at swells, that pains her heart;
Las Casas' feet in floods of tears she steeps,
Looks on her sire and smiles, then turns, and weeps; 310
Then smiles again, while her flush'd cheek, reveals
The mingled tumult of delight she feels.
So fall the crystal showers of fragrant spring,
And o'er the pure, clear sky, soft shadows fling;
Then paint the drooping clouds from which they flow 315
With the warm colours of the lucid bow.
Now, o'er the barren desert, Zamor leads
Aciloe, and her sire, to Chili's meads:
There, many a wand'ring wretch, condemn'd to roam
By hard oppression, found a shelt'ring home: 320
Zamor to pity, tun'd the vocal shell,
Bright'ning the tear of anguish, as it fell.
Did e'er the human bosom throb with pain
The heav'nly muse has sought to sooth in vain?
She, who can still with harmony its sighs, 325
And wake the sound, at which affliction dies;
Can bid the stormy passions backward roll,
And o'er their low-hung tempests lift the soul;
With magic touch paint nature's various scene
Wild on the mountain, in the vale serene; 330
Can tinge the breathing rose with brighter bloom,
Or hang the sombrous rock in deeper gloom;
Explore the gem, whose pure, reflected ray
Throws o'er the central cave a paler day;
Or soaring view the comet's fiery frame 335
Rush o'er the sky, and fold the sphere in flame;
While the charm'd spirit, as her accents move,
Is wrapt in wonder, or dissolv'd in love. 338

PERU.

CANTO THE SIXTH.

THE ARGUMENT.

_The troops of_ Almagro _and_ Alphonso _meet on the plains of Cuzco_--
Manco-Capac _attacks them by night--his army is defeated, and he is
forced to fly with its scattered remains_--Cora _goes in search of him--
her infant in her arms--overcome with fatigue, she rests at the foot of
a mountain--an earthquake--a band of Indians fly to the mountains for
shelter_--Cora discovers her husband--their interview--her death--he
escapes with his infant_--Almagro _claims a share of the spoils of
Cuzco--his contention with_ Pizarro--_the Spaniards destroy each other_
--Almagro _is taken prisoner, and put to death--his soldiers, in revenge,
assassinate_ Pizarro _in his palace_--Las Casas _dies_--Gasca, _a
Spanish ecclesiastic, arrives in_ Peru--_invested with great power--his
virtuous conduct--the annual festival of the Peruvi