"O'er the glad waters of the dark blue sea,
Our thoughts as boundless, and our souls as free,
Far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam,
Survey our empire, and behold our home."
Byron.
As Columbus sought his apartment, soon after he reached the deck of the
Holy Maria, Luis had no farther opportunity to converse with him that
night. He occupied a part of the same room, it is true, under the
assumed appellation of the admiral's secretary; but the great navigator
was so much engaged with duties necessary to be discharged previously to
sailing, that he could not be interrupted, and the young man paced the
narrow limits of the deck until near midnight, thinking, as usual, of
Mercedes, and of his return, when, seeking his mattress, he found
Columbus already buried in a deep sleep.
The following day was Friday; and it is worthy of remark, that the
greatest and most successful voyage that has ever occurred on this
globe, was commenced on a day of the week that seamen have long deemed
to be so inauspicious to nautical enterprises, that they have often
deferred sailing, in order to avoid the unknown, but dreaded
consequences. Luis was among the first who appeared again on deck, and
casting his eyes upward, he perceived that the admiral was already
afoot, and in possession of the summit of the high poop, or castle,
whose narrow limits, indeed, were deemed sacred to the uses of the
privileged, answering, in this particular, to the more extended
promenade of the modern quarter-deck. Here it was that he who directed
the movements of a squadron, overlooked its evolutions, threw out his
signals, made his astronomical observations, and sought his recreation
in the open air. The whole space on board the Santa Maria might have
been some fifteen feet in one direction, and not quite as much in the
other, making a convenient look-out, more from its exclusion and
retirement, than from its dimensions.
As soon as the admiral--or Don Christoval, as he was now termed by the
Spaniards, since his appointment to his present high rank, which gave
him the rights and condition of a noble--as soon as Don Christoval
caught a glance of Luis' eye, he made a sign for the young man to ascend
and take a position at his side. Although the expedition was so
insignificant in numbers and force, not equalling, in the latter
particular, the power of a single modern sloop of war, the authority of
the queen, the gravity and mien of Columbus himself, and, most of all,
its own mysterious and unwonted object, had, from the first, thrown
around it a dignity that was disproportioned to its visible means.
Accustomed to control the passions of turbulent men, and aware of the
great importance of impressing his followers with a sense of his high
station and influence with the court, Columbus had kept much aloof from
familiar intercourse with his subordinates, acting principally through
the Pinzons and the other commanders, lest he might lose some portion of
that respect which he foresaw would be necessary to his objects. It
needed not his long experience to warn him that men, crowded together in
so small a space, could only be kept in their social and professional
stations, by the most rigid observance of forms and decorum, and he had
observed a due attention to these great requisites, in prescribing the
manner in which his own personal service should be attended to, and his
personal dignity supported. This is one of the great secrets of the
discipline of a ship, for they who are incapable of reasoning, can be
made to feel, and no man is apt to despise him who is well entrenched
behind the usages of deference and reserve. We see, daily, the influence
of an appellation, or a commission, even the turbulent submitting to its
authority, when they might resist the same lawful commands issuing from
an apparently less elevated source.
"Thou wilt keep much near my person, Senor Gutierrez," said the admiral,
using the feigned name which Luis affected to conceal under that of
Pedro de Munos, as he knew a ship was never safe from eaves-droppers,
and was willing that the young noble should pass as the gentleman of the
king's bedchamber, "this is our station, and here we must remain much of
our time, until God, in his holy and wise providence, shall have opened
the way for us to Cathay, and brought us near the throne of the Great
Khan. Here is our course, and along this track of pathless ocean it is
my intention to steer."
As Columbus spoke, he pointed to a chart that lay spread before him on
an arm-chest, passing a finger calmly along the line he intended to
pursue. The coast of Europe, in its general outlines, was laid down on
this chart, with as much accuracy as the geographical knowledge of the
day would furnish, and a range of land extended southward as far as
Guinea, all beyond which region was _terra incognita_ to the learned
world at that time. The Canaries and the Azores, which had been
discovered some generations earlier, occupied their proper places, while
the western side of the Atlantic was bounded by a fancied delineation of
the eastern coast of India, or of Cathay, buttressed by the island of
Cipango, or Japan, and an Archipelago, that had been represented
principally after the accounts of Marco Polo and his relatives. By a
fortunate misconception, Cipango had been placed in a longitude that
corresponded very nearly with that of Washington, or some two thousand
leagues east of the position in which it is actually to be found. This
error of Columbus, in relation to the extent of the circumference of the
globe, in the end, most probably saved his hardy enterprise from
becoming a failure.
