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5. I have been young, and now am old,

Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his seed begging bread.

He is ever merciful and lendeth,
And his seed is blessed.

6. Depart from evil and do good,
And dwell for evermore;
For the LORD loveth judgment,
And forsaketh not his saints:

They are preserved forever:

But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land,

And dwell therein forever.

The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom,

And his tongue talketh of judgment;

The law of his God is in his heart;

None of his steps shall slide.

The wicked watcheth the righteous,
And seeketh to slay him.

The Lord will not leave him in his hand,
Nor condemn him when he is judged.

7. Wait on the LORD and keep his way,

And He shall exalt thee to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a green bay-tree;
Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not;
Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

CLXX.-CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS.
FROM IRVING.

1. COLUMBUS was a man of great and inventive genius. The operations of his mind were energetic, but irregular; bursting forth, at times, with that irresistible force which characterizes intellect of such an order. His ambition was lofty and noble, inspiring him with high thoughts, and an anxiety to distinguish himself by great achievements. aimed at dignity and wealth in the same elevated spirit with which he sought renown; they were to rise from the territories he should discover, and be commensurate in importance,

2. His conduct was characterized by the grandeur of his views, and the *magnanimity of his spirit. Instead of ravaging the newly found countries, like many of his cotemporary discoverers, who were intent only on immediate gain, he regarded them with the eyes of a legislator; he sought to colonize and cultivate them, to civilize the natives, to build cities, introduce the useful arts, subject every thing to the control of law, order, and religion, and thus to found regular and prosperous empires. That he failed in this, was the fault of the dissolute rabble which it was his misfortune to command, with whom all law was tyranny, and all order oppression.

3. He was naturally irascible and impetuous, and keenly sensible to injury and injustice; yet the quickness of his temper was counteracted by the generosity and benevolence of his heart. The magnanimity of his nature shone forth through all the troubles of his stormy career. Though continually outraged in his dignity, braved in his authority, foiled in his plans, and endangered in his person, by the *seditions of turbulent and worthless men, and that, too, at times when suffering under anguish of body and anxiety of mind, enough to texasperate the most patient, yet he restrained his valiant and indignant spirit, and brought himself to forbear, and reason, and even to supplicate. Nor can the reader of the story of his eventful life, fail to notice how free he was from all feeling of revenge, how ready to forgive and forget, on the least sign of repentance and atonement. He has been exalted for his skill in controlling others, but far greater praise is due to him for the firmness he displayed in governing himself.

4. His piety was genuine and fervent. Religion mingled with the whole course of his thoughts and actions, and shone forth in his most private and unstudied writings. Whenever he made any great discovery, he devoutly returned thanks to God. The voice of prayer and the melody of praise, rose from his ships on discovering the new world, and his first action on landing was, to prostrate himself upon the earth, and offer up thanksgiving. All his great enterprises were undertaken in the name of the Holy Trinity, and he partook of the holy sacrament previous to embarkation. He observed the festi

vals of the Church in the wildest situations. The Sabbath was to him a day of sacred rest, on which he would never sail from a port, unless in case of extreme necessity. The religion thus deeply seated in his soul, *diffused a sober dignity and a benign composure, over his whole *deportment; his very language was pure and guarded, and free from all gross or irreverent expressions.

5. A peculiar trait in his rich and varied character remains to be noticed; namely, that ardent and enthusiastic imagination, which threw a magnificence over his whole course of thought. A poetical *temperament is discernible throughout all his writings, and in all his actions. We see it in all his descriptions of the beauties of the wild land he was discovering, in the enthusiasm with which he extolled the *blandness of the temperature, the purity of the atmosphere, the fragrance of the air, "full of dew and sweetness," the verdure of the forests, the grandeur of the mountains, and the crystal purity of the running streams. It spread a glorious and golden world around him, and tinged every thing with its own *gorgeous colors.

6. With all the visionary fervor of his imagination, its fondest dreams fell short of the reality. He died in ignorance of the real grandeur of his discovery. Until his last breath, he entertained the idea that he had merely opened a new way to the old resorts of opulent commerce, and had discovered some of the wild regions of the East. What visions of glory would have broken upon his mind, could he have known that he had indeed discovered a new continent, equal to the old world in magnitude, and separated by two vast oceans, from all the earth hitherto known by civilized man! How would his magnanimous spirit have been consoled amid the afflictions of age and the cares of *penury, the neglect of a fickle public and the injustice of an ungrateful king, could he have antici pated the splendid empires which would arise in the beautiful world he had discovered; and the nations, and tongues, and languages, which were to fill its land with his renown, and to revere and bless his name to the latest posterity.

