The Florence daily tribune., 1899-01-25


And there. in middle of the path, a Isper
did appear:
In deep slough the ieper lay. none would
to help come near.
WITH a loud voice he thence did cry; For
God. our S2viour's sake.
From out The fearful jeopardy a Christian
brother take"
When Rodrigo heard that piteous word he
from his horse came down:
For all they said. no stay he made. that
noble champion.
He reach, q his hand to pluck him forth OF
fear was no account
Then mounted on his steed of worth. and
made the leper mount.
Behind him rode the leprous man, when
to their hosteirie
They came. he made him eat with him at
table ohee erfsily:
While all the rest from the poor guest with
loathtng shrunk away.
To his own bed the wretch he led beside
him there he lay.
VI
All at the mid-hour of the night, while
good Rodrigo slept,
A breath came from the leprous man. II
through his shoulders ercpt:
Right through The body. at the breast.
passed forth that breathing cold;
wot he leaped up with start In terrors
manifold.
He sroped for him In the bed. but him he
could Rot mad.
Through the dark chamber sroped he. with
very anxious mind;
Loudly he lifted up his voice. with speed a
hmp he brought
Yet nowhere was the leper seen though far
and near they sought
VIII
He turned him to his chamber. Got wot.
perplexed and soie
With that which had befsllen--when 10,
his face before.
There stood a man all clothed In vesture
shining white.
Thus said the vision: "Sleepest thou. or
wakest thou. Sir Knight2"
II sleep not." quoth Rodrigo; but tell me
who art thou.
For, in the midst OF darkness, much light
is on thy brow"
Il am The ho.y Lazarus. come TO speak
-. with thee;
am the same poor leper thou savedst for
charity.
MOT vain the trial. nor in vain thy victory
hath been;
God favors thee, for that my pain thou
did'st relieve yestreen.
There shall be honor with thee. In battle
and In peace.
Success in all thy doings, and plentiful In
crease"
The poem contains few verses more
in which the happy ever afterward"
ending is given. Ii is thought that from
tins James Russell Lowell conceived
the idea of The Vision of Sir Launfal."
There is also another beautiful story
of his marriage with Ximene, the
daughter of the count of 0yledo, and
granddaughter to Alphonso the V. AL
though u great soldier and n mighty
statesman the Cid was not ashamed of
the most gentle things of H., and his
soul was full of true sentiment. The
story goes that when the Cid was tell
ing the dark-eyed Spanish girl of his
love that She was holding in her hand
several white native roses, and that the
maiden's blushing turned them Grim
SON. Afterward these roses did not
fade as roses usually do, but lasted
until the wedding. While the cere-
aaony was being performed they grad
ually turned pure white again, and
thAy were ever safterward called the
brides roses.
The origin of this legend is unknown,
and is doubtless the product of some
late authors brain, as il cannot be
found in any of the older chronicles.
Like all great and ambitious soldiers
who have tried to conquer the world,
after his first grea t defeat, the Cid died
of anger and grief about 1899. 1t was
after the battle of Cuenca, at which
his army was completely routed After
much disturbance the body OF the Cid
lies in the center of n small chapel in
Burgos. Here this .truest of Spanish
heroes, the embodiment of ali the ma
tional virtues and most of the national
vice, lies in great state upon large
slab. The body was bound by gold
rings to wooden cross aud placed
there surrounded by his companions in
war. To-day old time and relic seekers
have left only the rings and the small
bits of wood that cling to them. Philip
IL. tried to-hase him canonized, but
Rome objected. With all of his yir-
tues, the Cid was not the fit person for
a saint.
Such is the story, veracious md
otherwise. of the Preatest of.ihe guer-
rilleros in legend and in history, of
the greatest type of the rebel. the
bandit ard warrior from the days of
Sertorins to thosr- of FL Empeeinado
The one man whose. life has gone more
to form the destiny, history and litera-
ture 81 nation than any other human
being that has ever lived-Louisville
'courier-Journal
New Belts.