Luis, for the first time since he had been engaged in the expedition,
cast his eyes over this chart, with some curiosity, and he felt a noble
desire to solve the great problem rising within him, as he thus saw, at
a glance, all the vast results, as well as the interesting natural
phenomena, that were dependent on the issue.
"By San Gennaro of Napoli!" he exclaimed--The only affectation the young
noble had, was a habit of invoking the saints of the different countries
he had visited, and of using the little oaths and exclamations of
distant lands, a summary mode of both letting the world know how far he
had journeyed, as well as a portion of the improvement he had derived
from his travels--"By San Gennaro, Senor Don Christoval, but this voyage
will be one of exceeding merit, if we ever find our way across this
great belt of water; and greater still, should we ever manage to
return!"
"The last difficulty is the one, at this moment, uppermost in the minds
of most in this vessel," answered Columbus. "Dost thou not perceive, Don
Luis, the grave and dejected countenances of the mariners, and hearest
thou the wailings that are rising from the shore?"
This remark caused the young man to raise his eyes from the chart, and
to take a survey of the scene around him. The Nina, a light felucca, in
fact, was already under way, and brushing past them under a latine
foresail, her sides thronged with boats filled with people, no small
portion of whom were females and children, and most of whom were
wringing their hands and raising piteous cries of despair. The Pinta was
in the act of being cast; and, although the authority of Martin Alonzo
Pinzon had the effect to render their grief less clamorous, her sides
were surrounded by a similar crowd, while numberless boats plied around
the Santa Maria herself; the authority and dignity of the admiral alone
keeping them at a distance. It was evident that most of those who
remained, fancied that they now saw their departing relations for the
last time, while no small portion of those who were on the eve of
sailing, believed they were on the point of quitting Spain forever.
"Hast looked for Pepe, this morning, among our people?" demanded
Columbus, the incident of the young sailor recurring to his thoughts,
for the first time that morning; "if he prove false to his word, we may
regard it as an evil omen, and have an eye on all our followers, while
there is a chance of escape."
"If his absence would be an omen of evil, Senor Almirante, his presence
ought to be received as an omen of good. The noble fellow is on this
yard, above our heads, loosening the sail."
Columbus turned his eyes upward, and there, indeed, was the young
mariner in question, poised on the extreme and attenuated end of the
latine yard, that ships even then carried on their after-masts, swinging
in the wind while he loosened the gasket that kept the canvas in its
folds. Occasionally he looked beneath him, anxious to discover if his
return had been noted; and, once or twice, his hands, usually so nimble,
lingered in their employment, as he cast glances over the stern of the
vessel, as if one also drew his attention in that quarter. Columbus made
a sign of recognition to the gratified young mariner, who instantly
permitted the canvas to fall; and then he walked to the taffrail,
accompanied by Luis, in order to ascertain if any boat was near the
ship. There, indeed, close to the vessel, lay a skiff, rowed by Monica
alone, and which had been permitted to approach so near on account of
the sex of its occupant. The moment the wife of Pepe observed the form
of the admiral, she arose from her seat, and clasped her hands toward
him, desirous, but afraid, to speak. Perceiving that the woman was awed
by the bustle, the crowd of persons, and the appearance of the ship,
which she was almost near enough to touch with her hand, Columbus
addressed her. He spoke mildly, and his looks, usually so grave, and
sometimes even stern, were softened to an expression of gentleness that
Luis had never before witnessed.
"I see that thy husband hath been true to his promise, good woman," he
said; "and I doubt not that thou hast told him it is wiser and better
manfully to serve the queen, than to live under the disgrace of a
runaway."
"Senor, I have. I give Dona Isabella my husband, without a murmur, if
not cheerfully, now I know that you go forth to serve God. I see the
wickedness of my repinings, and shall pray that he may be foremost, on
all occasions, until the ears of the Infidel shall be opened to the
words of the true faith."
"This is said like a Spanish wife, and a Christian woman! Our lives are
in the care of Providence, and doubt not of seeing Pepe, in health and
safety, after he hath visited Cathay, and done his share in its
discovery."
"Ah! Senor--when?" exclaimed the wife, unable, in spite of her assumed
fortitude, and the strong feelings of religious duty, to suppress the
impulses of a woman.
