Saw all things, even as they were to be;
And I held commune with him, not of words,
But thought with thought. Then was it given me
That I should choose my station when my hour
Of mortal birth was come,. . hunter, or chief,
Or to be mightiest in the work of war,

Or in the shadow of the Spirit live,
And He in me. According to my choice,
For ever, overshadow'd by his power,

I walk among mankind. At times I feel not
The burthen of his presence; then am I
Like other men; but when the season comes,
Or if I seek the visitation, then
He fills me, and my soul is carried on,
And then do I forelive the race of men,
So that the things that will be, are to me
Past.

Amalahta lifted then his eyes

A moment; . . It is true, he cried; we know
He is a gifted man, and wise beyond
The reach of mortal powers.
Hath also heard the warning.

Ayayaca

As I slept,

Replied the aged Priest, upon the Field
Of the Spirit, a loud voice awaken'd me,
Crying, I thirst! Give,.. give! or I will take!
And then I heard a hiss, as if a snake
Were threatening at my side... But saw you nothing?
Quoth Madoc... Nothing; for the night was dark.
And felt you nothing? said the Ocean Prince.
He answered, Nothing; only sudden fear.
No inward struggle, like possession? . . None.
I thought of the Beloved Teacher's words,
And cross'd myself, and then he had no power.

Thou hast slept heretofore upon the Field, Said Madoc; didst thou never witness voice, Or ominous sound? Ayayaca replied, Certes the Field is holy! it receives, All the year long, the operative power Which falleth from the sky, or from below Pervades the earth; no harvest groweth there, Nor tree, nor bush, nor herb, is left to spring; But there the virtue of the elements Is gathered, till the circle of the months Be full; then, when the Priest, by mystic rites,

other Pagan: and I perceived he was looked upon and derided by most of the Indians as a precise zealot, who made a need. less noise about religious matters. But I must say, there was something in his temper and disposition, that looked more like true religion than any thing I ever observed amongst other Heathens." Brainerd.

1 Olearius mentions a very disinterested instance of that hatred of innovation which is to be found in all ignorant persons, and in some wise ones.

"An old country fellow in Livonia being condemned, for faults enormous enough, to lie along upon the ground to receive his punishment, and Madam de la Barre, pitying his almost decrepit age, having so far interceded for him, as that his corporal punishment should be changed into a pecuniary mulet of about fifteen or sixteen pence; he thanked her for her kindness, and said, that, for his part, being an old man, he would not introduce any novelty, nor suffer the customs of the country to be altered, but was ready to receive the chastisement which his predecessors had not thought much to undergo; put off his clothes, laid himself upon the ground,

Long vigils, and long abstinence prepared,
Goeth there to pass the appointed night alone,
The whole collected influence enters him.
Doubt not but I have felt strange impulses
On that mysterious Field, and in my dreams
Been visited; and have heard sounds in the air,
I knew not what;.. but words articulate
Never till now. It was the Wicked One!
He wanted blood.

Who says the Wicked One?

It was our fathers' God! cried Neolin.
Sons of the Ocean, why should we forsake
The worship of our fathers? 1 Ye obey
The White-Man's Maker; but to us was given
A different skin and speech and land and law.
The Snake-God understands the Red-Man's prayer,
And knows his wants and loves him. Shame be to us,
That since the Stranger here set foot among us,
We have let his lips be dry!

Enough replied

Madoc, who at Cadwallon's look repress'd
His answering anger. We will hold a talk
Of this hereafter. Be ye sure, meantime,
That the Great Spirit will from Evil Powers
Protect his people. This, too, be ye sure,
That every deed of darkness shall be brought
To light,.. and woe be to the lying lips!

IV. AMALAHTA.

SOON as the coming of the fleet was known,
Had Queen Erillyab sent her hunters forth.
They from the forest now arrive, with store
Of venison; fires are built before the tents,
Where Llaian and Goervyl for their guests,
Direct the feast; and now the ready board
With grateful odour steams. But while they sate
At meat, did Amalahta many a time
Lift his slow eye askance, and eagerly
Gaze on Goervyl's beauty; for whate'er
In man he might have thought deformed or strange
Seemed beautiful in her, . . her golden curls,
Bright eyes of heavenly blue, and that clear skin, 2
Blooming with health and youth and happiness.

and received the blows according to his condemnation." Ambassador's Travels.

