iOh, tu, que duermes en casto lecho, De sinsabores ajeno el pecho, Y a los encantos de la hermosura Unes las gracias del corazon, 5 Deja el descanso, doncella pura, Y oye los ecos de mi cancion! ?Quien en la tierra la dicha alcanza? Iba mi vida sin esperanza, Cual nave errante sin ver su estrella, 10 Cuando me inundas en claridad; Y desde entonces, gentil doncella, Me revelaste felicidad. iOh, si las ansias decir pudiera Que siente el alma, desde que viera 15 Ese semblante que amor inspira Y los hechizos de tu candor! Mas, rudo el labio, torpe la lira, Decir no puede lo que es amor. Del Iris puede pintarse el velo; page 200 Del sol los rayos, la luz del cielo; La negra noche, la blanca aurora; Mas no tus gracias ni tu poder, Ni menos puede de quien te adora 5 Decirse el llanto y el padecer.

Amor encuentra doquier que vuelva La vista en torno; la verde selva, Florido el prado y el bosque umbrio, La tierna hierba, la hermosa nor, 10 Y la cascada, y el claro rio, Todos me dicen: amor, amor. Cuando te ausentas, el campo triste De luto y sombras luego se viste; Mas si regresas, la primavera 15 Hace sus galas todas lucir: iOh, nunca, nunca de esta ribera, Doncella hermosa, quieras partir!

DON FERNANDO CALDERON

LA ROSA MARCHITA

?Eres tu, triste rosa, La que ayer difundia 20 Balsamica ambrosia, Y tu altiva cabeza levantando Eras la reina de la selva umbria? page 201 ?Por que tan pronto, dime, Hoy triste y desolada Te encuentras de tus galas despojada?

Ayer viento sueave 5 Te halago carinoso; Ayer alegre el ave Su cantico armonioso Ejercitaba, sobre ti posando; Tu, rosa, le inspirabas, 10 Y a cantar sus amores le excitabas.

Tal vez el fatigado peregrino, Al pasar junto a ti, quiso cortarte: Tal vez quiso llevarte Algun amante a su ardoroso seno; 15 Pero al ver tu hermosura, La compasion sintieron, Y su atrevida mano detuvieron.

Hoy nadie te respeta: El furioso aquilon te ha deshojado. 20 Ya nada te ha quedado iOh reina de las flores! De tu brillo y tus colores.

La fiel imagen eres De mi triste fortuna: 25 iAy! todos mis placeres, Todas mis esperanzas una a una Arrancandome ha ido page 202 Un destino funesto, cual tus hojas Arranco el huracan embravecido!

?Y que, ya triste y sola, No habra quien te dirija una mirada? 5 ?Estaras condenada A eterna soledad y amargo lloro? No, que existe un mortal sobre la tierra, Un joven infeliz, desesperado, A quien horrible suerte ha condenado 10 A perpetuo gemir: ven, pues, ioh rosa! Ven a mi amante seno, en el reposa Y ojala de mis besos la pureza Resucitar pudiera tu belleza.

Ven, ven, ioh triste rosa! 15 Si es mi suerte a la tuya semejante, Burlemos su porfia; Ven, todas mis caricias seran tuyas, Y tu ultima fragancia sera mia.

DON MANUEL ACUNA

NOCTURNO

A Rosario

I

iPues bien! yo necesito 20 Decirte que te adoro, Decirte que te quiero page 203 Con todo el corazon; Que es mucho lo que sufro, Que es mucho lo que lloro, Que ya no puedo tanto, 5 Y al grito en que te imploro Te imploro y te hablo en nombre De mi ultima ilusion.

II

Yo quiero que tu sepas Que ya hace muchos dias 10 Estoy enfermo y palido De tanto no dormir; Que ya se han muerto todas Las esperanzas mias; Que estan mis noches negras, 15 Tan negras y sombrias, Que ya no se ni donde Se alzaba el porvenir.

III

De noche, cuando pongo Mis sienes en la almohada 20 Y hacia otro mundo quiero Mi espiritu volver, Camino mucho, mucho, Y al fin de la jornada Las formas de mi madre 25 Se pierden en la nada, page 204 Y tu de nuevo vuelves En mi alma a aparecer.

IV

Comprendo que tus besos Jamas han de ser mios; 5 Comprendo que en tus ojos No me he de ver jamas; Y te amo, y en mis locos Y ardientes desvarios Bendigo tus desdenes, 10 Adoro tus desvios, Y en vez de amarte menos, Te quiero mucho mas.

V

A veces pienso en darte Mi eterna despedida, 15 Borrarte en mis recuerdos Y hundirte en mi pasion; Mas si es en vano todo Y el alma no te olvida, iQue quieres tu que yo haga, 20 Pedazo de mi vida; Que quieres tu que yo haga Con este corazon!

VI

Y luego que ya estaba Concluido tu santuario, page 205 Tu lampara encendida, Tu velo en el altar, El sol de la manana Detras del campanario, 5 Chispeando las antorchas, Humeando el incensario, Y abierta alla a lo lejos La puerta del hogar...

VII

iQue hermoso hubiera sido 10 Vivir bajo aquel techo, Los dos unidos siempre Y amandonos los dos; Tu siempre enamorada, Yo siempre satisfecho, 15 Los dos una sola alma, Los dos un solo pecho, Y en medio de nosotros Mi madre como un Dios!

VIII

iFigurate que hermosas 20 Las horas de esa vida! iQue dulce y bello el viaje Por una tierra asi! Y yo sonaba en eso, Mi santa prometida. 25 Y al delirar en eso page 206 Con la alma estremecida, Pensaba yo en ser bueno Por ti, no mas por ti.

IX

Bien sabe Dios que ese era 5 Mi mas hermoso sueno, Mi afan y mi esperanza, Mi dicha y mi placer; iBien sabe Dios que en nada Cifraba yo mi empeno, 10 Sino en amarte mucho Bajo el hogar risueno Que me envolvio en sus besos Cuando me vio nacer!

X

Esa era mi esperanza... 15 Mas ya que a sus fulgores Se opone el hondo abismo Que existe entre los dos, iAdios por la vez ultima, Amor de mis amores; 20 La luz de mis tinieblas, La esencia de mis flores; Mi lira de poeta, Mi juventud, adios! page 207

DON JUAN DE DIOS PEZA

REIR LLORANDO

iCuantos hay que, cansados de la vida, Enfermos de pesar, muertos de tedio, Hacen reir como el actor suicida, Sin encontrar, para su mal, remedio!

5 iAy! iCuantas veces al reir se llora! iNadie en lo alegre de la risa fie, Porque en los seres que el dolor devora El alma llora cuando el rostro rie!

Si se muere la fe, si huye la calma, 10 Si solo abrojos nuestra planta pisa, Lanza a la faz la tempestad del alma Un relampago triste: la sonrisa.

El carnaval del mundo engana tanto, Que las vidas son breves mascaradas; 15 Aqui aprendemos a reir con llanto, Y tambien a llorar con carcajadas.

FUSILES Y MUNECAS

Juan y Margot, dos angeles hermanos, Que embellecen mi hogar con sus carinos, Se entretienen con juegos tan humanos 20 Que parecen personas desde ninos. page 208 Mientras Juan, de tres anos, es soldado Y monta en una cana endeble y hueca, Besa Margot con labios de granado Los labios de carton de su muneca.

5 Lucen los dos sus inocentes galas, Y alegres suenan en tan dulces lazos: El, que cruza sereno entre las balas; Ella, que arrulla un nino entre sus brazos.

10 Puesto al hombro el fusil de hoja de lata, El kepis de papel sobre la frente, Alienta al nino en su inocencia grata El orgullo viril de ser valiente.

Quiza piensa, en sus juegos infantiles, Que en este mundo que su afan recrea, 15 Son como el suyo todos los fusiles Con que la torpe humanidad pelea.

Que pesan poco, que sin odios lucen, Que es igual el mas debil al mas fuerte, Y que, si se disparan, no producen 20 Humo, fragor, consternacion y muerte.

iOh misteriosa condicion humana! Siempre lo opuesto buscas en la tierra: Ya delira Margot por ser anciana, Y Juan que vive en paz ama la guerra. page 209 Mirandolos jugar, me aflijo y callo; iCual sera sobre el mundo su fortuna? Suena el nino con armas y caballo, La nina con velar junto a la cuna.

5 El uno corre de entusiasmo ciego, La nina arrulla a su muneca inerme, Y mientras grita el uno: Fuego, Fuego, La otra murmura triste: Duerme, Duerme.

A mi lado ante juegos tan extranos 10 Concha, la primogenita, me mira: iEs toda una persona de seis anos Que charla, que comenta y que suspira!

?Por que inclina su languida cabeza Mientras deshoja inquieta algunas flores? 15 ?Sera la que ha heredado mi tristeza? ?Sera la que comprende mis dolores?

Cuando me rindo del dolor al peso, Cuando la negra duda me avasalla, Se me cuelga del cuello, me da un beso, 20 Se le saltan las lagrimas, y calla.

Sueltas sus trenzas claras y sedosas, Y oprimiendo mi mano entre sus manos, Parece que medita en muchas cosas Al mirar como juegan sus hermanos... page 210 iInocencia! iNinez! iDichosos nombres! Amo tus goces, busco tus carinos; iComo han de ser los suenos de los hombres Mas dulces que los suenos de los ninos! page 211

NICARAGUA

DON RUBEN DARIO

A ROOSEVELT

Es con voz de la Biblia o verso de Walt Whitman Que habria que llegar hasta ti, icazador! Primitivo y moderno, sencillo y complicado, Con un algo de Washington y mucho de Nemrod. 5 Eres los Estados Unidos, Eres el futuro invasor De la America ingenua que tiene sangre indigena, Que aun reza a Jesucristo y aun habla en espanol.

Eres soberbio y fuerte ejemplar de tu raza; 10 Eres culto, eres habil; te opones a Tolstoy. Y domando caballos o asesinando tigres, Eres un Alejandro Nabucodonosor. (Eres un profesor de Energia Como dicen los locos de hoy.)

15 Crees que la vida es incendio, Que el progreso es erupcion, Que en donde pones la bala El porvenir pones. page 212 No. Los Estados Unidos son potentes y grandes. Cuando ellos se estremecen hay un hondo temblor Que pasa por las vertebras enormes de los Andes. 5 Si clamais, se oye como el rugir de un leon. Ya Hugo a Grant lo dijo: "Las estrellas son vuestras." (Apenas brilla alzandose el argentino sol Y la estrella chilena se levanta...) Sois ricos; Juntais al culto de Hercules el culto de Mamnon; 10 Y alumbrando el camino de la facil conquista,0 La Libertad levanta su antorcha en Nueva York.

Mas la America nuestra que tenia poetas Desde los viejos tiempos de Netzhualcoyolt, Que ha guardado las huellas de los pies del gran Baco, 15 Que el alfabeto panico en un tiempo aprendio, Que consulto los astros, que conocio la atlantida Cuyo nombre nos llega resonando en Platon, Que desde los remotos momentos de su vida Vive de luz, de fuego, de perfume y de amor, 20 La America del grande Moctezuma, del Inca, La America fragante de Cristobal Colon, La America catolica, la America espanola, La America en que dijo el noble Guatemoc: "Yo no estoy en un lecho de rosas"; esa America 25 Que tiembla de huracanes y que vive de amor, Hombres de ojos sajones y alma barbara, vive Y suena. Y ama y vibra; y es la hija del Sol. Tened cuidado. iVive la America espanola! page 213 Hay mil cachorros sueltos del leon espanol. Se necesitaria, Roosevelt, ser Dios mismo, El Riflero terrible y el fuerte cazador, Para poder tenernos en vuestras ferreas garras.

