would have given an affected stiffness to the verse; the great merit of which is easy simplicity; and therefore a more simple epithet was adopted, though less poetical or expressive.
[The two following Spanish ballads are peculiarly out of place in a collection of English ballads, and they are not very good specimens of the class from which they are taken. Those who wish for information on Spanish ballads must refer to Ticknor's History of Spanish Literature; T. Rodd's Ancient Spanish Ballads, relating to the Twelve Peers of France mentioned in Don Quixote, 2 vols. London, 1821; and J. G. Lockhart's Ancient Spanish Ballads, historical and romantic, 1823.]
Rio verde, rio verde,
Quanto cuerpo en ti se baña
De Christianos y de Moros
Muertos por la dura espada!
Y tus ondas cristalinas5
De roxa sangre se esmaltan:
Entre Moros y Christianos
Muy gran batalla se trava.
Murieron Duques y Condes,
Grandes señores de salva:10
Murio gente de valia
De la nobleza de España.
En ti murio don Alonso,
Que de Aguilar se Ilamaba;
El valeroso Urdiales,15
Con don Alonso acababa.