2 A good description of Welsh beauty is given by Mr. Yorke, from one of their original chronicles, in the account of Grufydd ab Cynan and his Queen.

"Grufydd in his person was of moderate stature, having yellow hair, a round face, and a fair and agreeable complexion; eyes rather large, light eyebrows, a comely beard, a round neck, white skin, strong limbs, long fingers, straight legs, and handsome feet. He was, moreover, skilful in divers languages, courteous and civil to his friends, fierce to his enemies, and resolute in battle; of a passionate temper, and fertile imagination... Angharad, his wife, was an accomplished person: her hair was long and of a flaxen colour; her eyes large and rolling; and her features brilliant and beautiful. She was tall and well-proportioned; her leg and foot handsome; her fingers long, and her nails thin and transparent. She was good-tempered, cheerful, discreet, witty, and gave good advice as well as alms to her needy dependents, and never transgressed the laws of duty."

He, lightly yielding to the impulse, bent
His head aside, and to Erillyab spake;
Mother, said he, tell them to give to me
That woman for my wife, that we may be
Brethren and friends. She, in the same low tone,
Rebuked him, in her heart too well aware
How far unworthy he. Abash'd thereby,

As he not yet had wholly shaken off
Habitual reverence, he sate sullenly,
Brooding in silence his imagined wiles,
By sight of beauty made more apt for ill;
For he himself being evil, good in him
Work'd evil.

And now Madoc, pouring forth
The ripe metheglin, to Erillyab gave
The horn of silver brim. Taste, Queen and friend,
Said he, what from our father-land we bring,
The old beloved beverage. Sparingly
Drink, for it hath a strength to stir the brain,
And trouble reason, if intemperate lips
Abuse its potency. She took the horn,
And sipt with wary wisdom... Canst thou teach us
The art of this rare beverage? quoth the Queen,
Or is the gift reserved for ye alone,

By the Great Spirit, who hath favour'd ye
In all things above us?.. The Chief replied,

All that we know of useful and of good
Ye also shall be taught, that we may be
One people. While he spake, Erillyab pass'd
The horn to Amalahta. Sparingly!

Madoc exclaim'd; but when the savage felt
The luscious flavour, and the poignant life,
He heeded nought beyond the immediate joy.
Deep did he drink, and still with clenching hands
Struggled, when from his lips unsatisfied,
Erillyab pluck'd the horn with sharp reproof,
Chiding his stubborn wilfulness. Ere long
The generous liquor flush'd him: he could feel
His blood play faster, and the joyful dance
Of animal life within him. Bolder grown,
He at Goervyl lifts no longer now
The secret glance, but gloats with greedy eye;
Till, at the long and loathsome look abash'd,
She rose, and nearer to her brother drew,

On light pretence of speech, being half in fear.
But he, regardless of Erillyab now,
To Madoc cried aloud, Thou art a King,
And I a King!.. Give me thy sister there,
To be my wife, and then we will be friends,
And reign together.

Madoc

Let me answer him,
Cadwallon cried. I better know
Their language, and will set aside all hope,
Yet not incense the savage. A great thing,
Prince Amalahta, hast thou ask'd! said he.
Nor is it in Lord Madoc's power to give
Or to withhold; for marriage is with us
The holiest ordinance of God, whereon
The bliss or bane of human life depends.
Love must be won by love, and heart to heart
Link'd in mysterious sympathy, before
We pledge the marriage-vow; and some there are,
Who hold, that, e'er we enter into life,

Soul hath with soul been mated, each for each
Especially ordain'd. Prince Madoc's will
Avails not, therefore, where this secret bond

Give him the horn! Cadwallon answer'd; there will come upon him Folly and sleep, and then an after pain, Which may bring wisdom with it, if he learn Therefrom to heed our warning. . . As thou say'st, No child art thou!.. the choice is in thy hand;.. Drink, if thou wilt, and suffer, and in pain Remember us.

