154 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



suffer in the next that followed. Indeed, the 

 reign of Ferdinand VII. was an interregnum 

 in all elegant culture, such as no modern 

 nation has yet seen, not even Spain herself 

 during the War of the Succession. This state 

 of things continued through the long civil war 

 which arose soon after the death of. .that king, 

 and indeed, it is not yet entirely abated. But 

 despite the troubled condition of the country, 

 even while Ferdinand was livingj a movement 

 was begun, the first traces of which are to be 

 fcmnd among the emigrated Spaniards, who 

 cheered with letters their exile in England and 

 France, and whose subsequent progress, from 

 the time when the death of their unfaithful 

 monarch permitted them to return home, is 

 distinctly perceptible in their own country. 



The two principal writers of the first half of 

 the century are the satirist Jose de Larra (d. 

 1837) and the poet Espronceda (d. 1342) ; 

 both were brilliant writers, and both died 

 young. Zorrilla (b. 1817) has great wealth of 

 imagination, and Fernan Caballero is a gifted 

 woman whose stories have been often trans- 

 lated. Antonio de Trueba is a writer of 

 popular songs and short stories not without 

 merit. Campoamor (b. 1817) and Bequer 

 represent the poetry of twenty years ago. The 

 short lyrics of the first named are remarkable 

 for their delicacy and finesse. Bequer, who 

 died at the age of thirty, left behind him 

 poems which have already exercised a wide in- 

 fluence in his own country and in Spanish 

 America ; they tell a story of passionate love, 

 despair, and death. 



Perez Gald6s, a writer of fiction, attacks the 

 problem of modern life and thought, and rep- 

 resents with vivid and often bitter fidelity the 

 conflicting interests and passions of Spanish 

 life. Valera, a minister from Spain to the 

 United States, is the author of the most famous 

 Spanish novel of the day, Pepita Jimenez, a 

 work of great artistic perfection, and his skill 

 and grace are still more evident in his critical 

 essays. Castelar gained a European celebrity 

 as an orator and a political and miscellaneous 

 writer, and was as well preeminent in the field 

 of diplomacy. The works of these authors, and 

 of many others not named, show clearly that 

 Spain is making vigorous efforts to bring her- 

 self socially and intellectually into line with 

 the rest of Europe. 



Of the Spanish colonies, Cuba has produced 

 some writers of enduring renown. The most 

 distinguished for poetic fame is Gertrude de 

 Avelleneda ; Heredia and Placido may also be 

 mentioned. In Venezuela, Baralt is known 

 as a historian, poet, and classical writer; 

 Olmedo as a poet of Bolivia, and Caro a 

 writer of the United States of Colombia. 



PORTUGUESE LITERATURE. 



Portugal first acquired its position as an in- 

 dependent kingdom after the battle of Ouri- 

 gue, in 11:50. The date of the origin of its 

 literature is nearly coeval with that of the 

 monarchy, Hermiguez and Moniz, two knights 

 who flourished under Alfonso I., wrote the first 

 ballads. King Dionysius, who reigned from 

 1279 to 1325, and his son Alfonso IV., were 

 both renowned as poets ; but few vestiges of 

 their writings remain. It was not until the 

 fifteenth century, however, that Portuguese 

 literature attained any considerable merit. 

 Macias, a Portuguese knight engaged in the 

 wars with the Moors of Granada, was called 

 El Enamorado, on account of the tender and 

 glowing character of his amatory poems. The 

 first distinguished poet of the country was 

 Bernardin Ribeyro, who flourished under the 

 reign of Emmanuel the Great, in the beginning 

 of the sixteenth century. His most celebrated 

 productions are his eclogues, the scenes of 

 which are laid on the banks of the Tagus and 

 the sea shores of Portugal. His lyrics of love, 

 the origin of which is attributed to an unholy 

 passion for the king's daughter, are wonder- 

 fully sweet and melodious. The first prose 

 work in Portuguese worthy of note is a romance 

 entitled The Innocent Gbi, which appeared 

 about this period. Saa de Miranda, \vho also 

 attained celebrity as a Spanish author, was 

 born in Coimbra in 1495, and wrote many 

 sonnets, lyrics, and eclogues in his native 

 tongue. He also wrote a series of poetical epis- 

 tles, after the manner of Horace. Antonio 

 Ferreira, who was born in 1528, followed the 

 example of Miranda in his sonnets and eclogues, 

 but surpassed him in entering the field of 

 dramatic literature. His Inez de Castro, 

 founded on the tragic story of that lady, dis- 

 plays much power and pathos in the delinea- 

 tion of the characters. The other poets of this 

 generation were Andrade Caminha, Diego 

 Bernardes, and Rodriguez de Castro, all of 

 whom wrote lyrics, sonnets, and pastorals, few 

 of which have survived them. 



The sola star of Portuguese literature, who 

 is now almost its only representative to other 

 nations, was Luis de Camoeus, who was born 

 in 1525. After studying at Coimbra, where 

 he was coldly treated by Ferreira, he embraced 

 the profession of arms, and lost an eye in the 

 siege of Ceuta. Sailing for India in 1533, he 

 reached Goa in safety, participated in an ex- 

 pedition against the king of Cochin-China, 

 spent a winter in the islands of Ormuz, and 

 afterwards, on account of a satire entitled 

 Follies in India, directed against the Portu- 

 guese governor, was banished to Macao, on th* 

 coast of China. During his residence of fivf 



