In 1512 Juan Ponce de Leon received a grant to discover and settle this fabulous island. He sailed from Porto Rico in search of it in March, 1513, and found an island but no fountain. Pushing on, he discovered the mainland March 27, and, on April 2, landed and took possession of the country for the King of Spain, calling it Florida. THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH A DREAM OF PONCE DE LEON [1513] I A story of Ponce de Leon, A voyager, withered and old, Who came to the sunny Antilles, In quest of a country of gold. He was wafted past islands of spices, As bright as the Emerald seas, Where all the forests seem singing, So thick were the birds on the trees; The sea was as clear as the azure, And so deep and so pure was the sky That the jasper-walled city seemed shining Just out of the reach of the eye. By day his light canvas he shifted, And rounded strange harbors and bars; By night, on the full tides he drifted, 'Neath the low-hanging lamps of the stars. Near the glimmering gates of the sunset, In the twilight empurpled and dim, The sailors uplifted their voices, And sang to the Virgin a hymn. "Thank the Lord!" said De Leon, the sailor, At the close of the rounded refrain; "Thank the Lord, the Almighty, who blesses The ocean-swept banner of Spain! The shadowy world is behind us, The shining Cèpango, before; Each morning the sun rises brighter On ocean, and island, and shore. And still shall our spirits grow lighter, As prospects more glowing enfold; Then on, merry men! to Cèpango, To the west, and the regions of gold!" II There came to De Leon, the sailor, Some Indian sages, who told Of a region so bright that the waters Were sprinkled with islands of gold. And they added: "The leafy Bimini, A fair land of grottos and bowers, Is there; and a wonderful fountain Upsprings from its gardens of flowers. That fountain gives life to the dying, And youth to the aged restores; They flourish in beauty eternal, Who set but their foot on its shores!" Then answered De Leon, the sailor: "I am withered, and wrinkled, and old; I would rather discover that fountain Than a country of diamonds and gold." III