He clench'd the horn, and swill'd
The sweet intoxication copious down.
So bad grew worse. The potent draught provoked
Fierce pride and savage insolence. Ay! now

It seems that I have taught ye who I am!
The inebriate wretch exclaim'd. This land is mine,
Not hers; the kingdom and the power are mine;
I am the master !

Hath it made thee mad?
Erillyab cried... Ask thou the Snake-God that!
Quoth he; ask Neolin and Aztlan that!
Hear me, thou Son of the Waters! wilt thou have me
For friend or foe?.. Give me that woman there,
And store me with this blessed beverage,
And thou shalt dwell in my domains, . . or else,
Blood! blood! The Snake-God calls for blood; the

Gods

Of Aztlan and the people call for blood; They call on me, and I will give them blood, Till they have had their fill.

Meanwhile the Queen,

In wonder and amazement heard and grief;
Watching the fiendish workings of his face,
And turning to the Prince at times, as if
She look'd to him for comfort. Give him drink,
To be at peace! quoth Madoc. The good mead
Did its good office soon; his dizzy eyes
Roll'd with a sleepy swim; the joyous thrill
Died away; and as every limb relax'd,
Down sunk his heavy head and down he fell.
Then said the Prince, We must rejoice in this,
O Queen and friend, that, evil though it be,
Evil is brought to light; he hath divulged
In this mad mood, what else had been conceal'd
By guilty cunning. Set a watch upon him
And on Priest Neolin; they plot against us;
Your fall and mine do they alike conspire,
Being leagued with Aztlan to destroy us both.
Thy son will not remember that his lips
Have let the treason pass. Be wary then,
And we shall catch the crafty in the pit
Which they have dug for us.

Erillyab cast
A look of anger, made intense by grief,
On Amalahta... Cursed be the hour
Wherein I gave thee birth! she cried; that pain
Was light to what thy base and brutal nature
Hath sent into my soul... But take thou heed!
I have borne many a woe and many a loss,..
My father's realm, the husband of my youth,
My hope in thee ! . . all motherly love is gone,..
Sufferance well nigh worn out.

When she had ceased,
Still the deep feeling fill'd her, and her eye
Dwelt on him, still in thought. Brother! she cried
As Madoc would have sooth'd her, doubt not me!
Mine is no feeble heart. Abundantly

Did the Great Spirit overpay all woes,

And this the heaviest, when he sent thee here,
The friend and the deliverer. Evil tongues
May scatter lies; bad spirits and bad men
May league against thy life; but go thou on,
Brother! He loves thee and will be thy shield.

V.

WAR DENOUNCED.

THIS is the day, when, in a foreign grave,
King Owen's relics shall be laid to rest.
No bright emblazonries bedeck'd his bier,
No tapers blazed, no prelate sung the mass,
No choristers the funeral dirge intoned,
No mitred abbots, and no tonsured train,
Lengthen'd the pomp of ceremonious woe.
His decent bier was with white linen spread
And canopied; two elks and bisons yoked,
Drew on the car; foremost Cadwallon bore
The Crucifix; with single voice distinct,
The good priest Llorien chaunted loud and deep
The solemn service; Madoc next the bier
Follow'd his father's corpse; bareheaded then
Came all the people, silently and slow.

A stone cross

The burial-place was in a grassy plat, A little level glade of sunny green, Between the river and a rocky bank, Which, like a buttress, from the precipice Of naked rock sloped out. On either side 'Twas skirted by the woodlands. Stood on Cynetha's grave, sole monument, Beneath a single cocoa, whose straight trunk Rose like an obelisk, and waved on high Its palmy plurnage, green and never sere. Here by Cynetha's side, with Christian prayers, All wrongs forgotten now, was Owen laid. Rest, King of Gwyneth, in a foreign grave! From foul indignity of Romish pride And bigot priesthood, from a falling land

His salutation, then the Chief began:
Lord of the Strangers, hear me ! by my voice
The People and the Pabas and the King
Of Aztlan speak. Our injured Gods have claim'd
Their wonted worship, and made manifest
Their wrath; we dare not impiously provoke
The Dreadful. Worship ye in your own way;
But we must keep the path our fathers kept.

