tion. Don Jaime and I kissed the hand of the kind father, as we parted from him, with sentiments of sincere esteem and regard; and when I left the Escorial to return to Madrid, it was with far other émotions than when I first beheld it; for I had now learnt to feel its magnificence by close inspection. And I saw that it stood, and must forever stand, a noble monument of the perfection of the arts in the reign of Philip II., and of the dignity and opulence of the monarchy. Its beautiful pictures may be defaced, its pillars and statues and marbles may be broken and scattered to the winds, but the solidity of its structure will defy the malice of man and the hand of time. Nothing but an extraordinary .convulsion of nature could shake it from its base; for even the most persevering efforts, with all the explosive power of gunpowder, could but overturn, without destroying it; and after all, its ruins would survive, rendering San Lorenzo admirable in its very fragments, and a fit emblem of the genius and fortunes of modern Spain.

ABDERAHMAN'S TESTAMENT,

A LEGEND OF CORDOBA.

Oh royalty! What joys hast thou to boast,
To recompense thy cares? Ambition seems
The passion of a god. Yet, from my throne
Have I with envy seen the naked slave
Rejoicing in the music of his chains,
And singing toil away; and then, at eve,
Returning peaceful to his couch of rest:
Whilst I sat anxious and perplexed with cares;
Projecting, plotting, fearful of events:

Or, like a wounded snake, lay down to writhe,
The sleepless night, upon a bed of state.

DOWE'S SETHONA,

.

Ce prince, dont le nom chéri des Musulmans semblait être d'un heureux présage, prit le titre d'Emir al Muménim, qui signifie Prince des vrais croyans. *** Battu souvent, quelquefois vainqueur, mais toujours grand et redouté, il sut réparer ses pertes et profiter de sa fortune. Politique profond, habile capitaine, il entretint les divisions parmi les princes espagnols, et porta douze fois ses armes jusque dans le centre de leurs Etats. *** Les arts, enfans du commerce et qui nourrissent leur père, ajoutèrent un nouvel éclat au règne brillant d'Abdèrame. *** Il occupa le trône plus de cinquante ans ; l'on a pu voir si ce fut avec gloire. Mais rien ne prouvera peut-être combien ce prince était au-dessus des autres rois, comme l'écrit que l'on trouva dans ses papiers après sa mort.

Voici cet écrit tracé de sa main :

"Cinquante ans se sont écoulés depuis que je suis calife. Richesses, honneurs, plaisirs, j'ai joui de tout, j'ai tout épuisé. Les rois mes rivaux m'estiment, me redoutent et m'envient. Tout ce que les hommes désirent m'a été prodigué par le ciel. Dans ce long espace d'apparente félicité, j'ai calculé le nombre de jours où je me suis trouvé heureux : ce nombre se monte à quatorze. Mor

tels, appréciez la grandeur, le monde et la vie !"

Ce monarque eut pour successeur son fils aîné Aboul-Abbas el Hakkam. *** Hakkam, moins guerrier que son père, mais aussi sage, aussi habile, jouit de plus de tranquillité. Son règne fut celui de la justice et de la paix.

FLORIAN.

That on Granada's princely plains,
In Seville's golden halls,
Along the Guadalquivir's tide,
And o'er Toledo's walls,

Though many a rich and verdant realm

His kingly rule extends,

And Christian foe and Moslem chief
Beneath his sceptre bends?

Oh! nought avails the greatness now,
Which rested on his name,

His boundless wealth, his conquering arms,

The splendor of his fame.
He dies: Abderahman prepares

To leave his Azharà,

Its gardens, fountains, palaces,
Which rang to the guitar,

So oft, so gaily, and so long

Of HER, his beauteous Flower,
The peerless Ornament of Earth,
The loved one of his bower.
His hours are told, his lamp of life
Sends up a flickering flame,
And fast the tide of being ebbs
Within his sinking frame.

The swarthy sons of Afric's race,
Chiefs, whom he proudly led
To dangers, freedom, victory,
Crowd to his dying bed.
Hark! is the busy multitude

Of Cordoba no more,

That not a sound of man is heard,
Where all was life before?

Has the destroying angel swept
Its thousands to the grave,
As when he slew the Assyrian host,
The lowly with the brave?