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Page 99
Chateaubriand, in his Travels, speaks disparagingly of the fruit of
the papaw; but on the authority of Mr. Flint, who must know more of
the matter, I have ventured to make my western lover enumerate it
among the delicacies of the wilderness.
THE PRAIRIES.
_The surface rolls and fluctuates to the eye._
The prairies of the West, with an undulating surface, _rolling
prairies_, as they are called, present to the unaccustomed eye a
singular spectacle when the shadows of the clouds are passing rapidly
over them. The face of the ground seems to fluctuate and toss like the
billows of the sea.
_The prairie-hawk that, poised on high,
Flaps his broad wings, yet moves not._
I have seen the prairie-hawk balancing himself in the air for hours
together, apparently over the same spot; probably watching his prey.
_These ample fields
Nourished their harvests._
The size and extent of the mounds in the valley of the Mississippi,
indicate the existence, at a remote period, of a nation at once
populous and laborious, and therefore probably subsisting by
agriculture.
_The rude conquerors
Seated the captive with their chiefs._
Instances are not wanting of generosity like this among the North
American Indians towards a captive or survivor of a hostile tribe on
which the greatest cruelties had been exercised.
SONG OF MARION'S MEN.
The exploits of General Francis Marion, the famous partisan warrior
of South Carolina, form an interesting chapter in the annals of the
American revolution. The British troops were so harassed by the
irregular and successful warfare which he kept up at the head of a few
daring followers, that they sent an officer to remonstrate with him
for not coming into the open field and fighting "like a gentleman and
a Christian."
MARY MAGDALEN.
Several learned divines, with much appearance of reason, in particular
Dr. Lardner, have maintained that the common notion respecting the
dissolute life of Mary Magdalen is erroneous, and that she was always
a person of excellent character. Charles Taylor, the editor of
Calmet's Dictionary of the Bible, takes the same view of the subject.
The verses of the Spanish poet here translated refer to the "woman who
had been a sinner," mentioned in the seventh chapter of St. Luke's
Gospel, and who is commonly confounded with Mary Magdalen.
FATIMA AND RADUAN.
This and the following poems belong to that class of ancient Spanish
ballads, by unknown authors, called _Romances Moriscos_--Moriscan
romances or ballads. They were composed in the 14th century, some of
them, probably, by the Moors, who then lived intermingled with the
Christians; and they relate the loves and achievements of the knights
of Grenada.
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