Thy goods are bought with many a groan,. By the hot sweat of toil alone, And weary hearts; Fleet-footed is the approach of woe, And he, the good man's shield and shade, Roderic Manrique,—he whose name Is written on the scroll of Fame, His signal deeds and prowess high Why should their praise in verse be sung? To friends a friend; - how kind to all The vassals of this ancient hall And feudal fief! To foes how stern a foe was he! And to the valiant and the free How brave a chief! What prudence with the old and wise; What grace in youthful gaieties; In all how sage! Benignant to the serf and slave, He showed the base and falsely brave His was Octavian's prosperous star. His, Scipio's virtue; his, the skill His was a Trajan's goodness, his And righteous laws; The arm of Hector, and the might Of Tully, to maintain the right The clemency of Antonine, Aurelius' countenance divine, Firm, gentle, still; The eloquence of Adrian, And Theodosius' love to man, And generous will; In tented field and bloody fray, The faith of Constantine; ay, more, The fervent love Camillus bore His native land. He left no well-filled treasury, He heaped no pile of riches high, Nor massive plate; He fought the Moors, and, in their fall, City and tower and castled wall Were his estate. Upon the hard-fought battle-ground, And there the warrior's hand did gain And if, of old, his halls displayed So, in the dark, disastrous hour, After high deeds, not left untold, In the stern warfare, which of old "T was his to share, Such noble leagues he made, that more And fairer regions, than before, His guerdon were. These are the records, half effaced, Which, with the hand of youth, he traced On history's page; But with fresh victories he drew Each fading character anew In his old age. By his unrivalled skill, by great And veteran service to the state, By worth adored, He stood in his high dignity, He found his cities and domains But, by fierce battle and blockade, By the tried valour of his hand, His monarch and his native land Were nobly served ; Let Portugal repeat the story, And proud Castile, who shared the glory His arms deserved. And when so oft, for weal or woe, His life upon the fatal throw Had been cast down; When he had served, with patriot zeal, Beneath the banner of Castile, His sovereign's crown; And done such deeds of valour strong, That neither history nor song Can count them all; Then, on Ocaña's castled rock, Death at his portal came to knock, With sudden call, Saying, "Good Cavalier, prepare With joyful mien; Let thy strong heart of steel this day 66 Since thou hast been, in battle-strife, For earthly fame, Let virtue nerve thy heart again; Loud on the last stern battle-plain "Think not the struggle that draws near Too terrible for man,- -nor fear To meet the foe; Nor let thy noble spirit grieve, "A life of honour and of worth And yet its glory far exceeds That base and sensual life, which leads "The eternal life, beyond the sky, Wealth cannot purchase, nor the high And proud estate; The soul in dalliance laid, the spirit "But the good monk, in cloistered cell, Shall gain it by his book and bell, And the brave knight, whose arm endures Fierce battle, and against the Moors His standard rears. |