"Oh! ever thus, from childhood's hour,
I've seen my fondest hopes decay;
I never loved a tree or flower,
But 'twas the first to fade away."
Lalla Rookh.
The season had now advanced to the first days of February, and, in that
low latitude, the weather was becoming genial and spring-like. On the
morning succeeding that of the interview just related, some six or eight
individuals, attracted by the loveliness of the day, and induced morally
by a higher motive, were assembled before the door of one of those low
dwellings of Santa Fe that had been erected for the accommodation of the
conquering army. Most of these persons were grave Spaniards of a certain
age, though young Luis de Bobadilla was also there, and the tall,
dignified form of Columbus was in the group. The latter was equipped for
the road, and a stout, serviceable Andalusian mule stood ready to
receive its burden, near at hand. A charger was by the side of the mule,
showing that the rider of the last was about to have company. Among the
Spaniards were Alonzo de Quintanilla, the accountant-general of Castile,
a firm friend of the navigator, and Luis de St. Angel, the receiver of
the ecclesiastical revenues of Aragon, who was one of the firmest
converts that Columbus had made to the philosophical accuracy of his
opinions and to the truth of his vast conceptions.
The two last had been in earnest discourse with the navigator, but the
discussion had closed, and Senor de St. Angel, a man of generous
feelings and ardent imagination, was just expressing himself warmly, in
the following words--
"By the lustre of the two crowns!" he cried, "this ought not to come to
pass. But, adieu, Senor Colon--God have you in his holy keeping, and
send you wiser and less prejudiced judges, hereafter. The past can only
cause us shame and grief, while the future is in the womb of time."
The whole party, with the exception of Luis de Bobadilla, then took
their leave. As soon as the place was clear, Columbus mounted, and
passed through the thronged streets, attended by the young noble on his
charger. Not a syllable was uttered by either, until they were fairly on
the plain, though Columbus often sighed like a man oppressed with grief.
Still, his mien was calm, his bearing dignified, and his eye lighted
with that unquenchable fire which finds its fuel in the soul within.
When fairly without the gates, Columbus turned courteously to his young
companion and thanked him for his escort; but, with a consideration for
the other that was creditable to his heart, he added--
"While I am so grateful for this honor, coming from one so noble and
full of hopes, I must not forget your own character. Didst thou not
remark, friend Luis, as we passed through the streets, that divers
Spaniards pointed at me, as the object of scorn?"
"I did, Senor," answered Luis, his cheek glowing with indignation, "and
had it not been that I dreaded your displeasure, I would have trodden
the vagabonds beneath my horse's feet, failing of a lance to spit them
on!"
"Thou hast acted most wisely in showing forbearance. But these are men,
and their common judgment maketh public opinion; nor do I perceive that
the birth, or the opportunities, causeth material distinctions between
them, though the manner of expression vary. There are vulgar among the
noble, and noble among the lowly. This very act of kindness of thine,
will find its deriders and contemners in the court of the two
sovereigns."
"Let him look to it, who presumeth to speak lightly of you, Senor, to
Luis de Bobadilla! We are not a patient race, and Castilian blood is apt
to be hot blood."
"I should be sorry that any man but myself should draw in my quarrel.
But, if we take offence at all who think and speak folly, we may pass
our days in harness. Let the young nobles have their jest, if it give
them pleasure--but do not let me regret my friendship for thee."
Luis promised fairly, and then, as if his truant thoughts would revert
to the subject unbidden, he hastily resumed--
"You speak of the noble as of a class different from your own--surely,
Senor Colon, thou art noble?"
"Would it make aught different in thy opinions and feelings, young man,
were I to answer no?"
The cheek of Don Luis flushed, and, for an instant, he repented of his
remark; but falling back on his own frank and generous nature, he
answered immediately, without reservation or duplicity--
"By San Pedro, my new patron! I could wish you were noble, Senor, if it
were merely for the honor of the class. There are so many among us who
do no credit to their spurs, that we might gladly receive such an
acquisition."
"This world is made up of changes, young Senor," returned Columbus,
smiling. "The seasons undergo their changes; night follows day; comets
come and go; monarchs become subjects, and subjects monarchs; nobles
lose the knowledge of their descent, and plebeians rise to the rank of
nobles. There is a tradition among us, that we were formerly of the
privileged class; but time and our unlucky fortune have brought us down
to humble employments. Am I to lose the honor of Don Luis de Bobadilla's
company in the great voyage, should I be more fortunate in France than I
have been in Castile, because his commander happeneth to have lost the
evidences of his nobility?"
"That would be a most unworthy motive, Senor, and I hasten to correct
your mistake. As we are now about to part for some time, I ask
permission to lay bare my whole soul to you. I confess that when first I
heard of this voyage, it struck me as a madman's scheme"--
"Ah! friend Luis," interrupted Columbus, with a melancholy shake of the
head, "this is the opinion of but too many! I fear Don Ferdinand of
Aragon, as well as that stern prelate, his namesake, who hath lately
disposed of the question, thinketh in the same manner."