CLXXI. SURRENDER OF GRENADA.

FROM BULwer.

1. DAY dawned upon Grenada, and the beams of the winter sun, smiling away the clouds of the past night, played *cheerily upon the murmuring waves of the Xenil and the Darro. Alone, upon a balcony, commanding a view of the beautiful landscape, stood Boabdil, the last of the Moorish kings. He had sought to bring to his aid all the lessons of the philosophy he had so ardently cultivated.

2. "What are we," said the musing prince, "that we should fill the earth with ourselves-we kings? Earth resounds with the crash of my falling throne; on the ear of races unborn the echo will live prolonged. But what have I lost? Nothing that was necessary to my happiness, my re pose: nothing save the source of all my wretchedness, the Marah of my life! Shall I less enjoy heaven and earth, or thought and action, or man's more material luxuries of food and sleep-the common and cheap desires of all? At the worst, I sink but to a level with chiefs and princes: I am but leveled with those whom the multitude admire and envy. . . . But it is time to depart." So saying, he descended to the court, flung himself on his barb, and, with a small and saddened train, passed through the gate which we yet survey, by a blackened and crumbling tower, overgrown with vines and ivy; thence, amid gardens, now appertaining to the convent of the victor faith, he took his mournful and unnoticed way.

3. When he came to the middle of the hill that rises above those gardens, the steel of the Spanish armor gleamed upon him, as the detachment sent to occupy the palace, marched over the summit in steady order and profound silence. At the head of the van-guard, rode, upon a snow-white *palfrey, the Bishop of Avila, followed by a long train of barefooted monks. They halted as Boabdil approached, and the grave bishop saluted him with the air of one who addressed an infidel and inferior. With the quick sense of dignity common to the great, and yet more to the fallen, Boabdil felt, but resented not the pride of the ecclesiastic. "Go, Christian," said he mildly, "the gates of the Alhambra

are open, and Allah has bestowed the palace and the city upon your king; may his virtues atone the faults of Boabdil!" So saying, and waiting no answer, he rode on, without looking to the right or the left. The Spaniards also pursued their way.

4. The sun had fairly risen above the mountains, when Boabdil and his train beheld, from the eminence on which they were, the whole tarmament of Spain; and, at the same moment, louder than the tramp of horse or the clash of arms, was heard distinctly, the solemn chant of Te Deum, which preceded the blaze of the unfurled and lofty standards. Boabdil, himself still silent, heard the groans and *acclamations of his train; he turned to cheer or chide them, and then saw, from his own watch-tower, with the sun shining full upon its pure and dazzling surface, the silver cross of Spain. His Alhambra was already in the hands of the foe; while beside that badge of the holy war, waved the gay and +flaunting flag of St. Jago, the canonized Mars of the chivalry of Spain. At that sight, the King's voice died within him; he gave the rein to his barb, impatient to close the fatal ceremonial, and slackened not his speed, till almost within bowshot of the first rank of the army.

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5. Never had Christian war assumed a more splendid and imposing aspect. Far as the eye could reach, extended the glittering and gorgeous lines of that goodly power, bristling with sun-lighted spears and blazoned banners; while beside, murmured, and glowed, and danced, the silver and laughing Xenil, careless what lord should possess, for his little day, the banks that bloomed by its everlasting course. By a small *mosque, halted the flower of the army. Surrounded by the arch-priests of that mighty +hierarchy, the peers and princes of a court that rivaled the Roland of Charlemagne, was seen the kingly form of Ferdinand himself, with Isabel at his right hand, and the high-born dames of Spain, relieving, with their gay colors and sparkling gems, the sterner splendor of the crested helmet and polished mail. Within sight of the royal group, Boabdil halted, composed his aspect so as best to conceal his soul, and a little in advance of his scanty train, but never in mien and majesty more a king, the son of Abdallah met his haughty conqueror.

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