"In God's time, my good--how art thou named?"
"Monica, Senor Almirante, and my husband is called Pepe; and the boy,
the poor, fatherless child, hath been christened Juan. We have no
Moorish blood, but are pure Spaniards, and I pray your Excellency to
remember it, on such occasions as may call for more dangerous duty than
common."
"Thou may'st depend on my care of the father of Juan," returned the
admiral, smiling, though a tear glistened in his eye. "I, too, leave
behind those that are dear to me as my own soul, and among others a
motherless son. Should aught serious befall our vessel, Diego would be
an orphan; whereas thy Juan would at least enjoy the care and affection
of her who brought him into the world."
"Senor, a thousand pardons!" said the woman, much touched by the feeling
that was betrayed by the admiral in his voice. "We are selfish, and
forget that others have sorrows, when we feel our own too keenly. Go
forth, in God's name, and do his holy will--take my husband with you; I
only wish that little Juan was old enough to be his companion."
Monica could utter no more, but dashing the tears from her eyes, she
resumed the oars, and pulled the little skiff slowly, as if the
inanimate machine felt the reluctance of the hands that propelled it,
toward the land. The short dialogue just related, had been carried on in
voices so loud as to be heard by all near the speakers; and when
Columbus turned from the boat, he saw that many of his crew had been
hanging suspended in the rigging, or on the yards, eagerly listening to
what had been said. At this precise instant the anchor of the Santa
Maria was raised from the bottom, and the ship's head began to incline
from the direction of the wind. At the next moment, the flap of the
large square foresail that crafts of her rig then carried, was heard,
and in the course of the next five minutes, the three vessels were
standing slowly but steadily down the current of the Odiel, in one of
the arms of which river they had been anchored, holding their course
toward a bar near its mouth. The sun had not yet risen, or rather it
rose over the hills of Spain, a fiery ball, just as the sails were set,
gilding with a melancholy glory, a coast that not a few in the different
vessels apprehended they were looking upon for the last time. Many of
the boats clung to the two smaller craft until they reached the bar of
Saltes, an hour or two later, and some still persevered until they began
to toss in the long waves of the breathing ocean, when, the wind being
fresh at the west, they reluctantly cast off, one by one, amid sighs and
groans. The liberated ships, in the meanwhile, moved steadily into the
blue waters of the shoreless Atlantic, like human beings silently
impelled by their destinies toward fates that they can neither foresee,
control, nor avoid.
The day was fine, and the wind both brisk and fair. Thus far the omens
were propitious; but the unknown future threw a cloud over the feelings
of a large portion of those who were thus quitting, in gloomy
uncertainty, all that was most dear to them. It was known that the
admiral intended making the best of his way toward the Canaries, thence
to enter on the unknown and hitherto untrodden paths of the desert ocean
that lay beyond. Those who doubted, therefore, fixed upon those islands
as the points where their real dangers were to commence, and already
looked forward to their appearance in the horizon, with feelings akin to
those with which the guilty regard the day of trial, the condemned the
morning of execution, or the sinner the bed of death. Many, however,
were superior to this weakness, having steeled their nerves and prepared
their minds for any hazards, though the feelings of nearly all
fluctuated; there being hours when hope, and anticipations of success,
seemed to cheer the entire crews; and then, moments would occur, in
which the disposition was to common doubts, and a despondency that was
nearly general.
A voyage to the Canaries or the Azores, in that age, was most probably
to be classed among the hardiest exploits of seamen. The distance was
not as great, certainly, as many of their more ordinary excursions, for
vessels frequently went, even in the same direction, as far as the Cape
de Verdes; but all the other European passages lay along the land, and
in the Mediterranean the seaman felt that he was navigating within known
limits, and was apt to consider himself as embayed within the boundaries
of human knowledge. On the contrary, while sailing on the broad
Atlantic, he was, in some respects, placed in a situation resembling
that of the aeronaut, who, while floating in the higher currents of the
atmosphere, sees beneath him the earth as his only alighting place, the
blue void of untravelled space stretching in all other directions about
him.
