Mirad, si cuidadoso Junto á las flores se escondió en la grama. Ese laurel frondoso Mirad, rama por rama, Que él los laureles y los flores ama. Si le halláis, por ventura, No os enamore su amoroso acento; No os prende su hermosura; Volvédmele al momento; O dejadle, si no, libre en el viento. Por que su pico de oro Solo en mi mano toma la semilla; Y no enjugaré el lloro Que veis en mi mejilla, Hasta encontrar mi prófugo avecilla. Mi vista se oscurece, Si sus ojos no ve, que son mi día Mi ánima desfallece Con la melancolía De no escucharle ya su melodía. The literature of Spain at the present day has this peculiarity, that female writers have, in considerable number, entered into competition with the other sex. One of the most remarkable of these, as a writer of both prose and poetry, is Carolina Coronado de Perry, the author of the little poem here given. The poetical literature of Spain has felt the influence of the female mind in the infusion of a certain delicacy and tenderness, and the more frequent choice of subjects which interest the domestic affections. Concerning the verses of the lady already mentioned, Don Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch, one of the most accomplished Spanish critics of the present day, and himself a successful dramatic writer, says: * * * * * "If Carolina Coronado had, through modesty, sent her productions from Estremadura to Madrid under the name of a person of the other sex, it would still have been difficult for intelligent readers to persuade themselves that they were written by a man, or at least, considering their graceful sweetness, purity of tone, simplicity of conception, brevity of development, and delicate and particular choice of subject, we should be constrained to attribute them to one yet in his early youth, whom the imagination would represent as ingenuous, innocent, and gay, who had scarce ever wandered beyond the flowery grove or pleasant valley where his cradle was rocked, and where he has been lulled to sleep by the sweetest songs of Francisea de la Torre, Garcilaso, and Melendez." * * * * *