"Yet he to whom each danger hath become
A dark delight, and every wild a home,
Still urges onward--undismayed to tread
Where life's fond lovers would recoil with dread."
The Abencerrage.
The intelligence that Martin Alonzo Pinzon was to make one of the
followers of Colon, spread through the village of Palos like wild-fire.
Volunteers were no longer wanting; the example of one known and
respected in the vicinity, operating far more efficiently on the minds
of the mariners, than the orders of the queen or the philosophy of
Columbus. Martin Alonzo they knew; they were accustomed to submit to his
influence; they could follow in his footsteps, and had confidence in his
judgment; whereas, the naked orders of an unseen sovereign, however much
beloved, had more of the character of a severe judgment than of a
generous enterprise; and as for Columbus, though most men were awed by
his dignified appearance and grave manner, when out of sight he was as
much regarded as an adventurer at Palos, as he had been at Santa Fe.
The Pinzons set about their share of the expedition after the manner of
those who were more accustomed to execute than to plan. Several of the
family entered cordially into the work; and a brother of Martin
Alonzo's, whose name was Vincente Yanez, also a mariner by profession,
joined the adventurers as commander of one of the vessels, while another
took service as a pilot. In short, the month that succeeded the
incidents just mentioned, was actively employed, and more was done in
that short space of time toward bringing about a solution of the great
problem of Columbus, than had been accomplished, in a practical way,
during the seventeen long years that the subject had occupied his time
and engrossed his thoughts.
Notwithstanding the local influence of the Pinzons, a vigorous
opposition to the project still existed in the heart of the little
community that had been chosen for the place of equipment of the
different vessels required. This family had its enemies as well as its
friends, and, as is usual with most human undertakings, two parties
sprang up, one of which was quite as busily occupied in thwarting the
plans of the navigator, as the other was engaged in promoting them. One
vessel had been seized for the service, under the order of the court,
and her owners became leaders of the dissatisfied faction. Many seamen,
according to the usage of that day, had been impressed for duty on this
extraordinary and mysterious voyage; and, as a matter of course, they
and their friends were not slow to join the ranks of the disaffected.
Much of the necessary work was found to be imperfectly done; and when
the mechanics were called on to repair these omissions, they absconded
in a body. As the time for sailing approached, the contention grew more
and more violent, and even the Pinzons had the mortification of
discovering that many of those who had volunteered to follow their
fortunes, began to waver, and that some had unequivocally deserted.
Such was the state of things, toward the close of the month of July,
when Martin Alonzo Pinzon again repaired to the convent of Santa Maria
de Rabida, where Columbus continued to pass most of the time that was
not given to a direct personal superintendence of the preparations, and
where Luis de Bobadilla, who was altogether useless in the actual
condition of affairs, also passed many a weary hour, chafing for active
duty, and musing on the loveliness, truth, and virtues of Mercedes de
Valverde. Fray Juan Perez was earnest in his endeavors to facilitate the
execution of the objects of his friends, and he had actually succeeded,
if not in absolutely suppressing the expression of all injurious opinion
on the part of the less enlightened of the brotherhood, at least in
rendering the promulgation of them more cautious and private.
When Columbus and the prior were told that the Senor Pinzon sought an
interview, neither was slow in granting the favor. As the hour of
departure drew nigh, the importance of this man's exertions became more
and more apparent, and both well knew that the royal protection of
Isabella herself, just at that moment and in that place, was of less
account than that of this active mariner. The Senor Pinzon, therefore,
had not long to wait for his audience, having been ushered into the room
that was commonly occupied by the zealous Franciscan, almost as soon as
his request was preferred.
"Thou art right welcome, worthy Martin Alonzo!" exclaimed the prior, the
moment he caught a glimpse of the features of his old acquaintance--"How
get on matters at Palos, and when shall we have this holy undertaking in
a fair direction for success?"