The Canary Isles were known to the ancients. Juba, the king of
Mauritania, who was a contemporary of Caesar, is said to have described
them with tolerable accuracy, under the general name of the Fortunate
Isles. The work itself has been lost, but the fact is known through the
evidence of other writers; and by the same means it is known that they
possessed, even in that remote age, a population that had made some
respectable advances toward civilization. But in the process of time,
and during the dark period that succeeded the brightness of the Roman
sway, even the position of these islands was lost to the Europeans; nor
was it again ascertained until the first half of the fourteenth century,
when they were discovered by certain fugitive Spaniards who were hard
pressed by the Moors. After this, the Portuguese, then the most hardy
navigators of the known world, got possession of one or two of them, and
made them the starting points for their voyages of discovery along the
coast of Guinea. As the Spaniards reduced the power of the Mussulmans,
and regained their ancient sway in the peninsula, they once more turned
their attention in this direction, conquering the natives of several of
the other islands, the group belonging equally to those two Christian
nations, at the time of our narrative.
Luis de Bobadilla, who had navigated extensively in the more northern
seas, and who had passed and repassed the Mediterranean in various
directions, knew nothing of these islands except by report; and as they
stood on the poop, Columbus pointed out to him their position, and
explained their different characters; relating his intentions in
connection with them, dwelling on the supplies they afforded, and on
their facilities as a point of departure.
"The Portuguese have profited much by their use of these islands," said
Columbus, "as a place for victualling, and wooding, and watering, and I
see no reason why Castile may not, now, imitate their example, and
receive her share of the benefits. Thou seest how far south our
neighbors have penetrated, and what a trade and how much riches are
flowing into Lisbon through these noble enterprises, which,
notwithstanding, are but as a bucket of water in the ocean, when
compared with the wealth of Cathay and all the mighty consequences that
are to follow from this western voyage of ours."
"Dost thou expect to reach the territories of the Great Khan, Don
Christoval," demanded Luis, "within a distance as small as that to which
the Portuguese hath gone southwardly?"
The navigator looked warily around, to ascertain who might hear his
words, and finding that no one was within reach of the sound of his
voice while he used a proper caution, he lowered its tones, and answered
in a manner which greatly flattered his young companion, as it proved
that the admiral was disposed to treat him with the frankness and
confidence of a friend.
"Thou know'st, Don Luis," the navigator resumed, "the nature of the
spirits with whom we have to deal. I shall not even be certain of their
services, so long as we continue near the coast of Europe; for naught is
easier than for one of yonder craft to abandon me in the night, and to
seek a haven on some known coast, seeking his justification in some
fancied necessity."
"Martin Alonzo is not a man to do that ignoble and unworthy act!"
interrupted Luis.
"He is not, my young friend, for a motive as base as fear," returned
Columbus, with a sort of thoughtful smile, which showed how truly and
early he had dived into the real characters of those with whom he was
associated. "Martin Alonzo is a bold and intelligent navigator, and we
may look for good service at his hands, in all that toucheth resolution
and perseverance. But the eyes of the Pinzons cannot be always open, and
the knowledge of all the philosophers of the earth could make no
resistance against the headlong impetuosity of a crew of alarmed
mutineers. I do not feel certain of our own people while there is a hope
of easy return; much less of men who are not directly under my own eye
and command. The question thou hast asked, Luis, may not, therefore, be
publicly answered, since the distance we are about to sail over would
frighten our easily alarmed mariners. Thou art a cavalier; a knight of
known courage, and may be depended on; and I may tell thee, without fear
of arousing any unworthy feeling, that the voyage on which we are now
fairly embarked, hath never had a precedent on this earth, for its
length, or for the loneliness of its way."
"And yet, Senor, thou enterest on it with the confidence of a man
certain of reaching his haven?"
"Luis, thou hast well judged my feelings. As to all those common dreads
of descents, and ascents, of the difficulties of a return, and of
reaching the margin of the world, whence we may glide off into space,
neither thou, nor I, shall be much subjected."
"By San Iago! Senor Don Christoval, I have no very settled notions about
these things. I have never known of any one who hath slidden off the
earth into the air, it is true, nor do I much think that such a slide is
likely to befall us and our good ships; but, on the other hand, we have
as yet only doctrine to prove that the earth is round, and that it is
possible to journey east, by sailing west. On these subjects, then, I
hold myself neuter; while, at the same time, thou may'st steer direct
for the moon, and Luis de Bobadilla will be found at thy side."
