TWICE in the zenith blazed the orb of light; Then the long line found rest-in coral groves Sent forth their anxious spirits o'er the main. T These boughs of gold, and fruits of heavenly hue, And (thrice, thrice blessed is the eye that spied, The sails were furled: with many a melting close, Solemn and slow the evening-anthem rose, Rose to the Virgin.‡ 'Twas the hour of day, * Ex ligno lucido confectum, et arte mirâ laboratum. P. Martyr. dec. i. 5. †The Simoom. Salve, regina. Herrera, I. i. 12.-It was the usual service, and always sung with great solemnity. "I remember one evening," says Oviedo, "when the ship was in full sail, and all the men were on their knees, singing Salve, regina, &c. Relacion Sommaria.-The hymn, O Sanctissima, is still to be heard after sunset along the shores of Sicily, and its effect may better conceived than described. be A path of glory, opening in the west To golden climes, and islands of the blest; Went o'er the waves in songs of gladness there! Chosen of Men!* 'Twas thine, at noon of night, First from the prow to hail the glimmering light; † (Emblem of Truth divine, whose secret ray Enters the soul, and makes the darkness day!) "PEDRO RODRIGO! there, methought, it shone! There in the west! and now, alas, 'tis gone!— 'Twas all a dream! we gaze and gaze in vain! -But mark and speak not, there it comes again! * I believe that he was chosen for this great service; and that, because he was to be so truly an apostle, as in effect he proved to be, therefore was his origin obscure; that therein he might resemble those who were called to make known the name of the Lord from seas and rivers, and not from courts and palaces. And I believe also, that, as in most of his doings he was guarded by some special providence, his very name was not without some mystery: for in it is expressed the wonder he performed; inasmuch as he conveyed to a new world the grace of the Holy Ghost, &c.-Hist. c. 1. A light in the midst of darkness, signifying the spiritual light that he came to spread there.-F. Col. c. 22. Herrera, I. i. 12. Pedro Gutierrez, a Page of the King's Chamber. Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, Comptroller of the Fleet. It moves!-what form unseen, what being there With torch-like lustre fires the murky air? His instincts, passions, say, how like our own? Oh! when will day reveal a world unknown?" LONG on the deep the mists of morning lay, And, on our faces, blessed the wondrous Man; |