THE FIRST CRUSADERS REACH JERUSALEM. The odorous air, morn's messenger, now spread And loud and spreading murmurs upward fly, Ere yet the trumpet sings: its melodies They miss not long, the trumpet's tuneful cry Gives the command to march, shrill sounding to the sky. The skillful Captain, with a gentle rein Guides their desires, and animates their force; Or bridle Boreas in, when gruffly hoarse He ranks them, urges, rules them on the way; Swiftly they march, yet still with swiftness under sway. Wing'd is each heart, and winged every heel; The fervent sun's ascension in the sky, "Jerusalem!" a thousand voices cry, "All hail, Jerusalem!" Hill, down, and dale, Catch the glad sounds, and shout, "Jerusalem, all hail!" To the pure pleasure which that first far view In their reviving spirit sweetly shed, Succeeds a deep contrition, feelings new,— Grief touch'd with awe, affection mix'd with dread; Scarce dare they now upraise the abject head, Or turn to Zion their desiring eyes, The chosen city! where Messias bled, New clothed his limbs with life, and reassumed the skies. Low accents, plaintive whispers, groans profound, Or dash of an insurgent sea that heaves On lonely rocks, or lock'd in winding caves, Hoarse through their hollow aisles in wild low cadence raves. Each, at his Chief's example, lays aside His scarf and feather'd casque, with every gay And glitt'ring ornament of knightly pride, Their thoughts, too, suited to their changed array, Thus to themselves their hearts of hardness they accuse: "Here, Lord, where currents from thy wounded side And melt'st thou not, my icy heart, where bled My flinty bosom, why so cold and dead? Break, and with tears the hallow'd region steep: If that thou weep'st not now, forever shouldst thou weep!" -TASSO, translated by J. H. WIFFEN. HE world has accepted Cervantes de Saavedra as the literary representative of Spain, and Don Quixote as his representative work. Such national distinction is yielded to no other writer of ancient or modern times. Spain herself, whatever pride she may show in other authors, has acquiesced in the general verdict, and by virtue of his merits claims a high rank in literature. Miguel Cervantes De Saavedra was born in 1547 at Alcalá, in New Castile, of ancient but poor family. In 1569 he went to Italy in the train of Cardinal Acquaviva. Having volunteered in the army of Mark Antony Colonna, he served on board the fleet commanded by Don John of Austria at the famous battle of Lepanto, in 1571, where he had the misfortune to lose his left hand, but obtained a share of the booty. For four years more he continued to be a soldier, serving under several leaders, till he was captured by an Algerine corsair. His sufferings and adventures during his five years of slavery in Algiers are described in an episode in Don Quixote. He was treated with mildness, but made three attempts to escape. A large price was paid for his ransom, which, together with subsequent expensive living, entirely exhausted his store. He had already established a poetical reputation in his country before he published, in 1584, his Galatea, dedicated to Ascanio Colonna. This was a pastoral romance, mixing prose and verse, in which he represented, under feigned names, himself and the lady whom he immediately married. He settled in Madrid and composed various pieces for the Spanish theatre, which he assisted in raising from a state of barbarism. Yet his writings failed to bring him fortune. He was reduced to great distress, became an agent for naval stores, and finally was imprisoned for debt in Argamasilla, in the cellar of a house which has become a shrine, for in this forlorn situation he meditated the work which has conferred immortal honor on his name. In 1603 he was free again and moved to Valladolid, chosen by Philip III. as his capital. The first part of Don Quixote was printed at Madrid in 1605. The critics of the day were puzzled by it, but the people soon perceived its merits and its success was prodigious. It was read by all ages and ranks; its fame spread into foreign countries, and editions and translations of it were multiplied. Its first notable effect was in correcting the public taste, and putting a stop to the fabrication of the high-flown romances of chivalry, which had formed the favorite reading of the people. But neither the court nor the people freed themselves from the disgrace of suffering their greatest genius to sink under the depression of poverty. In 1613 Cervantes published the Exemplary Novels, a collection of twelve stories, some of which are the only minor works of his that are at all worthy the author of Don Quixote. These tales resemble others introduced into the adventures of Don Quixote, and display his inventive and descriptive talents in serious story, as the other had done in burlesque. The aged novelist now underwent the mortification of seeing his Don Quixote supplemented by Avellaneda, an Arragonian writer of mean genius, who not only debased the original, but loaded the author with much personal abuse, calling him "a miserable old cripple." Cervantes, however, reclaimed his right by publishing, in 1615, a true Second Part, which sufficiently proved that the author of the first was alone capable of an adequate continuation. This addition was received with avidity by all who had been interested in the genuine Don Quixote. His Journey to Parnassus was an ironical satire upon the Spanish poetry of his time, and upon the bad taste of patrons. This was more likely to increase the number of his enemies than to acquire him new favor. He was obliged to sell eight plays and as many interludes to a bookseller for want of means to print them on his own account. The indif ferent terms he was upon with actors prevented him bringing them on the stage; and the rising reputation of Lope de Vega had eclipsed that of Cervantes as a dramatic writer. His last work, Persiles and Sigismunda, was a romance which he left unpublished. In his preface that humor which had illuminated Don Quixote still flashes out, and dispels the gloom of poverty and sickness. In the affectionate dedication to his best patron, the Count de Lemos, he mentions that he had already received extreme unction; but he did not expire until four days later, on April 23, 1616. Cervantes, though he chose to make the fictions of chivalry the object of his ridicule, had much of the romantic in his own composition; and in matters of heroism and love was a true Spaniard, while he discarded the follies of enchantment and supernatural agency. Yet it is unjust to say that "Cervantes laughed Spain's chivalry away." The change in the Spanish character from aggressive bravery to indolent pride is due to the new movement of the world in which Spain, for other reasons, took no part. Don Quixote, the terminal monument of its chivalry, has not only become a classic throughout the world, but has, in a manner, obscured the fame of all the other literature of its country. It has enriched every modern language with words and phrases to express new ideas, and has been ranked among the capital productions of human invention. All intelligent readers are familiar with the fantastic hero, the grave and generous knight, whose excessive reading of romances had bewildered his judgment, and with his faithful, matter-of-fact attendant, Sancho Panza, whose homely, hard sense well sets off his master's lofty ideals. DON QUIXOTE'S FIRST BATTLE. The knight and his squire went on conferring together, when Don Quixote perceived, in the road on which they were traveling, a great and thick cloud of dust coming towards them; upon which he turned to Sancho, and said, "This is the day, O Sancho, that shall manifest the good that fortune has in store for me. This is the day, I say, on which shall be proved, as at all times, the valor of my arms, |