many just and pious kings: Chitragupta acts as chief secretary. These holy men determine what is dharma and adharma, just and unjust. His (Dharma-Raja's) servant is called Carmala: he brings the righteous on celestial cars, which go of themselves, whenever holy men are to be brought in, according to the directions of the Dharma-Raja, who is the sovereign of the Pitris. This is called his divine countenance, and the righteous alone do see it. His other countenance, or form, is called Yama; this the wicked alone can see: It has large teeth and a monstrous body. Yama is the lord of Patala; there he orders some to be beaten, some to be cut to pieces, some to be devoured by monsters, etc. His servant is called Cashmala, who, with ropes round their necks, drags the wicked over rugged paths, and throws them headlong into hell. He is unmerciful, and hard is his heart; every body trembles at the sight of him.-WILFORD. Asiatic Researches. Note 89, page 346, col. 2. Black of aspect, red of eye. Punishment is the Magistrate; Punishment is the Inspirer of Terror; Punishment is the Defender from Calamity; Punishment is the Guardian of those that sleep; Punishment, with a black aspect and a red eye, tempts the guilty.-HALHED's Gentoo Code, ch. xxi, sect. 8. Note 90, page 346, col. 2. Azyoruca. In Patala (or the infernal regions) resides the sovereign Queen of the Nagas, (large snakes, or dragons :) she is beautiful, and her name is Asyoruca. There, in a cave, she performed Taparya with such rigorous austerity, that fire sprang from her body, and formed numerous agnitiraths (places of sacred fire) in Patala. These fires, forcing their way through the earth, waters, and mountains, formed various openings or mouths, called from thence the flaming mouths, or juala muihi. By Samudr, (Oceanus,) a daughter was born unto her, called Rama-Devi. She is most beautiful; she is Lacshmi; and her name is Asyotcarsha, or Asyoterishta. Like a jewel she remains concealed in the Ocean.-WILFORD. Asiat. Res. Note 91, page 347, col. 1. He came in all his might and majesty. out of the chariot, with its appendages and furniture, one would affirm to be the year of twelve months gracefully moving forwards. <«< When Seeva, with his numerous troops and prodigious army, was mounted, Brama drove so furiously, that thought itself, which, in its rapid career, compasses Heaven and Earth, could not keep pace with it. By the motion of the chariot Heaven and Earth were put into a tremor; and, as the Earth was not able to bear up under this burthen, the Cow of the Earth, Kam-deva, took upon itself to support the weight. Seeva went with intention to destroy Treepoor: and the multitude of Devatas and Reyshees and Apsaras who waited on his stirrup, opening their mouths, in transports of joy and praise, exclaimed, Jaya! Jaya! so that Parvati, not being able to bear his absence, set out to accompany Seeva, and, in an instant, was up with him; while the light which brightened on his countenance, on the arrival of Parvati, surpassed all imagination and description. The Genii of the eight regions, armed with all kinds of weapons, but particularly with agnyastra, or fire-darts, like moving mountains, advanced in front of the army; and Eendra and other Devatas, some of them mounted on elephants, some on horses, others on chariots, or on camels or buffaloes, were stationed on each side, while all the other order of Devatas, to the amount of some lacs, formed the The Munietuvaras, with long hair on their heads, like Saniassis, holding their staves in their hands, danced as they went along; the Syddyhas, who revolve about the heavens, opening their mouths in praise of Seeva, rained flowers upon his head; and the vaulted heaven, which is like an inverted goblet, being appoint ed in the place of a drum, exalted his dignity by its majestic resounding.»> centre. Throughout the Hindoo fables there is the constant mistake of bulk for sublimity. Note 92, page 347, col. 1. By the attribute of Deity -self-multiplied The dreadful One appear'd on every side. It happened in Dwarka, a splendid city built by Viswakarma, by command of Krishna, on the sea-shore, in the province of Gazerat, that his musical associate, Nareda, had no wife or substitute; and he hinted to his friend the decency of sparing him one from his In the place of the right wheel blazed the Sun, in long catalogue of ladies. Krishna generously told him the place of the left was the Moon; instead of the to win and wear any one he chose, not immediately in brazen nails and bolts, which firmly held the ponderous requisition for himself. Nareda accordingly went wheels, were distributed Bramins on the right hand, wooing to one house, but found his master there; to a and Reyshees on the left; in lieu of the canopy on the second-he was again forestalled; a third, the same; top of the chariot was overspread the vault of Heaven; to a fourth, fifth, the same: in fine, after the round of the counterpoise of the wheels was on the east and sixteen thousand of these domiciliary visits, he was still west, and the four Semordres were instead of the forced to sigh and keep single; for Krishna was in every cushions and bolsters; the four Vedas were placed as house, variously employed, and so domesticated, that the horses of the chariot, and Saraswaty was for the, each lady congratulated herself on her exclusive and bell; the piece of wood by which the horses are driven uninterrupted possession of the ardent deity.