 | Poems of Freneau |  |
Picture VI.
Columbus addresses Queen Isabella.
While Turkish queens, dejected, pine,
Compell'd sweet freedom to resign;
And taught one virtue, to obey,
Lament some eastern tyrant's sway,
Compell'd sweet freedom to resign;
And taught one virtue, to obey,
Lament some eastern tyrant's sway,
Queen of our hearts, bright Isabel!
A happier lot to you has fell,
Who makes a nation's bliss your own,
And share the rich Castilian throne.
A happier lot to you has fell,
Who makes a nation's bliss your own,
And share the rich Castilian throne.
Exalted thus, beyond all fame,
Assist, fair lady, that proud aim
Which would your native reign extend
To the wide world's remotest end.
Assist, fair lady, that proud aim
Which would your native reign extend
To the wide world's remotest end.
241
From science, fed by busy thought,
New wonders to my view are brought:
The vast abyss beyond our shore
I deem impassable no more.
New wonders to my view are brought:
The vast abyss beyond our shore
I deem impassable no more.
Let those that love to dream or sleep
Pretend no limits to the deep:
I see beyond the rolling main
Abounding wealth reserv'd for Spain.
Pretend no limits to the deep:
I see beyond the rolling main
Abounding wealth reserv'd for Spain.
From Nature's earliest days conceal'd,
Men of their own these climates yield,
And scepter'd dames, no doubt, are there,
Queens like yourself, but not so fair.
Men of their own these climates yield,
And scepter'd dames, no doubt, are there,
Queens like yourself, but not so fair.
But what should most provoke desire
Are the fine pearls that they admire,
And diamonds bright and coral green
More fit to grace a Spanish queen.
Are the fine pearls that they admire,
And diamonds bright and coral green
More fit to grace a Spanish queen.
Their yellow shells, and virgin gold,
And silver, for our trinkets sold,
Shall well reward this toil and pain,
And bid our commerce shine again.
And silver, for our trinkets sold,
Shall well reward this toil and pain,
And bid our commerce shine again.
As men were forc'd from Eden's shade
By errors that a woman made,
Permit me at a woman's cost
To find the climates that we lost.
By errors that a woman made,
Permit me at a woman's cost
To find the climates that we lost.
He that with you partakes command,
The nation's hope, great Ferdinand,
Attends, indeed, to my request,
But wants no empires in the west.
The nation's hope, great Ferdinand,
Attends, indeed, to my request,
But wants no empires in the west.
Then, queen, supply the swelling sail,
For eastward breathes the steady gale
That shall the meanest barque convey
To regions richer than Cathay.
For eastward breathes the steady gale
That shall the meanest barque convey
To regions richer than Cathay.
242
Arriv'd upon that flowery coast
Whole towns of golden temples boast,
While these bright objects strike our view
Their wealth shall be reserv'd for you.
Whole towns of golden temples boast,
While these bright objects strike our view
Their wealth shall be reserv'd for you.
Each swarthy king shall yield his crown,
And smiling lay their sceptres down,
When they, not tam'd by force of arms,
Shall hear the story of your charms.
And smiling lay their sceptres down,
When they, not tam'd by force of arms,
Shall hear the story of your charms.
Did I an empty dream pursue
Great honour still must wait on you,
Who sent the lads of Spain to keep
Such vigils on the untravell'd deep,
Great honour still must wait on you,
Who sent the lads of Spain to keep
Such vigils on the untravell'd deep,
Who fix'd the bounds of land and sea,
Trac'd Nature's works through each degree,
Imagin'd some unheard of shore
But prov'd that there was nothing more.
Trac'd Nature's works through each degree,
Imagin'd some unheard of shore
But prov'd that there was nothing more.
YET happier prospects, I maintain,
Shall open on your female reign,
While ages hence with rapture tell
How much they owe to Isabell!
Shall open on your female reign,
While ages hence with rapture tell
How much they owe to Isabell!
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