"I crave your pardon, Senor Colon, if I have uttered aught to give you
pain; but if I have once done you injustice, I am ready enough to
expiate the wrong, as you will quickly see. Thinking thus, I entered
into discourse with you, with a view to amuse myself with fancied
ravings; but, though no immediate change of opinion followed as to the
truth of the theory, I soon perceived that a great philosopher and
profound reasoner had the matter in hand. Here my judgment might have
rested, and my opinion been satisfied, but for a circumstance of deep
moment to myself. You must know, Senor, though come of the oldest blood
of Spain, and not without fair possessions, that I may not always have
answered the hopes of those who have been charged with the care of my
youth"--
"This is unnecessary, noble sir"--
"Nay, by St. Luke! it shall be said. Now, I have two great and
engrossing passions, that sometimes interfere with each other. The one
is a love for rambling--a burning desire to see foreign lands, and this,
too, in a free and roving fashion--with a disposition for the sea and
the doings of havens; and the other is a love for Mercedes de Valverde,
the fairest, gentlest, most affectionate, warmest-hearted, and truest
maiden of Castile!"
"Noble, withal," put in Columbus, smiling.
"Senor," answered Luis, gravely, "I jest not concerning my guardian
angel. She is not only noble, and every way fitted to honor my name, but
she hath the blood of the Guzmans, themselves, in her veins. But I have
lost favor with others, if not with my lovely mistress, in yielding to
this rambling inclination; and even my own aunt, who is her guardian,
hath not looked smilingly on my suit. Dona Isabella, whose word is law
among all the noble virgins of the court, hath also her prejudices, and
it hath become necessary to regain her good opinion, to win the Dona
Mercedes. It struck me"--Luis was too manly to betray his mistress by
confessing that the thought was hers--"it struck me, that if my rambling
tastes took the direction of some noble enterprise, like this you urge,
that what hath been a demerit might be deemed a merit in the royal eyes,
which would be certain soon to draw all other eyes after them. With this
hope, then, I first entered into the present intercourse, until the
force of your arguments hath completed my conversion, and now no
churchman hath more faith in the head of his religion, than I have that
the shortest road to Cathay is athwart the broad Atlantic; or no Lombard
is more persuaded that his Lombardy is flat, than I feel convinced that
this good earth of ours is a sphere."
"Speak reverently of the ministers of the altar, young Senor," said
Columbus, crossing himself, "for no levity should be used in connection
with their holy office. It seemeth, then," he added, smiling, "I owe my
disciple to the two potent agents of love and reason; the former, as
most potent, overcoming the first obstacles, and the latter getting
uppermost at the close of the affair, as is wont to happen--love,
generally, triumphing in the onset, and reason, last."
"I'll not deny the potency of the power, Senor, for I feel it too deeply
to rebel against it. You now know my secret, and when I have made you
acquainted with my intentions, all will be laid bare. I here solemnly
vow"--Don Luis lifted his cap and looked to heaven, as he spoke--"to
join you in this voyage, on due notice, sail from whence you may, in
whatever bark you shall choose, and whenever you please. In doing this,
I trust, first to serve God and his church; secondly, to visit Cathay
and those distant and wonderful lands; and lastly, to win Dona Mercedes
de Valverde."
"I accept the pledge, young sir," rejoined Columbus, struck by his
earnestness, and pleased with his sincerity--"though it might have been
a more faithful representation of your thoughts had the order of the
motives been reversed."
"In a few months I shall be master of my own means," continued the
youth, too intent on his own purposes to heed what the navigator had
said--"and then, nothing but the solemn command of Dona Isabella,
herself, shall prevent our having one caravel, at least; and the coffers
of Bobadilla must have been foully dealt by, during their master's
childhood, if they do not afford two. I am no subject of Don Fernando's,
but a servant of the elder branch of the House of Trastamara; and the
cold judgment of the king, even, shall not prevent it."
"This soundeth generously, and thy sentiments are such as become a
youthful and enterprising noble; but the offer cannot be accepted. It
would not become Columbus to use gold that came from so confiding a
spirit and so inexperienced a head; and there are still greater
obstacles than this. My enterprise must rest on the support of some
powerful prince. Even the Guzman hath not deemed himself of sufficient
authority to uphold a scheme so large. Did we make the discoveries
without that sanction, we should be toiling for others, without security
for ourselves, since the Portuguese or some other monarch would wrong us
of our reward. That I am destined to effect this great work, I feel, and
it must be done in a manner suited to the majesty of the thought and to
the magnitude of the subject. And, here, Don Luis, we must part. Should
my suit be successful at the court of France, thou shalt hear from me,
for I ask no better than to be sustained by hearts and hands like thine.
Still, thou must not mar thy fortunes unheedingly, and I am now a fallen
man in Castile. It may not serve thee a good turn, to be known to
frequent my company any longer--and I again say, here we must part."
