TO THE MONUMENT OF THE KING AT SEVILLE. 'I vow to God I quake with my surprise! Could I describe it, I would give a crown-- And who, that gazes on it in the town, But starts aghast to see its wondrous size; Each part a million cost, I should devise; What pity 'tis, ere centuries have flown, Old Time will mercilessly cast it down! Thou rival'st Rome, O, Seville, in my eyes! I bet the soul of him who's dead and blest, To dwell within this sumptuous monument Has left the seats of sempiternal rest! A fellow tall, on deeds of valour bent, My exclamation heard. "Bravo!" he cried, "Sir Soldier, what you say is true, I vow! And he who says the contrary has lied!" With that, he pulls his hat upon his brow, Upon his sword hilt he his hand doth lay And frowns--and--nothing does, but walks away.' The discovery of the New World, with its opulence of treasure, and the expulsion of the Moriscoes, did not yield a permanent prosperity to Seville. Even before the death of Philip II., the few far-sighted and reflective men doubted whether a great influx of gold and silver, and the annihilation of freedom of thought, were likely to benefit Spain, either in the material or spiritual sense. The gold fever seized like a frenzy upon the avaricious, and the early colonisers turned their backs upon any country that lacked precious minerals. Nothing save gold and silver was considered valuable. As a consequence these minerals became redundant, and in the meantime the cultivation of the land at home and abroad, and the development of manufactures, were neglected. No one had the enterprise to prevent the silting up of the tidal waters of the Guadalquivir, and so Seville lost its importance as a busy port. While nobles were fighting for gold, and harrying heretics, briars and weeds were spreading over the fields that the patient Moors had tilled and made marvellously fertile. The establishment of the _alcavala_ tax upon farming produce and manufactured articles hastened the decline of agriculture and of crafts in Andalusia. Finally, under the Bourbons, Cadiz became the rival of Seville, and the Council of the Two Indies was removed to the southern port in 1720. In good or ill fortune Seville remained loyal, winning for itself the title of: _Muy noble, muy leal, muy heroica é invicta, i.e._, 'Very noble, very loyal, very brave and invincible.'