STACK ANNEX 5 026 848 COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. A PRIZE POEM RECITED IN THE THEATRE, OXFORD, JULY V. MDCCCXLVIII. OXFORD : FRANCIS MACPHERSON. M DCCCXLVIII. Justum ac tenacem propositi virum Nee civium ardor prava'jubentium Nee vultus instantis tyranni Mente quatit solida; HOR. III. iii. 14. v, oTov &p- KTOV ii$fs Kt\fvOoi. SOPH. TRACHINIS, 129131. Sfacfr Annex ftf COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. BEHIND the purple islands of the West The glorious Sun sinks slowly to his rest ; With ceaseless dash upon Domingo's strand The foaming ripple curls along the sand ; And, coyly skimming o'er the wave's white crest, Or gently borne upon its swelling breast, The birds of ocean seem in sportive play To hail the evening of the Tropic day. Forth from the bay along the murmurous seas A vessel speeds before the Evening breeze ; Like soaring swan her milk-white wings are spread, And, proudly glittering at her tall mast-head, The lustrous banner, floating o'er the main, Mings on the wind the blazoned towers of Spain. The sea below, the clear blue sky above, All tell of peace, of happiness, and love ; 'Twere hard to fancy aught could intervene To break the magic of so calm a scene : /> COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. But ne'er may Nature, aidless and alone, Give to the troubled mind a kindlier tone ; How bright the sky, how green soe'er the grass, All are as transient shadows in a glass ; For, changeful ever, hid from mortal eyes, Deep in the heart a liquid mirror lies, Where still, as clear or dark the current flows, So, clear or dark, reflected Nature shows. What wonder then, if, while with anxious glance Columbus gazes on the Isle's expanse, (Whence, like the eagle with her captured prey, The plunging bark is bearing him away,) E'en this fair scene should pall, devoid of power To soothe the sorrows of a gloomy hour, To quell the griefs which through his bosom throng, Crowned by that keenest pang, the sense of wrong ! Not all the beauties of that lovely isle Can from his lips win e'en a passing smile j O'er the white range of happy Cottage homes With moody gaze his eye unsettled roams ; The solemn woods that look in silence down On the roof-ridges of the infant town The mighty hills that in their grandeur stand Guides to the sky and warders of the land Though wafting each the full deep breath of peace, Yet cannot from its pain that aching heart release. COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. 7 A lonely captive on the guarded deck, He ponders o'er his sinking fortune's wreck ; A wreck so sudden that its chances seem The dim creations of some hideous dream. Dark is the tale, and fraught with sadness all The bitter records of the Hero's fall ; 111 could fell Envy brook that conscious pride, True to the right, and deaf to all beside ; That noble soul which, bold in knightly worth, Soared high above the paltry pomps of earth a ; That calm and thoughtful eye upturned to heaven, Those pure desires to their Great Author given ; Swift to Castille she flew ; in jealous fear The Prince to kindred baseness bowed his ear b ; And o'er the main the fated envoy sped To wreak his fury on the guiltless head. There are, whose memories from the Past come down For ever clinging to some great renown; a " The religion thus deeply seated in his soul diffused a sober dignity and a benign composure over his whole deport- ment." Washington Irving's "Life of Columbus." b " Every vessel that returned from the New World came freighted with complaints, representing the character and con- duct of Columbus and his brothers in the most odious point of view, and reiterating the illiberal but mischievous insinuation that they were foreigners, who had nothing but their own in- terest and gratification in view." Washington Irving's "Life of Columbus." 8 COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. So stand in infamy from age to age The foul accusers of the Grecian sage c ; E'en so shall Bovadilla's fame be built Upon the lasting basement of his guilt d ; And ages brand upon the roll of shame In blackest characters the traitor's name ! He comes, the minion of a servile band. Armed with a faithless monarch's brief command ; In silent malice or with taunting word Each charge is breathed, each shameless plea pre- ferred ; And he, who truly from a God-built throne Made every care within his Isles his own, Who centred in himself both small and great, The nursing father of the infant state Hurled at one sweep from that too giddy height, Sinks from the gazing world to starless night. So when the whirlwind rolls its stormy tide Triumphant o'er the royal forest's pride, c Anytus and Melitus, the accusers of Socrates. d " The person chosen for this most momentous office was Don Francisco de Bobadilla : he is represented, with apparent justice, as needy, passionate, and ambitious three powerful objections to his acting as judge in a case where the utmost caution and candour were required No sooner did he hear of the arrival of Columbus (at San Domingo), than he gave orders to put him in irons, and to confine him in the fortress." Washington Irving's " Life of Columbus." COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. 