5 Y, pues contais con todo, falta una cosa: iDios! page 214

VENEZUELA

DON ANDRES BELLO

A LA VICTORIA DE BAILEN

Rompe el Leon soberbio la cadena Con que atarle penso la felonia, Y sacude con noble bizarria Sobre el robusto cuello la melena.

5 La espuma del furor sus labios llena Y a los rugidos que indignado envia El tigre tiembla en la caverna umbria, Y todo el bosque atonito resuena.

10 El Leon desperto; itemblad, traidores! Lo que vejez creisteis, fue descanso; Las juveniles fuerzas guarda enteras

Perseguid, alevosos cazadores, A la timida liebre, al ciervo manso; No insulteis al monarca de las fieras

LA AGRICULTURA DE LA ZONA TORRIDA

15 iSalve, fecunda zona, Que al sol enamorado circunscribes page 215 El vago curso, y cuanto ser se anima En cada vario clima, Acariciada de su luz, concibes! Tu tejes al verano su guirnalda 5 De granadas espigas; tu la uva Das a la hirviente cuba: No de purpurea flor, o roja, o gualda, A tus florestas bellas Falta matiz alguno; y bebe en ellas 10 Aromas mil el viento; Y greyes van sin cuento Paciendo tu verdura, desde el llano Que tiene por lindero el horizonte, Hasta el erguido monte, 15 De inaccesible nieve siempre cano. Tu das la cana hermosa, De do la miel se acendra, Por quien desdena el mundo los panales: Tu en urnas de coral cuajas la almendra 20 Que en la espumante jicara rebosa: Bulle carmin viviente en tus nopales, Que afrenta fuera al murice de Tiro; Y de tu anil la tinta generosa Emula es de la lumbre del zafiro; 25 El vino es tuyo, que la herida agave Para los hijos vierte Del Anahuac feliz; y la hoja es tuya Que, cuando de sueave Humo en espiras vagarosas huya, page 216 Solazara el fastidio al ocio inerte. Tu vistes de jazmines El arbusto sabeo, Y el perfume le das que en los festines 5 La fiebre insana templara a Lieo. Para tus hijos la procera palma Su vario feudo cria, Y el ananas sazona su ambrosia: Su blanco pan la yuca, 10 Sus rubias pomas la patata educa, Y el algodon despliega al aura leve Las rosas de oro y el vellon de nieve. Tendida para ti la fresca parcha En enramadas de verdor lozano, 15 Cuelga de sus sarmientos trepadores Nectareos globos y franjadas flores; Y para ti el maiz, jefe altanero De la espigada tribu, hinche su grano; Y para ti el banano 20 Desmaya al peso de su dulce carga; El banano, primero De cuantos concedio bellos presentes Providencia a las gentes Del ecuador feliz con mano larga. 25 No ya de humanas artes obligado El premio rinde opimo: No es a la podadera, no al arado Deudor de su racimo; Escasa industria bastale, cual puede page 217 Hurtar a sus fatigas mano esclava: Crece veloz, y cuando exhausto acaba, Adulta prole en torno le sucede.

iOh! iLos que afortunados poseedores 5 Habeis nacido de la tierra hermosa En que resena hacer de sus favores, Como para ganaros y atraeros, Quiso naturaleza bondadosa! Romped el duro encanto 10 Que os tiene entre murallas prisioneros. El vulgo de las artes laborioso, El mercader que, necesario al lujo, Al lujo necesita, Los que anhelando van tras el senuelo 15 Del alto cargo y del honor ruidoso, La grey de aduladores parasita, Gustosos pueblen ese infecto caos; El campo es vuestra herencia: en el gozaos. ?Amais la libertad? El campo habita: 20 No alla donde el magnate Entre armados satelites se mueve, Y de la moda, universal senora, Va la razon al triunfal carro atada, Y a la fortuna la insensata plebe, 25 Y el noble al aura popular adora. ?O la virtud amais? iAh! iQue el retiro, La solitaria calma page 218 En que, juez de si misma, pasa el alma A las acciones muestra, Es de la vida la mejor maestra! ?Buscais durables goces, 5 Felicidad, cuanta es al hombre dada Y a su terreno asiento, en que vecina Esta la risa al llanto, y siempre iah! siempre, Donde halaga la flor, punza la espina? Id a gozar la suerte campesina; 10 La regalada paz, que ni rencores, Al labrador, ni envidias acibaran; La cama que mullida le preparan El contento, el trabajo, el aire puro; Y el sabor de los faciles manjares, 15 Que dispendiosa gula no le aceda; Y el asilo seguro De sus patrios hogares Que a la salud y al regocijo hospeda. El aura respirad de la montana, 20 Que vuelve al cuerpo laso El perdido vigor, que a la enojosa Vejez retarda el paso, Y el rostro a la beldad tine de rosa. ?Es alli menos blanda por ventura 25 De amor la llama, que templo el recato? ?O menos aficiona la hermosura Que de extranjero ornato Y afeites impostores no se cura? ?O el corazon escucha indiferente page 219 El lenguaje inocente Que los afectos sin disfraz expresa Y a la intencion ajusta la promesa? No del espejo al importuno ensayo 5 La risa se compone, el paso, el gesto; No falta alli carmin al rostro honesto Que la modestia y la salud colora, Ni la mirada que lanzo al soslayo Timido amor, la senda al alma ignora. 10 ?Esperareis que forme Mas venturosos lazos himeneo, Do el interes barata, Tirano del deseo, Ajena mano y fe por nombre o plata, 15 Que do conforme gusto, edad conforme, Y eleccion libre, y mutuo ardor los ata?

iOh jovenes naciones, que cenida Alzais sobre el atonito Occidente De tempranos laureles la cabeza! 20 Honrad al campo, honrad la simple vida Del labrador y su frugal llaneza. Asi tendran en vos perpetuamente La libertad morada, Y freno la ambicion, y la ley templo. 25 Las gentes a la senda De la inmortalidad, ardua y fragosa, Se animaran, citando vuestro ejemplo. Lo emulara celosa page 220 Vuestra posteridad, y nuevos nombres Anadiendo la fama A los que ahora aclama, "Hijos son estos, hijos 5 (Pregonara a los hombres) De los que vencedores superaron De los Andes la cima: De los que en Boyaca, los que en la arena De Maipo y en Junin, y en la campana 10 Gloriosa de Apurima, Postrar supieron al leon de Espana."

DON JUAN A. PEREZ BONALDE

VUELTA A LA PATRIA

A mi hermana Elodia

iTierra! grita en la prora el navegante, Y confusa y distante, Una linea indecisa 15 Entre brumas y ondas se divisa. Poco a poco del seno Destacandose va, del horizonte, Sobre el eter sereno La cumbre azul de un monte; 20 Y asi como el bajel se va acercando, Va extendiendose el cerro Y unas formas extranas va tomando: page 221 Formas que he visto cuando Sonaba con la dicha en mi destierro.

Ya la vista columbra Las riberas bordadas de palmares, 5 Y una brisa cargada con la esencia De silvestres violetas y azahares En mi memoria alumbra El recuerdo feliz de mi inocencia, Cuando pobre de anos y pesares 10 Y rico de ilusiones y alegria, Bajo las palmas retozar solia Oyendo el arrullar de las palomas, Bebiendo luz y respirando aromas.

Hay algo en esos rayos brilladores 15 Que juegan por la atmosfera azulada, Que me habla de ternuras y de amores De una dicha pasada; Y el viento al suspirar entre las cuerdas Parece que me dice:—?No te acuerdas?... 20 Ese cielo, ese mar, esos cocales, Ese monte que dora El sol de las regiones tropicales... iLuz! iluz al fin! los reconozco ahora; Son ellos, son los mismos de mi infancia, 25 Y esas playas que al sol del mediodia Brillan a la distancia, iOh inefable alegria! Son las riberas de la patria mia. page 222 Ya muerde el fondo de la mar hirviente Del ancla el ferreo diente; Ya se acercan los botes desplegando Al aire puro y blando 5 La ensena tricolor del pueblo mio. iA tierra! ia tierra! iO la emocion me ahoga, O se aduena de mi alma el desvario!

Llevado en alas de mi ardiente anhelo, Me lanzo presuroso al barquichuelo 10 Que a las riberas del hogar me invita. Todo es grata armonia: los suspiros De la onda de zafir que el remo agita, De las marinas aves Los caprichosos giros, 15 Y las notas sueaves Y el timbre lisonjero, Y la magia que toma, Hasta en labios del tosco marinero, El dulce son de mi nativo idioma.

20 iVolad, volad veloces, Ondas, aves y voces! Id a la tierra en donde el alma tengo, Y decidle que vengo A reposar, cansado caminante, 25 Del hogar a la sombra un solo instante. Decidle que en mi anhelo, en mi delirio Por llegar a la orilla, el pecho siente page 223 De Tantalo el martirio; Decidle, en fin, que mientra estuve ausente Ni un dia, ni un instante la he olvidado, Y llevadle este beso que os confio, 5 Tributo adelantado Que desde el fondo de mi ser le envio. iBoga, boga remero! iAsi! iLlegamos! iOh, emocion hasta ahora no sentida! Ya piso el santo suelo en que probamos 10 El almibar primero de la vida. Tras ese monte azul, cuya alta cumbre Lanza reto de orgullo Al zafir de los cielos, Esta el pueblo gentil donde al arrullo 15 Del maternal amor rasgue los velos Que me ocultaban la primera lumbre. iEn marcha, en marcha, postillon; agita El latigo inclemente! Y a mas andar el coche diligente 20 Por la orilla del mar se precipita.

No hay pena ni ensenada que en mi mente No venga a despertar una memoria; Ni hay ola que en la arena humedecida No escriba con espuma alguna historia 25 De los felices tiempos de mi vida. Todo me habla de suenos y cantares, De paz, de amor y de tranquilos bienes; Y el aura fugitiva de los mares page 224 Que viene, leda, a acariciar mis sienes, Me susurra al oido Con misterioso acento: iBienvenido!



DON HERACLIO MARTIN DE LA GUARDIA

ULTIMA ILUSION

Cayo empunando el invencible acero 5 Que corono de lauros la victoria, Terror de extranos, de su patria gloria, En traidora asechanza el caballero. "—Llevad mi espada al pueblo por quien muero, Y airado el pueblo vengue mi memoria... 10 Este anillo a... mi amor... La negra historia A mi madre callad."—Dijo el guerrero.

Sucumbio el heroe... iSacrificio vano! Que al suspiro final de su agonia Besaba el pueblo la traidora mano: 15 iA otro amador la amada sonreia! Solo la madre en su dolor tirano Al guerrero lloraba noche y dia.

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CANCIONES



La Carcelera

Carcelera, Carcelera, Carcelera de mi vida, desatame las cadenas y echame la despedida.

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Riverana

Ya se murio el burro que acarreaba la vinagre; Ya lo llevo Dios de esta vida miserable. :Que tu ru ru ru ru Que tu ru ru ru ru.: El era valiente, el era mohino; El era el alivio de todo Villarino. :Que tu ru ru ru ru Que tu ru ru ru ru.:

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La Cachucha

Yo tengo una cachuchita que me la dio un cachuchero, el que quiera cachuchita que se gaste su dinero. Vamonos, china del alma, vamonos a Gibraltar para ver a los moritos que se quieren embarcar!

