and even the uniform repetitions and plays of words in the lyric passages are, in general, not destitute of poetic interest.* The enthusiast must be forgiven for Com rosas entremetidas, E soltou os seus cabellos Que eram tam longos como ella, E de cada hum a Jano em vellos * For example:— Triste de mi, que serà? O coitado que farei, Que nam sei onde me và, Ou quem me consolarâ? Ao longo das ribeiras, Ao som das suas agoas, Chorarei muitas canceitas, Todos fogem jà de mim, Todos me desemporaram, Pera me darem a fim Com que nunca se acabaram. De todo bem desespero Pois me desespera quem Me quer mal que lhe nam quero, Nam lhe quero senam bem, Bem que nunca della espero. O meus desditosos dias, O meus dias desditosos, Deixaime jà descançar, the application, certainly not very ingenious, of his own name, which he has sometimes allegorically disguised by the word Ribeyra, (a river,) and sometimes introduced as the real name of a shepherd; but the shepherd is in the same way reminded of a beautiful river, which is intended as the allegorical representative of a lady, who under the name of Ribeyra, is the object of Ribeyro's adoration.* Some of these antiquated conceits are, however, dignified by warmth of expression.t But upon the whole, Ribeyro's eclogues are nothing more than the heartfelt effusions of a poet, who with Pois que eu vos faço tristes, E muitos mais por pasar.-Egl. III. * The Spaniards cannot easily enter into the spirit of these verbal allusions in the Portuguese language; for the word which in Portuguese signifies a river, is in Spanish by the usual change in the penult syllable Ribera, and signifies a bank. The Portuguese Ribeira, or Ribeiro, is probably derived from Rivus; and the Spanish Ribera from Ripa. † For example: Ribeira de meu cuidado, O cuidado da ribeira, Trago huma tristeza tal, Que mouro con alegria, Tam contente sou com o mal, Que sempre mal ter queria.-Egl. V. This fifth eclogue is, however, attributed to Ribeyro only by conjecture. all his tenderness and depth of sentiment had not sufficient energy to strike out a new course for himself.* The Cantigas of Bernardim Ribeyro unquestionably bear the characteristic stamp of the fifteenth century. They may be ranked on an equality with the best pieces of the same kind in the old Spanish Cancionero. Like them they paraphrase an idea which is set down at the head of the poem, and thus appear in the form of glosses, without being confined within a certain number of lines. The idea is as in That which the Spanish, called the mote (motto). Spaniards term a glosa, is by the Portuguese denominated a volta (turn); and the title Cantiga, which the Portuguese give to a composition of this kind, seems, like the Spanish term Villancico, to have been borrowed from the ecclesiastical hymns.† One of Ribeyro's Cantigas is remarkable for the boldness with which the poet, in his character of a married man, very unequivocally marks the distinction between his wife and the lady who is the object of his regard, and assures this lady that only his hand and not his heart is wedded.‡ These eclogues form an appendix to the old as well as the new edition of the prose romance of Menina e Moça, which will soon be further noticed. † See the preceding vol. p. 113. This very plain dealing effusion is as follows. It is without punctuation: Nam sam casado senhora que ainda que dei a maõ nam casei ho coraçao Antes que vos conhecese sem errar contra vos nada If this Cantiga be really founded on truth, a question with which the critic has, generally speaking, little concern, it not only weakens the authenticity of the huma soo maõ fiz casada sem que mais nisso metesse hos olhos e ho coraçam Dizem que ho bom casamento se a de fazer de vontade eu a vos a liberdade vos dei e o pensamento nisto soo me achei contento que se a outrem dei a maõ dei a vos ho coraçao Como senhora vos vi sem palauras de presente na alma vos reçebi onde estareis para sempre nem fiz mais que dar a maõ guardandovos o coraçaõ Caseime com meu cuidado e com vosso dessejar senhora nam sam casado nam mo queiras acuitar que servirvos e amar me nasceo do coraçao que tendes em vossa maõ Ho casar nam fez mudança em meu antiguo cuidado nem me negou esperança nam me engeiteis por casado que se a outro dei a maõ a vos dei ho coraçao. accounts respecting Ribeyro's tender attachment to his wife, but also serves to explain the studied obscurity of the allusions which prevail throughout the whole of his writings; and in this last respect the question is of some interest to the critic. A sextina imitated from the Italian forms, but in trochaic verses, which are besides pure redondilhas, is likewise among the number of Ribeyro's poems. In addition to these Cantigas, which are, however, but little known,* there has been preserved a narrative romance of the idylic kind, which by some favourable accident has even found a place in one of the old Spanish Cancioneros, where it is also attributed to Ribeyro.† This romance, which is allegorical, contains plays on the name of Ribeyro, and veils the glowing anguish of the poet under a singular obscurity of ideas and images. The romantic mysticism and deep fervour of expression, which distinguish it, sufficiently attest its authenticity.‡ * They may be found in the appendix to the old and scarce edition of the tale Menina e Moça, (Lisboa, 1559, in 8.) In the Cancionero de Romances, Amberes 1555, in 8vo. It is also to be found in the new as well as in the old edition of the Menina e Moça. It commences thus: Ao longo de huma Ribeira, Me levou a minha dor. Jà era tarde do dia E a agua della corria Por antre hum alto arvoredo, |