"By San Francisco, reverend prior, that is more than it will be safe for
any man to answer. I have thought we were in a fair way to make sail, a
score of times, when some unforeseen difficulty hath arisen. The Santa
Maria, on board which the admiral and the Senor Gutierrez, or de Munos,
if he will have it so, will embark, is already fitted. She may be set
down as a tight craft, and somewhat exceedeth a hundred tons in burthen,
so that I trust his excellency, and all the gallant cavaliers who may
accompany him, will be as comfortable as the holy monks of Rabida--more
especially as the good caravel hath a deck."
"These are, truly, glad tidings," returned the prior, rubbing his hands
with delight--"and the excellent craft hath really a deck! Senor
Almirante, thou mayst not be in a vessel that is altogether worthy of
thy high aim, but, on the whole, thou wilt be both safe and comfortable,
keeping in view, in particular, this convenient and sheltering deck."
"Neither my safety nor my convenience is a consideration to be
mentioned, friend Juan Perez, when there is question of so much graver
matters. I rejoice that thou hast come to the convent this morning,
Senor Martin Alonzo, as, being about to address letters to the court, by
means of an especial courier, I desire to know the actual condition of
things. Thou thinkest the Santa Maria will be in a state for service by
the end of the month?"
"Senor, I do. The ship hath been prepared with due diligence, and will
conveniently hold some three score, should the panic that hath seized on
so many of the besotted fools of Palos, leave us that number, who may
still be disposed to embark. I trust that the saints look upon our many
efforts, and will remember our zeal when we shall come to a joint
division of the benefits of this undertaking, which hath had no equal in
the history of navigation!"
"The benefits, honest Martin Alonzo, will be found in the spread of the
church's dominion, and the increased glory of God!" put in the prior,
significantly.
"Out of all question, holy Fray Juan Perez--this is the common aim;
though I trust it is permitted to a pains-taking mariner to bethink him
of his wife and children, in discreet subordination to those greater
ends. I have much mistaken the Senor Colon, if he do not look for some
little advantage, in the way of gold, from this visit to Cathay."
"Thou hast not mistaken me, honest Martin Alonzo," returned Columbus,
gravely. "I do, indeed, expect to see the wealth of the Indies pouring
into the coffers of Castile, in consequence of this voyage. In sooth,
excellent prior, in my view, the recovery of the holy sepulchre is
dependent mainly on the success of our present undertaking, in the way
of a substantial worldly success."
"This is well, Senor Admiral," put in Martin Alonzo, a little hastily,
"and ought to gain us great favor in the eyes of all good
Christians--more especially with the monks of la Rabida. But it is hard
enough to persuade the mariners of the port to obey the queen, in this
matter, and to fulfil their engagements with ourselves, without
preaching a crusade, as the best means of throwing away the few
maravedis they may happen to gain by their hardships and courage. The
worthy pilots, Francisco Martin Pinzon, mine own brother, Sancho Ruiz,
Pedro Alonzo Nino, and Bartolemeo Roldan, are all now firmly tied to us
by the ropes of the law; but should they happen to find a crusade at
their end, all the saints in the calendar would scarce have influence to
make them hesitate about loosening themselves from the agreement."
"I hold no one but myself bound to this object," returned Columbus,
calmly. "Each man, friend Martin Alonzo, will be judged by his own
deeds, and called on to fulfil his own vows. Of those who pledge naught,
naught will be exacted, and naught given at the great final account of
the human race. But what are the tidings of the Pinta, thine own vessel?
Hath she been finally put into a condition to buffet the Atlantic?"
"As ever happeneth with a vessel pressed into the royal service, Senor,
work hath gone on heavily, and things in general have not borne that
merry activity which accompanieth the labor of those who toil of a free
will, and for their own benefit."
"The silly mariners have toiled in their own behalf, without knowing
it," observed Columbus. "It is the duty of the ignorant to submit to be
led by the more enlightened, and to be grateful for the advantages they
derive from a borrowed knowledge, albeit it is obtained contrary to
their own wishes."