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La Valenciana.

Camino de Valencia, camino de Valencia, camino largo, con las tunas yo me ire, con las buenas volvere, camino largo; a la sombra de un pino, a la sombra de un pino, nina, te aguardo, con las feas yo me ire, con las lindas volvere, inina, te aguardo!

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Cancion Devota

A la puerta del Cielo venden zapatos para los angelitos que van descalzos. Maria, adoraros queria y os quiero, adorar el cordero, iclaveles, colorados y verdes, morados, verdes y colorados!

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La Jota Gallega

Tanto baile la jota gallega, iole, ole, ole, ole! tanto baile que me enamore de ella, iole, ole, ole! tanto baile que me enamore, iole, ole, ole, ole! tanto baile que me enamore, iole, ole, ole, ole! tanto baile la jota gallega, iole, ole, ole, ole! tanto baile que me enamore de ella, iole, ole, ole!

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El Tragala

CANCION A LOS PANCISTAS

Tu que no quieres lo que queremos, la ley preciosa do esta el bien nuestro, tragala, tragala, tragala, perro, tragala, tragala, tragala, perro. Tu de la panza misero siervo que la ley odias de tus abuelos, que la ley odias de tus abuelos por que en acibar y lloro han vuelto tus gollerias y regodeos.

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Himno De Riego.

Soldados, la Patria nos llama a la lid, juremos por ella vencer o morir. Serenos, alegres, valientes, osados, cantemos, soldados, el himno a la lid, y a nuestros acentos el orbe se admire y en nosotros mire los hijos del Cid, y a nuestros acentos el orbe se admire y en nosotros mire los hijos del Cid. Sol-etc.

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Himno Nacional De Mexico

JAIME NUNO

Mexicanos al grito de guerra El acero aprestad y el bridon, y retiemble en sus centros la tierra al sonoro rugir del canon. Y retiemble en sus centros la tierra al sonoro rugir del canon. Cina ioh patria! tus sienes de oliva

De la paz el arcangel divino, Que en el cielo tu eterno destino por el dedo de Dios se escribio. Mas si osare un extrano enemigo profanar con su planta tu suelo piensa ioh patria querida! que el cielo un soldado en cada hijo te dio, un soldado en cada hijo te dio.

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Himno Nacional De Cuba

(HIMNO DE BAYAMO)

PEDRO FIGUEREDO

1. iAl combate corred Bayameses! Que la patria os contempla orgullosa; No temais una muerte gloriosa, Que morir por la patria es vivir. En cadenas vivir es vivir En oprobio y afrenta sumido. Del clarin escuchad el sonido; A las armas, valientes, corred!

2. No temais al gobierno extranjero Que es cobarde cual todo tirano, No resiste el empuje cubano, Para siempre su imperio cayo. Sea bendita la noche serena En que en alegres campos de Yara El clarin de la guerra sonara Y el cubano ser libre juro.

3. No se nuble jamas esa estrella Que las hijas de Cuba bordaron Y que nobles cubanos alzaron En su libre y feliz pabellon. iGloria y nombre a los hijos de Cuba! iGloria y nombre al valiente Aguilera! iViva! iViva! la alegre bandera Que en los campos de Yara se alzo.

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NOTES

The heavy figures refer to pages of the text; the light figures to lines.

[Transcriber's note: In this text file, the bold characters are represented by the enclosure in a pair of = sign.]

ROMANCES. The Spanish romances viejos, which correspond in form and spirit to the early English and Scotch ballads, exist in great number and variety. Anonymous and widely known among the people, they represent as well as any literary product can the spirit of the Spanish nation of the period, in the main stern and martial, but sometimes tender and plaintive. Most of them were written in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; the earliest to which a date can be assigned is Cercada tiene a Baeza, which must have been composed soon after 1368. Others may have their roots in older events, but have undergone constant modification since that time. The romance popular is still alive in Spain and many have recently been collected from oral tradition (cf. Menendez y Pelayo, Antologia, vol. X).

The romances were once thought to be relics of very old lyrico-epic songs which, gathering material in the course of time, became the long epics that are known to have existed in Spain in the twelfth to fourteenth centuries (such as the Poema del Cid, and the lost cantares of Bernardo del Carpio, the Infantes de Lara and Fernan Gonzalez). But modern investigation has shown conclusively that no such age can be ascribed to the romances in their present form, and that in so far as they have any relation with the epic cycles just cited they are rather descendants of them than ancestors,—striking passages remembered by the people and handed down by them in constantly changing form. Many are obviously later in origin; such are the romances fronterizos, springing from episodes of the Moorish wars, and the romances novelescos, which deal with romantic incidents of daily life. The romances juglarescos are longer poems, mostly concerned with Charlemagne page 254 and his peers, veritable degenerate epics, composed by itinerant minstrels to be sung in streets and taverns to throngs of apprentices and rustics. They have not the spontaneity and vigor which characterize the better romances viejos.

A few of the _romances_ were printed in the _Cancionero general_ of 1511, and more in loose sheets (_pliegos sueltos_) not much later in date; but the great collections which contain nearly all the best we know were the _Cancionero de romances "sin ano,"_ (shortly before 1550), the _Cancionero de romances_ of 1550 and the _Silva de varios romances_ (3 parts, 1550). The most comprehensive modern collection is that of A. Duran, _Romancero general_, 2 vols., Madrid, 1849-1851 (vols. 10 and 16 of the _Biblioteca de Autores espanoles_). The best selected is the _Primavera y flor de romances_ of Wolf and Hofmann (Berlin, 1856), reprinted in vols. VIII and IX of Menendez y Pelayo's _Antologia de poetas liricos castellanos_. This contains nearly all the oldest and best _romances_, and includes poems from _pliegos sueltos_ and the second part of the _Silva_, which were not known to Duran. Menendez y Pelayo, in his _Apendices a la Primavera y flor (_Antol._ vol. IX) has given still more texts, notably from the third part of the _Silva_, one of the rarest books in the world. The fundamental critical works on the _romances_ are: F. Wolf, _Ueber die Romanzenpoesie der Spanier_ (in _Studien_, Berlin, 1859); Mila y Fontanals, _De la poesia heroico-popular castellana_ (1874); and Menendez y Pelayo, _Tratado de los romances viejos_ (vols. XI and XII of the _Antologia_, Madrid, 1903-1906).

The romances, as usually printed, are in octosyllabic lines, with a fixed accent on the seventh syllable of each and assonance in alternate lines.

Many English translators have tried their hand at Spanish ballads, as Thomas Rodd (1812), J. C. Lockhart (1823), John Bowring (1824), J.Y. Gibson (1887) and others. Lockhart's versions are the best known and the least literal.

In the six romances included in this collection the lyrical quality predominates above the narrative page 255 (cf. the many rimes in-or in Fonte-frida and El prisionero). Abenamar is properly a frontier ballad, and La constancia, perhaps, belongs with the Carolingian cycle; but the rest are detached poems of a romantic nature. (See S.G. Morley's Spanish Ballads, New York, 1911.)

1.—Abenamar is one of a very few romances which are supposed to have their origin in Moorish popular poetry. The Christian king referred to is Juan II, who defeated the Moors at La Higueruela, near Granada, in 1431. It is said that on the morning of the battle he questioned one of his Moorish allies, Yusuf Ibn Alahmar, concerning the conspicuous objects of Granada. The poem was utilized by Chateaubriand for two passages of Les aventures du dernier Abencerage.

=I. Abenamar= = Ibn Alahmar: see above.

9. The verbal forms in-ara and-iera were used then as now as the equivalent of the pluperfect or the preterit indicative.

II. la: la verdad is probably understood. Cf. p. 2, l. I.

=2.—I. diria= = dire. In the romances the conditional often replaces the future, usually to fit the assonance.

5. relucian: in the old ballads the imperfect indicative is often used to express loosely past time or even present time.

6. El Alhambra: in the language of the old ballads el, not la, is used before a feminine noun with initial-a or e-, whether the accent be on the first syllable or not.

25. viuda in old Spanish was pronounced viuda and assonated in i-a. This expletive que is common in Spanish: do not translate.

27. grande merely strengthens bien.

3.—Fonte-frida is a poem of erotic character, much admired for its suave melancholy. Probably it is merely an allegorical fragment of a longer poem now lost. It is one of those printed in the Cancionero general of 1511. It was well translated by Bowring. There is also a metrical version in Ticknor, I, III. This theme is found in the Physiologus, a medieval bestiary. One of these page 256 animal stories relates that the turtle-dove has but one mate and if this mate dies the dove remains faithful to its memory. Cf. Mod. Lang. Notes, June, 1904 (Turtel-Taube), and February, 1906.

3. In avecicas and tortolica the diminutive ending-ica seems to be quite equivalent to-ito. Cf. Knapp's Span. Gram., 760a.

4. =van tomar= = van a tomar.

7. fuera: note that fue (or fuera) =a pasar= = paso. This usage is now archaic, although it is still sometimes used by modern poets: see p. 136, l. 18.

18. bebia: see note, p. 2, l. 5.

19. haber, in the ballads, often = tener. See also haya in the following line.

4.—El Conde Arnaldos. Lockhart says of "Count Arnaldos," "I should be inclined to suppose that

'More is meant than meets the ear,'

—that some religious allegory is intended to be shadowed forth." Others have thought the same, and the strong mystic strain in Spanish character may bear out the opinion. In order that the reader may judge for himself he should have before him the mysterious song itself, which, omitted in the earliest version, is thus given in the Cancionero de romances of 1550, to follow line 18 of the poem:

—Galera, la mi galera, Dios te me guarde de mal, de los peligros del mundo sobre aguas de la mar, de los llanos de Almeria, del estrecho de Gibraltar, y del golfo de Venecia, y de los bancos de Flandes, y del golfo de Leon, donde suelen peligrar. page 257 Popular poems which merely extol the power of music over animals are not uncommon.

I. iQuien hubiese! would that one might have! or would that I might have! Note iquien me diese! (p. 7, 1. 25), would that some one would give me!: this is the older meaning of quien in these expressions. Note also iQuien supiera escribir! (p.134), would that I could write! where the modern usage occurs.

22. =digasme= = dime This use of the pres. subj. with the force of an imperative is not uncommon in older Spanish.

24.le fue a dar: see note, p. 3,1. 7.

5.—La constancia. These few lines, translated by Lockhart as "The Wandering Knight's Song," are only part of a lost ballad which began:

A las armas, Moriscote, si las has en voluntad.

Six lines of it have recently been recovered (Menendez y Pelayo, Antologia, IX, 211). It seems to have dealt with an incursion of the French into Spain, and the lines here given are spoken by the hero Moriscote, when called upon to defend his country. Don Quijote quotes the first two lines of this ballad, Part I, Cap. II.

8. =de me danar= = de danarme.

13. vos was formerly used in Spanish as usted is now used,—in formal address.

El amante desdichado. Named by Lockhart "Valladolid." It is one of the few old romances which have kept alive in oral tradition till the present day, and are still repeated by the Spanish peasantry (cf. Antologia, X, 132, 192).

7.—El prisionero. Twelve lines of this poem were printed in 1511. It seems to be rather troubadouresque than popular in origin, but it became very well known later. Lockhart's version is called "The Captive Knight and the Blackbird." page 258 16. This line is too short by one syllable, or has archaic hiatus. See Versification,(4) a.

