In some cases the tribute is paid in a prose form, or rather in one which suggests the metrical swing and irregular cadence of Walt Whitman. I transcribe literally a portion of one:—
"TO MARIA ALFARO,
"Nature,
Splendid in all her manifestations,
Has offered the poet
An infinite number of exquisite forms
With which to compare woman.
But the glowing imaginations of these votaries of Apollo
Not content with the enchanting realities
Of flowers, of stars, of sunbeams, of birds,
Of palm-trees, of pearls, of diamonds—
Have flown from the visible world
To seek the forms of seraphs and angels.
Of celestial powers,
And of the marvellous visions with which fancy has peopled
infinite space.
To discover new graces
With which to adorn their idol.
Amid this wealth of brilliant and magnificent images.
From this universe of real or imaginary beauties,
I, who have now reached in my wandering the frigid and narrow
zone of old age.
Desire to choose from my remembrances
A flower, a pearl, a star,