"That is it, truly," added the prior; "else would the office of us
churchmen be reduced to very narrow limits. Faith--faith in the
church--is the Christian's earliest and latest duty."
"This seemeth reasonable, excellent sirs," returned Master Alonzo,
"though the ignorant find it difficult to comprehend matters that they
do not understand. When a man fancieth himself condemned to an
unheard-of death, he is little apt to see the benefit that lieth beyond
the grave. Nevertheless, the Pinta is more nearly ready for the voyage,
than any other of our craft, and hath her crew engaged to a man, and
that under contracts that will not permit much dispute before a notary."
"There remaineth only the Nina, then," added Columbus; "with her
prepared, and our religious duties observed, we may hope finally to
commence the enterprise!"
"Senor, you may. My brother, Vicente Yanez, hath finally consented to
take charge of this little craft; and that which a Pinzon promiseth, a
Pinzon performeth. She will be ready to depart with the Santa Maria and
the Pinta, and Cathay must be distant, indeed, if we do not reach it
with one or the other of our vessels."
"This is right encouraging, neighbor Martin Alonzo," returned the friar,
rubbing his hands with delight; "and I make no question all will come
round in the end. What say the crones and loose talkers of Moguer, and
of the other ports, touching the shape of the earth, and the chances of
the admiral's reaching the Indies, now-a-days?"
"They discourse much as they did, Fray Juan Perez, idly and without
knowledge. Although there is not a mariner in any of the havens who doth
not admit that the upper sails, though so much the smallest, are the
first seen on the ocean, yet do they deny that this cometh of the shape
of the earth, but, as they affirm, of the movements of the waters."
"Have none of them ever observed the shadows cast by the earth, in the
eclipses of the moon?" asked Columbus, in his calm manner, though he
smiled, even in putting the question, as one smiles who, having dipped
deeply into a natural problem himself, carelessly lays one of its more
popular proofs before those who are less disposed to go beneath the
surface. "Do they not see that these shadows are round, and do they not
know that a shadow which is round can only be cast by a body that is
round?"
"This is conclusive, good Martin Alonzo," put in the prior, "and it
ought to remove the doubts of the silliest gossip on the coast. Tell
them to encircle their dwellings, beginning to the right, and see if, by
following the walls, they do not return to the spot from which they
started, coming in from the left."
"Ay, reverend prior, if we could bring our distant voyage down to these
familiar examples, there is not a crone in Moguer, or a courtier at
Seville, that might not be made to comprehend the mystery. But it is one
thing to state a problem fairly, and another to find those who can
understand it. Now, I did give some such reasoning to the Alguiazil, in
Palos here, and the worthy Senor asked me if I expected to return from
this voyage by the way of the lately captured town of Granada. I fancy
that the easiest method of persuading these good people to believe that
Cathay can be reached by the western voyage, will be by going there and
returning."
"Which we will shortly do, Master Martin Alonzo," observed Columbus,
cheerfully--"But the time of our departure draweth near, and it is meet
that none of us neglect the duties of religion. I commend thee to thy
confessor, Senor Pinzon, and expect that all who sail with me, in this
great enterprise, will receive the holy communion in my company, before
we quit the haven. This excellent prior will shrive Pedro de Munos and
myself, and let each man seek such other holy counsellor and monitor as
hath been his practice."
With this intimation of his intention to pay a due regard to the rites
of the church before he departed--rites that were seldom neglected in
that day--the conversation turned, for the moment, on the details of the
preparations. After this the parties separated, and a few more days
passed away in active exertions.
On the morning of Thursday, August the second, 1492, Columbus entered
the private apartment of Fray Juan Perez, habited like a penitent, and
with an air so devout, and yet so calm, that it was evident his thoughts
were altogether bent on his own transgressions and on the goodness of
God. The zealous priest was in waiting, and the great navigator knelt at
the feet of him, before whom Isabella had often knelt, in the fulfilment
of the same solemnity. The religion of this extraordinary man was
colored by the habits and opinions of his age, as, indeed, in a greater
or less degree, must be the religion of every man; his confession,
consequently, had that admixture of deep piety with inconsistent error,
that so often meets the moralist in his investigations into the
philosophy of the human mind. The truth of this peculiarity will be
seen, by adverting to one or two of the admissions of the great
navigator, as he laid before his ghostly counsellor the catalogue of his
sins.
