his son, who was born in exile, is full of tenderness and simplicity. The following translation is an extract from it:
Upon thy mother’s breast thou sleepest, love,
As on a flower the pearly dew-drop stays;
Pure, innocent, as cherub-forms above,
Bright, as on diamonds fall the sun's clear rays.
Thy feet have not yet pressed this grovelling earth—
Thy hands touched cruel steel, corrupting gold;
Thy smiling mouth, still speechless from thy birth,
as ne'er offended man, nor untruth told.
Thou know'st not what is death, or what is life;
For thee the hours glide on devoid of sorrow.
Ah! what may be thy lot—sweet peace, or strife?
Thou car'st not, for thou dream'st not of a morrow.
Sleep, blessed babe! or wake but to receive
Our tender kisses, o'er and o'er again;
Enchant me thus, until I cease to grieve
Over the bitter cup Fate bade me drain.
Ah, when thon smilest at my fond caress,
Forgotten are the trials of the past;
Forgotten, too, what ills may yet oppress,
What frowns on me may adverse fortune cast.
Yet even this is all imperfect joy,
For my heart asks, what destiny is thine,
In that mysterious future, which, my boy,
Nor gold, nor strength, nor science can divine?
There is much variety in the historical romances of the Duke de Rivas; his imagination has enabled him to create quite a brilliant and poetic world: tragic adventures, chivalric combats, prodigies of valor, tales of love—all adorn and diversify his glowing pages. The royal lover of Maria Padilla, Don Pedro the Just, or the Cruel, as he has also been termed, is the hero of more than one of the duke’s historical tales. "Recuerdo de un grande hombre," "The souvenir of a great man," presents a sad picture of the chagrins, the trials, and the obstacles against which the celebrated Genoese navigator, Christopher Columbus, had to struggle, when, strong in his religious faith, and led by his glorious genius, he ventured across unknown oceans to discover a new world, and pointed out to succeeding generations the liquid pathway to the sunny islands and rich continents of the West.
When the Duke de Rivas first attempted the revival of Spanish poetry, he stood almost alone. His example has been worthily followed by many of his countrymen; among whose names may be mentioned those of Zorilla, Mora, De los Herreros, Gil y Zarate, and Garcia Gutierez. All success attend the patriot-poets of Iberia! May they be "skilled to imitate an elder page!" For surely there must still exist—
Of strange tradition many a mystic trace—
Legend and vision—prophecy and sign—
Where wonders wild of arabesque combine
With Gothic imagery of darker shade,
Forming a model meet for minstrel line.
