In all how sage! Benignant to the serf and slave, He showed the base and falsely brave His was Octavian's prosperous star, His, Scipio's virtue; his, the skill His was a Trajan's goodness,-his And righteous laws; The arm of Hector, and the might The clemency of Antonine, The eloquence of Adrian, In tented field and bloody fray, The faith of Constantine; ay, more, The fervent love Camillus bore His native land. He left no well-filled treasury, He heaped no pile of riches high, Nor massive plate; He fought the Moors,-and, in their fall, City and tower and castled wall Were his estate. Upon the hard-fought battle-ground, And there the warrior's hand did gain And if, of old, his halls displayed The honoured and exalted grade His worth had gained, So, in the dark, disastrous hour, After high deeds, not left untold, Such noble leagues he made, that more His guerdon were. These are the records, half effaced, Which, with the hand of youth, he traced On history's page; But with fresh victories he drew Each fading character anew In his old age. By his unrivalled skill, by great And veteran service to the state, By worth adored, He stood, in his high dignity, He found his cities and domains But, by fierce battle and blockade, By the tried valour of his hand, His monarch and his native land Were nobly served; Let Portugal repeat the story, And proud Castile, who shared the glory His arms deserved. And when so oft, for weal or woe, His life upon the fatal throw Had been cast down; When he had served, with patriot zeal, Beneath the banner of Castile, His sovereign's crown; And done such deeds of valour strong, That neither history nor song Can count them all; Then, on Ocaña's castled rock, Death at his portal came to knock, Saying, "Good Cavalier, prepare To leave this world of toil and care Let thy strong heart of steel this day "Since thou hast been, in battle-strife, For earthly fame, Let virtue nerve thy heart again; "Think not the struggle that draws near To meet the foe; Nor let thy noble spirit grieve Its life of glorious fame to leave "A life of honour and of worth Has no eternity on earth,— "Tis but a name; And yet its glory far exceeds That base and sensual life, which leads To want and shame. "The eternal life, beyond the sky, Wealth cannot purchase, nor the high And proud estate; The soul in dalliance laid,-the spirit A joy so great. "But the good monk, in cloistered cell, Shall gain it by his book and bell, His prayers and tears; And the brave knight, whose arm endures Fierce battle, and against the Moors His standard rears. "And thou, brave knight, whose hand has poured The life-blood of the Pagan horde F O'er all the land; In heaven shalt thou receive, at length, The guerdon of thine earthly strength And dauntless hand. "Cheered onward by this promise sure, Depart, thy hope is certainty,- 'O Death! no more, no more delay; And be at rest; The will of Heaven my will shall be,- To God's behest. "My soul is ready to depart, No thought rebels, the obedient heart Breathes forth no sigh; The wish on earth to linger still Were vain, when 'tis God's sovereign will That we shall die. "O Thou, that for our sins did st take A human form, and humbly make Thy home on earth; Thou, that to thy divinity A human nature didst ally By mortal birth, "And in that form didst suffer here Torment, and agony, and fear, So patiently; By thy redeeming grace alone, As thus the dying warrior prayed, Encircled by his family, Watched by Affection's gentle eye His soul to Him who gave it rose; Its glorious rest! And, though the warrior's sun has set, THE GOOD SHEPHERD. FROM THE SPANISH OF LOPE DE VEGA. SHEPHERD! that with thine amorous, sylvan song For thou my shepherd, guard, and guide shalt be; Thy feet all beautiful upon the mountains. Hear, Shepherd!-thou who for thy flock art dying, * This poem of Manrique is a great favourite in Spain. No less than four poetic Glosses, or running commentaries, upon it have been published, no one of which, however, possesses great poetic merit. That of the Carthusian monk, Rodrigo de Valdepenas, is the best. It is known as the Glosa del Cartujo. There is also a prose Commentary by Luis de Aranda. The following stanzas of the poem were found in the author's pocket after his death on the field of battle: "O World! so few the years we live, Would that the life which thou dost give Alas! thy sorrows fall so fast, Our happiest hour is when at last "Our days are covered o'er with grief, And sorrows neither few nor brief Veil all in gloom; Left desolate of real good, Within this cheerless solitude No pleasures bloom. "Thy pilgrimage begins in tears, And ends in bitter doubts and fears, Or dark despair; Midway so many toils appear, That he who lingers longest hero Knows most of care. "Thy goods are bought with many a groan, By the hot sweat of toil alone, And weary hearts; Fleet-footed is the approach of woe, But with a lingering step and slow |