*£ % tf.C,- A V< ^ o_ * **& .* «.' c\_ «> . ■» ^ ^ ^ *.<* ° • » " A <»• £v\ ,« • • Apv\ > ^^ <* °^ ' • " ° ^^ l WmW* a v *V ^ "° . » * A <* o * -N * ^°^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/columbusisabellaOOrals NAVARRETE PORTRAIT OF COLUMBUS. From " The Portraits of Columbus," by William E. Curtis, Cosmopolitan Magazine, January and February, 1892. X Columbus and Isabella THE IMMORTALS. A SOUVENIR CENTENNIAL POEM BY HARRIET N. RALSTON. // thou thy star do follow-,— Thou canst not fail thee of a glorious port. — Dante : s Inf., XV, 35. Published by Gibson Bros. H. K. Ralston, Printers and Bookbinders Washington D. C. Washington, D. C. 1893. be 75 M 3 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Illustrations of Cover expressly designed for this work by Emma Maynicke. First Page of Cover. — Arch of the Alhambra: In the foreground is seen the Anchor of Columbus found off Navidad; in the vista beyond a sea-view is presented with the first fleet of Columbus, — the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. Fourth Page of Cover. — Moorish Arch — enclosing view of the Convent of La Rabida, Palos, Spain, with distant sea-view. The Convent of La Rabida is reproduced at Chicago, Ills. FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. Copies of Pictures in the Exhibit of Bureau of American Repub- lics in the Convent of La Rabida, Chicago, Ills., royal Photographs, and Monument to Columbus, in half-tone engravings: Page, i. Navarrete Portrait of Columbus. Frontispiece, - - - - - - ' 2 2. Queen Isabella in Armor, ---------- 6 3. King Humbert of Italy, -.- - - - - - - - -8 4 Queen Margherita of Italy, --------- 10 5. The Young King of Spain and his Mother, - - - - - - -12 6. Ptolemy, whose books Columbus studied, - - - - - - - 1 7. Columbus presenting his theories of a Western Passage to the Council of Do- minicans, - - - - - - - - - - - -18 8. Landing of Columbus at San Salvador, -------20 9. Reception of Columbus by Ferdinand and Isabella on his return from his first voyage, -------------22 10. The Fleet of Columbus reviewed by the King and Queen on his second voyage, 24 11. Columbus in chains returning to Spain from his third voyage, - - - 26 12. Columbus reciting his adventures to Ferdinand and Isabella on his return from his third voyage, ----------- 2 8 13. Surrender of Boabdil, ---------- ^ 14. Treasure-chest, missal, sword, and sceptre of Queen Isabella, - - - 32 15. Altar covered with the first gold brought from the New World, in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, at Rome, ------- 34 16. Monument presented by the Italo-Americans of the United States to New York City, -_-. 40 Copyright by H. N. Halston. Washington, D. C, 1892. DEDICATION TO THE AMERICA OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. America! Thou Land of Hope! To thee Whose forecast on the dial of the coming age Reveals the glories of thy riper years, — I dedicate my Lay. Great as thou art, still greater shalt thou be, — For with the nearing century's dawn, Shall Truth, Creation's sun, and thine, — Whose rays have lit the paths Trod by Immortals of each age and clime, Yet higher mount, — nor gild alone The pinnacles of Thought of lofty souls; But shedding wide its beams o'er plains of common minds, Shine evermore thereon in rich effulgence, Till the world's heart, 'pulsating with the life That flows in veins of man and brother man, And vivified thro' agency divine, Shall beat with truer action in its vital flood, And all the peoples hail thee, O my country, Land of Light and Love! The Author, QUEEN ISABELLA IN ARMOR. S-^sssss&sssK^gr^^—^^^^ |N the mystery of silence throbs the pulsing tide of Thought, Shaping Truth's divine accretions, — by its subtle process wrought Into forms whose scintillations seen by ancient prophets' ken Are revealed in later glory unto earnest sons of men. PON Elvira's lonely mountain, Thro' folding shades of night, The moonbeam's misty white Traced down the rugged height The stream that murmured farewell to the distant fountain. No watcher called from Moslem towers; All silent was the plain Where Moor and Christian train, Thro' centuries of pain, By contest fierce and long had marked the wasting hours. KING HUMBERT OF ITALY. At Pinos' bridge a pilgrim halted ; Weary his steed and he ; That man of vision free, Elect of Heaven to be The pole-star of mankind in realms of thought exalted. Columbus, pilot-guide and rover, Had scanned from Genoa's hills, Where nectared dew distils The cup the wine-god fills, — In dreams had scanned the highway of the ocean over. Long years were into cycles rounded, Since mocked by Fortune's smile, Pursued by craft and guile, Patient, yet bold the