fierce and protracted struggle, day by day, and year by year, in which her mightiest and meanest mingled in equal ardor; rejoicing, as it were, in a strife which partook in no small degree of the character of a sacred war,-fought, as it was, against a people who were equally the enemies of their country and religion. The Gothic dynasty under which the soil of Spain fell into possession of the Moors, though previously long declining, enfeebled by the grossest vices, corrupt by luxury and sloth, and desiring, if not ready for, a foreign master, did not sink without a noble struggle,would not have fallen, in all probability, but for the treachery of some of its most trusted captains. The stock, however abused, however forgetful of itself, in the hour of prosperity, was a good one, and its virtues survived the nation. In the extinction of the tyranny of Roderick, the kingdom perished, but the sacred principle of liberty was saved; and, in the wild recesses of the Asturian mountains, under the patriotic guardianship of native princes, the seeds of a mighty empire were planted, whose dominion in the end, and for a time, like that of Great Britain in present times, bade fair to overshadow, with its wings of conquest, the remotest regions of the habitable globe. The kingdom which was founded in blood, by Pelayo,-the great sire of guerilla warfare in Spain, could only be maintained by his followers with valor. Fortunate was it for the future, that it was sustained and strengthened by necessity. Poverty and privation seemed to purify the souls, while they rendered hardy the sinews of the defeated race; with daily struggle came daily increase of virtue, not less than strength,-vigilant instincts, habitual courage, and increasing numbers. Eight centuries of conflict brought its fruits; and the long chronicle of wars between the rival races, was gloriously finished in the final conquest which rewarded equally the valor and the virtue of the Christian. This long period, distinguished by the most remarkable achievements, whether of masses or of individuals,-achievements in which the stubborn and faithful courage of the Spaniard, was admirably matched by the generous ardor and intrepid spirit of the Moor,-leaving it long a doubt on which banner victory would at last settle with its sunshine,-presents us with one of the grandest romances of military history, second to none of which we read, and fully equal to the Jewish,-from the time of the Kings to the Captivity,-which it somewhat resembles. The

empire of Spain, once more rendered unique by the possession of her ancient geographical limits, was prepared, by the training of her sons, for their wide extension. The Moor of Granada sullenly yielded up the lovely regions which he had crowded with the trophies of his peculiar genius, and rendered classic by his peculiar arts and tastes. The Spaniard was at length free to repose from a conflict, which had tried equally his patience and his courage for seven hundred years.

The labors of his life

But he had no desire for repose. had not prepared him for the arts of peace. He succeeded to the possessions, but not to the genius of the Moor. He conquered the works, but not the arts, of his accomplished enemy. Skilled in arms, and skilled in little else, his long wars and constant conquests had endowed him with a swelling and elevated spirit. Something of this temperament might also have been caught from the oriental genius of the people he had overcome. Was he, then, to retire from the triumphs of the field, to its miserable toils,-from the glorious enterprizes of war, to the meaner arts, the insignificant objects of trade,—from the noble task of conquering kingdoms, to the lowly struggle after petty gains? There was not a Spaniard in the army that witnessed the surrender of the keys of Granada, that would not have wept bitter tears, like those of the Macedonian, if told that this was to be the last victory he should behold,-that he was to have no more triumphs, that there were no more cities to fall,—no more foes of the faith to overcome, no more worlds for conquest.

He was destined for better revelations. Happily, as it were, to save a victorious people from the mortification of falling into undignified repose, at the very moment while their salvos yet rang along the banks of the Xenil, from the courts of the Alhambra,-announcing the fall of the last fortress which the enemy possessed in Spain, and while the question might naturally be supposed to address itself to the heart of the ancient veteran, and the bold young cavalierwhat next are we to do,-where shall we now turn,-where seek the foe,-in what quarter achieve the conquest?even at such a moment, and as if in order to answer these doubts and inquiries, a strange prophet rose up amongst them, a noble, grey-headed and grey-bearded prophet, after the fashion of the ancient Jewish patriarchs,a mild and