"Then, I fear, holy father," Columbus continued, after having made most
of the usual confessions touching the more familiar weaknesses of the
human race, "that my mind hath become too much exalted in this matter of
the voyage, and that I may have thought myself more directly set apart
by God, for some good end, than it might please his infinite knowledge
and wisdom to grant."
"That would be a dangerous error, my son, and I carefully admonish thee
against the evils of self-righteousness. That God selecteth his agents,
is beyond dispute; but it is a fearful error to mistake the impulses of
self-love, for the movements of his Divine Spirit! It is hardly safe for
any who have not received the church's ordination, to deem themselves
chosen vessels."
"I endeavor so to consider it, holy friar," answered Columbus, meekly;
"and, yet, there is that within, which constantly urgeth to this belief,
be it a delusion, or come it directly from heaven. I strive, father, to
keep the feeling in subjection, and most of all do I endeavor to see
that it taketh a direction that may glorify the name of God and serve
the interests of his visible church."
"This is well, and yet do I feel it a duty to admonish thee against too
much credence in these inward impulses. So long as they tend, solely, to
increase thy love for the Supreme Father of all, to magnify his
holiness, and glorify his nature, thou may'st be certain it is the
offspring of good; but when self-exaltation seemeth to be its aim,
beware the impulse, as thou wouldst eschew the dictation of the great
father of evil!"
"I so consider it; and now having truly and sincerely disburdened my
conscience, father, so far as in me lieth, may I hope for the church's
consolation, with its absolution?"
"Canst thou think of naught else, son, that should not lie hid from
before the keeper of all consciences?"
"My sins are many, holy prior, and cannot be too often or too keenly
rebuked; but I do think that they may be fairly included in the general
heads that I have endeavored to recall."
"Hast thou nothing to charge thyself with, in connection with that sex
that the devil as often useth as his tempters to evil, as the angels
would fain employ them as the ministers of grace?"
"I have erred as a man, father; but do not my confessions already meet
those sins?"
"Hast thou bethought thee of Dona Beatriz Enriquez? of thy son Fernando,
who tarrieth, at this moment, in our convent of la Rabida?"
Columbus bowed his head in submission, and the heavy sigh, amounting
almost to a groan, that broke out of his bosom, betrayed the weight of
his momentary contrition.
"Thou say'st true, father; that is an offence which should never be
forgotten, though so often shrived since its commission. Heap on me the
penance that I feel is due, and thou shalt see how a Christian can bend
and kiss the rod that he is conscious of having merited."
"The spirit thus to do is all that the church requireth; and thou art
now bent on a service too important to her interests to be drawn aside
from thy great intentions, for any minor considerations. Still may not a
minister of the altar overlook the offence. Thou wilt say a pater,
daily, on account of this great sin, for the next twenty days, all of
which will be for the good of thy soul; after which the church releaseth
thee from this especial duty, as thou wilt, then, be drawing near to the
land of Cathay, and may have occasion for all thy thoughts and efforts
to effect thy object."
The worthy prior then proceeded to prescribe several light penances,
most of which were confined to moderate increases of the daily duties of
religion; after which he shrived the navigator. The turn of Luis came
next, and more than once the prior smiled involuntarily, as he listened
to this hot-blooded and impetuous youth, whose language irresistibly
carried back his thoughts to the more meek, natural, and the more gentle
admissions of the pure-minded Mercedes. The penance prescribed to Luis
was not entirely free from severity, though, on the whole, the young
man, who was not much addicted to the duties of the confessional,
fancied himself well quit of the affair, considering the length of the
account he was obliged to render, and the weight of the balance against
him.
