Dedication
To navigate I have no skill.”
“What reward then, little sailor,
Do you demand that I should pay?”
“I want your soul, my gallant captain,
Your soul with me to take away.”
“Demon, your claim I do deny.
I will not yield my soul to thee.
My soul belongs to God above,
My body I ’ll give to the sea.”
An angel caught him in her arms,
And drew him from the boiling spray.
The demon flew; at eve the ship
Was anchored safe within the bay.
It is somewhat singular that with all the enterprise of the Portuguese upon the sea during their period of national glory, their perilous and adventurous navigations, and their many successful engagements in marine warfare, there should be so few ballads relating to the sea-faring exploits. There is one, however, Don Juan d’Armada, which seems to relate to some definite victory over the Turks, but the occasion and even the name of the hero are not recorded in authentic history. It has many features, however, which would indicate that it was the account of an actual event.