gentle father, sweetly faced, sweetly spoken, who spoke as one filled with a faith,-confident as from heaven,-not to be driven from his purpose,-not to be baffled in the new truths, however disputed, which he came to teach. He preached a new crusade, he announced new empires yet to be gathered within the blessed fold of Christ,-empires of the sun, of a nameless splendor, such as might well throw into shadow and forgetfulness, even the lovely region just rescued from the Moslem grasp. Lucky was the moment, as well for himself as for the conquering army, when Christopher Columbus presented himself, for the last time, before the sovereigns of Leon and Castile. It was, perhaps, quite as much to give employment to restless enterprize, as with the hope of conquests in new lands, that rendered his painful pilgrimages at last successful. Strange as were his promises and predictions,-grossly improbable and evidently imperfect as his theories appeared, when examined by the lights, in that early day for science, in the possession of Christian Europe, there was something in the assurance which it gave of valorous employment, too grateful, too glorious, not to compel a certain degree of credence in the hearts of a military nation. It was to the hope rather than to the faith of Spain, that the great prophet of American discovery addressed himself; and only half believing, yet yearning to believe, they permitted him to throw open to their arms and eyes, the ponderous and immeasurable gates of the Atlantic. It would be perfectly safe to assume, that, as no nation but Spain could be persuaded to attempt the discovery of the new world, so no people but hers could, at that period, have succeeded in its conquest. Hers alone was the sufficient training for such bold designs,-such a grasp of ambition, such habitual and enduring courage in pursuit. The protracted struggle with the Moors, which we have briefly glimpsed at, had prepared her for the most audacious adventures. It was in consequence of the severe lessons acquired in that school of chivalrous courage and military conduct, that she was able to send forth such a throng of captains,and such captains,-worthy of her people and of the wondrous empires which they were yet to win. The conquest of America-Peru and Mexico-was only the last act in the conquest of Granada. They were parts of the same great drama, which, compressing epochs into hours, and the events of long ages into a life, we might properly entitle, "The last

days of Spanish glory." The spirit which effected the delivery of Spain from the footsteps of the heathen, was the same spirit which impelled her arms against the heathen who was yet unknown. In many instances, the performers were the same. The scene was varied, not the action. The heroes, but not the ideal sentiment of heroism, which prevailed with both. Had Granada not fallen, Spain would not have dared to take the seal from the unknown waters. The enterprize might have enured to John of Portugal or Henry of England, or might have been left over to the present days of steam and commerce.

It does not affect the propriety of this opinion, that the persons most prominently distinguished in the Spanish wars with the Moors, do not appear in the first enterprizes of Columbus. The spirit of an age is something which, happily, survives a generation. It was but natural that the war-worn captain should retire, and yield place to his successor, the page and esquire, who had buckled on his harness. They had been taught by his skill, stimulated by his example, counselled by his precept. With his banner, they caught up his enthusiasm. They were not unworthy of their training. The pupil did rare honor to his master by surpassing him,-carrying his deeds of daring and chivalry to a pitch of splendor, which must preserve the history of both, with the greatest and noblest of the past, to all succeeding times. Spain was one great school of romance and romantic daring. The spirit which had led the crown to conquest, was a common possession of the people. Such a possession is not easily extinguished. It goes on, working silently, perhaps, but still working, and still producing fruits. For ages after the extinction of national freedom, this spirit will break out, reviving all the past, and rescuing a people from their thraldom. In Spain, when Columbus preached the new world, and long after, it was a triumphant spirit, working wonders, and every where astonishing the world by its successes. Such captains as Gonsalvo de Cordova,-the Great Captain, as they fondly style him, then busy in the wars of Italy,Hernando Cortés, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the Pizarros, De Soto, Almagro, Ojeda, Ponce de Leon, etc., were all remarkable men,-worthy to take rank in the best military annals of the Roman Republic. Distinguished by rare courage, they were not less so by their great coolness and sagacity. They were no boy-warriors, famous at a charge, but feeble

in every other respect. They could think as well as strikeendure as well as inflict,-of admirable judgment in moments of doubt,-of martyr-like firmness in moments of depression. We do not often meet with such men, even singly, in the history of other nations. Here we encounter them in groups, in families, of unequal merit, perhaps, as individuals, yet how distinguished-how superior, even when least prominent. It is usual to ascribe to the sagacity of Ferdinand-himself no warrior-the immense power and height to which Spain arose under his administration, and after it, in the hands of his successors;—but we should be doing great wrong to history, were the concession to be made to the sovereign, without specially referring to these mighty subjects,-if we passed regardlessly their claims, nor yielded to them the high and palmy merit of having done for their master all that the most loyal attachment, seconded by the most liberal endowment, as well of nature as of art, could possibly bring to the support and glory of a sovereign. If the distinguishing test of greatness be held, as it has been, to be the ability, in the worst times, and with the worst means, of achieving the most wonderful results,-then, certainly, it cannot be denied that these Spanish captains, whether the theatre of action be the sierras of Alpuxarra, or the wild passes of Central and of North-America, not only proved themselves great, but the very greatest of warriorsdistinguished by an audacity which seemed to regard no achievement worthy of attempt, which danger did not absolutely environ, no danger, as beyond the endeavors and aims of a fortune, which had already plucked its brightest honors from the worst!

Were we in the mood, after the fashion of Mr. Carlyle, to endow a modern Pantheon with Hero-divinities, we should not hesitate to choose, from the crowd of heroes who might fairly present themselves for this distinction, as ranking honorably with the worthies of the past, the young adventurer from Medellin, Spain, by name Hernando Cortés. In making this selection, however, we must not be misunderstood. We are expressing by this preference, only that sort of admiration which we yield to military greatness,— to the man of mere performance,-the hero,-in the case of Cortés, we may say, the politician,-the man of iron nerves, of inflexible composure and fortitude,-doing without questioning, prompt, brave, cruel,-resolute to win the game, VOL. VI.--NO. 11.

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