Luis de Bobadilla protested his indifference to what others might think;
but the more experienced Columbus, who rose so high above popular clamor
in matters that affected himself, felt a generous reluctance to permit
this confiding youth to sacrifice his hopes, to any friendly impressions
in his own favor. The leave-taking was warm, and the navigator felt a
glow at his heart, as he witnessed the sincere and honest emotions that
the young man could not repress at parting. They separated, however,
about half a league from the town, and each bent his way in his own
direction; Don Luis de Bobadilla's heart swelling with indignation at
the unworthy treatment that there was, in sooth, so much reason for
thinking his new friend had received.
Columbus journeyed on, with very different emotions. Seven weary years
had he been soliciting the monarchs and nobles of Spain to aid him in
his enterprise. In that long period, how much of poverty, contempt,
ridicule, and even odium, had he not patiently encountered, rather than
abandon the slight hold that he had obtained on a few of the more
liberal and enlightened minds of the nation! He had toiled for bread
while soliciting the great to aid themselves in becoming still more
powerful; and each ray of hope, however feeble, had been eagerly caught
at with joy, each disappointment borne with a constancy that none but
the most exalted spirit could sustain. But he was now required to endure
the most grievous of all his pains. The recall of Isabella had awakened
within him a confidence to which he had long been a stranger; and he
awaited the termination of the siege with the calm dignity that became
his purpose, no less than his lofty philosophy. The hour of leisure had
come, and it produced a fatal destruction to all his buoyant hopes. He
had thought his motives understood, his character appreciated, and his
high objects felt; but he now found himself still regarded as a
visionary projector, his intentions distrusted, and his promised
services despised. In a word, the bright expectations that had cheered
his toil for years, had vanished in a day, and the disappointment was
all the greater for the brief, but delusive hopes produced by his recent
favor.
It is not surprising, therefore, that, when left alone on the highway,
even the spirit of this extraordinary man grew faint within him, and he
had to look to the highest power for succor. His head dropped upon his
breast, and one of those bitter moments occurred, in which the past and
the future, crowd the mind, painfully as to sufferings endured,
cheerlessly as to hope. The time wasted in Spain seemed a blot in his
existence, and then came the probability of another long and exhausting
probation, that, like this, might lead to nothing. He had already
reached the lustrum that would fill his threescore years, and life
seemed slipping from beneath him, while its great object remained
unachieved. Still the high resolution of the man sustained him. Not once
did he think of a compromise of what he felt to be his rights--not once
did he doubt of the practicability of accomplishing the great enterprise
that others derided. His heart was full of courage, even while his bosom
was full of grief. "There is a wise, a merciful, and omnipotent God!" he
exclaimed, raising his eyes to heaven. "He knoweth what is meet for his
own glory, and in him do I put my trust." There was a pause, and the
eyes kindled, while a scarcely perceptible smile lighted the grave face,
and then were murmured the words--"Yea, he taketh his time, but the
Infidel shall be enlightened, and the blessed sepulchre redeemed!"
After this burst of feeling, the grave-looking man, whose hairs had
already become whitened to the color of snow, by cares, and toils, and
exposures, pursued his way, with the quiet dignity of one who believed
that he was not created for naught, and who trusted in God for the
fulfilment of his destiny. If quivering sighs occasionally broke out of
his breast, they did not disturb the placidity of his venerable
countenance; if grief and disappointment still lay heavy on his heart,
they rested on a base that was able to support them. Leaving Columbus to
follow the common mule-track across the Vega, we will now return to
Santa Fe, where Ferdinand and Isabella had re-established their court,
after the few first days that succeeded the possession of their new
conquest.
Luis de St. Angel was a man of ardent feelings and generous impulses. He
was one of those few spirits who live in advance of their age, and who
permitted his reason to be enlightened and cheered by his imagination,
though it was never dazzled by it. As he and his friend Alonzo de
Quintanilla, after quitting Columbus as already related, walked toward
the royal pavillion, they conversed freely together concerning the man,
his vast conceptions, the treatment he had received, and the shame that
would alight on Spain in consequence, were he suffered thus to depart
forever. Blunt of speech, the receiver of the ecclesiastical revenues
did not measure his terms, every syllable of which found an echo in the
heart of the accountant-general, who was an old and fast friend of the
navigator. In short, by the time they reached the pavilion, they had
come to the resolution to make one manly effort to induce the queen to
yield to Columbus' terms and to recall him to her presence.
Isabella was always easy of access to such of her servants as she knew
to be honest and zealous. The age was one of formality, and, in many
respects, of exaggeration, while the court was renowned for ceremony;
but the pure spirit of the queen threw a truth and a natural grace
around all that depended on her, which rendered mere forms, except as
they were connected with delicacy and propriety, useless, and indeed
impracticable. Both the applicants for the interview enjoyed her favor,
and the request was granted with that simple directness that this
estimable woman loved to manifest, whenever she thought she was about to
oblige any whom she esteemed.
