fickleness of his worldly fortune. We are tempted to make some rather long quotations from an extraordinary poetical production of this monarch, which he calls El Libro del Tesoro,the book of the heavens, or the philosopher's stone. The verses which are intelligible, are strong and harmonious, and form one of the most striking specimens of the poetical literature of the age. The first book is introduced rather in an imperial style; and states, that God had first given him knowledge of his holy faith; next, that of the material world; then, the kingdom of his fathers; and last of all, in order to enable him to sustain it worthily, the high prize of "the stone of philosophy." He protests, that he discovered this wonderful secret in solitudethat he often employed it, and so added to his possessions-and that he has communicated it in the cyphers of the book that follows. He begins, " In the name of God."

"Fame brought this strange intelligence to me,
That in Egyptian lands there lived a sage
Who read the secrets of the coming age,
And could anticipate futurity:

He judged the stars, and all their aspects; he
The darksome veil of hidden things withdrew,
Of unborn days, the mysteries he knew,
And saw the future, as the past we see.

An eager thirst for knowledge moved me then:
My pen, my tongue, were humbled-in that hour
I laid my crown in dust-so great the power
Of passionate desire o'er mortal men.

"En el nombre de Dios fuga principio la obra.

'Llegó pues la fama a los mis oidos

Que en tierra de Egipto un Sabio vivia

E con su sabia oi que facia

Notos los casos ca non son venidos
Los astros juzgaba è aquestos movidos
Por disposicion del cielo fallaba
Los casos quel tiempo futuro ocultaba
Bien fuesen antes por este entendidos.

Codicia del sabio movio mi aficion

Mi pluma è mi lengua con grande humildad
Postrada la alteza de mi magestad

Ca tanto poder tiene una pasion

VOL. VI. PART I.

D

I sent my earnest prayers, with a proud train
Of messengers, who bore him generous measures
Of honors and of lands, and golden treasures,
And all in holy meekness.-"Twas in vain!-

The sage repell'd me, but most courteously:
You are a mighty monarch, sire; but these,
These have no gift to charm, no power to please,
Silver nor gold, however bright they be.
Sire, I would serve you; but what profits me,
That wealth which more abundantly is mine?
Let your possessions bless you, let them shine,
As Maïs prays, in all prosperity.'

I sent the stateliest of my ships, it sought
The Alexandrian port; the wise man pass'd
Across the middle sea, and came, at last,
With all the gentleness of friendliest thought:
I studied wisdom, and his wisdom taught
Each varied movement of the shifting sphere-
He was most dear, as knowledge should be dear
Love, honor, are by truth and wisdom bought.

Con ruegos
le fi la mi peticion
E se la mandé con mis mansageros
Averes faciendas e muchos dineros
Alli le ofrecè con santa atencion.

Respusome el sabio con gran cortesia
Maguer vos señor seais un gran rey
Non paro mientes en aquesta ley
De oro nin plata nin su gran valia
Serviros señor, en gracia ternia

Ca non busco aquello que à mi me sobró
A vuestros averes vos fagan la pro
Que vuestro siervo Mais vos querria.

De las mis naves mandè la mejor
E llegada al puerto de Alexandria
El fisico astrologo en ella salia
E a mi fue llegado cortes con amor
E aviendo sabido su gran primor
En los movimientos que face la sphera
Siempre le tuve en grande manera
Ca siempre a los sabios se debe el onor.

He made the magic stone, and taught me too;
We toiled together first, but soon alone
I form'd the marvellous, gold-creating stone,
And oft did I my lessening wealth renew.
Varied the form and fabric, and not few,
This treasure's elements, the simplest-best,
And noblest, here ingenuously confest
I shall disclose, in this my verse, to you.

And what a list of nations have pursued
This treasure. Need I speak of the Chaldee,
Or the untired sons of learned Araby?
All, all in chace of this most envied good.
Egypt and Syria, and the tribes so rude
Of the Orient-Saracens and Indians-all
Laboring in vain-tho' oft the echoes fall
Upon the west, of their songs' amplitude.