19. las mis manos: in old Spanish the article was often used before a possessive adjective that preceded its noun. This usage is now archaic or dialectic.

21. hacia is here exactly equivalent to hace in 1. 23: see note, p. 2, 1. 5.

25. quien...me diese: see note, p. 4, 1. I.

8.—12. =Oidolo habia= = lo habia oido.

13. This line is too long by one syllable.

14. Gil Vicente (1470?-1540?), a Portuguese poet who wrote dramas in both Portuguese and Castilian. A strong creative artist and thinker, Vicente is the greatest dramatist of Portugal and one of the great literary figures of the Peninsula. This Cancion to the Madonna occurs in El auto de la Sibila Casandra, a religious pastoral drama. Vicente himself wrote music for the song, which was intended to accompany a dance. John Bowring made a very good metrical translation of the song (Ancient Poetry and Romances of Spain, 1824, p. 315). Another may be found in Ticknor's History of Spanish Literature, I, 259.

16. digas tu: see note, p. 4, I. 22. el marinero: omit el in translation. In the Spanish of the ballads the article is regularly used with a noun in the vocative.

24. pastorcico: see note, p. 3, I. 3.

9.—Santa Teresa de Jesus (1515-1582), born at Avila; became a Carmelite nun and devoted her life to reforming her Order and founding convents and monasteries. Saint Theresa believed herself inspired of God, and her devotional and mystic writings have a tone of authority. Her chief works in prose are the Castillo interior and the Camino de perfeccion. She is one of the greatest of Spanish mystics, and her influence is still potent (cf. Juan Valera, Pepita Jimenez; Huysmans, En route; et al.). Cf. Bibl. de Aut. Esp., vols. 53 and page 259 55, for her works. This Letrilla has been translated by Longfellow ("Santa Teresa's Book-Mark," Riverside ed., 1886, VI., 216.)

9.—Fray Luis Ponce de Leon (1527-1591), born at Belmonte; educated at the University of Salamanca; became an Augustinian monk. While a professor at the same university he was accused by the Inquisition and imprisoned from 1572 to 1576, while his trial proceeded. He was acquitted, and he taught till his death, which occurred just after he had been chosen Vicar-General of his Order. The greatest of the mystic poets, he wrote as well religious works in prose (Los nombres de Cristo, La perfecta casada), and in verse translated Virgil, Horace and other classical authors and parts of the Old Testament. In gentleness of character and in the purity in which he wrote his native tongue, he resembles the Frenchman Pascal. His poems are in vol. 37 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. Cf. Ticknor, Period II, Cap. IX, and Introduction, p. xxii. La vida retirada is written in imitation of Horace's Beatus ille.

9.—17 to 10.—3. In these lines there is much poetic inversion of word-order. The logical order would be: Que ('for') el estado de los soberbios grandes no le enturbia el pecho, ni se admira del dorado techo, en jaspes sustentado, fabricado del sabio moro.

5. pregonera, as its gender indicates, modifies voz.

12.—10. In the sixteenth century great fortunes were made by Spaniards who exploited the mines of their American colonies across the seas.

II. Note, this unusual enjambement; but the mente of adverbs still has largely the force of a separate word.

Soneto: A Cristo Crucificado. This famous sonnet has been ascribed to Saint Theresa and to various other writers, but without sufficient proof. Cf. Fouche-Delbosc in Revue Hispanique, II, 120-145; and ibid., VI, 56-57. The poem was translated by J.Y. Gibson (The Cid Ballads, etc., 1887, II, 144), and there is also a version attributed to Dryden. page 260 13.—Lope Felix de Vega Carpio (1562-1635) was the most fertile playwright ever known to the world. Alone he created the Spanish drama almost out of nothing. Born at Madrid, where he spent most of his life, Lope was an infant prodigy who fulfilled the promise of his youth. His first play was written at the age of thirteen. He fought against the Portuguese in the expedition of 1583 and took part in the disastrous Armada of 1588. His life was marked by unending literary success, numerous love-affairs and occasional punishments therefor. In 1614 he was ordained priest. For the last twenty years of his life he was the acknowledged dictator of Spanish letters.

Lope's writings include some 2000 plays, of which perhaps 500 are extant, epics, pastorals, parodies, short stories and minor poems beyond telling. He undertook to write in every genre attempted by another and seldom scored a complete failure. His Obras completas are being published by the Spanish Academy (1890-); vol. 1 contains his life by Barrera. Most of his non-dramatic poems are in vol. 38 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp.; others are in vols. 16 and 35. There is a Life in English by H.A. Rennert (1904). Cf. also Introduction, p. xxiv.

Cancion de la Virgen is a lullaby sung by the Madonna to her sleeping child in a palm grove. The song occurs in Lope's pastoral, Los pastores de Belen (1612). In Ticknor (II, 177), there is a metrical translation of the Cancion.

The palm has great significance in the Roman Catholic Church. On Palm Sunday,—the last Sunday of Lent,—branches of the palm-tree are blessed and are carried in a solemn procession, in commemoration of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (cf. John, xii).

14. Ticknor translates these lines as follows:

Holy angels and blest, Through these palms as you sweep, Hold their branches at rest, For my babe is asleep. page 261 The literal meaning is: Since you are moving among the palms, holy angels, hold the branches, for my child sleeps. When the wind blows through the palm-trees their leaves rustle loudly.

14.—Manana: translated by Longfellow (Riverside ed., 1886, VI, 204).

15.—Francisco Gomez de Quevedo y Villegas (1580-1645), the greatest satirist in Spanish literature, was one of the very few men of his time who dared criticize the powers that were. He was born in the province of Santander and was a precocious student at Alcala. His brilliant mind and his honesty led him to Sicily and Naples, as a high official under the viceroy, and to Venice and elsewhere on private missions; his plain-speaking tongue and ready sword procured him numerous enemies and therefore banishments. He was confined in a dungeon from 1639 to 1643 at the instance of Olivares, at whom some of his sharpest verses were directed.

Quevedo was a statesman and lover of his country driven into pessimism by the ineptitude which he saw about him. He wrote hastily on many subjects and lavished a bitter, biting wit on all. His best-known works in prose are the picaresque novel popularly called El gran tacano (1626) and the Suenos (1627). His Obras completas are in course of publication at Seville (1898-); his poems are in vol. 69 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. Cf. E. Merimee, Essai sur la vie et les oeuvres de Francisco de Quevedo (Paris, 1886), and Introduction, p. xxv. For a modern portrayal of one side of Quevedo's character, see Breton de los Herreros, ?Quien es ella?

Epistola satirica: this epistle was addressed to Don Gaspar de Guzman, Conde-Duque de Olivares (d. 1645), the favorite and prime minister of Philip IV. It is a remarkably bold protest, for it was published in 1639 when Olivares was at the height of his power. His disgrace did not occur till 1643.

8. Note the double meaning of sentir,—'to feel' and 'to regret.' page 262 9. libre modifies ingenio. Translate: its freedom.

16. =Que es lengua la verdad de Dios severo= = que la verdad es lengua de Dios severo.

16.—Letrilla Satirica was published in 1640.

14. Genoa was then, as now, an important seaport and commercial center. As the Spaniards bought many manufactured articles from Genoa, much of their money was "buried" there.

17.—Esteban Manuel de Villegas (d. 1669) was a lawyer who wrote poetry only in his extreme youth. His Eroticas o Amatorias were published in 1617, and he says himself that they were written at fourteen and polished at twenty. Later the cares of life prevented him from increasing the poetical fame that he gained thus early. He had a reputation for excessive vanity, due partly to the picture of the rising sun which he placed upon the title-page of his poems with the motto Me surgente, quid istae? Istae referred to Lope, Quevedo and others. Villegas' poems may be found in vol. 42 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. Cf. Menendez y Pelayo, Hist. de los heterodoxos espanoles, III, 859-875.

There is a parody of this well-known cantilena by Iglesias in the Bibl. de Aut. Esp., vol. 61, p. 477.

18.—Pedro Calderon de la Barca Henao de la Barreda y Riano (1600-1681) was the greatest representative of the second generation of playwrights in the Siglo de oro. He took some part in the nation's foreign wars, but his life was spent mostly without event at court as the favorite dramatist of the aristocracy. He became a priest in 1651 and was made chaplain of honor to Philip IV in 1663. There are extant over two hundred of his dramatic works, comedias, autos, entremeses, etc. Calderon constructed his plots more carefully than Lope and was stronger in exalted lyric and religious passages; but he was more mannered, more tainted with Gongorism and less skilled in creating characters. page 263 His Comedias are contained in vols. 7, 9, 12 and 14 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp.; a few of his autos are in vol. 58, and some of his poems are in vols. 14 and 35. Cf. also Poesias ineditas, Madrid, 1881; Menendez y Pelayo, Calderon y su teatro, Madrid, 1884; R.C. Trench, Calderon, London, 1880.

The sonnet, Estas que fueron..., is found in El principe constante, II.

20.—Diego Tadeo Gonzalez (1733-1794) was born at Ciudad-Rodrigo. He entered the order of Augustinians at eighteen, and filled various important offices within the Order during his life. His duties took him to Seville, Salamanca and Madrid. From youth he showed a particular bent for poetry, and Horace and Luis de Leon were his admiration. He was an intimate friend of Jovellanos, who induced him to forsake light subjects and attempt a didactic poem, Las edades, which was left unfinished. Fray Diego's modest and lovable character and his friendly relations with other men of letters made him an attractive figure. His poems are in vol. 61 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. Cf. Introduction, p. xxx.

II. Mirta was a lady with whom the author long corresponded and to whom he addressed many poems. Delio (l. 15) was the name by which Fray Diego Gonzalez was known among his literary intimates: Jovellanos was called "Jovino"; Melendez Valdes, "Batilo"; etc.

21.—4. =recogellos= = recogerlos.

12. a la ave: a more usual construction would be al ave, although the sound wouhd be approximately the same in either case. See also below in line 24, a la alba.

22.—4. reluciente, modified by an adverb, here = reluciendo.

6. recio: a predicate adjective with the force of an adverb.

26.—Nicolas Fernandez de Moratin (1737-1780) was born in Madrid of a noble Asturian family. He studied for the law and practised it in Madrid, but irregularly, devoting most of his time to literary work. Besides his page 264 poems in the national style (see Introduction, p. xxix) he wrote an epic on the burning of the ships of Cortes and several plays in the French manner, of which only one, Hormesinda (1770), ever had a stage production. His works, with his Life written by his son Leandro, are printed in vol. 2 of the Bibl. de Ant. Esp.

Fiesta de toros en Madrid. Baedeker's guide-book to Spain and Portugal says: "Bull-fights were instituted for the encouragement of proficiency in the use of martial weapons and for the celebration of festal occasions, and were a prerogative of the aristocracy down to the sixteenth century. As the mounted caballero encountered the bull, armed only with a lance, accidents were very frequent. No less than ten knights lost their lives at a single Fiesta de Toros in 1512. The present form of the sport, so much less dangerous for the man and so much more cruel for the beast, was adopted about the beginning of the seventeenth century. The construction, in 1749, of the first great Plaza de Toros in Madrid definitely converted the once chivalrous sport into a public spectacle, in which none took part but professional Toreros." The padded picador of to-day, astride a blinded, worn-out old hack, is the degenerate successor of the knight of old. In the seventeenth century bull-fights in Madrid were sometimes given in the Plaza Mayor (or Plaza de la Constitucion).

