"While you here do snoring lie,
Open-ey'd conspiracy
His time doth take:
If of life you keep a care,
Shake off slumber, and beware;
Awake! Awake!"
Ariel.
The wind continuing fair, the three vessels made good progress in the
direction of the Canaries; Sunday, in particular, proving a propitious
day, the expedition making more than one hundred and twenty miles in the
course of the twenty-four hours. The wind still continued favorable, and
on the morning of Monday, the 6th of August, Columbus was cheerfully
conversing with Luis, and one or two other companions who were standing
near him on the poop, when the Pinta was seen suddenly to take in her
forward sails, and to come up briskly, not to say awkwardly, to the
wind. This manoeuvre denoted some accident, and the Santa Maria
fortunately having the advantage of the wind, immediately edged away to
speak her consort.
"How now, Senor Martin Alonzo," hailed the admiral, as the two caravels
came near enough together to speak each other. "For what reason hast
thou so suddenly paused in thy course?"
"Fortune would have it so, Senor Don Christoval, seeing that the rudder
of the good caravel hath broken loose, and we must fain secure it ere we
may again trust ourselves to the breeze."
A severe frown came over the grave countenance of the great navigator,
and after bidding Martin Alonzo do his best to repair the damage, he
paced the deck, greatly disturbed, for several minutes. Observing how
much the admiral took this accident to heart, the rest descended to the
deck below, leaving Columbus alone with the pretended groom of the
king's chamber.
"I trust, Senor, this is no serious injury, or one in any way likely to
retard our advance," said Luis, after manifesting that respect which all
near him felt for the admiral, by a pause. "I know honest Martin Alonzo
to be a ready seaman, and should think his expedients might easily serve
to get us as far as the Canaries, where greater damages can meet with
their remedies."
"Thou say'st true, Luis, and we will hope for the best. I feel regret
the sea is so high that we can offer no assistance to the Pinta, but
Martin Alonzo is, indeed, an expert mariner, and on his ingenuity we
must rely. My concern, however, hath another and a deeper source than
the unloosing of this rudder, serious as such an injury ever is to a
vessel at sea. Thou know'st that the Pinta hath been furnished to the
service of the queen, under the order claiming the forfeited duty from
the delinquents of Palos, and sorely against the will of the caravel's
owners hath the vessel been taken. Now these persons, Gomez Rascon and
Christoval Quintero, are on board her, and, I question not, have
designed this accident. Their artifices were practised long, to our
delay, before quitting the haven, and, it would seem, are to be
continued to our prejudice here on the open ocean."
"By the allegiance I owe the Dona Isabella! Senor Don Christoval, but I
would find a speedy cure for such a treason, if the office of punishment
rested with me. Let me jump into the skiff and repair to the Pinta,
where I will tell these Masters Rascon and Quintero, that should their
rudder ever dare to break loose again, or should any other similar and
untoward accident chance to arrive, the first shall be hanged at the
yard of his own caravel, and the last be cast into the sea to examine
into the state of her bottom, the rudder included."
"We may not practice such high authority without great occasion and
perfect certainty of guilt. I hold it to be wiser to seek another
caravel at the Canaries, for, by this accident, I well see we shall not
be rid of the artifices of the two owners, until we are rid of their
vessel. It will be hazardous to launch the skiff in this sea, or I would
proceed to the Pinta myself; but as it is, let us have confidence in
Martin Alonzo and his skill."
Columbus thus encouraged the people of the Pinta to exert themselves,
and in about an hour or two, the three vessels were again making the
best of their way toward the Canaries. Notwithstanding the delay, nearly
ninety miles were made good in the course of the day and night. But the
following morning the rudder again broke loose, and, as the damage was
more serious than in the former instance, it was still more difficult to
repair. These repeated accidents gave the admiral great concern, for he
took them to be so many indications of the disaffection of his
followers. He fully determined, in consequence, to get rid of the Pinta,
if it were possible to find another suitable vessel among the islands.