while, His world-wide, daring schemes he had to courts propounded. In vain for ships was all his pleading To sail the wide seas o'er, And bring to crowns such store As Ophir's mines outpour; — To dreamer and to dreams were kings alike unheeding. Castile had won by arms victorious, With stately Aragon, Boabdil's ancient crown And sceptre of renown, So shone, 'mid Christian powers, Spain's state most glorious. To win the Aurea Chersonesus, Land of the mighty Khan, Whose wealth,- — the legend ran, Exceeded sight of man, Or fabled treasures of the ancient Lydian Croesus : QUEEN MAKGHERITA OF ITALY. And plant the Cross in realms of splendor, Beneath a sky so fair, Were worth a nation's prayer, And worth a crown to dare, And all of courage high, and all of love most tender. Yet he who best such grand aims serving, For whom a world did wait,— Now sport of luckless Fate, Had left Granada's gate At dawning light, to purpose and to Truth unswerving. While o'er his soul swept shadows denser, Than fall when stars expire, Still glowed his pure desire, An unextinguished fire, And still sweet incense rose from Faith's exhaling censer. And as Night's mantle closed around him, Lo, warders from the sky Upbore each bursting sigh Till Heaven deigned reply Swift-sent, while slumber's chain in deep repose had bound him. IJOLUMBUS dreams: the Past unfolds: In ranging Fancy he beholds The shifting scenes of bygone years. Their hopes and their pursuing fears;— It sweeps the space that unknown lay 'Twixt the Old World and far Cathay. Again he leads a gallant crew To sail from Genoa's waters blue, And bathe good swords with crimson stain Of corsairs on the Afric main. 11 THE YOUNG KING OF SPAIN AND HIS MOTHER. Swift change! He basks in Love's sweet smile Mid groves of Porto Santo's isle; Flies thence to seek with favoring breeze The gardens of Hesperides; Nor lists he there the siren's call To slumber in her grottoed hall, But measures depths whose waters lave Vast Atalanta's pearl-strewn grave ; Through mists of Ptolemy's ancient lore His vision seeks a farther shore, Till skirting India's distant coast, The Carthagenian sailor's boast, He guides his course by wise design Of astralabe and heavenly sign To fair Cipango's sunlit strand, And fabled shores of Mangi's land; Lades each staunch barque and caravel As tropic airs their white sails swell, With gems and stores from Eastern climes, Where seasons flow like blending chimes; So Genoa, city of his birth, Should Commerce crown as Queen of earth ; Alas, she hears, but only deems His visions as fantastic dreams! Again he roves, from port to port To supplicate each stranger court ;- Sidonia, Celi, Portugal, — Give ear; yet junta, and cabal, His glowing prophecies deride As veiling masks of boastful pride ! 13 Disdaining Fortune's harsh control, Its stern decrees, its meagre dole, He, panoplied like ancient seer, With Faith too strong for human fear, Strides to Cordova's bannered gates, Where chivalry on glory waits, While Loxa's domes and Moclin's towers Crumble before Spain's allied powers; Undaunted amid councils wise Where Salamanca's turrets rise, He battles blinded bigotries, The rusty growth of centuries; By science, reason, lofty will, Confounds the junta of Seville, Till Error flies, and radiant shine Truth's lineaments in bold outline! At court, on Malaga's vast plain, He views the pomp of martial train, Unfolds his chart of golden schemes To find them still pronounced but dreams! Of penury he bears the woes Till La Rabida's gates unclose, And monks divide their scanty cheer With him, the world's great Pioneer! From thence to halls of State recalled, The Spanish sovereigns list enthralled The fervor of his eloquence, Dispelling every vain pretence Of councils learned; yet while he basks In royal smiles, the aid he asks Is still withheld; with crafty hand Rules Aragon's proud Ferdinand. Weary of courts and fortune rude, Thus in Elvira's solitude Columbus dreamed, till roseate light Suffused the sombre shades of night. |UT hark! o'er Pinos' bridge a sound is ringing,— ^.j j The sound of flying feet; kC |^pl And > lo ' a knightly herald swift is bringing— Is bringing message sweet. "Awake!" the herald cries:— "Awake! thou sleeper Haste to Granada's halls ; Of Glory's gains full soon thou shalt be reaper, Our Sovereign Lady calls ! " The dawn auroral o'er the mount is breaking, Night's shadows fly afar; And in the pilgrim's soul new joys are waking With Day's bright morning star. Columbus kneels iti solemn exaltation, Beside the rocky cleft, And lists a prayer of Moslem lamentation From souls of Hope bereft. All-Merciful, in pity now behold us, The burden of our anguish we lay before Thy feet: For cause of