passed in the rugged school of adversity, under the eye of a mother who implanted in her serious mind such strong principles of religion, as nothing in after life had power to shake.

12. At an early age, in the flower of youth and beauty, she was introduced to her brother’s court; but its blandishments,[411] so dazzling to a young imagination, had no power over hers; for she was surrounded by a moral atmosphere of purity, “driving far off each thing of sin and guilt.” Such was the decorum of her manners, that, though encompassed by false friends and open enemies, not the slightest reproach was breathed on her fair name in this corrupt and calumnious[412] court.

[392] EN-COˊ-MI-UM, a high commendation; praise.

[393] SYMˊ-ME-TRY, a due proportion of the parts of a body to each other.

[394] AF-FA-BILˊ-I-TY, easiness of approach; readiness to converse.

[395] NUNˊ-NE-RY, a religious house for females who have forsaken the world.

[396] GAL-Iˊ-CIA, an old province of Spain.

[397] AS-CENDˊ-EN-CY, superior or controlling influence.

[398] TURˊ-BU-LENT, riotous; violent; mutinous.

[399] CAS-TILˊ-IAN, the language spoke in Castile, considered the most elegant dialect of Spain.

[400] AB-STEˊ-MI-OUS-NESS, a sparing use of food, or strong drink.

[401] DUCˊ-AT, a coin of several countries in Europe, struck in territory governed by a duke. A silver ducat is generally of nearly the value of an American dollar, and a gold ducat of twice the value.

[402] MAG-NIFˊ-I-CENCE, grandeur of appearance; splendor of show or state.

[403] MAG-NA-NIMˊ-I-TY, greatness of mind; dignity or elevation of soul, which meets danger with calmness and firmness, which raises the possessor above revenge, which makes him hate injustice and meanness, and moves him to act and suffer for noble objects.

[404] PERˊ-FI-DY, treachery; falsehood.

[405] CARDINAL XI-MEˊ-NES, born 1437, died 1517. He was a distinguished ecclesiastic, and a great statesman.

[406] OB-NOXˊ-IOUS, odious; unpopular.

[407] CALˊ-UM-NY, the uttering of a false charge, proceeding from hatred against another.

[408] GONSALVO DE CORDOVA, called also “the Great Captain,” was a Spanish warrior, distinguished by his victories over the Moors in Spain, and the French in Naples. Born 1443, died 1515.

[409] ARˊ-TI-FICE, an artful or skillful contrivance; a fraud or trick.

[410] DU-PLICˊ-I-TY, double-dealing; deceitfulness.

[411] BLANDˊ-ISH-MENT, words or actions expressive of affection or kindness, and tending to win the heart, or to flatter.

[412] CA-LUMˊ-NI-OUS, slanderous.

LV.—PALESTINE.

ALTERED FROM WHITTIER.

John Greenleaf Whittier is a well-known and popular writer in prose and verse.

1. Blest land of Judea! thrice hallowed of song, Where the holiest of memories, pilgrim-like, throng In the shade of thy palms, by the shores of thy sea, On the hills of thy beauty—my heart is with thee. With the eye of a spirit I look on that shore, Where pilgrim and prophet have lingered before; With the guide of a spirit I traverse the sod Made bright by the steps of the angels of God.

2. Blue sea of the hills! in my spirit I hear Thy waters, Gennesaret[413], chime on my ear; Where the Lowly and Just with the people sat down, And thy spray on the dust of His sandals was thrown. Beyond are Bethulia’s[414] mountains of green, And the desolate hills of the wild Gadarene[415]; And I pause on the goat-crags of Tabor[416] to see The gleam of thy waters, O dark Galilee!

3. There sleep the still rocks and the caverns which rang To the song which the beautiful prophetess sang, When the princes of Issachar[417] stood by her side, And the shout of a host in its triumph replied. Lo! Bethlehem’s[418] hill-site before me is seen, With the mountains around and the valleys between; There rested the shepherds of Judah[419], and there, The song of the angels rose sweet on the air.