The queen was surrounded by the few ladies among whom she lived in
private, as Luis de St. Angel and Alonzo de Quintanilla entered. Among
them, of course, were the Marchioness of Moya and Dona Mercedes de
Valverde. The king, on this occasion, was in an adjoining closet, at
work, as usual, with his calculations and orders. Official labor was
Ferdinand's relaxation, and he seldom manifested more happiness than
when clearing off a press of affairs that most men would have found to
the last degree burdensome. He was a hero in the saddle, a warrior at
the head of armies, a sage in council, and respectable, if not great, in
all things but motives.
"What has brought the Senor St. Angel and the Senor Quintanilla, as
suitors, so early to my presence?" asked Isabella, smiling in a way to
assure both that the boon would be asked of a partial mistress. "Ye are
not wont to be beggars, and the hour is somewhat unusual."
"All hours are suitable, gracious lady, when one cometh to _confer_ and
not to _seek_ favor," returned Luis de St. Angel, bluntly. "We are not
here to solicit for ourselves, but to show Your Highness the manner in
which the crown of Castile may be garnished with brighter jewels than
any it now possesseth."
Isabella looked surprised, both at the words of the speaker, and at his
hurried earnestness, as well as his freedom of speech. Accustomed,
however, to something of the last, her own calm manner was not
disturbed, nor did she even seem displeased.
"Hath the Moor another kingdom of which to be despoiled," she asked; "or
would the receiver of the church's revenues have us war upon the Holy
See?"
"I would have Your Highness accept the boons that come from God, with
alacrity and gratitude, and not reject them unthankfully," returned de
St. Angel, kissing the queen's offered hand with a respect and affection
that neutralized the freedom of his words. "Do you know, my gracious
mistress, that the Senor Christoval Colon, he from whose high projects
we Spaniards have hoped so much, hath actually taken mule and quitted
Santa Fe?"
"I expected as much, Senor, though I was not apprized that it had
actually come to pass. The king and I put the matter into the hands of
the Archbishop of Granada, with other trusty counsellors, and they have
found the terms of the Genoese arrogant; so full of exceeding and
unreasonable extravagance, that it ill befitted our dignity, and our
duty to ourselves, to grant them. One who hath a scheme of such doubtful
results, ought to manifest moderation in his preliminaries. Many even
believe the man a visionary."
"It is unlike an unworthy pretender, Senora, to abandon his hopes before
he will yield his dignity. This Colon feeleth that he is treating for
empires, and he negotiates like one full of the importance of his
subject."
"He that lightly valueth himself, in matters of gravity, hath need to
expect that he will not stand high in the estimation of others," put in
Alonzo de Quintanilla.
"And, moreover, my gracious and beloved mistress," added de St. Angel,
without permitting Isabella even to answer, "the character of the man,
and the value of his intentions, may be appreciated by the price he
setteth on his own services. If he succeed, will not the discovery
eclipse all others that have been made since the creation of the world?
Is it nothing to circle the earth, to prove the wisdom of God by actual
experiment, to follow the sun in its daily track, and imitate the
motions of that glorious moving mass? And then the benefits that will
flow on Castile and Aragon--are they not incalculable? I marvel that a
princess who hath shown so high and rare a spirit on all other
occasions, should shrink from so grand an enterprise as this!"
"Thou art earnest, my good de St. Angel," returned Isabella, with a
smile that betrayed no anger; "and when there is much earnestness there
is sometimes much forgetfulness. If there were honor and profit in
success, what would there be in failure? Should the king and myself send
out this Colon, with a commission to be our viceroy, forever, over
undiscovered lands, and no lands be discovered, the wisdom of our
councils might be called in question, and the dignity of the two crowns
would be fruitlessly and yet deeply committed."
"The hand of the Lord Archbishop is in this! This prelate hath never
been a believer in the justice of the navigator's theories, and it is
easy to raise objections when the feelings lean against an enterprise.
No glory is obtained without risk. Look, Your Highness, at our
neighbors, the Portuguese--how much have discoveries done for that
kingdom, and how much more may it do for us! We know, my honored
mistress, that the earth is round"--
"Are we quite certain of that important fact, Senor," asked the king,
who, attracted by the animated and unusual tones of the speaker, had
left his closet, and approached unseen. "Is that truth established? Our
doctors at Salamanca were divided on that great question, and, by St.
James! I do not see that it is so very clear."
"If not round, my Lord the King," answered de St. Angel, turning quickly
to face this new opponent, like a well-drilled corps wheeling into a new
front, "of what form _can_ it be? Will any doctor, come he of Salamanca,
or come he from elsewhere, pretend that the earth is a plain, and that
it hath limits, and that one may stand on these limits and jump down
upon the sun as he passeth beneath at night--is this reasonable, honored
Senor, or is it in conformity with scripture?"
"Will any one, doctor of Salamanca, or elsewhere," rejoined the king,
gravely, though it was evident his feelings were little interested in
the discussion, "allege that there are nations who forever walk with
their heads downward, where the rain falleth upward, and where the sea
remaineth in its bed, though its support cometh from above, and is not
placed beneath?"
