The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-01-21

recovered tho roysl favor. But his ssyslaes
accomplishment and outapoken opini0ns
rendered him peculiarly obnoxious 20 sne
Jealous erandees Of the Portuguese court.
Bsdled In all bis expectations, no deter,
mined to leave his native country triai
doubly difacuit to s'heart like his, % thor
ism. Accordingly be embarked for India, N
honorable grave fcr. his misfortanes.
| On his arrival in India--the country ON
which be relied for acquiring an independ-
emit fortune-he did not allow his warlike
disposition to subside, but engaged in an
enterprise for the recovery OF several pro-
vinceS which Lad been wrested from the
King Of Cochin China. Shortly afterward
he Joined an expedition to the Red Sea.
| and - he was enabled for time to lay
aside tho sword, Of which be was 20 per-
feet master, he found sufficient leisure e
WELD the PEN weapon In the use OF
which he was equally skilled.
He soon returned to Goa, and IN the
tranquility of that delightful retreat, he
had been written before he left Europe.
Camoens' evil genius seemed to follow
him no peaceful rest. Shortly after his
arrival in Goa, he compcsed some poems,
satirical in their nature, in one of which,
|
rulers Of the place, he said that I" Honesty
and self-interest are seldom found in the
same sack"
THE greatly displeased the viceroy, an
illiterate man, who banished him to the the
coast of China. But Camoens possessed
him men whose >sympathies were excited
In his favor; 20 that even in exile, he was
not rs poorly situated as one might sup
pose and through the influence Of newly
acquired friends he obtained an office
which, though not lucrative, amply pro-
quite fortune, and after Ave years adjourn
In the island Of Macao, he became desirous
once moro Of returning.
In the meanwhile, however, he had not
been idle. In natural grotto, facing the
sea, he completed his "Lusiad."
A now viceroy held the reigns Of govern
mont in India, and having nothing to fear
from tho resentment of his former enemy, he
obtained permission to return to Goa. In
his passage thither he was shipwrecked by
. storm, lest all his effects, and with great
which he held with his left hand while he
swan with his right. He arrived safely at
Goa some time after. Here he lived quite
contentedly, and would in all probability
have remained SO, wero 1t not that . change
Of rulers compelled him once more to resort
to his wandering life. For q time he re-
aided with the governor Of an inland port,
by whom, when about to depart for Europe,
ho was detained on account Of . debt which
he had previously contracted. Through
the kindness Of some gentlemen residing
there, no was relieved from this embarrasS-
| ment.
In 1860, after an absence Of sixteen
years, he returned to Portugal, and settled
In his native city. But, ~ the plague was
then raging with terrible violence, he was
compelled to defer the publication Of the
"Lusiad:" 1t WAS Published, at length, in
1872, and the dedication to King Sebastian,
az we'll as the address to that potentate in
the fret book, led some to believe that he
obtained the not uncomfortable pension Of
four thousand rails. This, however, il
Doubtful.
Neglected by his country and sunk in the
lowest depths Of poverty, Camoens passed
, his last days in misery, az well 40 grief 1t
the approaching downfall Of Portugal, for
he returned mot only to die in her bosom,
but to die with her." He was even COM
Moorish servant, who, it 10 said, begged
through the streets of Lisbon to support
his master. Thus, neglected by all, Ca
income, the patriot, bard, the hero and the
} soldier, the friend Of truth, as we'll as the
great master Of fiction, breathed his last on
q rude pallet, having scarcely wherewith to
procure deceit interment.
i CamoeDs' principal work, and that on
which his fame solely rests, 10 the " Lusiad, !"
Written by one whose whole soul was
thoroughly imbued with the spirit of pa
triotism, and whose sole desire seemed to
be that of celebrating his country's glori-
Gus deeds, the " Lusiad" is pervaded by o
loftiness Of expression and a general eleva-
ton of sentiment which conjoin in making
{ it one of the noblest of modern epics.
Some generations before the poets birth
the discovery and conquest of India had
/ haap nada and thia cOun hina0 with ifa nj :.
ready powerful position, ASST. ted in making
Portugal one Of the first military powers
in Europe. Under the leadership of Vasco
de CANA, the Portuguese plowed their way
| From Lisbon's shore
| Tbro' where sail was never spread before"
To celebrate the deeds of his countrymeD,
Camoens undertook the mighty task of