6. Aliatar: this, like most of the names of persons in this poem, is fictitious; but in form these words are of Arabic origin, and it is probable that Moratin borrowed most of them from the romances moriscos. The names of places, it should be noticed, are also Arabic, but the places still retain these names. See Alimenon, and all names of places, in the Vocab.

28.—19. Hecho un lazo por airon, tied in a knot [to look] like a crest of plumes. This was doubtless the forerunner of the modern banderilla (barbed page 265 dart ornamented with streamers of colored paper).

30.—26-28. =Cual... nube= = cual la ardiente madeja del sol deja mirarse tal vez entre cenicienta nube.

31.—12. blasones de Castilla: as at this time (in the reign of Alfonso VI) Leon and Castile were united, the blasones were probably two towers (for Castile) and two lions (for Leon), each one occupying a corner of the shield.

14. Nunca mi espada venciera apparently means: Never did he conquer my sword. This may refer to any adversary, or to some definite adversary in a previous combat.

26. The best bulls raised for bull-fights come from the valley of the Guadalquivir.

32.—22-26. Asi... acerquen a..., Como, may... bring to..., just as surely as.

33.—8. Fernando I: see in Vocab.

35.—28. The stanzas of pages 34 and 35 are probably known to every Spaniard: schoolboys commit them to memory for public recitation.

36.—15. =dignaredes= = dignareis. In modern Spanish the d (from Lat. t) of the 2d pers. plur. verb endings has fallen.

38.—4. =Y... despedir= = y [si no vieran] a Zaida que le despedia.

13. cruz: the cross of a sword is the guard which, crossing the hilt at right angles, gives the sword the shape of a cross. The cross swords were held in especial veneration by the medieval Christians.

Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (or Jove-Llanos) (1744-1811) was one of the loftiest characters and most unselfish statesmen ever produced by Spain. Educated for the law, he filled with distinction important judicial offices in Seville and Madrid. In 1780 he was made a member of the Council of Orders. He attached himself to the fortunes of Count Cabarrus, and when that statesman fell from power in 1790, Jovellanos was exiled to page 266 his home in Gijon (Asturias). There he devoted himself to the betterment of his native province. In 1797 the favorite, Godoy, made him ministro de gracia y justicia; but he could not be other than an enemy of the corrupt "Prince of the Peace," and in 1798 he was again sent home. In 1801 he was seized and imprisoned in Majorca and was not released till the invasion of Spain by the French in 1808. He refused flattering offers of office under the French, and was the most active member of the Junta Central which organized the Spanish cortes. Unjustly criticized for his labors he retired home, whence he was driven by a sudden incursion of the French. He died a few days after in an inn at Vega (Asturias).

Jovellanos' best literary work is really his political prose, such as the Informe sobre un proyecto de ley agraria (1787) and Defensa de la junta central (1810). His Delincuente honrado (1773), a comedie larmoyante after the manner of Diderot's Fils naturel, had wide success on the stage. His works are in vols. 46 and 50 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. Cf. E. Merimee, Jovellanos, in the Revue hispanique, I, pp. 34-68.

?Quis tam patiens ut teneat se? who is so long-suffering as to control himself?

21. prision: see mention above of Jovellanos' imprisonment in Majorca.

39.—2. It is scarcely accurate to call Juvenal a bufon, since he was rather a scornful, austere satirist of indignation.

40.—26. cuanto de is an unusual expression; but if the line read: iAy, cuanta amargura y cuanto lloro, it would lack one syllable.

41.—4-6. cuesta... infanta. Evidently the world has changed little in a hundred years!

42.—Juan Melendez Valdes (1754-1817) was born in the district of Badajoz (Estremadura). He studied law at Salamanca, where he was guided in letters by Cadalso. In 1780 he won a prize offered by the Academy for page 267 the best eclogue. He then accepted a professorship at Salamanca offered him by Jovellanos. Literary success led him to petition a position under the government which, involving as it did loss of independence, proved fatal to his character. He filled honorably important judicial posts in Saragossa and Valladolid, but court intrigue and the caprices of Godoy brought him many trials and undeserved punishments. In 1808 he accepted a position under the French, and nearly lost his life from popular indignation. Later his vacillations were pitiful: he wrote spirited poems now for the French and now against them. When they were finally expelled in 1813, he left the country with them and died in poverty and sorrow in Montpellier.

Most of his poems are in vol. 63 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp.; others have been published in the Revue hispanique, vols. I. and IV. Cf. his Life by Quintana in Bibl. de Aut. Esp., vol. 19; E. Merimee, Melendez Valdes, in Revue hispanique, I, 166-195; Introduction, p. xxx.

44.—5. Muy mas: this use of muy is not uncommon in the older classics, but the usual expression now is mucho mas.

28. benigna: see note, p. 22, l. 6.

46.—Manuel Jose Quintana (1772-1857) was born in Madrid. He went to school in Cordova and later studied law at Salamanca. He fled from Madrid upon the coming of the French. In the reign of Ferdinand VII he was for a time confined in the Bastile of Pamplona on account of his liberal ideas. After the liberal triumph of 1834 he held various public offices, including that of Director General of Public Instruction. In 1855 he was publicly crowned in the Palace of the Senate.

See Introduction, p. xxxii; Ticknor, III, 332-334; Blanco Garcia, La literatura espanola en el siglo XIX, 2d ed., Madrid, 1899, I, 1-13; Menendez y Pelayo, D. Manuel Jose Quintana, La poesia lirica al page 268 principiar el siglo XIX, Madrid, 1887; E. Pineyro, M.-J. Quintana, Chartres, 1892; Juan Valera, Florilegio de poesias castellanas, Madrid, 1903, V, 32-38. His works are in vols. 19 and 67 of Bibl. de Aut. Esp.

The Spanish people, goaded by the subservience of Charles IV and his prime minister and favorite, Godoy, to the French, rose in March, 1808, swept away Godoy, forced the king to abdicate and placed his son Ferdinand upon the throne. It was believed that this change of rulers would check French influence in the Peninsula, but Ferdinand was forced by Napoleon into a position more servile than that occupied formerly by Charles.

2. Note the free word-order in Spanish which permits, as in this line, the subject to follow the verb, the object to precede.

14. Oceano: note the omission of the accent on e, that the word may rime with soberano and vano; but here oceano still has four syllables.

47.—28. =tirano del mundo= = Napoleon Bonaparte.

48.—24. By los colosos de oprobio y de vergueenza are probably meant Charles IV and Godoy.

49.—29. hijo de Jimena: see Jimena and Bernardo del Carpio, in Vocab.

50.—2. En... y, with a... and in.

51.—Dionisio Solis y Villanueva (1774-1834) was born in Cordova: he never rose higher in life than to be prompter in a theater. He fought against the French, and he was exiled for a time by Ferdinand VII. Solis wrote some plays and translated many from other languages into Spanish. The best that can be said of Solis as a poet is that his work is spontaneous and in parts pleasing. Cf. Blanco Garcia, I, 50 and 61-63; Valera, Florilegio, V, 44-46.

53.—18-19. =Esta... enfermedad= = esta dulce deliciosa enfermedad que yo siento. page 269 25. si puede (here meaning if it is possible) is understood before que trate.

54.—Juan Nicasio Gallego (1777-1853) was born at Zamora. He was ordained a priest: later he went to court, and was appointed Director of His Majesty's Pages. He frequented the salon of his friend Quintana, and was elected deputy from Cadiz. In 1814, during the reign of Ferdinand VII, Gallego was imprisoned for his liberal ideas and later was banished from Spain. He spent some years in France and returned to Spain in 1828. Later he was appointed Perpetual Secretary of the Spanish Academy.

See Introduction, p. xxxii; Blanco Garcia, I, 13 f.; Valera, Florilegio, V, 38-44. His poems are in vol. 67 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. There is also an edition of his poems by the Academia de la Lengua, Madrid, 1854.

El Dos de Mayo: on the second of May, 1808, the Spanish people, unarmed and without strong leaders, rose against Napoleon's veteran troops. Aided by the English, they drove out the French after a long and bloody war, thus proving to the world that the old Spanish spirit of independence was still alive. This war is known to the Spaniards as the Guerra de la independencia and to the English as the Peninsular War. The popular uprising began with the seizure of a powder magazine in Madrid by Velarde and Daoiz (see in Vocab.). These men and their followers were killed and the magazine was retaken by the French, but the incident roused the Spanish people to action.

9. al furor, in the glare.

55.—4. Mantua: a poetic appellation of Madrid. Cf. article by Prof. Milton A. Buchanan in Romanic Review, 1910, p. 211 f. See also p. xxxiii, Introduction to this volume.

11-12. ?Quien habra... que cuente, who may there be to tell...

58.—26 to 59.—3. Note how the poet refers to the various parts of the Spanish peninsula: =hijos de Pelayo= = the Spaniards in general, or perhaps those page 270 of northernmost Spain; =Moncayo= = Aragon, Navarre and Castile; =Turia= = Valencia; =Duero= = Old Castile, Leon and Portugal; and =Guadalquivir= = Andalusia. See Pelayo and Moncayo and these names of rivers in Vocab.

5. =Patron= = Santiago, or St. James, the patron saint of Spain. According to the legend James "the Greater," son of Zebedee, preached in Spain, and after his death his body was taken there and buried at Santiago de Campostela. It was believed that he often appeared in the battle-fields fighting with the Spaniards against the Moslems.

14-15. a... brindo felicidad, drank in fire and blood a toast to her prosperity.

60.—Francisco Martinez de la Rosa (1787-1862) was born at Granada. During the War of Independence he was sent to England to plead for the support of that country against the French. Later he was exiled by Ferdinand VII, and was for five years a prisoner of state in a Spanish prison on the African coast. After his release he became prominent in politics, and was forced to flee to France. In 1834 he was called into power by the queen regent, Maria Cristina. He represented his country at Paris, and later at Rome, and held several important posts as cabinet minister.

See Introduction, p. xxxvi; Menendez y Pelayo, Estudios de critica literaria, Madrid, 1884, pp. 223, f.; Blanco Garcia, I, 115-128; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 56-63. His Obras completas, 2 vols., ed. Baudry, were published at Paris in 1845. Several of his articles of literary criticism are in vols. 5, 7, 20 and 61 of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp.

3. =riyendo= = riendo.

61.—Angel de Saavedra, Duque de Rivas (1791-1865) was born at Cordova. He prepared for a military career. By reason of his liberal ideas he was compelled to leave Spain and went to England, France and the Island of Malta. He returned to Spain in 1834 and became a cabinet page 271 minister, but was again forced to flee the country. Later he was welcomed back and represented Spain at Naples. He retired from politics and was appointed Director of the Spanish Academy.

See Introduction, p. xxxvi; Blanco Garcia, I, 129-153; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 184-195. His Obras completas, in 5 vols., were published by the Spanish Academy, Madrid, 1854-1855, with introductory essays by Pastor Diaz and Canete. His works were also published in the Coleccion de Escritores castellanos, 1894-.

4. =De... pro= = en pro de mi sangre y casa.

62.—3. a la que: translate, before which.

10. duque de Borbon is the subject of estaba, l. 3.

18. =Emperador= = Charles V.

64.—8. =Condestable= = Velasco, Constable of Spain, who in 1521 defeated the comuneros who had rebelled against the rule of Charles V.

65.—22. Y con los que, with whom.

23. estrecho stands in antithesis to ancho: for his glory the broad world will be narrow.

66.—18-19. =Y... leonesa= = y un coleto a la leonesa de recamado ante.