our transgressions Thine arms no longer fold us, And for our great offences Thou dealest justice meet. PTOLEMY, WHOSE BOOKS COLUMBUS STUDIED. We have by divination Thy majesty insulted ; Compounded strange elixirs by aspect of the stars; Science debased by magic, and sorcerers consulted, This sin, Thine erring children from Thy compassion bars. Behold our vineyards trampled,— our homes a desolation; Our olive and pomegranate bloom only for the foe; Our pleasant places wasted by direful visitation, Exiled by Christian mandate to stranger lands we go. In vain against our foemen have Islam's children striven; Like tempests fierce Biscayans swept down the Pyrenees; Castilians and Galicians Baza's strongholds have riven, Allied with bold Valencians and haughty Argonese. Almeria, our jewel,— for her our hearts are breaking, Must her rich, lustrous beauty grace Spanish diadems, Or Malaga's defenders, in tears her shores forsaking. Hear in her moaning waters their own sad requiems? Marbella, stunned and bleeding, lies with a pall enshrouded : Cartama's vale is barren 'neath the oppressor's tax; Illora's eye of beauty with blinding tears is shrouded, And Moclin's shield is broken by Manchan battle-ax. We mourn our great El Zagal unto Andarez banished ; Maleha's pits sad refuge for him our chieftain brave; His bitter cry ascended ere yet the Crescent vanished, ' 'Tis Allah hath decreed it, else this good sword would save! " We mourn our prince Abdallah, exiled like us he wanders; His mantle is the snowdrift on Alpuxarra's side; His heart is sore and smitten ; on ruined state he ponders, And cries in deep dejection,— " Can souls such woes abide ?" Our matrons and our daughters, condemned to fate enthralling, In their defence we vainly unsheath the scimetar; O Allah ! deign to grant them escape from doom appalling, For tempests rave around us and set is Islam's star! |ROM Pinos' bridge Columbus quick retraces His way thro' defiles lone; Beholds the towers Granada's wall embraces, And stands before a throne! — Where Isabella, Queen of Queens the fairest, Bestows with Ferdinand Royal largess, and honors rich and rarest, With free and bounteous hand. Their throne o'erhung with cloth of gold resplendent Enwrought in quaint device; Bears symbols of the glorious Cross ascendant, Beyond a kingdom's price! The noontide splendor all the plain is steeping On Spain's high festal day ; And round the Vega martial trains are sweeping, Fresh from the deadly fray. Spain's Cardinal, bedecked with richest baldric Flashing in jeweled stars, Leads on the chosen host of souls chivalric, — A valiant Son of Mars. The trumpet sounds: the guns in breaking salvo Announce Spain's mighty chiefs; Low bends before the throne the great Gonsalvo, A Prince in feudal fiefs. 19 They come; — the warriors bold whose deeds encluster The throne in golden sheaves ; Sidonia's Duke, whose acts of burning lustre Outnumber Autumn leaves. The Master of Saint Jago, great Cardenas, Displaying standard brave, — Whose star refulgent like the matchless Venus Flamed Beja's day to save! The Marquis of Cadiz, whose valor shineth Brighter than burnished shields ; — And Palma's lord, to whom War's God assigneth The trenchant blade he wields. Villena, to whose lance the foe surrenders ; Celi, of prowess bold ; Velasco, and Tordilla, Spain's defenders, Ablaze with stars of gold ; And Admirals, whose course no tempests alter Upon the Afric seas; Requesens and Cordova, like Gibraltar, And Mena, stern as these. Glad captives raise their joyful acclamations, Released from Moorish thrall ; 'Tis theirs to list the Moslem lamentations, Since Allah judgeth all. So pass in grand review Spain's noblest orders, With clash and din of arms; From old Seville unto her farthest borders, Called forth by War's alarms. And one,— a minstrel, for whose brow had budded The laurel and the bay, Approached the throne, his soul with joy o'erflooded, To chant his glowing lay. He sang of Ferdinand in praise high-sounding; Pictured War's lurid scene; While thus his verse, thro' ages still resounding, Portrayed his glorious Queen : " Our Sovereign Queen receives from cot and castle Homage most loyal paid; Her sceptre wielded o'er the proudest vassal By Love is gently swayed. Her lofty soul, aglow with light immortal, Is Truth's unswerving sphere; The access to its court — the open portal Of her most gracious ear. Upon her steed she flies to points remotest, Crushes oppression's might; Proclaims her will to heed the humblest protest In cause of common right. When chieftains brave would yield, thro' sore disaster, Spain's landmarks won of old ; Her dauntless heart, of craven fears the master Announces purpose bold. With lofty pride