We parted, O Yuhidthiton! as friends And brethren, said the Christian Prince ; . . alas, That this should be our meeting! When we pledged, In the broad daylight and the eye of Heaven, Our hands in peace, ye heard the will of God, And felt and understood. This calm assent Ye would belie, by midnight miracles Scared, and such signs of darkness as beseem The Demons whom ye dread; or likelier Duped by the craft of those accursed men, Whose trade is blood. Ask thou of thine own heart, Yuhidthiton,..

But Helhua broke his speech;

Our bidding is to tell thee, quoth the Priest,
That Aztlan hath restored, and will maintain,
Her ancient faith. If it offendeth thee,
Move thou thy dwelling place!

This day have I deposited in earth

Madoc replied,

My father's bones, and where his bones are laid, There mine shall moulder.

Malinal at that

Advanced; . . Prince Madoc, said the youth, I come,
True to thy faith and thee, and to the weal
Of Aztlan true, and bearing, for that truth,
Reproach and shame and scorn and obloquy.
In sorrow come I here, a banish'd man;
Here take, in sorrow, my abiding place,
Cut off from all my kin, from all old ties
Divorced; all dear familiar countenances
No longer to be present to my sight;
The very mother-language which I learnt,
A lisping baby on my mother's knees,
No more with its sweet sounds to comfort me.
So be it!.. To his brother then he turn'd;
Yuhidthiton, said he, when thou shalt find,..
As find thou wilt,.. that those accursed men
Have played the juggler with thee, and deceived
Thine honest heart,..when Aztlan groans in blood,..
Bid her remember then, that Malinal

Is in the dwellings of her enemy;
Where all his hope in banishment hath been
To intercede for her, and heal her wounds,
And mitigate her righteous punishment.

Rest in the kingdom of thy noble son!

Ambassadors from Aztlan in the vale Awaited their return,.. Yuhidthiton, Chief of the Chiefs, and Helhua the priest; With these came Malinal. They met the Prince, And with a sullen stateliness return'd

And now his ministers on either hand
A water-vessel fill, and heap dry sedge
And straw before his face, and fire the pile.
He, looking upward, spread his arms and cried,
Hear me, ye Gods of Aztlan, as we were,
And are, and will be yours! Behold your foes!
He stoopt, and lifted up one ample urn,..

By sights of woe.

VI.

THE FESTIVAL OF THE DEAD. THE Hoamen in their Council-hall 2 are met To hold the Feast of Souls 3; scat above seat, Ranged round the circling theatre they sit. No light but from the central fire, whose smoke, Slow passing through the over aperture, Excludes the day, and fills the conic roof, And hangs above them like a cloud. Around, The ghastly bodies of their chiefs are hung, Shrivell'd and parch'd by heat; the humbler dead Lie on the floor, . . white bones, exposed to view, On deer, or elk-skin laid, or softer fur, Or web, the work of many a mournful hour; The loathlier forms of fresh mortality Swathed, and in decent tenderness conceal'd. Beside each body pious gifts are laid,

Mantle and belt and feathery coronal,

The bow he used in war, his drinking shell,

His arrows for the chace, the sarbacan,4

Of righteous grief? or round your dwelling-place
Still do your shadows roam dissatisfied,
And to the cries of wailing woe return
A voice of lamentation ?6 Teach us now,
If we in aught have fail'd, that I, your Priest,
When I shall join ye soon, as soon I must,
May unimpeded pass the perilous floods,
And in the Country of the Dead, be hail'd
By you, with song and dance and grateful joy.

So saying, to the Oracle he turn'd, Awaiting there the silence which implied Peaceful assent. Against the eastern wall, Fronting the narrow portal's winding way, An Image stood: a cloak of fur disguised The rude proportion of its uncouth limbs; The skull of some old seer 7 of days of old Topt it, and with a visor this was mask'd, Honouring the oracular Spirit, who at times There took his resting place. Ayayaca Repeated, Brethren, is it well with ye? And raised the visor. But he started back, Appall'd and shuddering; for a moony light Lay in its eyeless sockets, and there came From its immoveable and bony jaws

driven,

Might pierce the winged game. Husbands and wives,
Parents and children, there in death they lie;
The widow'd and the parent and the child
Look on in silence. Not a sound is heard
But of the crackling brand, or mouldering fire,
Or when, amid yon pendant string of shells,
The slow wind wakes a shrill and feeble sound,..
A sound of sorrow to the mind attuned

1 This ceremony of declaring war with fire and water is represented by De Bry, in the eleventh print of the Description of Florida, by Le Moyne de Morgues.