"It is to explain these great mysteries, Senor Don Fernando, my gracious
master, that I would have this Colon at once go forth. We may see, nay,
we have demonstration, that the earth is a sphere, and yet we do not see
that the waters fall from its surface any where. The hull of a ship is
larger than her top-masts, and yet the last are first visible on the
ocean, which proveth that the body of the vessel is concealed by the
form of the water. This being so, and all who have voyaged on the ocean
know it to be thus, why doth not the water flow into a level, here, on
our own shores? If the earth be round, there must be means to encircle
it by water, as well as by land--to complete the entire journey, as well
as to perform a part. Colon proposeth to open the way to this exploit,
and the monarch that shall furnish the means will live in the memories
of our descendants, as one far greater than a conqueror. Remember,
illustrious Senor, that all the east is peopled with Infidels, and that
the head of the church freely bestoweth their lands on any Christian
monarch that may drag them from their benighted condition, into the
light of God's favor. Believe me, Dona Isabella, should another
sovereign grant the terms Colon requireth, and reap the advantages that
are likely to flow from such discoveries, the enemies of Spain would
make the world ring with their songs of triumph, while the whole
peninsula would mourn over this unhappy decision."
"Whither hath the Senor Colon sped?" demanded the king, quickly; all his
political jealousies being momentarily aroused by the remarks of his
receiver-general: "He hath not gone again to Don John of Portugal?"
"No, Senor, my master, but to King Louis of France, a sovereign whose
love for Aragon amounteth to a proverb."
The king muttered a few words between his teeth, and he paced the
apartment, to and fro, with a disturbed manner; for, while no man living
cared less to hazard his means, without the prospect of a certain
return, the idea of another's reaping an advantage that had been
neglected by himself, brought him at once under the control of those
feelings that always influenced his cold and calculating policy. With
Isabella the case was different. Her pious wishes had ever leaned toward
the accomplishment of Columbus' great project, and her generous nature
had sympathized deeply with the noble conception, vast moral results,
and the glory of the enterprise. Nothing but the manner in which her
mind, as well as her religious aspirations, had been occupied by the war
in Granada, had prevented her from entering earlier into a full
examination of the navigator's views; and she had yielded to the counsel
of her confessor, in denying the terms demanded by Columbus, with a
reluctance it had not been easy to overcome. Then the gentler feelings
of her sex had their influence, for, while she too reflected on what had
just been urged, her eye glanced around the room and rested on the
beautiful face of Mercedes, who sat silent from diffidence, but whose
pale, eloquent countenance betrayed all the pleadings of the pure,
enthusiastic love of woman.
"Daughter-Marchioness," asked the queen, turning as usual to her tried
friend, in her doubts, "what thinkest thou of this weighty matter? Ought
we so to humble ourselves as to recal this haughty Genoese?"
"Say not haughty, Senora, for to me he seemeth much superior to any such
feeling; but rather regard him as one that hath a just appreciation of
that he hath in view. I agree fully with the receiver-general in
thinking that Castile will be much discredited, if, in sooth, a new
world should be discovered, and they who favored the enterprise could
point to this court and remind it that the glory of the event was in its
grasp, and that it threw it away, heedlessly"--
"And this, too, on a mere point of dignity, Senora," put in St.
Angel--"on a question of parchment and of sound."
"Nay, nay"--retorted the queen--"there are those who think the honors
claimed by Colon would far exceed the service, even should the latter
equal all the representations of the Genoese himself."
"Then, my honored mistress, they know not at what the Genoese aims.
Reflect, Senora, that it will not be an every-day deed to prove that
this earth is a sphere, by actual measurement, whatever we may know in
theories. Then cometh the wealth and benefits of those eastern
possessions, a quarter of the world whence all riches flow--spices,
pearls, silks, and the most precious metals. After these, again, cometh
the great glory of God, which crowneth and exceedeth all."
Isabella crossed herself, her cheek flushed, her eye kindled, and her
matronly but fine form seemed to tower with the majesty of the feelings
that these pictures created.
"I do fear, Don Fernando," she said, "that our advisers have been
precipitate, and that the magnitude of this project may justify more
than common conditions!"
But the king entered little into the generous emotions of his royal
consort; feeling far more keenly the stings of political jealousy, than
any promptings of a liberal zeal for either the church or science. He
was generally esteemed a wise prince, a title that would seem to infer
neither a generous nor a very just one. He smiled at the kindling
enthusiasm of his wife, but continued to peruse a paper that had just
been handed to him by a secretary.
"Your Highness feels as Dona Isabella of Castile ought to feel when the
glory of God and the honor of her crown are in question," added Beatriz
de Cabrera, using that freedom of speech that her royal mistress much
encouraged in their more private intercourse. "I would rather hear you
utter the words of recall to this Colon, than again listen to the shouts
of our late triumph over the Moor."