-MOOR'S was the three-lettered Mantra, while Brama himself, Hindu Pantheon, p. 204. was the charioteer, and the Nacshatras and stars were distributed about it by way of ornaments. Sumaru was in the place of a bow, the serpent Seschanaga was stationed as the string, Veeshnu instead of an arrow, and fire was constituted its point. Ganges and other rivers were appointed its precursors; and the setting Eight of the chief gods have each their sacti, or energy, proceeding from them, differing from them in sex, but in every other respect exactly like them, with the same form, the same decorations, the same weapons, and same vehicle.-Asiat. Res. 8vo edit. vol. viii, p. 68, 82. The manner in which this divine power is displayed by Kelama, in his combat with Yamen, will remind some readers of the Irishman, who brought in four prisoners, and being asked how he had taken them, replied, he had surrounded them. Note 93, page 348, col. 1. The Amreeta, or Drink of Immortality. Mr Wilkins has given the genuine history of this liquor, which was produced by churning the sea with a mountain. << There is a fair and stately mouutain, and its name is Meroo, a most exalted mass of glory, reflecting the sunny rays from the splendid surface of its gilded horns. It is clothed in gold, and is the respected haunt of Dews and Gandarvas. It is inconceivable, and not to be encompassed by sinful man; and it is guarded by dreadful serpents. Many celestial medicinal plants adorn its sides; and it stands, piercing the heaven with its aspiring summit, a mighty hill, inaccessible even by the human mind. It is adorned with trees and pleasant streams, and resoundeth with the delightful songs of various birds. be the supporter of this mountain.' The Tortoise replied, Be it so; and it was placed upon his back. << So the mountain being set upon the back of the Tortoise, Eendra began to whirl it about as it were a machine. The mountain Mandar served as a churn, and the serpent Vasoakee for the rope; and thus in former days did the Dews, and Asoors, and the Danoos, 1 begin to stir up the waters of the ocean for the discovery of the Amreeta. «The mighty Asoors were employed on the side of the serpent's head, whilst all the Soors assembled about his tail. Ananta, that sovereign Dew, stood near Narayan. They now pull forth the serpent's head repeatedly, and as often let it go; whilst there issued from his mouth, thus violently drawing to and fro by the Soors and Asoors, a continual stream of fire and smoke and wind, which ascending in thick clouds, replete with lightning, began to rain down upon the heavenly bands, who were already fatigued with their labour; whilst a shower of flowers was shaken from the top of the mountain, covering the heads of all, both Soors and Asoors. In the mean time the roaring of the ocean, whilst violently agitated with the whirling of the moun« The Soors, and all the glorious hosts of heaven, hav-tain Mandar by the Soors and Asoors, was like the beling ascended to the summit of this lofty mountain, lowing of a mighty cloud. Thousands of the various sparkling with precious gems, and for eternal ages rais-productions of the waters were torn to pieces by the ed, were sitting in solemu synod, meditating the discovery of the Amreeta, the Water of Immortality. The Dew Narayan being also there, spoke unto Brahma, whilst the Soors were thus consulting together, and said, 'Let the Ocean, as a pot of milk, be churned by the united labour of the Soors and Asoors; and when the mighty waters have been stirred up, the Amreeta shall be found. Let them collect together every medicinal herb, and every precious thing, and let them stir the Ocean, and they shall discover the Amreeta.' mountain, and confounded with the briny flood; and every specific being of the deep, and all the inhabitants of the great abyss which is below the earth, were annihilated; whilst, from the violent agitation of the mountain, the forest trees were dashed against each other, and precipitated from its utmost height, with all the birds thereon; from whose violent couf, ication a raging fire was produced, involving the whole mountain with smoke and flame, as with a dark blue cloud, and the lightning'svivid flash. The lion and the retreating elephant There is also another mighty mountain, whose are overtaken by the devouring flames, and every vital name is Mandar, and its rocky summits are like tower-being and every specific thing, are consumed in the geing clouds. It is clothed in a net of the entangled ten- neral conflagration. drils of the twining creeper, and resoundeth with the << The raging flames, thus spreading destruction on all harmony of various birds. Innumerable savage beasts sides, were at length quenched by a shower of cloudinfest its borders; and it is the respected haunt of borne water, poured down by the immortal Eendra. Kennars, Dews, and Apsars. It standeth eleven thou-And now a heterogeneous stream of the concocted juices! sand Yojan above the earth, and eleven thousand more of various trees and plants ran