9 And roaring wild as deafening furnace-fires Bows, like lithe reeds, the larches' feathery spires, Upon the rocky mountain-side at last Some giant Pine confronts the howling blast, Tor one brief moment totters to its base Then falls a ruin from its pride of place, Crashing through golden furze and purple heath Down to the angry torrent far beneath. Soon speeding from the Western Isles again The vessel tracks her homeward course to Spain, And bears, a noble freight, like midnight thief With fetters bound, the gallant Island-Chief A host of passions strive for mastery now Upon his furrowed cheek and knitted brow ; Dark thoughts of vengeance, pride, despair, disdain, All chase each other through his wildered brain ; So, in a weary vision of the night, An hour before the breaking of the light, Upon the dim white wall in shadowy throng A line of phantoms glides in haste along, And still before the sleeper's mind perplexed Each, as it passes, beckons up the next. The galling fetters clank upon his hands, . As gazing from the lofty stern he stands, A darkening gloom shed o'er his face and form, Like the hot calm before the thunder-storm. 10 COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. His fancy wanders o'er those olden days When every tongue proclaimed the Adventurer's praise, Ere yet the rumours of ungenerous Fame Engrained a blot upon his honoured name Old memories rouse him from his dreamful trance, His whole soul kindles into utterance ; The blighting thought of all his cruel ill A moment checks the current of his will Till, as a wave beneath some jutting rock Recoils a moment from the thundering shock, Then bursts with two-fold vigour on the beach, Forth flows the long-pent tide of struggling speech " Farewell, blest Isles, beneath whose peaceful shade I fondly hoped my course might yet be staid, Till mighty Wisdom should her lore impart, And guide the savage in the paths of art ; Till, wrought by toiling hands, the virgin field 6 The bounteous offspring of its womb should yield ; " In this Island . . . there are mountains of very great size and beauty, vast plains, groves, and very fruitful fields, admi- rably adapted for tillage, pasture, and habitation . . . and moreover it abounds in various kinds of spices, gold, and other metals." "Select letters of Columbus, with other original documents relating to his four voyages to the New World." Translated and edited by R. H. Major, Esq., of the British Museum printed for the Hakluyt Society. COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. 11 And, glancing back unwonted rays, might shine The long-hid treasures of the teeming mine Then might the riches of this destined shore Command a blessing on their hallowed store ; Redeem the soil which erst the Saviour trod f , And bid the world confess the Christian's GOD. Celestial Hope beamed fresh upon my soul, From half-seen forms I shaped the perfect whole ; Safe in the convoy of my Heavenly Guide, Beyond the seas I wooed my unknown bride ; A few short hours in glad fruition past, Of that new life behold the close at last ; The airy fabric of my dreams overthrown Once more I stand unaided and alone ; No not alone shame on the coward sound My guardian Angel still is hovering round ; The links my country forged my country's hand 8 Alone shall loosen at my King's command ; Forth from the cloud my star once more may shine, And gild the Future with a light divine ; f " He looks forward with joy and confidence to the reception of the true faith by great countries, and to the acquisition for himself of wealth, which shall enable him to make another crusade, and recover the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of the unbelievers." " Sterling's Essays." Columbus, vol. i. p. 51. g " They would have taken offhis irons, but to this he would not consent," &c. Washington Irving's " Life of Columbus." 12 COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. Let envious man work out his ruthless will Unchanged and sure, my GOD befriends me still !" So speaks the Hero, pausing yet to trace The glimmering outline of each much-loved place ; His straining eye yet lingers o'er the shape Of sinking hill and fast-receding cape ; Till 'neath the curtain of the evening shades In gathering mist the dim horizon fades. Swift bounds the bark ; and soon upon the shore Of vine- clad Spain Columbus stands once more ; At fair Granada see the conclave met High in the midst the royal Judges set ; With deep reliance on the Eternal Laws, Before his king he justifies his cause; Dragged to the day the accusing traitress quails, The still small voice of mighty Truth prevails, And nerved by right, one toil-worn man can boast A battle nobly fought, and won against a host. A brighter gleam pervades his darkling breast, His wrongs are owned, his fears well-nigh at rest ; And flattering Hope gives earnest to his thought Of deeds more great than all the Past has wrought ! Such is the hope the wild-swan's death-notes speak, Such the bright flush upon the hectic cheek ; So glows the wood with Autumn's golden light, Quick doomed to fade before the wintry night ! COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. 