"I know that thou lovest me, Beatriz!" exclaimed the queen: "if there is
not a true heart in that breast of thine, the fallen condition of man
does not suffer the gem to exist!"
"We all love and reverence Your Highness," continued de St. Angel, "and
we wish naught but your glory. Fancy, Senora, the page of history open,
and this great exploit of the reduction of the Moor succeeded by the
still greater deed of a discovery of an easy and swift communication
with the Indies, the spread of the church, and the flow of inexhaustible
wealth into Spain! This Colon cannot be supported by the colder and more
selfish calculations of man, but his very enterprise seeks the more
generous support of her who can risk much for God's glory and the good
of the church."
"Nay, Senor de St. Angel, thou flatterest and offendest in the same
breath."
"It is an honest nature pouring out its disappointment, my beloved
mistress, and a tongue that hath become bold through much zeal for Your
Highnesses' fame. Alas! alas! should King Louis grant the terms we have
declined, poor Spain will never lift her head again for very shame!"
"Art certain, St. Angel, that the Genoese hath gone for France?"
suddenly demanded the king, in his sharp, authoritative voice.
"I have it, Your Highness, from his own mouth. Yes, yes, he is at this
moment striving to forget our Castilian dialect, and endeavoring to suit
his tongue to the language of the Frenchman. They are bigots and
unreflecting disciples of musty prejudices, Senora, that deny the
theories of Colon. The old philosophers have reasoned in the same
manner; and though it may seem to the timid an audacious and even a
heedless adventure to sail out into the broad Atlantic, had not the
Portuguese done it he would never have found his islands. God's truth!
it maketh my blood boil, when I bethink me of what these Lusitanians
have done, while we of Aragon and Castile have been tilting with the
Infidels for a few valleys and mountains, and contending for a capital!"
"Senor, you are forgetful of the honor of the sovereigns, as well as of
the service of God," interrupted the Marchioness of Moya, who had the
tact to perceive that the receiver-general was losing sight of his
discretion, in the magnitude of his zeal. "This conquest is one of the
victories of the church, and will add lustre to the two crowns in all
future ages. The head of the church, himself, hath so recognized it, and
all good Christians should acknowledge its character."
"It is not that I undervalue this success, but that I consider the
conquest that Colon is likely to achieve over so many millions, that I
have thus spoken, Dona Beatriz."
The marchioness, whose spirit was as marked as her love for the queen,
made a sharp reply, and, for a few minutes, she and Luis de St. Angel,
with Alonzo de Quintanilla, maintained the discussion by themselves,
while Isabella conversed apart, with her husband, no one presuming to
meddle with their private conference. The queen was earnest, and
evidently much excited, but Ferdinand maintained his customary coolness
and caution, though his manner was marked with that profound respect
which the character of Isabella had early inspired, and which she
succeeded in maintaining throughout her married life. This was a picture
familiar to the courtiers, one of the sovereigns being as remarkable for
his wily prudence, as was the other for her generous and sincere ardor,
whenever impelled by a good motive. This divided discourse lasted half
an hour, the queen occasionally pausing to listen to what was passing in
the other group, and then recurring to her own arguments with her
husband.
At length Isabella left the side of Ferdinand, who coldly resumed the
perusal of a paper, and she moved slowly toward the excited party, that
was now unanimous and rather loud in the expression of its regrets--loud
for even the indulgence of so gentle a mistress. Her intention to
repress this ardor by her own presence, however, was momentarily
diverted from its object by a glimpse of the face of Mercedes, who sat
alone, her work lying neglected in her lap, listening anxiously to the
opinions that had drawn all her companions to the general circle.
"Thou takest no part in this warm discussion, child," observed the
queen, stopping before the chair of our heroine, and gazing an instant
into her eloquently expressive face. "Hast thou lost all interest in
Colon?"
"I speak not, Senora, because it becometh youth and ignorance to be
modest; but though silent, I _feel_ none the less."
"And what are thy feelings, daughter? Dost thou, too, think the services
of the Genoese cannot be bought at too high a price?"
"Since Your Highness doth me this honor," answered the lovely girl, the
blood gradually flushing her pale face, as she warmed with the
subject--"I will not hesitate to speak. I do believe this great
enterprise hath been offered to the sovereigns, as a reward for all that
they have done and endured for religion and the church. I do think that
Colon hath been guided to this court by a divine hand, and by a divine
hand hath he been kept here, enduring the long servitude of seven years,
rather than abandon his object; and I do think that this late appeal in
his favor cometh of a power and spirit that should prevail."
"Thou art an enthusiast, daughter, more especially in this cause,"
returned the queen, smiling kindly on the blushing Mercedes. "I am
greatly moved by thy wishes to aid in this enterprise!"
Thus spoke Isabella, at a moment when she had neither the leisure nor
the thought to analyze her own feelings, which were influenced by a
variety of motives, rather than by any single consideration. Even this
passing touch of woman's affections, however, contributed to give her
mind a new bias, and she joined the group, which respectfully opened as
she advanced, greatly disposed to yield to de St. Angel's well-meant
though somewhat intemperate entreaties. Still she hesitated, for her
wary husband had just been reminding her of the exhausted state of the
two treasuries, and the impoverished condition in which both crowns had
been left by the late war.
