Kehama  was  followed,  at  an  interval  of  four  years,  by  Roderick.,  the
Last  of  the  Ooths,  a  poem  in  blank  verse,  and  of  a  much  more  modest
and  credible  character  than  its  predecessors.  The  subject  is  the  pun-
ishment and  repentance  of  the  last  Gothic  King  of  Spain,  whose  vices,
oppressions,  and  in  particular  an  insult  offered  to  the  virtue  of  Florinda,
daughter  of  Count  Julian,  incited  that  noble  to  betray  his  country  to
the  Moors.  The  general  insurrection  of  the  Spaniards  against  their
Moslem  oppressors,  the  exploits  of   the   illustrious   Pelayo,   and  the


A.  D.  1774-1843.]  ROBERT  SOUTHEY.  4ai

reappearance  of  Roderick  at  the  great  battle  which  put  an  end  to  the
infidel  dominion,  form  the  materials  of  the  action.  The  King,  in  the
disguise  of  a  hermit,  figures  in  most  of  the  scenes;  and  his  agonizing
repentance  for  his  past  crimes,  and  humble  trust  in  the  mercy  of  God,
are  the  key-note  or  prevailing  tone  of  the  work.  Though  free  from
the  injudicious  employment  of  supernatural  machinery,  and  though
containing  some  descriptions  of  undeniable  merit,  and  several  scenes
of  powerful  tenderness  and  pathos,  there  is  the  same  want  of  reality
and  human  interest  which  characterizes  his  other  poems.
