Part 21 (1/2)

The daring mariner shall urge far o'er The western wave, a smooth and level plain, Albeit the earth is fas.h.i.+oned like a wheel.

SEARCHER OF THE OCEAN.

SAMUEL JEFFERSON, a British author. From his epic poem, ”Columbus,”

published by S. C. Griggs & Co., Chicago.[43]

Thou searcher of the ocean, thee to sing Shall my devoted lyre awake each string!

Columbus! Hero! Would my song could tell How great thy worth! No praise can overswell The grandeur of thy deeds! Thine eagle eye Pierced through the clouds of ages to descry From empyrean heights where thou didst soar With bright imagination winged by lore-- The signs of continents as yet unknown; Across the deep thy keen-eyed glance was thrown; Thou, with prevailing longing, still aspired To reach the goal thy ardent soul desired; Thy heavenward soaring spirit, bold, elate, Scorned long delay and conquered chance and fate; Thy valor followed thy far-searching eyes, Until success crowned thy bold emprize.

FELIPA, WIFE OF COLUMBUS.

ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON. From a poem published in _Harper's Weekly_, June 25, 1892.[44]

More than the compa.s.s to the mariner Wast thou, Felipa, to his dauntless soul.

Through adverse winds that threatened wreck, and nights Of rayless gloom, thou pointed ever to The north star of his great ambition. He Who once has lost an Eden, or has gained A paradise by Eve's sweet influence, Alone can know how strong a spell lies in The witchery of a woman's beckoning hand.

And thou didst draw him, tidelike, higher still, Felipa, whispering the lessons learned From thy courageous father, till the flood Of his ambition burst all barriers, And swept him onward to his longed-for goal.

Before the jewels of a Spanish queen Built fleets to waft him on his untried way, Thou gavest thy wealth of wifely sympathy To build the lofty purpose of his soul.

And now the centuries have cycled by, Till thou art all forgotten by the throng That lauds the great Pathfinder of the deep.

It matters not, in that infinitude Of s.p.a.ce where thou dost guide thy spirit bark To undiscovered lands, supremely fair.

If to this little planet thou couldst turn And voyage, wraithlike, to its cloud-hung rim, Thou wouldst not care for praise. And if, perchance, Some hand held out to thee a laurel bough, Thou wouldst not claim one leaf, but fondly turn To lay thy tribute also at his feet.

INCREASING INTEREST IN COLUMBUS.

JOHN S. KENNEDY, an American author.

The near approach of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America has revived in all parts of the civilized world great interest in everything concerning that memorable event and the perilous voyage of the great navigator whom it has immortalized.

THE MECCA OF THE NATION.

MOSES KING, an American geographer of the nineteenth century.

I have read somewhere that in the northeastern part of Havana stands, facing an open square, a brown stone church, blackened by age, and dignified by the name of ”cathedral.” It is visited by every American, because within its walls lies buried all that remains of the great discoverer, Columbus.

THE CAUSE OF THE DISCOVERY.

Was it by the coa.r.s.e law of demand and supply that a Columbus was haunted by the ghost of a round planet at the time when the New World was needed for the interests of civilization?--_Ibid._

MAGNANIMITY.

ARTHUR G. KNIGHT, in his ”Life of Columbus.”

Through all the slow martyrdom of long delays and bitter disappointments, he never faltered in his lofty purpose; in the hour of triumph he was self-possessed and una.s.suming; under cruel persecution he was patient and forgiving. For almost unexampled services he certainly received a poor reward on earth.