If what is passing now I have foretold,
In honest truth and calm sincerity,
So will I tell you of the events to be
Without deception-and the prize I hold

La piedra que llaman filosofal
Sabia facer y a mi la enseño
Faciemosla juntas despues solo yo
Conque muchas veces crecio mi caudal
E bien que se puede facer esta tal

De otras materias, mas siempre una cosa
Yo vos propongo la menos penosa
Mas escelente e mas principal.

Tuve suso desta estudios de gente

De varias naciones, mas non ca en tal caso
De los Caldeos hiciese yo caso,
Nin de los Arabes nacion diligente,
Egipcios, Siriacos, e los del Oriente
Quel Indico habitan, è los Sarracenos
Ficieron mi obra è versos tan buenos
Que honran las partes del nuestro occidente.

El tiempo presente m'era conocido
De credito sano è de buena verdad
Para que vos en la posteridad

Non vos parezca que en algo he mentido

Shall be in literary lore enroll'd:

Such power, such empire, never can be won
By ignorance or listlessness: to none

But to the learned state my truths be told.

So, like the Theban sphynx, will I propound
My mysteries, and in riddles truth will speak:
Deem them not idle words, for, if

you seek,

Through their dense darkness, light may oft be found.
Muse, meditate, and look in silence round-
Hold no communion of vain language-learn
And treasure up the lore-if you discern
What's here in hieroglyphic letters bound.

My soul hath spoken and foretold: I bring
The voices of the stars to chime with mine;
He who shall share with me this gift divine,
Shall share with me the privilege of a king:
Mine is no mean, no paltry offering,
Cupidity itself must be content

With such a portion as I here present

And Midas' wealth to ours a trifling thing.

Lo que yo quiero es non sea perdido
La grande valia de este magisterio
Mas non quiero dar un tan grande imperio
A ome quien letras non sea sabido.

Por ende fingime la sphinge Thebana
E yuso de cifras propuse verdades
Maguer sea escura por ella sepades
Ca las sus palabras non son cosa vana
Si aveis entendido esta grande arcana
Non lo pongais en conversacion
Guardaldo en la cifra de aquesta impresion
Si vos entendeis como esto se esplana.

Mi alma presume è lo pronostica
Segund que los astros falla en tal sazon
Ca aquel a quien diere el cielo este don
A ser como rey el cielo lo aplica
Empero segundo de cosa non chica
Aquesto tesoro, avra de tener

Ca segundo a demas de gran menester
Mas que fue Midas a tal sera rica.

So when our work in this our sphere was done,
Deucalion to wend sublimely o'er the rest;
And proudly dominant he stood confest

On the tenth mountain-thence look'd kindly on
The sovereign sire who offered him a crown;
Or empires vast for his reward, or gold
From his vast treasure, for his heirs, untold-
So bold and resolute was Deucalion.

I'll give you honest counsel, if you be
My kinsman or my countryman, if e'er
This gift be your's, its treasures all confer
On him who shall unveil the mystery;
Offer him all, and offer cheerfully,

And offer most sincerely; weak and small
Is your best offering-tho' you offer all-
Your recompense may be eternity."

A long inexplicable solution follows. Thirty-five paragraphs, or stanzas, made up of cyphers, with an alphabet key at the end. Every letter has a variety of representatives; and as the pursuit of that, which when found would be wholly worthless, gives little encouragement to patient industry, (though life itself is, alas! but too crowded with shadows, chaced with an earnestness equal to their unsubstantiality), no busy idler has been yet found to open the door of this sacred arcanum-an arcanum richer than Potosi, or the caves of Sinbad.

Finido esta obra por nuestra horizonte
Subia la imagem de Deucalion
El cual dominante por aplicacion
Citaba el señor del decimo monte
Esta promete corona en la fronte
O gran principado por sus catamientos
O dar el tesoro a los nacimentos
Ca aquesta figura en algo les monte.

Si sois de mi patria o mi parentela
Consejo vos quiero dar non pequeño
Ca si del tesoro vos fueredes dueño
Lo deis todo à aquel que a vos lo revela
Con esto seredes señor esta tela
Si la dais a quien aquesto es poquito
Cabien tiene otro tesoro infinito
Eterno e librado de toda procela."