XI. 'There, of Numantian fire a swarthy spark Beam not, as once, thy nobles' dearest pride, Have seen the plumed Hidalgo quit their side, XII. I "And cherish'd still by that unchanging race, ' Legend and vision, prophecy and sign; Go, seek such theme!"—The Mountain Spirit said : THE VISION OF DON RODERICK. I. Rearing their crests amid the cloudless skies, As from a trembling lake of silver white. All sleeps in sullen shade, or silver glow, 2 [MS." And lingering still mid that unchanging race."] ["The Introduction, we confess," says the Quarterly Reviewer, "does not please us so well as the rest of the poem, though the reply of the Mountain Spirit is exquisitely written." The Edinburgh critic, after quoting stanzas ix. x. and xi. says "the Introduc tion, though splendidly written, is too long for so short a poem ; and the poet's dialogue with his native mountains is somewhat too startling and unnatural. The most spirited part of it, we think, is their direction to Spanish themes."] 3 [The Monthly Review, for 4844, in quoting this stanza, says "Scarcely any poet, of any age or country, has excelled Mr. Scott in bringing before our sight the very scene which he is describing-in giving a reality of existence to every object on which he dwells; and it is on such occasions, especially suited as they seem to the habits of his mind, that his style itself catches a character of harmony, which is far from being universally its own. How vivid, yet how soft, is this picture!"] II. All save the rushing swell of Teio's tide, Or, distant heard, a courser's neigh or tramp; And standards proudly pitch'd, and warders arm'd between. III. But of their Monarch's person keeping ward, The post beneath the proud Cathedral hold: Who, for the cap of steel and iron mace, Bear slender darts,' and casques bedeck'd with gold, IV. In the light language of an idle court, They murmur'd at their master's long delay, "What! will Don Roderick here till morning stay, 1 [MS.-"For, stretch'd beside the river's margin damp, Their proud pavilions hide the meadow green."], 3 [The Critical Reviewer, having quoted stanzas i. ii. and iii. says "To the specimens with which his former works abound, of Mr. Scott's unrivalled excellence in the descriptions, both of natural scenery and romantic manners and costume, these stanzas will be thought no mean addition."] 4 Almost all the Spanish historians, as well as the voice of tradition, ascribe the invasion of the Moors to the forcible violation committed by Roderick upon Fiorinda, called by the Moors, Caba or Cava. She was the daughter of Count Julian, one of the Gothic monarch's principal lieutenants, who, when the crime was perpetrated, was engaged in the defence of Ceuta against the Moors. In his indignation at the ingratitude of his sovereign, and the dishonour of his daughter, Count Julian forgot the duties of a Christian and a patriot, and, forming an alliance with Musa, then the caliph's lieutenant in Africa, he countenanced the invasion of Spain by a body of Saracens and Africans, commanded by the celebrated Tarik; the issue of which was the defeat and death of Roderick, and the occupation of almost the whole peninsula by the Moors. Voltaire, in his General History, expresses his doubts of this popular story, and Gibbon gives him some countenance; but the universal tradition is quite sufficient for the purposes of poetry. The Spaniards, in detestation of Florinda's memory, are said, by Cervantes, never to bestow that name upon any human female, reserving it for their dogs. Nor is the tradition less inveterate among the Moors, since the same author Then to the east their weary eyes they cast, And wish'd the lingering dawn would glimmer forth at last. V. But, far within, Toledo's Prelate lent So long that sad confession witnessing: When Fear, Remorse, and Shame, the bosom wring, VI. Full on the Prelate's face, and silver hair, The stream of failing light was feebly roll'd; ' Proud Alaric's descendant could not brook," Or boast that he had seen, when Conscience shook, Fear tame a monarch's brow, Remorse a warrior's look.3 mentions a promontory on the coast of Barbary, called "The Cape of the Caba Rumia, which, in our tongue, is the Cape of the Wicked Christian Woman; and it is a tradition among the Moors, that Caba, the daughter of Count Julian, who was the cause of the loss of Spain, lies buried there, and they think it ominous to be forced into that bay; for they never go in otherwise than by necessity."] [MS.-"The feeble lamp in dying lustre roll'd."] The waves of broken light were feebly 3 [The Quarterly Reviewer says,-"The moonlight scenery of the camp and burialground is evidently by the same powerful hand which sketched the Abbey of Melrose; and in this picture of Roderick's confession, there are traits of even a higher cast of sublimity and pathos." The Edinburgh Reviewer introduces his quotations of the i. ii., v., and vi. stanzas thus,"The poem is substantially divided into two compartments;-the one representing the fabulous or prodigious acts of Don Roderick's own time,-and the other the recent occurrences which have since signalized the same quarter of the world. Mr. Scott, we think, is most at home in the first of these fields; and we think, upon the whole, has most success in it. The opening affords a fine specimen of his unrivalled powers of description." The reader may be gratified with having the following lines from Mr. Southey's Roderick inserted here: "Then Roderick knelt Before the holy man, and strove to speak : A human eye upon his shame-'Thon seest I VII. The old man's faded cheek wax'd yet more pale, VIII. "And if Florinda's shrieks alarm'd the air, Know by their bearing to disguise their mood."- Sent to the Monarch's cheek the burning blood- IX. "O harden'd offspring of an iron race! What of thy crimes, Don Roderick, shall I say? Who, scarce repentant, makes his crime his boast? Unless, in mercy to yon Christian host, 2 He spare the shepherd, lest the guiltless sheep be lost." Roderick the Goth! That name should have sufficed To tell the whole abhorred history: He not the less pursued, the ravisher, The cause of all this ruin!' Having said, In the same posture motionless he knelt, Arms straiten'd down, and hands outspread, and eyes Raised to the monk, like one who from his voice Mr. Southey, in a note to these lines, says, "The Vision of Don Roderick supplies a singular contrast to the picture which is represented in this passage. I have great pleasure in quoting the stanzas (v. and vi.); if the contrast had been intentional, it could not have been more complete."] The predecessor of Roderick upon the Spanish throne, and slain by his connivance, as is affirmed by Rodriguez of Toledo, the father of Spanish history. 2 [MS." He spare to smite the shepherd, lest the sheep be lost."] X. Then kindled the dark Tyrant in his mood, And to his brow return'd its dauntless gloom; Where, if aught true in old tradition be, XI. "Ill-fated Prince! recall the desperate word, Save to a King, the last of all his line, 2 And treason digs, beneath, her fatal mine, XII. "Prelate! a Monarch's fate brooks no delay; And, as the key the desperate King essay'd, And twice he stopp'd, and twice new effort made, Till the huge bolts roll'd back, and the loud hinges bray'd. XIII. Long, large, and lofty, was that vaulted hall; Roof, walls, and floor, were all of marble stone, Of polish'd marble, black as funeral pall, Carved o'er with signs and characters unknown. A paly light, as of the dawning, shone [MS.-"And guide me, prelate, to that secret room."] 2 [See Appendix, Note A.] |