4. And Bethany’s[420] palm trees in beauty still throw Their shadows at noon on the ruins below; But where are the sisters who hastened to greet The lowly Redeemer, and sit at his feet? I tread where the Twelve in their wayfaring trod; I stand where they stood with the Incarnate God; Where his blessing was heard, and his lessons were taught; Where the blind were restored, and the healing was wrought.

[413] GEN-NESˊ-A-RET, a sea or lake in Palestine, the borders of which, in the time of Christ, were covered with numerous towns and villages; called also, Sea of Galilee.

[414] BETH-U-LIˊ-A, a city which appears to have overlooked the plain of Esdraelon, and to have guarded one of the passes to Jerusalem.

[415] GAD-A-RENEˊ, an inhabitant of Gadara, a city in a mountainous region near the Sea of Galilee.

[416] TAˊ-BOR, an isolated mountain, of a conical form, a few miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee.

[417] ISˊ-SA-CHAR, a son of Jacob and Leah; also, the tribe named after him.

[418] BETHˊ-LE-HEM, the city where Our Lord was born.

[419] JUˊ-DAH, the name of one of the tribes of Israel, afterwards applied to the whole nation.

[420] BETHˊ-A-NY, a town near Jerusalem the residence of Martha and Mary.

LVI.—LOVE OF COUNTRY AND OF HOME.

MONTGOMERY.

1. There is a land, of every land the pride, Beloved by heaven o’er all the world beside; Where brighter suns dispense[421] serener[422] light, And milder moons imparadise[423] the night: A land of beauty, virtue, valor, truth, Time-tutored age, and love-exalted youth.

2. The wandering mariner, whose eye explores The wealthiest isles, the most enchanting shores, Views not a realm so bountiful and fair, Nor breathes the spirit of a purer air; In every clime, the magnet[424] of his soul, Touched by remembrance, trembles to that pole:

3. For in this land of heaven’s peculiar grace, The heritage[425] of nature’s noblest race, There is a spot of earth supremely[426] blest, A dearer, sweeter pot than all the rest, Where man, creation’s tyrant, casts aside His sword and scepter, pageantry and pride, While, in his softened looks, benignly[427] blend The sire, the son, the husband, father, friend.

4. Here woman reigns; the mother, daughter, wife, Strews with fresh flowers the narrow way of life; In the clear heaven of her delightful eye, An angel guard of loves and graces lie; Around her knees domestic duties meet, And fireside pleasures gambol[428] at her feet. Where shall that land, that spot of earth be found? Art thou a man? a patriot?[429] look around; Oh! thou shalt find, howe’er thy footsteps roam, That land _thy_ country, and that spot _thy_ home.

[421] DIS-PENSEˊ, deal or divide out in portions or parts; distribute.

[422] SE-RENˊ-ER, clearer; more soothing.

[423] IM-PARˊ-A-DISE, make very happy; render like Paradise.

[424] MAGˊ-NET, the loadstone; that which attracts.

[425] HERˊ-IT-AGE, inheritance; portion; an estate devolved by succession.

[426] SU-PREMEˊ-LY, in the highest degree.

[427] BEˊ-NIGNˊ-LY, graciously; kindly.

[428] GAMˊ-BOL, dance and skip about in sport; play in frolic, like boys and lambs.

[429] PAˊ-TRI-OT, a person who loves his country, and zealously supports and defends it and its interests.

LVII.—THE HEAVENLY REST.

ANON.

1. There is an hour of peaceful rest To mourning wanderers given, There is a tear for souls distrest, A balm for every wounded breast— ’Tis found above—in heaven!

2. There is a soft, a downy bed, ’Tis sweet as breath of even; A couch for weary mortals spread, Where they may rest the aching head, And find repose in heaven!

3. There is a home for weary souls, By sin and sorrow driven, When tossed on life’s tempestuous shoals Where storms arise, and ocean rolls, And all is drear—but heaven!

