Or Rodomont, or bold Rugero dar'd.

Equal to these the valiant Nuno stands,—

Nuno, whose arm his king and country sav'd;-
Equal an Egas, and Don Fuas brave,

To sing whose deeds I covet Homer's lyre;—

With the Twelve Peers of Charles, the British
Twelve, 9

And their great chief, Magricio, may compete ;-
While none th' illustrious Gama may transcend, 10

In whom is center'd all Æneas' fame.

With Charlemagne who claims to be compar'd?
Or who to Cæsar's glory may aspire?

The First Alphonso, who, in warlike feats, Surpass'd what other heroes e'er achiev'd; And He* who seal'd his crown's prosperity By vanquishing the proud Castilian foe.— With these may join the brave unconquer'd John,† And three Alphonsos‡ in heroic line.—

Nor shall my numbers, careless, leave unsung

* Don John I. + Don John II.
1 Dons Alphonso III., IV. and V.

Those who in bright Aurora's gorgeous realms

By arms a never-fading name acquir'd,

Pointing thy banners e'er to victory :—

The great Pacheco, bravest of the brave, 11
The feared Almeidas, still by Tagus wept,
Dread Albuquerque, and Castro ever just,
And more, whose fame e'en death itself defies.

While these my verse advent'rous celebrates, 12 But dares to thee, Great Monarch, ne'er aspire, Grasp thou the reins of state. . . . thou shalt achieve Deeds far transcending all the Muse e'er sung.— With glance prophetic she beholds thy hosts Destin'd to fill with wonder and dismay

The scorching realms of Mauritania,

And the wide seas that bathe the Indian shores.
On thee the trembling Moor directs his eyes,
And reads his doom irrevocably fix'd.
Thy glance at once subdues the Eastern pride
Of barb'rous infidels, and bids them yield,
Submissive, to the yoke. The blue expanse 13
Of Ocean's wide domain, Thetis, to thee,
Struck with thy noble and thy tender mien,
In sov'reignty would yield, to hail thee, Son!-

In thee thy two illustrious ancestors
From the Olympian seat their virtues see:-
One far renown'd for love of heav'nly peace, 14
The other fam'd in battle's crimson'd field.

These hope to view in thee reviv'd their worth
And noble deeds; and when thy bright career
Shall close, a splendid mansion they for thee
Within the Temple of Eternity

Prepare. But while too slowly time concedes
A nation's prayer to see thee grace the throne,
Favor the Poet's bold aspiring strain,
That strives to claim the meed of thy applause.
Here thou shalt see, cleaving the silver'd brine,
Thy daring Argonauts; while they rejoice
Thou seest them borne upon the angry waves:
And hear, tho' premature, thy name invok’d. 15

The wide sea now receives the Lusian fleet, Ploughing the waves that roll with restless force: Their destin'd track propitious zephyrs aid, And gently fill their white and hollow sails; With foaming surge the azure sea is deck'd, And the advent'rous prows dauntless pursue Their course along the consecrated deep,

Where, sportive, wantons Proteus' finny train.
Now all the Gods in bright Olympus, whence

Are issued the decrees of human fate,

In glorious council congregate to fix

Of Orient climes the future destiny;
Convok'd, at the dread Thunderer's command,
By graceful Mercury, (from Atlas sprung,)
Together o'er the bright Lacteal path 16

They tread the pavement crystalline of heav'n.

The seven bright Spheres deserting, which they rule By delegated pow'r from Jove supreme,

Who sways, omnipotent, by thought alone,

The earth, the heavens, and the raging sea,
In conclave instantaneously all join,

Assembling from Arcturus' frozen realms,

From the mild south, and from the points extreme
Of fair Aurora's birth, and Sol's decline.-
With grandeur awful and sublime, the God
Who hurls th' annihilating thunderbolt,

Sat on his crystal throne, glowing with stars,—

His aspect proud, majestic, and severe;
And from his lips exhal'd a breath divine,
Which in a mortal body might infuse

Celestial life. His crown and sceptre shone

With gems more brilliant than the diamond's blaze.
On splendid seats, with gold and pearls inlaid,
Beneath the throne, th' assembled gods assume,
In due subordination, each the rank

The dignity of each might justly claim:

The elder, venerated most, precede;
Their designated place th' inferior take:-

When Jove sublime, whose voice a dreadful awe 17
Inspir'd, the trembling council thus address'd:

"Eternal Regents of the starry spheres, Inhabitants of heaven's bright abode,

If you the deeds of Lusus' race recal,-
Deeds that in memory must ever live,—
To you th' unalterable Will of Fate
Must equally be known:-that fix'd decree,
That these illustrious heroes shall eclipse
Th' Assyrian, Persian, Greek and Roman fame.-
To them was granted by supernal aid,

Tho' few the numbers of their marshall'd hosts,
Th' entrench'd and fiercely hostile Moor to drive
From all the lands which smiling Tagus laves.
Against the proud Castilian, fear'd by all,

Its aid benignant heaven ne'er denied ;—