These duties performed in the persons of the two principal adventurers,
Martin Alonzo Pinzon and the ruder mariners of the expedition appeared
before different priests and gave in the usual reckoning of their sins.
After this came a scene that was strictly characteristic of the age, and
which would be impressive and proper, in all times and seasons, for men
about to embark in an undertaking of a result so questionable.
High mass was said in the chapel of the convent, and Columbus received
the consecrated bread from the hands of Fray Juan Perez, in humble
reliance on the all-seeing providence of God, and with a devout
dependence on his fostering protection. All who were about to embark
with the admiral imitated his example, communing in his company; for
that was a period when the wire-drawn conclusions of man had not yet
begun so far to supplant the faith and practices of the earlier church
as to consider its rites as the end of religion, but he was still
content to regard them as its means. Many a rude sailor, whose ordinary
life might not have been either saintly or even free from severe
censure, knelt that day at the altar, in devout dependence on God, with
feelings, for the moment, that at least placed him on the highway to
grace; and it would be presumptuous to suppose that the omniscient Being
to whom his offerings were made, did not regard his ignorance with
commiseration, and even look upon his superstition with pity. We scoff
at the prayers of those who are in danger, without reflecting that they
are a homage to the power of God, and are apt to fancy that these
passages in devotion are mere mockery, because the daily mind and the
ordinary life are not always elevated to the same standard of godliness
and purity. It would be more humble to remember the general infirmities
of the race; to recollect, that as none are perfect, the question is
reduced to one of degree; and to bear in mind, that the Being who reads
the heart, may accept of any devout petitions, even though they come
from those who are not disposed habitually to walk in his laws. These
passing but pious emotions are the workings of the Spirit, since good
can come from no other source; and it is as unreasonable as it is
irreverent to imagine that the Deity will disregard, altogether, the
effects of his own grace, however humble.
Whatever may have been the general disposition of most of the
communicants on this occasion, there is little doubt that there knelt at
the altar of la Rabida, that day, one in the person of the great
navigator himself, who, as far as the eye could perceive, lived
habitually in profound deference to the dogmas of religion, and who paid
an undeviating respect to all its rites. Columbus was not strictly a
devotee; but a quiet, deeply seated enthusiasm, which had taken the
direction of Christianity, pervaded his moral system, and at all times
disposed him to look up to the protecting hand of the Deity and to
expect its aid. The high aims that he entertained for the future have
already been mentioned, and there is little doubt of his having
persuaded himself that he had been set apart by Providence as the
instrument it designed to employ in making the great discovery on which
his mind was so intently engaged, as well as in accomplishing other and
ulterior purposes. If, indeed, an overruling Power directs all the
events of this world, who will presume to say that this conviction of
Columbus was erroneous, now that it has been justified by the result?
That he felt this sentiment sustaining his courage and constantly urging
him onward, is so much additional evidence in favor of his impression,
since, under such circumstances, nothing is more probable than that an
earnest belief in his destiny would be one of the means most likely to
be employed by a supernatural power in inducing its human agent to
accomplish the work for which he had actually been selected.
Let this be as it might, there is no doubt that Colon observed the rites
of the church, on the occasion named, with a most devout reliance on the
truth of his mission, and with the brightest hopes as to its successful
termination. Not so, however, with all of his intended followers. Their
minds had wavered, from time to time, as the preparations advanced; and
the last month had seen them eager to depart, and dejected with
misgivings and doubts. Although there were days of hope and brightness,
despondency perhaps prevailed, and this so much the more because the
apprehensions of mothers, wives, and of those who felt an equally tender
interest in the mariners, though less inclined to avow it openly, were
thrown into the scale by the side of their own distrust. Gold,
unquestionably, was the great aim of their wishes, and there were
moments when visions of inexhaustible mines and of oriental treasures
floated before their imaginations; at which times none could be more
eager to engage in the mysterious undertaking, or more ready to risk
their lives and hopes on its success. But these were fleeting
impressions, and, as has just been said, despondency was the prevalent
feeling among those who were about to embark. It heightened the devotion
of the communicants, and threw a gloom over the chastened sobriety of
the altar, that weighed heavily on the hearts of most assembled there.