68.—20-21. =Que... resuelta= = que es voluntad suya resuelta (el) que aloje a Borbon.

69.—22. de un su pariente is archaic. The regular expression to-day would be de un pariente suyo.

71.—Juan Arolas (1805-1849) was born in Barcelona, but spent most of his life in Valencia. In 1821, when sixteen years old, Arolas, much against the wishes of his parents, joined a monastic order. Arolas wrote in all the literary genres of his time, but he distinguished himself most as a poet by his romantic "oriental" and love poems.

Cf. El P. Arolas, su vida y sus versos, Madrid, 1898, by Jose R. Lomba y Pedraja; Blanco Garcia, I, 186-189; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 121-130. A new edition page 272 of Arolas' verses was published at Valencia in 1883.

73.—Jose de Espronceda (1808-1842), Spain's greatest romantic poet, was born in Almendralejo (Badajoz). At the Colegio de San Mateo Espronceda was considered a precocious but wayward pupil. His poetic gifts won for him the lasting friendship of his teacher, Alberto Lista. At an early age he became a member of a radical secret society, Los Numantinos. Sent into exile to a monastery in Guadalajara, he there composed the fragmentary heroic poem Pelayo. After his release he went to Lisbon and then to London. Enamored of Teresa, though another's wife, he fled with her to Paris, where he took an active part in the revolution of 1830. Espronceda returned to Spain in 1833, and engaged in journalism and politics. Worn out by his tempestuous life, he died at the early age of thirty-four years.

See Introduction, p. xxxvii; E. Rodriguez Solis, Espronceda, su tiempo, su vida y sus obras, Madrid, 1883; Blanco Garcia, I, 154-171; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 197-207; Antonio Corton, Espronceda, Madrid, 1906; Philip H. Churchman, Espronceda's Blanca de Borbon, Revue hisp., 1907; and Byron and Espronceda, ibid., 1909. For his poems, see Obras poeticas, in the Biblioteca amena e instructiva, Barcelona, 1882; Obras poeticas y escritos en prosa, coleccion ordenada por D. Patricio de la Escosura, Madrid, 1884.

79.—Jose de Zorrilla (1817-1893) was born in Valladolid. After receiving his secondary education in the Jesuit Semanario de Nobles he began the study of law; but he soon turned to the more congenial pursuit of belles-lettres. In 1855 he went to Mexico where he resided eleven years. Though a most productive writer, Zorrilla spent most of his life in penury until, in his old age, he received from the government an annual pension of 30,000 reales. He became a member of the Spanish Academy in 1885, and four years later he was "crowned" in Granada. page 273 Zorrilla died in Madrid in his seventy-sixth year.

See Introduction, p. xxxvii; an autobiography, Recuerdos del tiempo viejo, 3 vols.; Fernandez Florez, D. Jose Zorrilla, in Autores dramaticos contemporaneos, 1881, vol. I; Blanco Garcia, I, 197-216; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 258-270. For his works, see Poesias, 8 vols., Madrid, 1838-1840; Obras, edition Baudry, 3 vols., Paris, 1852; Poesias escogidas, published by the Academia de la lengua, Madrid, 1894; Obras dramaticas y liricas, Madrid, 1895.

85.—10. =Fantasmas= = como fantasmas.

86.—A Buen Juez Mejor Testigo, A Good Judge, But a Better Witness. In Berceo's Milagros de Nuestra Senora there is a similar legend of a crucifix summoned as witness.

91.—4-5. Como... bane: this passage is obscure, but the meaning seems to be, as a pledge that the river should so zealously bathe it.

18. la hermosa, according to tradition, was Florinda, daughter of Count Julian. Roderick (Roderico or Rodrigo), the last king of the Goths in Spain, saw Florinda bathing in the Tagus, conceived a passion for her and dishonored her. In revenge Julian is said to have brought the Saracens into Spain.

27. puerta: this may refer to the Puerta Visagra Antigua, an ancient Arabic gate of the ninth century, now closed.

92.—12. =Las... horadarle= = al horadarle las palmas (al rey). According to tradition Alfonso, who became afterward King Alfonso VI of Leon and Castile, when a refugee at the court of Alimenon, the Moorish king of Toledo, overheard the Moorish sovereign and his advisers talking about the defences of the city. The Moors said that the Christians, by a siege, could probably starve Toledo into submission. Upon perceiving Alfonso near at hand apparently asleep, the Moors, to prove whether he was really asleep or not, poured molten lead into page 274 his hand, and he had sufficient will power to remain motionless while the lead burned a hole through it.

Mariana (Historia de Espana, Libro IX, Cap. VIII) relates this story, but rejects it and says that the real cause of Alfonso's nickname ("el rey de la mano horadada") was his extreme generosity.

13. circo romano: to the east of the Hospital de San Juan Bautista of Toledo lies the suburb of Covachuelas, the houses of which conceal the ruins of a Roman amphitheater.

15. Basilica: in the lower Vega, to the northwest of Toledo, is the hermitage of El Cristo de la Vega, formerly known as the Basilica de Santa Leocadia, which dated from the fourth century. This edifice was the meeting-place of several Church councils. The ancient building was destroyed by the Moors and has been repeatedly rebuilt.

95.—21. el templo: the Ermita del Cristo de la Vega. See preceding note.

27. =Viase= = veiase: via, for veia, is not uncommon in poetry.

=105.=—3-5. =Gritan... valor= = los que en el mercado venden, gritan en discorde son =lo vendido y el valor= (= what they have for sale and its price).

107.—13-14. =y... honor= = y dispensad que (yo) dudara de vuestro honor acusado.

108.—10. See note, p. 92, l. 15.

112.—16. =cada un ano= = cada ano.

Antonio de Trueba (1821-1889) was born at Montellano (Viscaya). At the age of fifteen or sixteen years he removed to Madrid and engaged in commerce. In 1862 he was appointed Archivist and Chronicler of the Senorio de Vizcaya, which post he held for ten years. Trueba, best known as a writer of short stories, published two volumes of mediocre verses which achieved considerable popularity during the author's lifetime, but are now nearly forgotten.

Cf. Notas autobiograficas in La Ilustracion Espanola y page 275 Americana, Enero 30, 1889; Blanco Garcia, II, 26-28 and 301-308; Juan Valera, Florilegio, V, 307-311. For his verses, see El libro de los cantares (1851) and El libro de las montanas (1867).

113.—14. Cantos: note the double meaning of canto.

114.—Jose Selgas y Carrasco (1821-1882) was born in Murcia. A writer on the staff of the satirical and humorous journal, El Padre Cobos, Selgas won the attention of the public by his ironical and reactionary articles and was elevated to an important political office by Martinez Campos. He is the author of two volumes of verses, La Primavera (1850) and El estio.

See Introduction, p. xxxix; and Blanco Garcia, II, 19-23 and 244-250. For Selgas' verses, see his Poesias, Madrid, 1882-1883.

117.—Pedro Antonio de Alarcon (1833-1891) was born in Guadix. He studied law, served as a volunteer in an African war and became a writer on the staff of several revolutionary journals. His writings, which at first were sentimental or radical, became more subdued in tone and more conservative with his advancing years. In 1877 he was elected to membership in the Spanish Academy. Primarily a journalist and novelist, Alarcon published a volume of humorous and descriptive verses, some of which have merit.

Cf. Blanco Garcia, II, 62-63 and 452-467; and articles in the Nuevo Teatro Critico (Sept., Oct. and Nov., 1891). For his verses, see Poesias serias y humoristicas, 3d ed., Madrid, 1885.

121.—Gustavo Adolfo Becquer (1836-1870) was born in Seville, and became an orphan in his tenth year. When eighteen years of age he went penniless to Madrid, where he earned a precarious living by writing for journals and by doing literary hack-work.

See Introduction, p. xxxix; Blanco Garcia, II, 79-86 and 274-277. For his works, see his Obras, 5th ed., page 276 Madrid, 1898 (with a Prologo by Correa: the Rimas are in vol. III).

122.—12-13. =Del salon... olvidada= = en el angulo obscuro del salon, tal vez olvidada de su dueno. Becquer, in his striving after complicated metrical arrangements, often inverts the word-order in his verse. See also Introduction, Versification, p. lxxii.

19. arrancarlas: las refers to Cuanta nota, which seems to have here the force of a plural.

24. See Introduction, Versification, p. lxv.

124.—14. intervalo: the standard form is intervalo.

126.—12. El nicho a un extremo: the meaning is, one end of the recess, in which the coffin will be placed. The graveyards of Spain and Spanish America have lofty walls with niches or recesses large enough to contain coffins. After receiving the coffin, the niche is sealed with a slab that bears the epitaph of the deceased.

128.—The Valencian Vicente W. Querol (1836-1889) gave most of his time to commerce, but he occasionally wrote verses that had the merit of correctness of language and strong feeling.

Cf. Blanco Garcia, II, 376-378. For his verses, see Rimas (Prologo by Pedro A. de Alarcon), 1877; La fiesta de Venus, in the Almanaque de la Ilustracion, 1878.

7. =O en el que= = o en el dia en que: the reference is to the anniversaries of the wedding day and the saints' days of the parents.

129.—19. las que... son, what is...

131.—15-16. =la que... agonia= = la lenta agonia que sufristeis...

133.—Ramon de Campoamor y Campoosorio (1817-1901) was born in Navia (Asturias). He studied medicine but soon turned to poetry and politics. A pronounced conservative, he won favor with the government and received appointment page 277 to several important offices including that of governor of Alicante and Valencia.

Cf. Introduction, p. xli; Juan Valera, Obras poeticas de Campoamor, in Estudios criticos sobre literatura, Seville, 1884; Peseux-Richard, in the Revue hispanique, I, 236 f.; Blanco Garcia, II, Cap. V. For his works, see Doloras y cantares, 16th ed., Madrid, 1882; Los pequenos poemas, Madrid, 1882-1883; Poetica, 1883; El drama universal, 3d ed., Madrid, 1873; El licenciado Torralba, Madrid, 1888; Obras escogidas, Leipzig, 1885-1886; Obras completas, 8 vols., Madrid, 1901-03.

135.—3. se va y se viene y se esta: note the use of se in the sense of people, or an indefinite we.

5. =Y... procura= = y si tu afecto no procura volver.

136.—18. See note, p. 3, l. 7.

137.—Valladolid was the birthplace of Gaspar Nunez de Arce (1834-1903). When a child, he removed with his family to Toledo. At the age of nineteen years he entered upon a journalistic career in Madrid. As a member of the Progresista party, Nunez de Arce was appointed Civil Governor of Barcelona, and afterward he became a cabinet minister.

Cf. Introduction, p. xlii; Menendez y Pelayo's essay in Estudios de critica literaria, 1884; Juan Valera's essay on the Gritos del combate, Revista europea, 1875, no. 60; Blanco Garcia, Cap. XVIII; Jose del Castillo, Nunez de Arce, Apuntes para su biografia, Madrid, 1904. For his works, see Gritos del combate, 8th ed., 1891; Obras dramaticas, Madrid, 1879. Most of his longer poems are in separate pamphlets, published by M. Murillo and Fernando Fe, Madrid, 1895-1904.

137.—Tristezas shows unmistakably the influence of the French poet Alfred de Musset, and especially perhaps of his Rolla and Confession d'un enfant du siecle.

138.—16 f. Compare with the author's La duda and Miserere, and Becquer's La ajorca de oro. page 278 142.—1-3. The poet seems to compare the nineteenth century, amidst the flames of furnaces and engines, to the fallen archangel in hell.