she scorns all weak concessions, Refills exhausted stores; Pledges her own demesne and rich possessions, And garnered wealth outpours. With prescient thought she binds Axarquia's ridges ; Its foaming torrent spans; For allied hosts the dark ravine she bridges, And War's great action plans: While legions, like the ocean waves in vastness, Invincible in might, Sweep rocky pass, pierce rugged mountain fastness And scale the topmost height. Her legend runs: '-Glory's domain outlieth Safety's defining bound; Fame's shining crown she to that soul denieth That treads not Danger's ground.' Our valiant Queen enclad in knightly armor Surveys the corse-strewn field ; No hostile sword or poisoned dart can harm her, Jehovah is her shield! The bounty of her soul is wholly royal; — Her white tents dot the plain, To succor those whose hearts to country loyal Yet throb, amid the slain. The life-flow of the hero's wound she stanches, v As Death's pale shadow flies; Or bends to lips Azrael's finger blanches To note their last, faint sighs. Besieging lines Malaga enfilading Announce with trumpet blast, And thunderous boom of deadly cannonading That Islam's doom is cast! COLUMBUS IN CHAINS RETURNING TO SPAIN FROM HIS THIRD VOYAGE. And Algezira's marble balls are falling Where Moorish blood flows warm ; And shrill resound the war-cries more appalling Where deadly lombards storm. Thro' subterranean pass the victors enter; From rampart walls they leap; They crush the Moorish lines from flank to centre, They fell the bastion's keep. The foes enclasp; amid their fierce contending The Crescent disappears; The Andalusian host the ether rending Its sacred banner rears. Pure incense borne from undulating censer Wreathes shrine and altarplace; Exultant hearts beat high with joy intenser, And laud the God of grace. The sovereigns kneel in pious adoration, While praise for victories, And chiming bells and solemn invocation, Blend in grand harmonies. The victor's arm the Cross triumphant raises On Baza's massive gates ; Upon Almeria's heights its glory blazes, — Guadix her fate awaits. Granada hears the rush of coming legions, Their swift, resistless tread, That like the avalanche in icy regions Falls with appalling dread. Boabdil drinks from Griefs empoisoned chalice, And sighs a last adieu Unto Alhambra's fair and stately palace Traced faint against the blue. O radiant Queen! Thy throne in dazzling splendor Shall grace Alhambra's halls ; To thee adoring hearts their homage render While Beauty's charm enthralls. And, lo! effulgence from the crown of glory, Upheld by deathless Fame, Shall fall for aye upon the page of story That bears thy royal name! " HE minstrel ceased, and Tor his glowing ode Received the meed the gracious Queen bestowed: Then one approached; a man of noble mien, The champion hero on the world's great scene; — Columbus, sailor, scientist, and seer, — His soul grown strong in Truth's clear atmosphere; Adventurous Pilot, who should sweep the seas, And to the Old World bear the New World's keys: He held not rank of prince or potentate, Yet sought to ope Cambala's fabled gate, — To breathe the perfumed air ot fair Cathay, And tribute bring to Spain's imperial sway. Of aims like these spake he as one inspired By holy Faith, and by ambition fired, — As Nuncio of nations yet to be, — The world's interpreter of prophecy ! The Queen's great soul was moved; strange fancies crowded fast, Peoples of dusky forms before her vision passed; Their plumes and flower-wreathed shields they gaily flaunt and wave; Her heart more wildly beats; 'tis hers their souls to save! A shadowy censer swings to cadence soft and low, Before the Host they kneel and tears repentant flow. While thus Columbus pictures undiscovered States; — While he for bounds of space wisely negotiates, — Binding Time's passing hours with strong, undying thought To centuries unborn, and wonders yet unwrought, A rare, celestial light plays o'er the Queen's fair face, The wondering courtiers note each new angelic grace Which Love immortal bears to glow with sweet surprise Upon a brow so fair and beam thro' dewy eyes. Columbus boldly prayed for armament and ships, When like a tongue of flame thought leaped from brain to lips; '• Bring forth my jewels," cried the Queen, — "for by the crown I wear I'll pledge them all for goodly ships and grant Columbus' pniyer; So thro' Faith's subtle alchemy shall golden truths evolve, And problems that confound the wise his westward course shall solve!" HEY brought the gems; transforming powers Their magic depths conceal To concentrate diverging bounds And continents reveal; To compass in their changing hues The deep, majestic sea, And mirror countless starry globes