Columbus's Bust, &c. at Havanna.
—In case you do not happen to possess a correct copy of the inscription on Columbus's bust and tablet in the cathedral at Havanna, I send you one, and my translation of it, for the benefit of those who may not make out the force and beauty of the "éloge."
"O restos e imagen del grande Colon,
Mil siglos durad guardados en la urna,
Y en la remembranza de nuestra nacion!"
"O remains and image of the great Columbus,
[ages]
For a thousand centuries rest ye securely in this urn,
And in the remembrance of our nation."
The bust is a mean and ill-executed one; although a late "lady" authoress has a different opinion of its merits. It is stiff and wooden-looking, and, still worse, the right cheek, and side of the head too, are comparatively flattened. Within it, built into the wall, are the "restos," the dust and bones, in the urn. Beneath the epitaph is a date of "1822"—the year, I presume, of the bust being "set up." It stands abreast of the altar, and on the right hand, the head of the bust being about six feet from the ground. I visited the interesting spot only a few days ago, as soon as possible after my landing, for the first time, in that truly noble city the Havana (or, in the Spanish, Habana).