16. mistica, that is, of communion with God, heavenly.

144.—iSursum Corda!: the lines given are merely the introduction to the poem, and form about one fourth of the entire work. They were written soon after the Spanish-American War. See Sursum Corda!, Madrid, 1904; and also Juan Valera's Florilegio, IV, 413 f.

8. The plains of Old Castile may well be called "austere."

145.—10-16. Cf. A Espana (1860) and A Castelar (1873).

147.—11-19. There are few stronger lines than these in all Spanish poetry.

148.—Manuel del Palacio (1832-1895) was born in Lerida. His parents removed to Granada, and there he joined a club of young men known as La Cuerda. Going to Madrid, he devoted himself to journalism and politics, first as a radical and later as a conservative.

Cf. Blanco Garcia, II, 40. For his works, see his Obras, Madrid, 1884; Veladas de otono, 1884; Huelgas diplomaticas, 1887.

5. el ave placentera: a well-known Spanish-American poet calls this a mere ripio (stop-gap), and says it may mean one bird as well as another.

The Catalan Joaquin Maria Bartrina (born at Reus in 1850) published in 1876 a volume of pessimistic and iconoclastic verses, entitled Algo. After his death (1880) his works were published under the title of Obras en prosa y verso, escogidas y coleccionadas por J. Sarda, Barcelona, 1881. Cf. Blanco Garcia, II, 349-350.

148.—15-19. These lines give expression to the pessimism that has obtained in Spain for two centuries past.

149.—14. The reference is, of course, to the paintings, of which there are many, of "The Last Supper" of Jesus.

Manuel Reina (1860-) was born in Puente Genil. Like page 279 Bartrina, Reina is an imitator of Nunez de Arce, in that he sings of the degeneracy of mankind. He undertook, with but little success, to revive the eleven-syllable romance of the neo-classic Spanish tragedy of the eighteenth century.

Cf. Blanco Garcia, II, 354-355. For his verses, see Andantes y allegros and Cromos y acuarelas, cantos de nuestra epoca, con un prologo de D. Jose Fernandez Bremon.

The Valencian Teodoro Llorente (b. 1836) is best known for his translations of the works of modern poets. He is also the author of verses (Amorosas, Versos de la juventud, et al.).

151.—Argentina. The development of letters was slower in Argentina than in Mexico, Peru and Colombia, since Argentina was colonized and settled later than the others. During the colonial period there was little literary production in the territory now known as Argentina. Only one work of this period deserves mention. This is Argentina y conquista del rio de la Plata, etc. (Lisbon, 1602), by Martin del Barco Centenera, a long work in poor verses and of little historical value. During the first decade of the nineteenth century there was an outpouring of lyric verses in celebration of the defeat of the English by the Spaniards at Buenos Aires, but to all of these Gallego's ode A la defensa de Buenos Aires is infinitely superior.

During the revolutionary period the best-known writers, all of whom may be roughly classified as neo-classicists, were: Vicente Lopez Planes (1784-1856), author of the Argentine national hymn; Esteban Luca (1786-1824); Juan C. Lafinur (1797-1824); Juan Antonio Miralla (d. 1825); and, lastly, the most eminent poet of this period, Juan Cruz Varela (1794-1839), author of the dramas Dido and Argia, and of the ode Triunfo de Ituzaingo (Poesias, Buenos Aires, 1879).

The first Argentine poet of marked ability, and one of the greatest that his country has produced, was the romanticist (who introduced romanticism into Argentina directly from France), Esteban Echeverria page 280 (1805-1851), author of Los Consuelos (1834), Rimas (1837) and La cautiva. The latter poem is distinctively "American," as it is full of local color. Juan Valera, in his letter to Rafael Obligado (Cartas americanas, primera serie), says truly that Echeverria "marks the point of departure of the Argentine national literature." (Obras completas, 5 vols., Buenos Aires, 1870-74).

Other poets of the early period of independence are: the literary critic, Juan Maria Gutierrez (1809-1878), one-time rector of the University of Buenos Aires and editor of an anthology, America poetica (Valparaiso, 1846); Dr. Claudio Mamerto Cuenca (1812-1866; cf. Obras poeticas escogidas, Paris, 1889); and Jose Marmol (1818-1871), author of El peregrino and of the best of Argentine novels, Amalia (Obras poeticas y dramaticas, coleccionadas por Jose Domingo Cortes, 3d ed., Paris, 1905).

In parenthesis be it said that Argentina also claims as her own the poet Ventura de la Vega (1807-1865), who was born in Buenos Aires, as Mexico claims Juan Ruiz de Alarcon, and as Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda is claimed by Cuba.

As in Spain Ferdinand VII had driven into exile most of the prominent writers of his period, so the despotic president, Juan Manuel Rosas (1793-1877: fell from power in 1852), drove from Argentina many men of letters, including Varela, Echeverria and Marmol.

Down to the middle of the nineteenth century it may be said that the Spanish-American writers followed closely the literary movements of the mother country. Everywhere across the sea there were imitators of Melendez Valdes and Cienfuegos, of Quintana, of Espronceda and Zorrilla. During the early years of romanticism some Spanish-American poets,—notably the Argentine Echeverria,—turned for inspiration directly to the French writers of the period; but, in the main, the Spanish influence was predominant. The Spanish-American page 281 verses, for the most part, showed insufficient preparation and were marred by many inaccuracies of diction; but here and there a group of writers appeared,—as in Colombia,—who rivaled in artistic excellence the poets of Spain. In the second half of the nineteenth century the Spanish-American writers became more independent in thought and speech. It is true that many imitated the mysticism of Becquer or the pessimism of Nunez de Arce, but many more turned for inspiration to native subjects or to the literary works of other lands than Spain, and particularly of France and Italy.

The extreme in local color was reached in the "literatura gauchesca," which consists of collections of popular or semi-popular ballads in the dialect of the gauchos, or cowboys and "ranchers," of the Pampas. The best of these collections,—Martin Fierro (1872), by Jose Fernandez,—is more artistic than popular. This long poem, which in its language reminds the English reader of Lowell's Biglow Papers, is the best-known and the most widely read work by an Argentine author.

The greatest Argentine poets of the second half of the century have been Andrade and Obligado. Olegario Victor Andrade (1838-1882), the author of Prometeo and Atlantida, is generally recognized as one of the foremost modern poets of Spanish America, and probably the greatest poet that Argentina has as yet given to the world. In art, Andrade was a disciple of Victor Hugo; in philosophy, he was a believer in modern progress and freedom of thought; but above all else was his loyal patriotism to Argentina. Andrade's verses have inspiration and enthusiasm, but they are too didactic and they are marred by occasional incorrectness of speech. Atlantida, a hymn to the future of the Latin race in America, is the poet's last and noblest work (Obras, Buenos Aires, 1887).

It is said of Rafael Obligado (1852-) that he is more page 282 elegant and correct than Andrade, but his muse has less inspiration. He has, moreover, the distinction of showing almost no French influence, which is rare to-day among Spanish-American writers. Juan Valera regrets Obligado's excessive "Americanism," and laments the fact that the poet uses many words of local origin that he, Valera, does not understand. The poet's better works are, for the most part, descriptions of the beauties of nature or the legendary tales of his native land (Poesias, Buenos Aires, 1885).

Among recent poets, two have especially distinguished themselves. Leopoldo Diaz (1868-) began as a disciple of Heredia, and has become a pronounced Hellenist, now a rare phenomenon in Spanish America. Besides many sonnets imbued with classicism, he has written odes to the conquistadores and to Atlantida conquistada. Like Dario, Blanco-Fombona and many other Spanish-American poets of to-day, Diaz resides in Europe; but, unlike the others, he lives in Morges instead of Paris (Sonetos, Buenos Aires, 1888; Bajo-relieves, Buenos Aires, 1895; et al.). A complete "modernista" (he would probably scorn the title of "decadent") is Leopoldo Lugones (1875?-), whose earlier verses are steeped in an erotic sensualism rare in the works of Spanish-American poets. He seeks to be original and writes verses on every conceivable theme and in all kinds of metrical arrangements. Thus, in Lunario sentimental there are verses, essays and dramatic sketches, all addressed to the moon. For an example of his versos libres, see Introduction to this volume, p. xlvi (Las montanas de oro, Los crepusculos del jardin; Lunario sentimental, Buenos Aires, 1909; Odas seculares, Buenos Aires, 1910).

For studies of Argentine literature, see Blanco Garcia, Hist. Lit. Esp., III, pp. 380 f.; Menendez y Pelayo, Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am., IV, pp. lxxxix f.; Juan Valera, Poesia argentina, in Cartas americanas, primera serie, Madrid, 1889, pp. 51-119; Literatura argentina, page 283 Buenos Aires, 1903; Poetas argentinos, Buenos Aires, 1904; Antologia argentina, B.T. Martinez, Buenos Aires, 1890-91; Compendio de literatura argentina, E. Alonso Criado, Buenos Aires, 1908; Miscelanea, by Santiago Estrada; La lira argentina, Buenos Aires, 1824. Other important works, treating of Spanish-American literature, are: Biblioteca hispano-americana (1493-1810), Jose Toribio Medina, 6 vols., Santiago de Chile, 1898-1902; Bibliography of Spanish-American Literature, Alfred Coester, Romanic Review, III, 1; Escritores hispano-americanos, Manuel Canete, Madrid, 1884; Escritores y poetas sud-americanos, Francisco Sosa, Mex., 1890; Juicio critico de poetas hispano-americanos, M.L. Amunategui, Santiago de Chile, 1861; La joven literatura hispano-americana, Manuel Ugarte, Paris, 1906.

Echeverria: see preceding note.

Cancion de Elvira. This Gutierrez calls the "song of the American Ophelia."

152.—Andrade: see note to p. 151.

18. A celebrar las bodas, to be the bride.

153.—3. The Argentines, especially, seem to take delight in calling themselves a Latin, rather than a Spanish, race. This may be due to the fact that fully one third of the population of Argentine is Italian. Both Juan Valera and Menendez y Pelayo have chided the Argentines for speaking of themselves as a raza latino-americana, instead of hispano-americana.

15. arcano, secret, seems to have the force here of a secret ark, or secret sanctuary, which is broken open that its secrets may be disclosed.

154.—6-10. These lines refer, of course, to the Christian religion, spoken of symbolically as an altar, which has replaced the heterogeneous pagan cults of ancient Rome, and which the Spaniards first brought to America. page 284 11. ciclopeas: note the omission of the accent on o that the word may rime with ideas.

155.—5. Tequendama: see in the Vocab. Several Colombian poets, including Don Jose Joaquin Ortiz and Dona Agripina Montes del Valle, have written odes to this famous waterfall. See Menendez y Pelayo, Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am., II; and Parnaso colombiano, II, Bogota, 1887.

17-18. A revolutionary hero, Antonio Ricaurte (b. 1786), blew up the Spanish powder magazine on the summit of a hill near San Mateo, and lost his life in the explosion. See Mateo in Vocab.

156.—5. The colors of the Peruvian flag are red and white, mainly red. The red,—symbolical of bloodshed,—shall be largely replaced by the golden color of ripening grain,—symbolical of industry.

8. Caracas, where Bolivar was born, lies at the foot of Mount Avila.

11. This line, and line 16, would indicate that Atlantida was written soon after the war, begun in 1876, between Chile and the allied forces of Bolivia and Peru, in which Chile was victorious.