"Daughter-Marchioness," said Isabella, slightly answering the reverences
of the circle, "dost thou still think this Colon expressly called of
God, for the high purposes to which he pretendeth?"
"Senora, I say not exactly that, though I believe the Genoese hath some
such opinion of himself. But this much I do think--that Heaven beareth
in mind its faithful servitors, and when there is need of important
actions, suitable agents are chosen for the work. Now, we do know that
the church, at some day, is to prevail throughout the whole world; and
why may not this be the allotted time, as well as another? God ordereth
mysteriously, and the very adventure that so many of the learned have
scoffed at, may be intended to hasten the victory of the church. We
should remember, Your Highness, the humility with which this church
commenced; how few of the seemingly wise lent it their aid; and the high
pass of glory to which it hath reached. This conquest of the Moor
savoreth of a fulfilment of time, and his reign of seven centuries
terminated, may merely be an opening for a more glorious future."
Isabella smiled upon her friend, for this was reasoning after her own
secret thoughts; but her greater acquirements rendered her more
discriminating in her zeal, than was the case with the warm-hearted and
ardent Marchioness.
"It is not safe to affix the seal of Providence to this or that
enterprise, Daughter-Marchioness"--she answered--"and the church alone
may say what are intended for miracles, and what is left for human
agencies. What sum doth Colon need, Senor de St. Angel, to carry on the
adventure in a manner that will content him?"
"He asketh but two light caravels, my honored mistress, and three
thousand crowns--a sum that many a young spendthrift would waste on his
pleasures, in a few short weeks."
"It is not much, truly," observed Isabella, who had been gradually
kindling with the thoughts of the nobleness of the adventure; "but,
small as it is, my Lord the King doubteth if our joint coffers can, at
this moment, well bear the drain."
"Oh! it were a pity that such an occasion to serve God, such an
opportunity to increase the Christian sway, and to add to the glory of
Spain, should be lost for this trifle of gold!" exclaimed Dona Beatriz.
"It would be, truly," rejoined the queen, whose cheek now glowed with an
enthusiasm little less obvious than that which shone so brightly in the
countenance of the ardent Mercedes. "Senor de St. Angel, the king cannot
be prevailed on to enter into this affair, in behalf of Aragon; but I
take it on myself, as Queen of Castile, and, so far as it may properly
advance human interests, for the benefit of my own much-beloved people.
If the royal treasury be drained, my private jewels should suffice for
that small sum, and I will freely pledge them as surety for the gold,
rather than let this Colon depart without putting the truth of his
theories to the proof. The result, truly, is of too great magnitude, to
admit of further discussion."
An exclamation of admiration and delight escaped those present, for it
was not a usual thing for a princess to deprive herself of personal
ornaments in order to advance either the interests of the church or
those of her subjects. The receiver-general, however, soon removed all
difficulties on the score of money, by saying that his coffers could
advance the required sum, on the guarantee of the crown of Castile, and
that the jewels so freely offered, might remain in the keeping of their
royal owner.
"And now to recall Colon," observed the queen, as soon as these
preliminaries had been discussed. "He hath already departed, you say,
and no time should be lost in acquainting him with this new resolution."
"Your Highness hath here a willing courier, and one already equipped for
the road, in the person of Don Luis de Bobadilla," cried Alonzo de
Quintanilla, whose eye had been drawn to a window by the trampling of a
horse's foot; "and the man who will more joyfully bear these tidings to
the Genoese cannot be found in Santa Fe."
"'Tis scarce a service suited to one of his high station," answered
Isabella, doubtingly; "and yet we should consider every moment of delay
a wrong to Colon"--
"Nay, Senora, spare not my nephew," eagerly interposed Dona Beatriz; "he
is only too happy at being employed in doing Your Highness' pleasure."
"Let him, then, be summoned to our presence without another instant's
delay. I scarce seem to have decided, while the principal personage of
the great adventure is journeying from the court."
A page was immediately despatched in quest of the young noble, and in a
few minutes the footsteps of the latter were heard in the antechamber.
Luis entered the presence, flushed, excited, and with feelings not a
little angered, at the compelled departure of his new friend. He did not
fail to impute the blame of this occurrence to those who had the power
to prevent it; and when his dark, expressive eye met the countenance of
his sovereign, had it been in her power to read its meaning, she would
have understood that he viewed her as a person who had thwarted his
hopes on more than one occasion. Nevertheless, the influence of Dona
Isabella's pure character and gentle manners was seldom forgotten by any
who were permitted to approach her person; and his address was
respectful, if not warm.
"It is Your Highness' pleasure to command my presence," said the young
man, as soon as he made his reverences to the queen.