"Thou makest thyself less expert in science, mad-brained young noble,
than is either true or necessary; but we will say no more of this, at
present. There will be sufficient leisure to make thee familiar with all
my intricate reasons and familiar motives. And is not this, Don Luis, a
most heavenly sight? Here am I in the open ocean, honored by the two
sovereigns with the dignity of their viceroy and admiral; with a fleet
that is commissioned by their Highnesses to carry the knowledge of their
power and authority to the uttermost parts of the earth; and, most of
all, to raise the cross of our blessed Redeemer before the eyes of
Infidels, who have never yet even heard his name, or, if they have,
reverence it as little as a Christian would reverence the idols of the
heathens!"
This was said with the calm but deep enthusiasm that colored the entire
character of the great navigator, rendering him, at times, equally the
subject of distrust and of profound respect. On Luis, as, indeed, on
most others who lived in sufficient familiarity with the man to enable
them to appreciate his motives, and to judge correctly of the
uprightness of his views, the effect, however, was always favorable, and
probably would have been so had Mercedes never existed. The young man,
himself, was not entirely without a tinge of enthusiasm, and, as is ever
the case with the single-minded and generous, he best knew how to regard
the impulses of those who were influenced by similar qualities. This
answer was consequently in accordance with the feelings of the admiral,
and they remained on the poop several hours, discoursing of the future,
with the ardor of those who hoped for every thing, but in a manner too
discursive and general to render a record of the dialogue easy or
necessary.
It was eight o'clock in the morning when the vessels passed the bar of
Saltes, and the day had far advanced before the navigators had lost
sight of the familiar eminences that lay around Palos, and the other
well-known land-marks of the coast. The course was due south, and, as
the vessels of that day were lightly sparred, and spread comparatively
very little canvas, when considered in connection with the more dashing
navigation of our own times, the rate of sailing was slow, and far from
promising a speedy termination to a voyage that all knew must be long
without a precedent, and which so many feared could never have an end.
Two marine leagues, of three English miles, an hour, was good progress
for a vessel at that day, even with a fresh and favorable wind; though
there are a few memorable days' works set down by Columbus himself,
which approach to a hundred and sixty miles in the twenty-four hours,
and which are evidently noted as a speed of which a mariner might well
be proud. In these days of locomotion and travelling, it is scarcely
necessary to tell the intelligent reader this is but a little more than
half the distance that is sailed over by a fast ship, under similar
circumstances, and in our own time.
Thus the sun set upon the adventurers, in this celebrated voyage, when
they had sailed with a strong breeze, to use the words of Columbus' own
record, some eleven hours, after quitting the bar. By this time, they
had made good less than fifty miles, in a due south course from the
place of their departure. The land in the neighborhood of Palos had
entirely sunk behind the watery margin of the ocean, in that direction,
and the coast trending eastward, it was only here and there that the
misty summits of a few of the mountains of Seville could just be
discovered by the experienced eyes of the older mariners, as the glowing
ball of the sun sunk into the watery bed of the western horizon, and
disappeared from view. At this precise moment, Columbus and Luis were
again on the poop, watching, with melancholy interest, the last shadows
cast by Spanish land, while two seamen were at work near them, splicing
a rope that had been chafed asunder. The latter were seated on the deck,
and as, out of respect to the admiral, they had taken their places a
little on one side, their presence was not at first noted.
"There setteth the sun beneath the waves of the wide Atlantic, Senor
Gutierrez," observed the admiral, who was ever cautious to use one or
the other of Luis' feigned appellations, whenever any person was near.
"There the sun quitteth us, Pero, and in his daily course I see a proof
of the globular form of the earth; and of the truth of a theory which
teacheth us that Cathay may be reached by the western voyage."
"I am ever ready to admit the wisdom of all your plans, expectations,
and thoughts, Senor Don Christoval," returned the young man,
punctiliously observant of respect, both in speech and manner; "but I
confess I cannot see what the daily course of the sun has to do with the
position of Cathay, or with the road that leads to it. We know that the
great luminary travelleth the heavens without ceasing, that it cometh up
out of the sea in the morning, and goeth down to its watery bed at
night; but this it doth on the coast of Castile, as well as on that of
Cathay; and, therefore, to me it doth appear, that no particular
inference, for or against our success, is to be drawn from the
circumstance."