4. There faith lifts up the tearful eye, The heart with anguish riven; And views the tempest passing by, The evening shadows quickly fly, And all serene in heaven!

5. The fragrant flowers immortal bloom. And joys supreme are given; There rays divine disperse the gloom: Beyond the confines of the tomb Appears the dawn of heaven!

LVIII.—LOVE OF COUNTRY.

SCOTT.

1. Breathes there the man, with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said, “This is my own, my native land!” Whose heart has ne’er within him burned, As home his footsteps he hath turned, From wandering on a foreign strand? If such there breathe, go, mark him well; For him no minstrel raptures swell.

2. High though his titles, proud his name, Boundless his wealth as wish can claim; Despite those titles, power, and pelf, The wretch, concentrated all in self, Living, shall forfeit fair renown; And, doubly dying, shall go down To the vile dust from which he sprung, Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.

3. O Caledonia! stern and wild, Meet nurse for a poetic child, Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, Land of the mountain and the flood. Land of my sires; what mortal hand Can e’er untie the filial band That knits me to thy rugged strand!

LIX.—THE CHARMED SERPENT.

CHATEAUBRIAND.

1. One day, while we were encamped in a spacious[430] plain on the bank of the Genesee river, we saw a rattlesnake. There was a Canadian in our party who could play on the flute, and to divert us he advanced toward the serpent with his new species of weapon. On the approach of his enemy, the haughty[431] reptile curls himself into a spiral[432] line, flattens his head, inflates[433] his cheeks, contracts his lips, displays his envenomed fangs and his bloody throat. His double tongue glows like two flames of fire; his eyes are burning coals; his body, swollen with rage, rises and falls like the bellows of a forge; his dilated[434] skin assumes a dull and scaly appearance; and his tail, which sends forth an ominous sound, vibrates[435] with such rapidity as to resemble a light vapor.

2. The Canadian now begins to play on his flute. The serpent starts with surprise and draws back his head. In proportion as he is struck with the magic sound, his eyes lose their fierceness, the oscillations[436] of his tail diminish, and the noise which it emits grows weaker, and gradually dies away. The spiral folds of the charmed serpent, diverging from the perpendicular,[437] expand,[438] and one after the other sink to the ground in concentric[439] circles. The tints of azure, green, white, and gold, recover their brilliancy on his quivering skin, and, slightly turning his head, he remains motionless in the attitude of attention and pleasure.

3. At this moment the Canadian advances a few steps, producing with his flute sweet and simple notes. The reptile immediately lowers his variegated[440] neck, opens a passage with his head through the slender grass, and begins to creep after the musician, halting when he halts, and again following him when he resumes his march. In this way he was led beyond the limits of our camp, attended by a great number of spectators, both savages and Europeans, who could scarcely believe their eyes. After witnessing this wonderful effect of melody, the assembly unanimously decided that the marvelous[441] serpent should be permitted to escape.

[430] SPAˊ-CIOUS, wide; roomy; extensive.

[431] HAUGHˊ-TY, proud; disdainful.

[432] SPIˊ-RAL, winding like a screw.

[433] IN-FLATESˊ, to swell or distend.

[434] DI-LAT-ED, expanded.

[435] VI-BRATE, to swing; to quiver; to move to and fro.

[436] OS-CIL-LAˊ-TION, vibration; a movement backward and forward.

[437] PER-PEN-DICˊ-U-LAR, a line is said to be perpendicular to another, on which it falls, or from which it extends at right angles.

[438] EX-PANDˊ, to dilate; to open.

[439] CON-CENˊ-TRIC, having a common center.

[440] VAˊ-RI-E-GATED, diversified in colors.

[441] MARˊ-VEL-OUS, wonderful.

LX.—MY ROSARY.

SIR HUMPHREY DAVY.

Sir Humphrey Davy was born in England, December 17, 1779, and died at Geneva, May 29, 1829. He made several valuable discoveries in chemistry.