down into the briny flood below its surface. « It was from this milk-like stream of juices, pro melted gold, that the Soors obtained their immortality. « As the united bands of Dews were unable to reduced from those trees and plants and a mixture of move this mountain, they went before Veeshnoo, who was sitting with Brahma, and addressed them in these words; Exert, O masters! your most superior wisdom to remove the mountain Mandar, and employ your utmost power for our good.' «The waters of the Ocean now being assimilated with those juices, were converted into milk, and from that milk a kind of butter was presently produced; when the heavenly bands went again into the presence of « Veeshnoo and Brahma having said, it shall be ac- Brahma, the granter of boons, and addressed him, cording to your wish,' he with the lotus eye directed saying, 'Except Narayan, every other Soor and Asoor the King of Serpents to appear; and Ananta arose, and is fatigued with his labour, and still the Amreeta doth was instructed in that work by Brahma, aud command-not appear; wherefore the churning of the Ocean is at a ed by Narayan to perform it. Then Ananta, by his power, took up that king of mountains, together with all its forests and every inhabitant thereof; and the Soors accompanied him into the presence of the Ocean, whom they addressed, saying, 'We will stir up thy waters to obtain the Amreeta.' And the Lord of the Waters replied, 'Let me also have a share, seeing I am to bear the violent agitation that will be caused by the whirling of the mountain! Then the Soors and Asoors spoke unto Koorma-raj, the King of the Tortoises, upon the strand of the Ocean, and said, 'My lord is able to stand.' Then Erahma said unto Narayan, Endue of fortune, whose seat is the white lily of the waters; then Soora-Devee, the goddess of wine, and the white horse called Oohisrava. And after these there was produced from the unctuous mass the jewell Kowstoobh, that glorious sparkling gem worn by Narayan on his breast; also Pareejat, the tree of plenty, and Soorabhee, the cow that granted every heart's desire. << The moon, Soora-Devee, the goddess of Sree, and the Horse, as swift as thought, instantly marched away towards the Dews, keeping in the path of the Sun. «Then the Dew Dhanwantaree, in human shape, came forth, holding in his hand a white vessel filled with the immortal juice Amreeta. When the Asoors beheld these wondrous things appear, they raised their tumultuous voices for the Amreeta, and each of them clamorously exclaimed, 'This of right is mine.' << In the mean time Travat, a mighty elephant, arose, now kept by the god of thunder; and as they continued to churn the ocean more than enough, that deadly poison issued from its bed, burning like a raging fire, whose dreadful fumes in a moment spread throughout the world, confounding the three regions of the universe with the mortal stench, until Seev, at the word of Brahma, swallowed the fatal drug, to save mankind; | which, remaining in the throat of that Sovereign Dew of magic form, from that time he hath been called Neel-Kant, because his throat was stained blue. When the Asoors beheld this miraculous deed, they became desperate, and the Amreeta and the goddess Sree became the source of endless hatred. Then Narayan assumed the character and person of Moheenee Maya, the power of enchantment, in a female form of wonderful beauty, and stood before the Asoors, whose minds being fascinated by her presence, and deprived of reason, they seized the Amreeta, and gave it unto her. The Asoors now clothe themselves in costly armour, and, seizing their various weapons, rush on together to attack the Soors. In the mean time Narayan, in the female form, having obtained the Amreeta from the hands of their leader, the hosts of Soors, during the tumult and confusion of the Asoors, drank of the living water. And it so fell out, that whilst the Soors were quenching their thirst for immortality, Rahoo, an Asoor, assumed the form of a Soor, and began to drink also: And the water had but reached his throat, when the Sun and Moon, in friendship to the Soors, discovered the deceit; and instantly Narayan cut off his head as he was drinking, with his splendid weapon Chakra, And the gigantic head of the Asoor, emblem of a mountain's summit, being thus separated from his body by the Chakra's edge, bounded into the heavens with a dreadful cry, whilst his ponderous trunk fell, cleaving the ground asunder, and shaking the whole earth unto its foundation, with all its islands, rocks, and forests: And from that time the head of Rahoo resolved an eternal enmity, and continueth, even unto this day, at times to seize upon the Sun and Moon. «Now Narayan, having quitted the female figure he had assumed, began to disturb the Asoors with sundry celestial weapons; and from that instant a dreadful battle was commenced, on the ocean's briny strand, between the Asoors and the Soors. Innumerable sharp and missile weapons were hurled, and thousands of piercing darts and battle-axes fell on all sides. The Asoors vomit blood from the wounds of the Chakra, and fall upon the ground pierced by the sword, the spear, and spiked club. Heads, glittering with polished gold, divided by the Pattees' blade, drop