As this was said, the two sailors ceased working, looking curiously up
into the face of the admiral, anxious to hear his reply. By this
movement Luis perceived that one was Pepe, to whom he gave a nod of
recognition, while the other was a stranger. The last had every
appearance of a thorough-bred seaman of that period, or of being, what
would have been termed in English, and the more northern languages of
Europe, a regular "sea-dog;" a term that expresses the idea of a man so
completely identified with the ocean by habit, as to have had his
exterior, his thoughts, his language, and even his morality, colored by
the association. This sailor was approaching fifty, was short, square,
athletic, and still active, but there was a mixture of the animal with
the intellectual creature about his coarse, heavy features, that is very
usual in the countenances of men of native humor and strong sense, whose
habits have been coarse and sensual. That he was a prime seaman,
Columbus knew at a glance, not only from his general appearance, but
from his occupation, which was such as only fell to the lot of the most
skilful men of every crew.
"I reason after this fashion, Senor," answered the admiral, as soon as
his eye turned from the glance that he, too, had thrown upon the men;
"the sun is not made to journey thus around the earth without a
sufficient motive, the providence of God being ruled by infinite wisdom.
It is not probable that a luminary so generous and useful should be
intended to waste any of its benefits; and we are certain already that
day and night journey westward over this earth as far as it is known to
us, whence I infer that the system is harmonious, and the benefits of
the great orb are unceasingly bestowed on man, reaching one spot on the
earth as it quits another. The sun that hath just left us is still
visible in the Azores, and will be seen again at Smyrna, and among the
Grecian Islands, an hour, or more, before it again meets our eyes.
Nature hath designed naught for uselessness; and I believe that Cathay
will be enlightened by that ball which hath just left us, while we shall
be in the deepest hour of the night, to return by its eastern path,
across the great continent of Asia, and to greet us again in the
morning. In a word, friend Pedro, that which Sol is now doing with such
nimble speed in the heavens, we are more humbly imitating in our own
caravels; give us sufficient time, and we, too, might traverse the
earth, coming in from our journey by the land of the Tartars and the
Persians."
"From all of which you infer that the world is round, wherein we are to
find the certainty of our success?"
"This is so true, Senor de Munos, that I should be sorry to think any
man who now saileth under my command did not admit it. Here are two
seamen who have been listening to our discourse, and we will question
them, that we may know the opinions of men accustomed to the ocean. Thou
art the husband with whom I held discourse on the sands, the past
evening, and thy name is Pepe?"
"Senor Almirante, your Excellency's memory doth me too much honor, in
not forgetting a face that is altogether unworthy of being noticed and
remembered."
"It is an honest face, friend, and no doubt speaketh for a true heart. I
shall count on thee as a sure support, let things go as they may."
"His Excellency hath not only a right to command me, as her Highness'
admiral, but he hath now the good-will of Monica, and that is much the
same as having gained her husband."
"I thank thee, honest Pepe, and shall count on thee, with certainty, in
future," answered Columbus, turning toward the other seaman--"And thou,
shipmate--thou hast the air of one that the sight of troubled water will
not alarm--thou hast a name?"
"That I have, noble admiral," returned the fellow, looking up with a
freedom that denoted one used to have his say; "though it hath neither a
Don, nor a Senor, to take it in tow. My intimates commonly call out
Sancho, when pressed for time, and when civility gets the better of
haste, they add Mundo, making Sancho Mundo for the whole name of a very
poor man."
"Mundo is a large name for so small a person," said the admiral,
smiling, for he foresaw the expediency of having friends among his crew,
and knew men sufficiently to understand that, while undue familiarity
undermined respect, a little unbending had a tendency to win hearts. "I
wonder that thou shouldst venture to wear a sound so lofty!"
"I tell my fellows, your Excellency, that Mundo is my title, and not my
name; but that I am greater than kings, even, who are content to take
their titles from a part of that, of which I bear all."
"And were thy father and thy mother called Mundo, also? Or, is this name
taken in order to give thee an occasion to show thy smartness, when
questioned by thy officers?"
"As for the good people you deign to mention, Senor Don Almirante, I
shall leave them to answer for themselves, and that for the simple
reason that I do not know how they were called, or whether they had any
names at all. They tell me I was found, when a few hours old, under a
worn-out basket at the ship-yard gate of old"--
"Never mind the precise spot, friend Sancho--thou wert found with a
basket for a cradle, and that maketh a volume in thy history, at once."
"Nay, Excellency, I would not leave the spot a place of dispute
hereafter--but it shall be as you please. They say no one here knoweth
exactly where we are going, and it will be more suitable that the like
ignorance should rest over the places whence we came. But having the
world before me, they that christened me gave me as much of it as was to
be got by a name."