1. The rosary which you see suspended around my neck, is a memorial[442] of sympathy and respect for an illustrious man. I was passing through France, in the reign of Napoleon, by the peculiar privilege granted to a _savant_,[443] on my road to Italy. I had just returned from the Holy Land, and had in my possession two or three of the rosaries which are sold to pilgrims at Jerusalem, as having been suspended in the Holy Sepulchre. Pius VII. was then in imprisonment at Fontainebleau. By a special favor, on the plea of my return from the Holy Land, I obtained permission to see this venerable and illustrious pontiff. I carried with me one of my rosaries.

2. He received me with great kindness. I tendered my services to execute any commissions, not political ones, he might think fit to intrust me with, in Italy, informing him that I was an Englishman: he expressed his thanks, but declined troubling me. I told him that I was just returned from the Holy Land; and, bowing, with great humility, offered him my rosary from the Holy Sepulchre.

3. He received it with a smile, touched it with his lips, gave his benediction over it, and returned it into my hands, supposing, of course, that I was a Roman Catholic. I had meant to present it to his Holiness; but the blessing he had bestowed upon it, and the touch of his lips, made it a precious relic to me; and I restored it to my neck, round which it has ever since been suspended.... “We shall meet again; adieu:” and he gave me his paternal blessing.

4. It was eighteen months after this interview, that I went out, with almost the whole population of Rome, to receive and welcome the triumphal entry of this illustrious father of the church into his capital. He was borne on the shoulders of the most distinguished artists, headed by Canova;[444] and never shall I forget the enthusiasm with which he was received: it is impossible to describe the shouts of triumph and of rapture sent up to heaven by every voice. And when he gave his benediction to the people, there was a universal prostration,[445] a sobbing, and marks of emotion and joy, almost like the bursting of the heart. I heard everywhere around me cries of a “The holy father! the most holy father! His restoration is the work of God!”

5. I saw tears streaming from the eyes of almost all the women about me, many of whom were sobbing hysterically,[446] and old men were weeping as if they were children. I pressed my rosary to my breast on this occasion, and repeatedly touched with my lips that part of it which had received the kiss of the most venerable pontiff. I preserve it with a kind of hallowed feeling, as the memorial of a man whose sanctity, firmness, meekness, and benevolence, are an honor to his Church and to human nature: and it has not only been useful to me, by its influence upon my own mind, but it has enabled me to give pleasure to others; and has, I believe, been sometimes beneficial in insuring my personal safety.

6. I have often gratified the peasants of Apulia and Calabria, by presenting them to kiss a rosary from the Holy Sepulchre, which had been hallowed by the touch of the lips and benediction of the Pope: and it has even been respected by, and procured me a safe passage through, a party of brigands, who once stopped me in the passes of the Apennines.

[442] ME-MOˊ-RIAL, that which preserves the memory of something.

[443] SA-VANTˊ, (sä-väng), a man of learning.

[444] CA-NOˊ-VA, a celebrated Italian sculptor, born November 1, 1757, died October 13, 1822.

[445] PROS-TRAˊ-TION, a bowing down.

[446] HYS-TERˊ-I-CAL-LY, in an extremely nervous or convulsive manner.

LXI.—THE INDIANS.

STORY.

Joseph Story died in 1845. He was one of the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. He is best known by his “Commentaries on the Constitution,” which he prepared in pursuance of his duties as Dane Professor of Law, in Harvard University.

1. There is, in the fate of these unfortunate beings, much to awaken our sympathy, and much to disturb the sobriety of our judgment: much which may be urged to excuse their own atrocities;[447] much in their characters which betray us into an involuntary[448] admiration. What can be more eloquent than their history? By a law of nature they seemed destined[449] to a slow but sure extinction.[450] Everywhere at the approach of the white man they fade away. We hear the rustling of their footsteps, like that of the withered leaves of autumn, and they are gone forever.