As the progress of the vessels was much retarded by the accident,
although the wind continued favorable, the expedition only got some
sixty miles, this day, nearer to its place of destination.
On the following morning, the three vessels came within hail of each
other; and a comparison of the nautical skill of the different
navigators, or pilots, as it was then the custom to style them, took
place, each offering his opinion as to the position of the vessels.
It was not the least of the merits of Columbus, that he succeeded in his
great experiment with the imperfect aid of the instruments then in use.
The mariner's compass, it is true, had been in common service quite a
century, if not longer, though its variations--a knowledge of which is
scarcely less important in long voyages than a knowledge of the
instrument itself--were then unknown to seamen, who seldom ventured far
enough from the land to note these mysteries of nature, and who, as a
class, still relied almost as much on the ordinary position of the
heavenly bodies to ascertain their routes, as on the nicer results of
calculation. Columbus, however, was a striking exception to this
little-instructed class, having made himself thoroughly acquainted with
all the learning of the period that could be applied in his profession,
or which might aid him in effecting the great purpose for which alone he
now seemed to live.
As might be expected, the comparison resulted altogether in the
admiral's favor, the pilots in general being soon convinced that he
alone knew the true position of the vessels, a fact that was soon
unanswerably determined by the appearance of the summits of the
Canaries, which hove up out of the ocean, in a south-easterly direction,
resembling well-defined dark clouds clustering in the horizon. As
objects like these are seen at a great distance at sea, more especially
in a transparent atmosphere, and the wind became light and variable, the
vessels, notwithstanding, were unable to reach Grand Canary until
Thursday, the 8th of August, or nearly a week after they had left Palos.
There they all ran in, and anchored in the usual haven. Columbus
immediately set about making an inquiry for another caravel, but,
proving unsuccessful, he sailed for Gomera, where he believed it might
be easier to obtain the craft he wanted. While the admiral was thus
employed with the Santa Maria and the Nina, Martin Alonzo remained in
port, being unable to keep company in the crippled condition of the
Pinta. But no suitable vessel being found, Columbus reluctantly returned
to Grand Canary, and, after repairing the Pinta, which vessel was badly
caulked, among the other devices that had been adopted to get her freed
from the service, he sailed again for Gomera, from which island he was
to take his final departure.
During these several changes, a brooding discontent began to increase
among most of the common mariners, while some even of a higher class,
were not altogether free from the most melancholy apprehensions for the
future. While passing from Grand Canary to Gomera, with all his vessels,
Columbus was again at his post, with Luis and his usual companions near
him, when the admiral's attention was drawn to a conversation that took
place between a group of the men, who had collected near the main-mast.
It was night, and there being little wind, the voices of the excited
disputants reached further than they themselves were aware.
"I tell thee, Pepe," said the most vociferous and most earnest of the
speakers, "that the night is not darker than the future of this crew.
Look to the west, and what dost see there? Who hath ever heard of land,
after he hath quitted the Azores; and who is so ignorant as not to know
that Providence hath placed water around all the continents, with a few
islands as stopping-places for mariners, and spread the broad ocean
beyond, with an intention to rebuke an over-eager curiosity to pry into
matters that savor more of miracles than of common worldly things?"
"This is well, Pero," answered Pepe; "but I know that Monica thinks the
admiral is sent of God, and that we may look forward to great
discoveries, through his means; and most especially to the spreading of
religion among the heathens."
"Ay, thy Monica should have been in Dona Isabella's seat, so learned and
positive is she in all matters, whether touching her own woman's duties,
or thine own. She is _thy_ queen, Pepe, as all in Moguer will swear; and
there are some who say she would gladly govern the port, as she
governeth thee."
"Say naught against the mother of my child, Pero," interrupted Pepe,
angrily. "I can bear thy idle words against myself, but he that speaketh
ill of Monica will have a dangerous enemy."