That light immensity! TREASURE-CHEST, MISSAL, SWORD, AND SCEPTRE OF QUEEN ISABELLA. Lo! from the blue fair Cuba's strand Is traced in emerald lines; And boundaries of Haytien soil Her verdant wall defines; Venezuela's grasses fringe The Andes' sheltering range ; Ideal landscapes evergreen Reflect the seasons' change. Atlantic's mighty surges break Along Brazil's broad shores; Her wealth with ocean vastness vies, From mines her gold outpours; While Liberty,— the breath of God, Sweeps from her lofty heights, To dissipate the clinging mists That shadow human rights. From Uruguay and Paraguay Remotest waters wed ; And canopies of stately palms The fruitful lands o'erspread. The Argentine Republic mounts Like Venus from the sea; A form of ever changing grace, A brilliant mystery ! The King of Day is hastening on To lands he loveth best; His latest ardent glances gild The Chilian cedar's crest. 33 ALTAR IN THE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE, AT ROME, ITALY, COVERED WITH THE FIRST GOLD BROUGHT FROM THE NEW WORLD. 'Neath Nature's arching capitals, — Green as the sun shines on, Bolivia's streamlets rush to meet The sweeping Amazon. From Orient gems historic scenes Of Peru's state unfold; The palaces of Quito shine And Cuzco's shrines of gold ; The glorious temples of the Sun His worshippers invite, Where sacred priests of Incas' lines Perform each mystic rite. Pacific's breeze fans Ecuador; Its waters lave her feet; On Cotopaxi's furrowed face Dark shadows find retreat. Thro' cloister gates unfolding wide In far Colombia's aisles, Her products flow; a teeming tide,- While she, enchantress, smiles. And Costa Rica, radiant one, By either sea caressed, Is glowing with the new-born joys That thrill her virgin breast. On Nicaragua's bosom lies A gem beyond compare; And untraced constellations mark Their glories mirrored there. Her verdant mountain walls enclose 1 he San Juan's silver flow; And wild in primal forest depths The flowers of Eden blow. Honduras and San Salvador Rear high their rugged steeps; While far beneath, each sylvan glade In dreamful beauty sleeps. Aurora lifts her magic veil From Guatemala's chain, Whose giant forms with thunderous tread Bestride the quaking plain. And Mexico is robed in tints Of opalescent hue, Caught from the glory streaming down The soft, cerulean blue. The splendor of her Aztec court A nation's heart enthralls, As glittering trains a monarch leads Thro' Montezuma's halls. One priceless jewel still remains Wherein the royal gaze Beholds the Northern Polar Star Shine with resplendent rays; Its halo falls upon a throne In radiant, silver sheen, — A throne where reigns by right divine Freedom's exalted Queen!— 36 America, the Wonderland, Where sounding cataracts fall, And untrod mountain plateaus sleep Beneath a snowy pall; Where prairies wear their mantling bloom,- Sweet smiles on Nature's face; And fountains leap from canyons dim In wild, fantastic grace : Where rushing winds to waters deep Creation's themes rehearse, And glory flings her banners out To greet a Universe! The scene dissolves; prophetic sounds By other ears unheard, The woman's heart of Isabel To high resolve had stirred ; For with the changing jewels' light, Strange, echoing undertones Roll out from western hemispheres And voice the varied zones; The grating of the venturous keel On unfamiliar sands; The breaking of the waves that dash On distant, foreign strands ; The fury of the wintry blast That rocks the Northern pines; The steady blow of cleaving drill In undeveloped mines; The call of Three Americas To peoples of the earth ; The hallelujahs that arise As sister States have birth ; 37 The paeans sung in golden lands Where Freedom loves to dwell, That link for aye Columbus' name With that of Isabel! By Faith was Wisdom's wondrous lore Unto a woman taught; And continents their wealth displayed Reflected in her thought. O West and East! Rich heirs of Freedom's dower: lip Columbia spreads a natal feast, — Time's dial marks the hour! Columbus! Thou who dost traverse The shadowy, ether sea; — Whose soul-wings sweep the universe, Columbia calls to Thee! O radiant Queen by glory zoned, Behold thy votive shrine; In grateful hearts thou art enthroned Columbia's srems are thine! Immortal Shades! The peoples throng Within Fame's shining towers; Their allelulias swell the song, — " Lo! Freedom's land is ours! " 38 They hail our flag the sacred sign Of Love's perfected plan, — In starry legends they divine The Brotherhood of Man. O airs that waft to either pole Sweet strains of jubilee, Breathe unto every human soul The Genius of the Free! --&< - s • • > *>v « V* , ^ v ^ *> v- *L^L** c\ aO c u * o * - °*i* ■ * • " ° ° Jl " V •"