"Our people seem none of the most cheerful, Senor Almirante," said Luis,
as they left the convent-chapel in company; "and, if truth must be
spoken, one could wish to set forth on an expedition of this magnitude,
better sustained by merry hearts and smiling countenances."
"Dost thou imagine, young count, that he hath the firmest mind who
weareth the most smiling visage, or that the heart is weak because the
countenance is sobered? These honest mariners bethink them of their
sins, and no doubt are desirous that so holy an enterprise be not
tainted by the corruption of their own hearts, but rather purified and
rendered fitting, by their longings to obey the will of God. I trust,
Luis"--intercourse had given Columbus a sort of paternal interest in the
welfare of the young grandee, that lessened the distance made by rank
between them--"I trust, Luis, thou art not, altogether, without these
pious longings in thine own person."
"By San Pedro, my new patron! Senor Almirante, I think more of Mercedes
de Valverde, than of aught else, in this great affair. She is my polar
star, my religion, my Cathay. Go on, in Heaven's name, and discover what
thou wilt, whether it be Cipango or the furthest Indies; beard the great
Khan on his throne, and I will follow in thy train, with a poor lance
and an indifferent sword, swearing that the maid of Castile hath no
equal, and ransacking the east, merely to prove in the face of the
universe that she is peerless, let her rivals come from what part of the
earth they may."
Although Columbus permitted his grave countenance slightly to relax at
this rhapsody, he did not the less deem it prudent to rebuke the spirit
in which it was uttered.
"I grieve, my young friend," he said, "to find that thou hast not the
feelings proper for one who is engaged, as it might be, in a work of
Heaven's own ordering. Canst thou not foresee the long train of mighty
and wonderful events that are likely to follow from this voyage--the
spread of religion, through the holy church; the conquest of distant
empires, with their submission to the sway of Castile; the settling of
disputed points in science and philosophy, and the attainment of
inexhaustible wealth; with the last and most honorable consequence of
all, the recovery of the sepulchre of the Son of God, from the hands of
the Infidels!"
"No doubt, Senor Colon--no doubt, I see them all, but I see the Dona
Mercedes at their end. What care I for gold, who already possess--or
shall so soon possess--more than I need? what is the extension of the
sway of Castile to me, who can never be its king? and as for the Holy
Sepulchre, give me but Mercedes, and, like my ancestors that are gone, I
am ready to break a lance with the stoutest Infidel who ever wore a
turban, be it in that, or in any other quarrel. In short, Senor
Almirante, lead on; and though we go forth with different objects and
different hopes, doubt not that they will lead us to the same goal. I
feel that you ought to be supported in this great and noble design, and
it matters not what may bring me in your train."
"Thou art a mad-brained youth, Luis, and must be humored, if it were
only for the sake of the sweet and pious young maiden who seemeth to
engross all thy thoughts."
"You have seen her, Senor, and can say whether she be not worthy to
occupy the minds of all the youth of Spain?"
"She is fair, and virtuous, and noble, and a zealous friend of the
voyage. These are all rare merits, and thou may'st be pardoned for thy
enthusiasm in her behalf. But forget not, that, to win her, thou must
first win a sight of Cathay."
"In the reality, you must mean, Senor Almirante; for, with the mind's
eye, I see it keenly, constantly, and see little else, with Mercedes
standing on its shores, smiling a welcome, and, by St. Paul! sometimes
beckoning me on, with that smile that fires the soul with its witchery,
even while it subdues the temper with its modesty. The blessed Maria
send us a wind, right speedily, that we may quit this irksome river and
wearying convent!"
Columbus made no answer; for, while he had all consideration for a
lover's impatience, his thoughts turned to subjects too grave, to be
long amused even by a lover's follies.