"Thou hast been long a mariner, Sancho Mundo--if Mundo thou wilt be."
"So long, Senor, that it sickeneth me, and taketh away the appetite to
walk on solid ground. Being so near the gate, it was no great matter to
put me into the ship-yard, and I was launched one day in a caravel, and
got to sea in her, no one knows how. From that time I have submitted to
fate, and go out again, as soon as possible, after I come into port."
"And by what lucky chance have I obtained thy services, good Sancho, in
this great expedition?"
"The authorities of Moguer took me under the queen's order, your
Excellency, thinking that this Voyage would be more to my mind than
another, as it was likely never to have an end."
"Art thou a compelled adventurer, on this service?"
"Not I, Senor Don Almirante, although they who sent me here fancy as
much. It is natural for a man to wish to see his estates, once in his
life, and I am told that we are bound on a voyage to the other side of
the world. God forbid that I should hold aloof, on such an occasion."
"Thou art a Christian, Sancho, and hast a desire to aid in carrying the
cross among the heathen?"
"Senor, your Excellency, Don Almirante, it matters little to Sancho with
what the barque is laden, so that she do not need much pumping, and that
the garlic is good. If I am not a very devout Christian, it is the fault
of them that found me near the ship-yard gate, since the church and the
font are both within call from that very spot. I know that Pepe, here,
is a Christian, Senor, for I saw him in the arms of the priest, and I
doubt not that there are old men at Moguer who can testify to as much in
my behalf. At all hazards, noble Admiral, I will take on myself to say
that I am neither Jew, nor Mussulman."
"Sancho, thou hast that about thee, that bespeakest a skilful and bold
mariner."
"For both of these qualities, Senor Don Colon, let others speak. When
the gale cometh, your own eyes may judge of the first; and when the
caravel shall reach the edge of the earth, whither some think it is
bound, there will be a good occasion to see who can, and who cannot,
look off without trembling."
"It is enough: I count both thee and Pepe as among my truest followers."
As Columbus said this, he walked away, resuming the dignified gravity
that usually was seated in his countenance, and which so much aided his
authority, by impressing the minds of others with respect. In a few
minutes he and Luis descended to their cabin.
"I marvel, Sancho," said Pepe, as soon as he and his messmate were left
alone on the poop, "that thou wilt venture to use thy tongue so freely,
even in the presence of one that beareth about with him the queen's
authority! Dost thou not fear to offend the admiral?"
"So much for having a wife and a child! Canst thou not make any
difference between them that have had ancestors and who have
descendants, and one that hath no other tie in the world than his name?
The Senor Don Almirante is either an exceeding great man, and chosen by
Providence to open the way into the unknown seas of which he speaketh;
or he is but a hungry Genoese, that is leading us he knoweth not
whither, that he may eat, and drink, and sleep, in honor, while we are
toiling at his heels, like patient mules dragging the load that the
horse despiseth. In the one case, he is too great and exalted to heed
idle words; and in the other, what is there too bad for a Castilian to
tell him?"
"Ay, thou art fond of calling thyself a Castilian, in spite of the
ship-yard and the basket, and notwithstanding Moguer is in Seville."
"Harkee, Pepe; is not the queen of Castile our mistress? And are not
subjects--true and lawful subjects, I mean, like thee and me--are not
such subjects worthy of being the queen's countrymen? Never disparage
thyself, good Pepe, for thou wilt ever find the world ready enough to do
that favor for thee. As to this Genoese, he shall be either friend or
enemy to Sancho; if the first, I expect much consolation from it; if the
last, let him hunt for his Cathay till doomsday, he shall be never the
wiser."
"Well, Sancho, if words can mar a voyage, or make a voyage, thou art a
ready mariner; none know how to discourse better than thou."
Here the men both rose, having completed their work, and they left the
poop, descending among the rest of the crew. Columbus had not
miscalculated his aim, his words and condescension having produced a
most favorable effect on the mind of Sancho Mundo, for so the man was
actually called; and in gaining one of as ready a wit and loose a tongue
for a friend, he obtained an ally who was not to be despised. Of such
materials, and with the support of such instruments as this, is success
too often composed; it being possible for the discovery of a world,
even, to depend on the good word of one less qualified to influence
opinions than Sancho Mundo.