13 For purblind Justice, veiling half her face, With niggard hand arrests her tide of grace ; The cheering Sun but half dispels the haze The ungenial mist still clogs his struggling rays ; Another lords it on the Western shore h , The Isles he loved so well are his no more ! What though no longer on his shackled hands The unworthy fetters press their galling bands, Unhealed by Time, the iron's rankling smart Has entered deep into his wounded heart ; " High in my halls," he cries, " no scutcheons hang, My badge those links which on my ankles rang ; I gave Castille the dower of half a world On shores unknown her banner I unfurled ; O'er trackless seas I guided safe her ranks Chains and a prison were my Country's thanks ! No on my chamber-wall suspended place Those lasting monuments of Spain's disgrace ; There shall they hang for ever in my sight, And when I bid this weary world good night, Then fail not to perform my last behest, That wheresoe'er my weary bones shall rest h " The person chosen to supersede Bovadilla was Don Nicholas de Ovando, commander of Lares, of the order of Alcantara." Washington Irving's "Life of Columbus." 14 COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. There may those chains amid the chilling gloom Rust by my side, companions in the tomb !" But why should man for fading visions grieve, The dullest morn oft brings the brightest eve ; December's snow and March's darkening day Are but the heralds of the radiant May ; And had the Hero, when the storm was o'er, Returned a victor to his rule once more, Perchance in luxury of hard- worn ease He had not further dared the Western seas ; Then had Columbia been a name unknown ', And strangers reaped the crop his hand had sown. Where bright Havannah rears its towers on high Beneath the sunshine of a Western sky, Th' Adventurer sleeps >; above his quiet grave No more can calumny or slander rave ; The babbling world with all its noisy rout Rolls on its ceaseless current far without ; The only sound that breaks the stillness there, Is the sweet cadence of the chanted prayer, 1 The actual continent of America was not discovered by Columbus till his fourth and last voyage. J The body of Columbus was first buried in the Church of Santa Maria de la Antigua, in Valladolid; in 1513 it was removed to the Chapel of Santa Christo, in Seville ; in 1536 to the Cathedral of St. Domingo ; whence it was finally conveyed by the Spaniards to its present resting-place at Havannah, Dec. 20th, 1 795, on the cession of Hispaniola to the French. COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. 15 Which on the solemn organ's waves of tone Swells to the arching heights of massive stone, And floating upward through the twilight gray, ' Mid labyrinthine groinings melts away. His ashes moulder in their kindred dust His memory claims the life-right of the Just ; Earth in oblivion shrouds his rusted chains, His name a beacon to the world remains ; His star has guided to the Western shore New wanderers in the path he trod before Heroic Gama, by its radiance led, Tracked the old footsteps of the mighty dead ; Led by that star across the Atlantic's flood, On the New World the Pilgrim-Fathers stood ; And, westward still, from out the weary strife On surging waves rolls on the tide of life k ; The ancient glory is from Susa gone, The lion roams through wasted Babylon ; In Europe's towns, with new-born strength again Is heard the busy hum of toiling men ; Pair Plenty smiles along her fragrant leas, Her Merchant-Princes rule the conquered seas ; k " Westward the course of Empire takes its way, The four first acts already past, A fifth shall close the drama with the day, Time's noblest offspring is the last." Bp. Berkeley. 16 COLUMBUS IN CHAINS. While far away beyond the Western main The wild Savannah and the uncultured plain Call on our struggling multitudes to come In trustful ardour to their yearning home. Then 1 launch we forth upon that mighty tide, Our path the Future, and the Past our guide ; Then shall the great Adventurer's ancient hope Revive and broaden to its widest scope ; Unstained by wasting sword and scorching flame, The grateful world shall bless the Saviour's name ; The radiant Cross shall flash along the night, And all the Isles reflect the glorious light ; No phantom then shall gentle Peace appear, And happy Earth at last shall hail the "Golden Year!" CHARLES BLACKSTONE, SCHOLAR OF CORPUS. 1 " Alas, where now are the Hengsts and Alarics of our still glowing, still expanding Europe? who, when their home is grown too narrow, will, like fire- pillars, guide onwards those superfluous masses of indomitable living valour ; equipped, not now with the battle-axe and war-chariot, but with the steam-engine and plough-share?" Carlyle's "Sartor Resartus." OXFORD : PRINTED BY I. HHHIMPTOW. University of Cal i fo rnia Library Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. I I 31 MAY SEP1< OUE 2 WKS fROM UCLA YR .. 2003 DATE RECEIVED