"I thank you for this promptitude, Don Luis, having some need of your
services. Can you tell us what hath befel the Senor Christoval Colon,
the Genoese navigator, with whom, they inform me, you have some
intimacy?"
"Forgive me, Senora, if aught unbecoming escape me; but a full heart
must be opened lest it break. The Genoese is about to shake the dust of
Spain from his shoes, and, at this moment, is on his journey to another
court, to proffer those services that this should never have rejected."
"It is plain, Don Luis, that all thy leisure time hath not been passed
in courts," returned the queen, smiling; "but we have now service for
thy roving propensities. Mount thy steed, and pursue the Senor Colon,
with the tidings that his conditions will be granted, and a request that
he will forthwith return. I pledge my royal word, to send him forth on
this enterprise, with as little delay as the necessary preparations and
a suitable prudence will allow."
"Senora! Dona Isabella! My gracious queen! Do I hear aright?"
"As a sign of the fidelity of thy senses, Don Luis, here is the pledge
of my hand."
This was said kindly, and the gracious manner in which the hand was
offered, brought a gleam of hope to the mind of the lover, which it had
not felt since he had been apprized that the queen's good opinion was
necessary to secure his happiness. Kneeling respectfully, he kissed the
hand of his sovereign, after which, without changing his attitude, he
desired to know if he should that instant depart on the duty she had
named.
"Rise, Don Luis, and lose not a moment to relieve the loaded heart of
the Genoese--I might almost say, to relieve ours, also; for,
Daughter-Marchioness, since this holy enterprise hath broken on my mind
with a sudden and almost miraculous light, it seemeth that a mountain
must lie on my breast until the Senor Christoval shall learn the truth!"
Luis de Bobadilla did not wait a second bidding, but hurried from the
presence, as fast as etiquette would allow, and the next minute he was
in the saddle. At his appearance, Mercedes had shrunk into the recess of
a window, where she now, luckily, commanded a view of the court. As her
lover gained his seat, he caught a glimpse of her form; and though the
spurs were already in his charger's flanks, the rein tightened, and the
snorting steed was thrown suddenly on his haunches. So elastic are the
feelings of youth, so deceptive and flattering the hopes of those who
love, that the glances which were exchanged were those of mutual
delight. Neither thought of all the desperate chances of the
contemplated voyage; of the probability of its want of success; or of
the many motives which might still induce the queen to withhold her
consent. Mercedes awoke first from the short trance that succeeded, for,
taking the alarm at Luis' indiscreet delay, she motioned him hurriedly
to proceed. Again the rowels were buried in the flanks of the noble
animal; fire flashed beneath his armed heels, and, at the next minute,
Don Luis de Bobadilla had disappeared.
In the mean time Columbus had pursued his melancholy journey across the
Vega. He travelled slowly, and several times, even after his companion
had left him, did he check his mule, and sit, with his head dropped upon
his breast, lost in thought, the very picture of woe. The noble
resignation that he manifested in public, nearly gave way in private,
and he felt, indeed, how hard his disappointments were to be borne. In
this desultory manner of travelling he had reached the celebrated pass
of the Bridge of Pinos, the scene of many a sanguinary combat, when the
sound of a horse's hoofs first overtook his ear. Turning his head, he
recognized Luis de Bobadilla in hot pursuit, with the flanks of his
horse dyed in blood, and his breast white with foam.
"Joy! joy! a thousand times, joy, Senor Colon," shouted the eager youth,
even before he was near enough to be distinctly heard. "Blessed Maria be
praised! Joy! Senor, joy! and naught but joy!"
"This is unexpected, Don Luis," exclaimed the navigator, "What meaneth
thy return!"
Luis now attempted to explain his errand, but eagerness and the want of
breath rendered his ideas confused and his utterance broken and
imperfect.
"And why should I return to a hesitating, cold, and undecided court?"
demanded Columbus. "Have I not wasted years in striving to urge it to
its own good? Look at these hairs, young Senor, and remember that I have
lost a time that nearly equals all thy days, in striving uselessly to
convince the rulers of this peninsula that my project is founded on
truth."
"At length you have succeeded. Isabella, the true-hearted and
never-deceiving Queen of Castile, herself hath awoke to the importance
of thy scheme, and pledges her royal word to favor it."
"Is this true? _Can_ this be true, Don Luis?"
"I am sent to you express, Senor, to urge your immediate return."
"By whom, young Lord?"
"By Dona Isabella, my gracious mistress, through her own personal
commands."
"I cannot forego a single condition already offered."
"It is not expected, Senor. Our excellent and generous mistress granteth
all you ask, and hath nobly offered, as I learn, to pledge her private
jewels, rather than that the enterprise fail."
Columbus was deeply touched with this information, and, removing his
cap, he concealed his face with it for a moment, as if ashamed to betray
the weakness that came over him. When he uncovered his face it was
radiant with happiness, and every doubt appeared to have vanished. Years
of suffering were forgotten in that moment of joy, and he immediately
signified his readiness to accompany the youth back to Santa Fe.