incessantly; and mangled bodies, wallowing in their gore, lay like fragments of mighty rocks, sparkling with gems and precious ores. Millions of sighs and groans arise on every side; and the sun is overcast with blood, as they clash their arms, and wound each other with their dreadful instruments of destruction. Now the battle is fought with the iron-spike club, and, as they close, with clenched fist; and the din of war ascendeth to the heavens. They cry Pursue! strike! fell to the ground!' so that a horrid and tumultuous noise is heard on all sides. «In the midst of this dreadful hurry and confusion of the fight, Nar and Narayan entered the field together. Narayan, beholding a celestial bow in the hand of Nar, it reminded him of his Chakra, the destroyer of the Asoors. The faithful weapon, by name Soodarsan, ready at the mind's call, flew down from heaven with direct and refulgent speed, beautiful, yet terrible to behold: And being arrived, glowing like the sacrificial flame, and spreading terror around, Narayan, with his right arm formed like the elephantine trunk, hurled forth the ponderous orb, the speedy messenger and glorious ruin of hostile towns; who, raging like the final all-destroying fire, shot bounding with desolating force, killing thousands of the Asoors in his rapid flight, burning and involving, like the lambent flame, and cutting down all that would oppose him. Anon he climbeth the heavens, and now again darteth into the field like a Peesach, to feast in blood. Now the dauntless Asoors strive, with repeated strength, to crush the Soors with rocks and mountains, which, hurled in vast numbers into the heavens, appeared like scattered clouds, and fell, with all the trees thereon, in millions of fear-exciting torrents, striking violently against each other with a mighty noise; and in their fall the earth, with all its fields and forests, is driven from its foundation: they thunder furiously at each other as they roll along the field, and spend their strength in mutual conflict. Now Nar, seeing the Soors overwhelmed with fear, filled up the path to Heaven with showers of goldenheaded arrows, and split the mountain summits with his unerring shafts; and the Asoors finding themselves again sore pressed by the Soors, precipitately flee; some rush headlong into the briny waters of the ocean, and others hide themselves within the bowels of the earth. «The rage of the glorious Chakra, Soodarsan, which for a while burnt like the oil-fed fire, now grew cool, and he retired into the heavens from whence he came. And the Soors having obtained the victory, the mountain Mandar was carried back to its former station with great respect, whilst the waters also retired, filling the firmament and the heavens with their dreadful roarings. << The Soors guarded the Amreeta with great care, and rejoiced exceedingly because of their success. And Eendra, with all his immortal bands, gave the water of life unto Narayan, to keep it for their use.»-MAHABHARAT. Amrita, or Immortal, is, according to Sir William Jones, the name which the mythologists of Tibet apply to a celestial tree, bearing ambrosial fruit, and adjoining to four vast rocks, from which as many sacred rivers derive their several streams. Roderick, the Last of the Goths. Tanto acrior apud majores, sicut virtutibus gloria, ita flagitiis pœnitentia, fuit. TACITI, Hist. lib. 3, c. 51. As the ample Moon In the deep stillness of a summer even Sets forth and magnities herself; thus feeds A calm, a beautiful and silent fire, From the incumbrances of mortal life, From error, disappointment, -nay from guilt; TO GROSVENOR CHARLES BEDFORD, This Poem is inscribed, IN LASTING MEMORIAL OF A LONG AND UNINTERRUPTED FRIENDSHIP, THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. WITIZA,.... .King of the Wisi-Goths; dethroned and THEODOFRED,..son of King Chindasuintho, blinded by FAVILA,. .his brother; put to death by Witiza. The Wife of Favila, Witiza's adulterous mistress. (These four persons are dead before the action of the poem commences.) RODERICK,..... the last King of the Wisi-Goths: son of THE history of the Wisi-Goths for some years before mise these circumstances of an obscure portion of his- GAUDIOSA,...... the founder of the Spanish Monarchy: son of Favila. .his wife. .his sister. ..his son. ....his daughter. ..widow of Theodofred, and mother of COUNT Pedro,... .formerly the wife of Roderick, now of To stand his everlasting monument. EGILONA,.... ABULCACEM, ALCAHMAN,. AYUB,. Moorish Chiefs. IBRAHIM,. MAGUED,.. ORPAS,.. .brother to Witiza, and formerly Arch- Thou sawest the dark-blue waters flash before FLORINDA,... .his daughter, violated by King Rode- The taint of death; and that bright Sun, from fields rick. RODERICK AND ROMANO. LONG had the crimes of Spain cried out to Heaven; On Roderick's head, in evil hour for Spain, Thou, Calpë, sa west their coming: ancient Rock Of slaughter, with the morning dew drew up Corruption through the infected atmosphere. Then fell the kingdom of the Goths; their hour He bade the river bear the name of joy. 9 So thought the Goths; they said no prayer for him, Bravely in that eight-days' fight The name of thy new conqueror, 4 and thenceforth Of lightning, smote him. From his horse he dropt, |