[Footnote 73: "De la quilla á la gavia, ó estraña cosa! toda de versos era fabricada, sin que se entremiese alguna prosa. Las ballesteras eran de ensalada de glosas, todas hechas á la boda, de la que se llamó Malmaridada: era la chusma de romances toda gente atrevida, empero necesaria pues á todas acciones se acomoda. La popa de materia extraordinaria, bastarda, y de legitimos sonetos, de labor peregrina en todo y varia. Eran dos valentisimos tercetos los espaldares de la izquierda y diestra, para dar boga larga muy perfetos. Hecha ser la cruxia se me muestra de una luenga y tristisima elegia, que no en cantar, sino en llorar es diestra. Por esta entiendo yo que se diria lo que suele, decirse á un desdichado, quando lo pasa mal, pasó cruxia. El árbol hasta el cielo levantado de una dura cancion prolixa estaba de canto de seis dedos embreado. El y la entena que por el cruxaba de duros estrambotes--la madera de que eran hechos claro se mostraba. La racamenta, que es siempre parlera, Toda la componian de redondillas, Con que ella se mostraba mas ligera, las xarcias parecian seguidillas, de disparates mil y mas compuestas Que suelen en el alma hacer cosquillas. las rumbadas, fortisimas y honestas estancias, eran tablas ponderosas, que llevan un poema y otro á cuestas. Era cosa de ver las bulliciosas vanderillas que a ayre tremolaban, De varias rimas algo licenciosas. Los grumetes, que aqui y alli cruxaban de encadenados versos parecian, puesto que como libres trabajaban, todas las obras muertas componian O versos sueltos, ó sextinas graves que la galera mas gallarda hacian."] LOPE DE VEGA 1562-1635. There is a vulgar English proverb of such a one being born with a silver spoon in his mouth. We are reminded of it when we compare the several careers of Cervantes and Lope de Vega. If we judged without inquiry, we should imagine no man more likely to obtain popularity through his works, than the author of "Don Quixote." His disposition was cheerful and unrepining; to the last hour of his life he displayed lightness of heart, even to the censure of a dull envious rival (Figueroa), who remarks, that such was his weakness, that he wrote prefaces and dedications even on his death bed,--prefaces, as we have shown, full of animation and wit. Yet he lived in penury, died obscurely, and went to his grave unhonoured, except by his friends; while all Madrid flocked to do honour to the funeral of Lope; and two volumes of eulogiums and epitaphs form but a select portion of all that was written to commemorate his death. It is true that posterity has been more just: great pains have been taken to give forth correct editions of Cervantes's works, and to ascertain the events of his life; while the twenty-one volumes of Lope's "Obras Sueltas" are full of errors, and his plays are only to be obtained in single pamphlets, badly printed, both to sight and sense.