"Thou art bold of speech, Pero, when away a hundred leagues from thine
own better nine-tenths," put in a voice that Columbus and Luis both
knew, on the instant, to belong to Sancho Mundo, "and art bold enough to
jeer Pepe touching Monica, when we all well know who commandeth in a
certain cabin, where thou art as meek as a hooked dolphin, whatever thou
may'st be here. But, enough of thy folly about women; let us reason upon
our knowledge as mariners, if thou wilt; instead of asking questions of
one like Pepe, who is too young to have had much experience, I offer
myself as thy catechist."
"What hast _thou_, then, to say about this unknown land that lieth
beyond the great ocean, where man hath never been, or is at all likely
to go, with followers such as these?"
"I have this to say, silly and idle-tongued Pero--that the time was when
even the Canaries were unknown; when mariners did not dare to pass the
straits, and when the Portuguese knew nothing of their mines and Guinea,
lands that I myself have visited, and where the noble Don Christoval
hath also been, as I know on the testimony of mine own eyes."
"And what hath Guinea, or what have the mines of the Portuguese to do
with this western voyage? All know that there is a country called
Africa; and what is there surprising that mariners should reach a land
that is known to exist; but who knoweth that the ocean hath other
continents, any more than that the heavens have other earths?"
"This is well, Pero," observed an attentive by-stander; "and Sancho will
have to drain his wits to answer it."
"It is well for those who wag their tongues, like women, without thought
of what they say," coolly returned Sancho, "but will have little weight
with Dona Isabella, or Don Almirante. Harkee, Pero, thou art like one
that hath trodden the path between Palos and Moguer so often, that thou
fanciest there is no road to Seville or Granada. There must be a
beginning to all things; and this voyage is, out of doubt, the beginning
of voyages to Cathay. We go west, instead of east, because it is the
shorter way; and because, moreover, it is the _only_ way for a caravel.
Now, answer me, messmate; is it possible for a craft, let her size or
rig be what it may, to pass over the hills and valleys of a continent--I
mean under her canvas, and by fair sailing?"
Sancho waited for a reply, and received a common and complete admission
of the impossibility of the thing.
"Then cast your eyes at the admiral's chart, in the morning, as he
keepeth it spread before him on the poop, yonder, and you will see that
there is land from one pole to the other, on each side of the Atlantic,
thereby rendering navigation impossible, in any other direction than
this we are now taking. The notion of Pero, therefore, runs in the teeth
of nature."
"This is so true, Pero," exclaimed another, the rest assenting, "that
thy mouth ought to be shut."
But Pero had a mouth that was not very easily closed; and it is probable
that his answer would have been to the full as acute and irrefutable as
that of Sancho, had not a common exclamation of alarm and horror burst
from all around him. The night was sufficiently clear to permit the
gloomy outlines of the Peak of Teneriffe to be distinctly visible, even
at some distance; and, just at that moment, flashes of flame shot upward
from its pointed summit, illuminating, at instants, the huge pile, and
then leaving it in shadowy darkness, an object of mystery and terror.
Many of the seamen dropped on their knees and began to tell their beads,
while all, as it might be instinctively, crossed themselves. Next arose
a general murmur; and in a few minutes, the men who slept were awoke,
and appeared among their fellows, awe-struck and astounded spectators of
the phenomenon. It was soon settled that the attention of the admiral
should be drawn to this strange event, and Pero was selected for the
spokesman.
All this time, Columbus and his companions remained on the poop, and, as
might have been expected, this unlooked-for change in the appearance of
the Peak had not escaped their attention. Too enlightened to be alarmed
by it, they were watching the workings of the mountain, when Pero,
accompanied by nearly every sailor in the vessel, appeared on the
quarter-deck. Silence having been obtained, Pero opened the subject of
his mission with a zeal that was not a little stimulated by his fears.
"Senor Almirante," he commenced, "we have come to pray your Excellency
to look at the summit of the Island of Teneriffe, where we all think we
see a solemn warning against persevering in sailing into the unknown
Atlantic. It is truly time for men to remember their weakness, and how
much they owe to the goodness of God, when even the mountains vomit
flames and smoke!"