12-15. When this was written there was little immediate prospect of other railways than the narrow-gage road from Oruro to the Chilean frontier, about five hundred miles in length; but now Bolivia has the promise of becoming the railway center of lines connecting both Argentina and Chile with Peru. These lines are now completed or building.

27. Andrade died in 1882, and seven years after his death, in 1889, the emperor Dom Pedro II was deposed, and a republican form of government was adopted by Brazil.

157.—3. Andrade now sings of his own country, hence iDe pie para cantarla!

8. There is a larger immigration of Europeans into Argentina than into any other South-American country. The page 285 immigrants come mostly from northern Italy and from Spain.

12-16. As the Atlantida was the last poetic work of Andrade, these lines may refer to the treaty of 1881 between Argentina and Chile, by which Argentina acquired all the territory east of the Andes, including Patagonia and the eastern part of Tierra del Fuego.

By the conquest and settlement of the broad plains (pampas) and the frozen region of the south, a new world was created, much as in the United States of America a new world was created by the acquirement and settlement of the western plains, mountain lands and Pacific coast.

21. Vast areas in Argentina are given over to the cultivation of wheat, barley and oats.

159.—These are the last stanzas of Prometeo, a poem in which the author addresses the human mind and urges it to break its bonds and free itself from tyranny and prejudice: see also in Vocab.

160.—Obligado: see note to p. 151.

162.—Colombia. Colombia was formerly known as Nueva Granada, and its inhabitants are still sometimes called Granadinos. An older and larger Colombia was organized in 1819, toward the close of the revolutionary war; but this state was later divided into three independent countries, viz., Venezuela, Nueva Granada and Ecuador. In 1861 Nueva Granada assumed the name of Estados Unidos de Colombia, and only recently the Colombian part of the Isthmus of Panama established itself as an independent republic. The present Colombia has, therefore, only about one third the area of the older state of the same name. In treating of literature, the terms Colombia and Colombian are restricted to the present-day Colombia and the older Nueva Granada. The capital of the Republic is Santa Fe de Bogota, to-day generally known simply as Bogota. It is at an elevation of 8700 feet above the level of the page 286 sea, and has a cool and equable climate.

It is generally conceded that the literary production of Colombia has excelled that of any other Spanish-American country. Menendez y Pelayo (Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am., III, Introd.) speaks of Bogota as the "Athens of South America," and says further: "the Colombian Parnassus to-day excels in quality, if not in quantity, that of any other region of the New World." And Juan Valera in his Cartas americanas (primera serie, p. 121 f.) says: "Of all the people of South America the Bogotanos are the most devoted to letters, sciences and arts"; and again: "In spite of the extraordinary ease with which verses are made in Colombia, and although Colombia is a democratic republic, her poetry is aristocratic, cultivated and ornate." Blanco Garcia characterizes Colombia as one of the most Spanish of American countries.

During the colonial period, however, Nueva Granada produced few literary works. Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, the conquistador of New Granada, wrote memoirs, entitled Ratos de Suesca (1573?), of little historical value. The most important work of the period is the chronicles in verse of Juan de Castellanos (b. 1522? in the Spanish province of Seville). This work is largely epic in character; and, with its 150,000 lines, it is the longest poem in the Spanish language. Though for the most part prosaic and inexact, yet it has some passages of high poetic worth, and it throws much light on the lives of the early colonists. The first three parts of the poem, under the title of Elegias de varones ilustres de Indias (the first part only was published in 1589), occupies all of vol. IV of the Bibl. de Aut. Esp. The fourth part is contained in two volumes of the Coleccion de Escritores Castellanos, under the title of Historia del Nuevo Reino de Granada.

In the seventeenth century the colonists were still too busy with the conquest and settlement of the country to spare time for the cultivation of letters. A long page 287 epic poem, the Poema heroico de San Ignacio de Loyola, with much Gongorism and little merit, was published at Madrid in 1696, after the death of the author, the Colombian Hernando Dominguez Camargo. A few short lyrics by the same author also appeared in the Ramillete de varias flores poeticas (Madrid, 1676) of Jacinto Evia of Ecuador.

Early in the eighteenth century Sor Francisca Josefa de la Concepcion, "Madre Castillo" (d. 1742), wrote an account of her life and her Sentimientos espirituales, in which there is much of the mysticism of Saint Theresa.

About 1738 the printing-press was brought to Bogota by the Jesuits, and after this date there was an important intellectual awakening. Many colleges and universities had already been founded,—the first in 1554. The distinguished Spanish botanist Jose Celestino Mutis, in 1762, took the chair of mathematics and astronomy in the Colegio del Rosario, and under him were trained many scientists, including Francisco Jose de Caldas. An astronomical observatory was established, the first in America. In 1777 a public library was organized, and a theater in 1794. And of great influence was the visit of Humboldt in 1801. Among the works published in the second half of the eighteenth century mention should be made of the Lamentaciones de Puben by the canon Jose Maria Grueso (1779-1835) and El placer publico de Santa Fe (Bogota, 1804) by Jose Maria Salazar (1785-1828).

During the revolutionary period two poets stand preeminent. Dr. Jose Fernandez Madrid (d. 1830) was a physician and statesman, and for a short time president of the Republic. His lyrics are largely the expression of admiration for Bolivar and of hatred toward Spain: his verses are usually sonorous and correct (Poesias, Havana, 1822; London, 1828). The "Chenier" of Colombia was Luis Vargas Tejada (1802-1829), the author of patriotic verses, some of which were directed against page 288 Bolivar, and of neo-classic tragedies. He died by drowning at the age of twenty-seven (Poesias, Bogota, 1855).

The four most noted poets of Colombia are J.E. Caro, Arboleda, Ortiz and Gutierrez Gonzalez. A forceful lyric poet was Jose Eusebio Caro (1817-1853), a philosopher and statesman, a man of moral greatness and a devout Christian. In the bloody political struggles of his day he sacrificed his estate and his life to his conception of right. He sang of God, love, liberty and nature with exaltation; but all his writings evince long meditation. Like many Spanish-American poets of his day Caro was influenced by Byron. In his earlier verses he had imitated the style of Quintana (cf. El cipres); but later, under the influence of romantic poets, he attempted to introduce into Spanish prosody new metrical forms. Probably as a result of reading English poetry, he wrote verses of 8 and 11 syllables with regular alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables, which is rare in Spanish. So fond did he become of lines with regular binary movement throughout that he recast several of his earlier verses (Obras escogidas, Bogota, 1873; Poesias, Madrid, 1885).

Julio Arboleda (1817-1861), "Don Julio," was one of the most polished and inspired poets of Colombia. He was an intimate friend of Caro and like him a journalist and politician. He was a good representative of the chivalrous and aristocratic type of Colombian writers of the first half of the nineteenth century. His best work is the narrative poem Gonzalo de Oyon which, though incomplete, is the noblest epic poem that a native Spanish-American poet has yet given to the world. After studying in Europe he engaged in journalism and politics. He took part in several civil wars. A candidate for the presidency of the Republic, he was assassinated before election (Poesias, coleccion formada sobre los manuscritos originales, con prologo por M.A. Caro, New York, 1883).

The educator and journalist Jose Joaquin Ortiz (1814-1892) page 289 imitated Quintana in form but not in ideas. Though a defender of neo-classicism, he did not entirely reject romanticism. Ortiz was an ultra-catholic, sincere and ascetic. His verses are impetuous and grandiloquent, but often lacking depth of thought (Poesias, Bogota, 1880).

The poet Gregorio Gutierrez Gonzalez, "Antioco" (1820-1872), was a jurist and politician. He began as an imitator of Espronceda and Zorrilla and is the author of several sentimental poems (A Julia, ?Por que no canto? Una lagrima, et al.) that are the delight of Colombian young ladies. His fame will doubtless depend on the rustic Georgic poem, Memoria sobre el cultivo del maiz en Antioquia. This work is an interesting and remarkably poetic description of the homely life and labors of the Antioquian country folk (Poesias, Bogota, 1881; Paris, 1908).

The minor poets of this generation are legion. Among these are: Manuel Maria Madiedo (b. 1815), a sociologist; German Gutierrez de Pineres (1816-1872), author of melancholy verses; Jose Maria Rojas Garrido (1824-1883), a noted orator, one-time president of Colombia; Joaquin Pablo Posada (1825-1880), perhaps the most clever versifier of Spanish America, but whose decimas were mostly written in quest of money; Ricardo Carrasquilla (b. 1827), an educator and author of genial verses; Jose Manuel Marroquin (b. 1827), a poet and author of articles on customs and a foremost humorist of South America (he was president when Colombia lost Panama); Jose Maria Samper (b. 1828), a most voluminous writer; Rafael Nunez (1825-1897), a philosopher and skeptic, and one-time president of the Republic; Santiago Perez (1830-1900), educator, journalist and one-time president; Jose Maria Vergara y Vergara (1831-1872), a Catholic poet and author of a volume of sentimental verses (Libro de los cantares); Rafael Pombo (1833-1912), an eminent classical scholar and literary critic, and "perpetual secretary" of the Colombian Academy; Diego Fallon (b. 1834), page 290 son of an English father, and author of several highly finished and beautiful poems; Pinzon Rico (b. 1834), author of popular, romantic songs; Cesar Conto (b. 1836), a jurist and educator; Jorge Isaacs (1837-1895), better known as author of the novel Maria; and Felipe Perez (b. 1834).

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the most eminent man of letters in Colombia has been Miguel Antonio Caro (1843-1909), a son of J.E. Caro. A neo-Catholic and "traditionalist," a learned literary critic and a poet, the younger Caro, like Bello before him and like his distinguished contemporary Rufino Jose Cuervo, has worked for purity of diction and classical ideals in literature. Caro is also the translator of several classic works, including one of Virgil which is recognized as the best in Spanish.

Other poets of the closing years of the century are: Diogenes Arrieta (b. 1848), a journalist and educator; Ignacio Gutierrez Ponce (1850), a physician; Antonio Gomez Restrepo (b. 1856), a lawyer and politician; Jose Maria Garavito A. (b. 1860); Jose Rivas Groot (b. 1864), an educator and literary critic, and editor of La lira nueva; Joaquin Gonzalez Camargo (b. 1865), a physician; Agripina Montes del Valle (b. about the middle of the nineteenth century) noted for her ode to the Tequendama waterfall, and Justo Pastor Rios (1870-), a philosophic poet and liberal journalist.

The "modernista" poet Jose Asuncion Silva (1860-1896) was a sweet singer, but he brought no message. He was fond of odd forms, such as lines of 8+8, 8+8+8 and 8+8+4 syllables (Poesias, con Prologo de Miguelde Unamuno, Barcelona, 1908).

References: Cf.: Menendez y Pelayo, Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Amer., III, p. 1 f.; Blanco Garcia, III, 332 f.; Juan Valera, Cartas Am., primera serie, p. 121 f.; Historia de la literatura (1538-1820) en Nueva Granada, Jose Maria Vergara y Vergara, Bogota, 1867; Apuntes sobre bibliografia colombiana, con page 291 muestras escogidas en prosa y verso, Isidoro Laverde Amaya, Bogota, 1882; Parnaso colombiano, J.M. Vergara y Vergara, 3 vols.; La lira granadina, J.M. Vergara y Vergara, Bogota, 1865; Parnaso colombiano, Julio Anez, con Prologo de Jose Rivas Groot, 2 vols., Bogota, 1886-87; La lira nueva, J.M. Rivas Groot, Bogota, 1886; Antologia colombiana, Emiliano Isaza, Paris, 1895.