2. They pass mournfully by us, and they return no more. Two centuries ago, and the smoke of their wigwams,[451] and the fires of their councils rose in every valley, from the Hudson Bay to the farthest Florida, from the ocean to the Mississippi and the lakes. The shouts of victory and the war-dance rang through the mountains and glades. The thick arrows and the deadly tomahawk whistled through the forests; and the hunter’s trace and dark encampment startled the wild beasts in their lairs. The warriors stood forth in their glory. The young listened to the song of other days. The mothers played with their infants, and gazed on the scene with warm hopes of the future. The aged sat down, but they wept not: they should soon be at rest in finer regions, where the Great Spirit dwells, in a home prepared for the brave beyond the western skies.

3. Braver men never lived; truer men never drew the bow. They had courage, and fortitude, and sagacity, and perseverance beyond most of the human race. They shrank from no dangers, and they feared no hardships. If they had the vices of savage life, they had its virtues also. They were true to their country, their friends, and their homes. If they forgave not injury, neither did they forget kindness. If their vengeance was terrible, their fidelity and generosity were unconquerable also. Their love, like their hatred, stopped not this side of the grave.

4. But where are they? Where are the villagers and warriors and youth; the sachems and the tribes; the hunters and their families? They have perished; they are consumed. The wasting pestilence[452] has not alone done the mighty work. No, nor famine—nor war; there has been a mightier power; a moral canker, which has eaten into their heart cores—a plague, which the touch of the white man communicated—a poison which betrayed them to lingering ruin. The winds of the Atlantic fan not a single region which they may call their own. Already the last feeble remnant of their race are preparing for their journey beyond the Mississippi. I see them leave their miserable homes—the aged, the helpless, the men, and the warriors—“few and faint, yet fearless still.”

5. The ashes are cold upon their native hearths. The smoke no longer curls around their lowly cabins. They move on with slow, unsteady steps. The white man is upon their heels for terror or dispatch, but they heed him not. They turn to take a last look of their desolate villages. They cast a last glance upon the graves of their fathers. They shed no tears; they utter no cry; they heave no groans. There is something in their hearts which passes speech. There is something in their looks, not of vengeance or submission, but of hard necessity, which stifles both; which chokes all utterance; which has no aim or method. It is courage, absorbed by despair. They linger but a moment. Their look is onward.

6. They have passed the fatal stream. It shall never be repassed by them, no—never. Yet there lies not between us and them an impassable gulf. They know and feel that there is for them still one remove farther, not distant nor unseen. It is to the general burial-ground of their race.

7. Reason as we may, it is impossible not to read in such a fate much which we know not how to interpret; much of provocation to cruel deeds and deep resentments; much of apology for wrong and perfidy; much of pity, mingling with indignation; much of doubt and misgiving as to the past; much of painful recollections, much of dark forebodings.

[447] A-TROCˊ-I-TY, great wickedness.

[448] IN-VOL-UNˊ-TA-RY, not having will or choice; unwilling.

[449] DESˊ-TIN-ED, ordained; devoted.

[450] EX-TINCˊ-TION, destruction.

[451] WIGˊ-WAM, an Indian cabin or hut.

[452] PESTˊ-I-LENCE, plague; contagious or infectious disease.

LXII.—INDIAN NAMES.

SIGOURNEY.

1. Ye say, they all have passed away, That noble race and brave, That their light canoes have vanished From off the crested wave; That ’mid the forests where they roamed There rings no hunter’s shout; But their name is on your waters, You may not wash it out.

2. ’Tis where Ontario’s billow Like Ocean’s surge is curled, Where strong Niagara’s thunders wake The echo of the world; Where red Missouri bringeth Rich tributes from the West, And Rappahannock sweetly sleeps On green Virginia’s breast.

3. Ye say, their cone-like cabins, That clustered o’er the vale, Have fled away like withered leaves Before the autumn gale; But their memory liveth on your hills, Their baptism on your shore, Your everlasting rivers speak Their dialect of yore.

4. Old Massachusetts wears it Within her lordly crown, And broad Ohio bears it, Amid her young renown; Connecticut hath wreathed it Where her quiet foliage waves, And bold Kentucky breathes it hoarse, Through all her ancient caves.