"Have any here ever navigated the Mediterranean, or visited the island
of which Don Ferdinand, the honored consort of our lady the queen, is
master?" demanded Columbus, calmly.
"Senor Don Almirante," hastily answered Sancho, "I have done so,
unworthy as I may seem to have enjoyed that advantage. And I have seen
Cyprus, and Alexandria, and even Stamboul, the residence of the Great
Turk."
"Well, then, thou may'st have also seen AEtna, another mountain which
continueth to throw up those flames, in the midst of a nature and a
scene on which Providence would seem to have smiled with unusual
benignity, instead of angrily frowning, as ye seem to imagine."
Columbus then proceeded to give his people an explanation of the causes
of volcanoes, referring to the gentlemen around him to corroborate the
fidelity of his statements. He told them that he looked upon this little
eruption as merely a natural occurrence; or, if he saw any omen at all
in the event, it was propitious rather than otherwise; Providence
seeming disposed to light them on their way. Luis and the rest next
descended among the crew, where they used their reasoning powers in
quieting an alarm that, at first, had threatened to be serious. For the
moment they were successful, or perhaps it would be better to say that
they succeeded completely, so far as the phenomenon of the volcano was
concerned, and this less by the arguments of the more intelligent of the
officers, than by means of the testimony of Sancho, and one or two
others of the common men, who had seen similar scenes elsewhere. With
difficulties like these had the great navigator to contend, even after
he had passed years in solicitations to obtain the limited means which
had been finally granted, in order to effect one of the sublimest
achievements that had yet crowned the enterprise of man!
The vessels reached Gomera on the 2d of September, where they remained
several days, in order to complete their repairs, and to finish taking
in their supplies, ere they finally left the civilized abodes of man,
and what might then be deemed the limits of the known earth. The arrival
of such an expedition, in an age when the means of communication were so
few that events were generally their own announcers, had produced a
strong sensation among the inhabitants of the different islands visited
by the adventurers. Columbus was held in high honor among them, not only
on account of the commission he had received from the two sovereigns,
but on account of the magnitude and the romantic character of his
undertaking.
There existed a common belief among all the adjacent islands, including
Madeira, the Azores, and the Canaries, that land lay to the westward;
their inhabitants living under a singular delusion in this particular,
which the admiral had an occasion to detect, during his second visit to
Gomera. Among the most distinguished persons who were then on the
island, was Dona Inez Peraza, the mother of the Count of Gomera. She was
attended by a crowd of persons, not only belonging to her own, but who
had come from other islands to do her honor. She entertained the admiral
in a manner suited to his high rank, admitting to her society such of
the adventurers as Columbus saw fit to point out as worthy of the honor.
Of course the pretended Pedro de Munos, or Pero Gutierrez, as he was now
indifferently termed, was of the number; as, indeed, were most of those
who might be deemed any way suited to so high and polished a society.
"I rejoice, Don Christopher," said Dona Inez Peraza, on this occasion,
"that their Highnesses have at length yielded to your desire to solve
this great problem, not only on account of our Holy Church, which, as
you say, hath so deep an interest in your success, and the honor of the
two sovereigns, and the welfare of Spain, and all the other great
considerations that we have so freely touched upon in our discourse
already, but on account of the worthy inhabitants of the Fortunate
Islands, who have not only many traditions touching land in the west,
but most of whom believe that they have more than once seen it, in that
quarter, in the course of their lives."
"I have heard of this, noble lady, and would be grateful to have the
account from the mouths of eye-witnesses, now we are here, together,
conversing freely concerning that which is of so much interest to us
all."
"Then, Senor, I will entreat this worthy cavalier, who is every way
capable of doing the subject justice, to be spokesman for us, and to let
you know what we all believe in these islands, and what so many of us
fancy we have seen. Acquaint the admiral, Senor Dama, I pray thee, of
the singular yearly view that we get of unknown land lying afar off, in
the Atlantic."
