Poetical Works of William Cullen Bryant Part 51

Page 119.

_The slim papaya ripens_, etc.

Papaya--papaw, custard-apple. Flint, in his excellent work on the Geography and History of the Western States, thus describes this tree and its fruit:

"A papaw-shrub hanging full of fruits, of a size and weight so disproportioned to the stem, and from under long and rich-looking leaves, of the same yellow with the ripened fruit, and of an African luxuriance of growth, is to us one of the richest spectacles that we have ever contemplated in the array of the woods. The fruit contains from two to six seeds like those of the tamarind, except that they are double the size. The pulp of the fruit resembles egg-custard in consistence and appearance. It has the same creamy feeling in the mouth, and unites the taste of eggs, cream, sugar, and spice. It is a natural custard, too luscious for the relish of most people."

Chateaubriand, in his Travels, speaks disparagingly of the fruit of the papaw; but on the authority of Mr. Flint, who must know more of the matter, I have ventured to make my Western lover enumerate it among the delicacies of the wilderness.

Page 130.

_The surface rolls and fluctuates to the eye._

The prairies of the West, with an undulating surface, _rolling prairies, _as they are called, present to the unaccustomed eye a singular spectacle when the shadows of the clouds are pa.s.sing rapidly over them.

The face of the ground seems to fluctuate and toss like billows of the sea.

Page 131.

_The prairie-hawk that, poised on high, Flaps his broad wings, yet moves not._

_I _have seen the prairie-hawk balancing himself in the air for hours together, apparently over the same spot; probably watching his prey.

Page 131.

_These ample fields Nourished their harvests._

The size and extent of the mounds in the valley of the Mississippi indicate the existence, at a remote period, of a nation at once populous and laborious, and therefore probably subsisting by agriculture.

Page 132.

_The rude conquerors Seated the captive with their chiefs._

Instances ace not wanting of generosity like this among the North American Indians toward a captive or survivor of a hostile tribe on which the greatest cruelties had been exercised.

Page 134.

SONG OF MARION'S MEN.

The exploits of General Francis Marion, the famous partisan warrior of South Carolina, form an interesting chapter in the annals of the American Revolution. The British troops were so hara.s.sed by the irregular and successful warfare which he kept up at the head of a few daring followers, that they sent an officer to remonstrate with him for not coming into the open field and fighting "like a gentleman and a Christian."

Page 139.

MARY MAGDALEN.

Several learned divines, with much appearance of reason, in particular Dr. Lardner, have maintained that the common notion respecting the dissolute life of Mary Magdalen is erroneous, and that she was always a person of excellent character. Charles Taylor, the editor of "Calmet's Dictionary of the Bible" takes the same view of the subject.

The verses of the Spanish poet here translated refer to the "woman who had been a sinner," mentioned in the seventh chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, and who is commonly confounded with Mary Magdalen.

Page 142.

FATIMA AND RADUAN.

This and the following poems belong to that cla.s.s of ancient Spanish ballads, by unknown authors, called _Romances Moriscos_--Moriscan Romances or ballads. They were composed in the fourteenth century, some of them, probably, by the Moors, who then lived intermingled with the Christians; and they relate the loves and achievements of the knights of Granada.

Page 143.

LOVE AND FOLLY.--(FROM LA FONTAINE.)

This is rather an imitation than a translation of the poem of the graceful French fabulist.

Page 146.

_These eyes shall not recall thee_, etc.

This is the very expression of the original--_No te llamaran mis ojos, _etc. The Spanish poets early adopted the practice of calling a lady by the name of the most expressive feature of her countenance, her eyes.

The lover styled his mistress "ojos bellos," beautiful eyes; "ojos serenos," serene eyes. Green eyes seem to have been anciently thought a great beauty in Spain, and there is a very pretty ballad by an absent lover, in which he addressed his lady by the t.i.tle of "green eyes;"

supplicating that he may remain in her remembrance:

"Ay ojuelos verdes!

Ay los mis ojuelos!

Ay, hagan los cielos Que de mi te acuerdes!"

Page 147.

_Say, Love--for didst thou see her tears_, etc.

The stanza beginning with this line stands thus in the original:

"Dilo tu, amor, si lo viste; Mas ay! que de lastimado Diste otro nudo a la venda, Para no ver lo que la pasado."

I am sorry to find so poor a conceit deforming so spirited a composition as this old ballad, but I have preserved it in the version. It is one of those extravagances which afterward became so common in Spanish poetry, when Gongora introduced the _estilo culto_, as it was called.

Page 148.

LOVE IN THE AGE OF CHIVALRY.