2 "The town-house, in which are transacted all public business and diversions, is raised with wood and covered over with earth, and has all the appearance of a small mount at a little distance. It is built in the form of a sugar loaf, and large enough to contain 500 persons, but extremely dark, having (besides the door, which is so narrow that but one at a time can pass, and that after much winding and turning) but one small aperture to let the smoke out, which is so ill contrived that most of it settles in the roof of the house. Within it has the appearance of an ancient amphitheatre, the seats being raised one above another, leaving an area in the middle, in the centre of which stands the fire: the seats of the head warriors are nearest it."- Memoirs of Lieutenant Henry Timberlake, who accompanied the Cherokee Indians to England in 1762.

3 Lafitau. Charlevoix. It is a custom among the Greeks at this time, some twelve months or more, after the death of a friend, to open the grave, collect the bones, have prayers read over them, and then re-inter them.

4 "The children at eight or ten years old are very expert at killing birds and smaller game with a sarbacan, or hollow cane, through which they blow a small dart, whose weakness obliges them to shoot at the eye of the larger sort of prey, which they seldom miss."-Timberlake.

In every heart of all the hearers round.
The good old Priest stood tottering, like a man
Stricken with palsy; and he gazed with eyes
Of asking horror round, as if he look'd
For counsel in that fear. But Neolin
Sprung boldly to the oracle, and cried,
Speak, Spirit! tell us of our sin, and teach
The atonement ! A sepulchral voice replied,
Ye have for other Gods forsaken us,

5" The doors of their houses and chambers were full of diverse kindes of shells, hanging loose by small cordes, that being shaken by the wind they make a certaine ratteling, and also a whisteling noise, by gathering their wind in their hollowe places; for herein they have great delight, and impute this for a goodly ornament."- Pietro Martire.

6 16 They firmly believe that the Spirits of those who are killed by the enemy, without equal revenge of blood, find no rest, and at night haunt the houses of the tribe to which they belonged; but when that kindred duty of retaliation is justly executed, they immediately get ease and power to fly away.” -Adair.

"The answering voices heard from caves and hollow holes, which the Latines call Echo, they suppose to be the Soules wandering through those places."-Pietro Martire. "This superstition prevailed in Cumana, where they believed the Echo to be the voice of the Soul, thus answering when it was called." Herrera, 3, 4. 11.

The word by which they express the funeral wailing in one of the Indian languages is very characteristic,.. Mauo; "which bewailing," says Roger Williams, "is very solemn amongst them: morning and evening, and sometimes in the night, they bewail their lost husbands, wives, children, &c. ; sometimes a quarter, half, yea a whole year and longer, if it be for a great Prince.

7 On the coast of Paria oracles were thus delivered.— Torquemada, 1. vi. c. 26.

And we abandon you!.. and crash with that,
The Image fell.

A loud and hideous shriek,
As of a demon, Neolin set up;
So wild a yell, that, even in that hour,
It brought fresh terror to the startled ear.
While yet they sate, pale and irresolute,
Helhua the Azteca came in. He bore
A shield and arrow,.. symbols these of war,
Yet now beheld with hope, so great relief
They felt his human presence.

Hoamen, hear me !
The messenger began; Erillyab, hear,
Priests, Elders, People! but hear chiefly thou
Prince Amalahta, as of these by birth,
So now of years mature, the rightful Lord!..
Shall it be peace or war? . . thus Aztlan saith;
She, in her anger, from the land will root
The Children of the Sea; but viewing you
In mercy, to your former vassalage
Invites ye, and remits the tribute lives,
And for rebellion claimeth no revenge.

Oh praise your Gods! cried Neolin, and hail This day-spring of new hope! Aztlan remits The tribute lives, . . what more could Madoc give? She claimeth no revenge, and if she claimed, He could not save. O Hoamen, bless your Gods; Appease them! Thou, Prince Amalahta, speak, And seize the mercy.

