I believe that he was _chosen_ for this great service; and that, because he was to be so truly an apostle, as in effect be proved to be, therefore was his origin obscure; that therein he might resemble those who were called to make known the name of the Lord from seas and rivers, and not from courts and palaces. And I believe also, that, as in most of his doings he was guarded by some special providence, his very name was not without some mystery: for in it is expressed the wonder he performed; inasmuch as he conveyed to a new world the grace of the Holy Ghost, &c. F. COL. c. 1. [g] _Slowly to land the sacred cross we bore,_ Signifying to the Infernal Powers (all’ infierno todo) the will of the Most High, that they should renounce a world over which they had tyrannised for so many ages. OVALLE, iv. 5. [h] _But how the scene pourtray?_ ‘This country excels all others, as far as the day surpasses the night in splendour.—Nor is there a better people in the world. They love their neighbour as themselves; their conversation is the sweetest imaginable, their faces always smiling; and so gentle, so affectionate are they, that I swear to your highnesses,’ &c. F. COL. c. 30, 33. [i] _Nymphs of romance,_ Dryades formosissimas, aut nativas fontium nymphas, de quibus fabulatur antiquitas, se vidisse arbitrati sunt. P. MARTYR, dec. i. lib. 5. [j] _Youths graceful as the Faun,_ An eminent Painter, when he first saw the Apollo of the Belvidere, was struck with its resemblance to an American warrior. West’s discourse in the Royal Academy, 1794. [k] _But see, the regal plumes, the couch of state!_ ‘The Cacique came down to the shore in a sort of palanquin—attended by his antient men.—The gifts, which he received from me, were afterwards carried before him.’ F. COLUMBUS, c. 32. [l] _The wondrous ring, and lamp, and horse of brass._ The ring of Gyges, the lamp of Aladdin, and the horse of the Tartar king. [m] _Ceiba,_ The wild cotton tree, often mentioned in History. ‘Cortes,’ says Bernal Diaz, ‘took possession of the Country in the following manner. Drawing his sword, he gave three cuts with it into a great Ceiba and said———’ [n] _Half bird, half fly,_ Here are birds so small, says Herrera, that, though they are birds, they are taken for bees or butterflies. [o] _Reigns there, and revels, &c._ There also was heard the wild cry of the Flamingo. What clarion winds along the yellow sands? Far in the deep the giant-fisher stand, Folding his wings of flame. [p] _Who now danc’d forth, &c._ Their dances, which continued from evening to the dawn, were accompanied with singing. P. MARTYR, dec. iii. 7. [q] _Who among us a life of sorrow spoil,_ For a summary of his life and character see ‘An Account of the European Colonies.’ P. I. c. 8. [r] _To other eyes, from distant cliff descried,_