1 This opinion of the American Indians may be illustrated by a very beautiful story from Carver's Travels:

The

"Whilst I remained among them, a couple, whose tent was adjacent to mine, lost a son of about four years of age. parents were so much affected at the death of their favourite child, that they pursued the usual testimonies of grief with such uncommon rigour, as through the weight of sorrow and loss of blood to occasion the death of the father. The woman, who had hitherto been inconsolable, no sooner saw her husband expire, than she dried up her tears, and appeared cheerful and resigned. As I knew not how to account for so extraordinary a transition, I took an opportunity to ask her the reason of it; telling her at the same time, that I should have imagined the loss of her husband would rather have occasioned an increase of grief than such a sudden diminution of it.

"She informed me, that as the child was so young when it died, and unable to support itself in the country of spirits, both she and her husband had been apprehensive that its situation would be far from being happy: but no sooner did she behold its father depart for the same place, who not only loved the child with the tenderest affection, but was a good hunter, and would be able to provide plentifully for its support, than she ceased to mourn. She added, that she now saw no reason to continue her tears, as the child, on whom she doated, was under the care and protection of a fond father, and she had only one wish that remained ungratified, which was that of being herself with them.

Amalahta stood

In act of speech; but then Erillyab rose...
Who gives thee, Boy, this Elder's privilege?
The Queen exclaim'd; . . and thou, Priest Neolin,

Curb thou thy traitorous tongue! The reign is mine;
I hold it from my father, he from his;
Age before age, beyond the memory

Of man it hath been thus. My father fell

In battle for his people, and his sons

Fell by his side; they perish'd, but their names
Are with the names we love,.. their happy souls
Pursue in fields of bliss the shadowy deer;
The spirit of that noble blood which ran
From their death-wounds, is in the ruddy clouds
Which go before the Sun, when he comes forth
In glory.2 Last of that illustrious race
Was I, Erillyab. Ye remember well,
Elders, that day when I assembled here
The people, and demanded at their choice
The worthiest, to perpetuate our old line

Of Kings and Warriors... To the wind he spread
His black and blood-red banner. Even now

I hear his war drum's tripled sound, that call'd
The youth to battle; even now behold
The hope which lit his dark and fiery eye,
And kindled with a sunnier glow his cheek,
As he from yonder war-pole, in his pride,
Took the death-doers down... Lo here the bones
Of King Tepollomi!.. my husband's bones!..
There should be some among ye who beheld,

relation, which is implanted by nature or custom in every human heart, still lurked in hers. I observed that she went almost every evening to the foot of the tree, on a branch of which the bodies of her husband and child were laid, and after cutting off a lock of her hair, and throwing it on the ground, in a plaintive melancholy song bemoaned its fate. A recapitulation of the actions he might have performed, had his life been spared, appeared to be her favourite theme; and whilst she foretold the fame that would have attended an imitation of his father's virtues, her grief seemed to be suspended. If thou hadst continued with us, my dear Son,' would she cry, how well would the bow have become thy hand, and how fatal would thy arrows have proved to the enemies of our bands! thou wouldst often have drunk their blood and eaten their flesh, and numerous slaves would have rewarded thy toils. With a nervous arm wouldest thou have seized the wounded buffalo, or have combated the fury of the enraged bear. Thou wouldst have overtaken the flying elk, and have kept pace on the mountain's brow with the fleetest deer. What feats mightest thou not have performed, hadst thou staid among us till age had given thee strength, and thy father had instructed thee in every Indian accomplishment!' In terms like these did this untutored savage bewail the loss of her son, and frequently would she pass the greatest part of the night in the affectionate employ."

2 "Among the last comers, one Avila, á cacique, had great authority, who understanding that Valdivia affirmed the God of the Christians was the only Creator of all things, in a great rage cried out, he would never allow Pillan, the God of the Chilenians, to be denied the power of creating. Valdivia enquired of him concerning this imaginary deity. Avila told

the nation and soldiers of known bravery to places where there was dancing and drinking, there to live happy for ever; that the blood of noble men slain in battle was placed about the Sun, and changed into red clouds, which sometimes adorn his rising."-Hist. of Paraguay, &c. by F. A. del Techo.

Bb