"Most readily, Dona Inez, and all the more so at your gracious bidding,"
returned the person addressed, who disposed himself to tell the story,
with a readiness that the lovers of the wonderful are apt to betray when
a fitting opportunity offers to indulge a favorite propensity. "The
illustrious admiral hath probably heard of the island of St. Brandan,
that lieth some eighty or a hundred leagues to the westward of Ferro,
and which hath been so often seen, but which no navigator hath yet been
able to reach, in our days at least?"
"I have often heard of this fabled spot, Senor," the admiral gravely
replied; "but pardon me if I say that the land never yet existed, which
a mariner hath seen and yet a mariner hath not reached."
"Nay, noble admiral," interrupted a dozen eager voices, among which that
of the lady, herself, was very distinctly audible, "that it hath been
seen most here know; and that it hath never been reached, is a fact to
which more than one disappointed pilot can testify."
"That which we have seen, we know; and that which we know, we can
describe," returned Columbus, steadily. "Let any man tell me in what
meridian, or on what parallel this St. Brandan, or St. Barandon, lieth,
and a week shall make _me_ also certain of its existence."
"I know little of meridians or parallels, Don Christopher," said the
Senor Dama, "but I have some ideas of visible things. This island have I
often seen, more or less plainly at different times; and that, too,
under the serenest skies, and at occasions when it was not possible
greatly to mistake either its form or its dimensions. Once I remember to
have seen the sun set behind one of its heights."
"This is plain evidence, and such as a navigator should respect; and yet
do I take what you imagine yourself to have seen, Senor, to be some
illusion of the atmosphere."
"Impossible!--impossible!" was said, or echoed, by a dozen voices.
"Hundreds yearly witness the appearance of St. Brandan, and its equally
sudden and mysterious disappearance."
"Therein, noble lady and generous cavalier, lieth the error into which
ye have fallen. Ye see the Peak the year round; and he who will cruise a
hundred miles, north or south, east or west, of it, will continue to see
it, the year round, except on such days as the state of the atmosphere
may forbid. The land which God hath created stationary, will be certain
to remain stationary, until disturbed by some great convulsion that
cometh equally of his providence and his laws."
"All this may be true, Senor; doubtless it _is_ true; but every rule
hath its exceptions. You will not deny that God ruleth the world
mysteriously, and that his ends are not always visible to human eyes.
Else, why hath the Moor so long been permitted to rule in Spain? why
hath the Infidel, at this moment, possession of the Holy Sepulchre? why
have the sovereigns been so long deaf to your own well-grounded wishes
and entreaties to be permitted to carry their banners, in company with
the cross, to Cathay, whither you are now bound? Who knoweth that these
appearances of St. Brandan may not be given as signs to encourage one
like yourself, bent on still greater ends than even reaching its
shores?"
Columbus was an enthusiast; but his was an enthusiasm that was seated in
his reverence for the acknowledged mysteries of religion, which sought
no other support from things incomprehensible, than might reasonably be
thought to belong to the exercise of infallible wisdom, and which
manifested a proper reverence for a Divine Power. Like most of that
period, he believed in modern miracles; and his dependence on the direct
worldly efficacy of votive offerings, penances, and prayers, was such as
marked the age in general, and his calling in particular. Still, his
masculine understanding rejected the belief of vulgar prodigies; and
while he implicitly thought himself set apart and selected for the great
work before him, he was not disposed to credit that an airy exhibition
of an island was placed in the west to tempt mariners to follow its
shadowy outline to the more distant regions of Cathay.
"That I feel the assurance of the Providence of God having selected me
as the humble instrument of connecting Europe with Asia, by means of a
direct voyage by sea, is certain," returned the navigator, gravely,
though his eye lighted with its latent enthusiasm; "but I am far from
indulging in the weakness of thinking that direct miraculous agencies
are to be used to guide me on my way. It is more in conformity to the
practice of divine wisdom, and certainly more grateful to my own
self-love, that the means employed are such as a discreet pilot, and the
most experienced philosophers, might feel proud in finding themselves
selected to display. My thoughts have first been turned to the
contemplation of this subject; then hath my reason been enlightened by a
due course of study and reflection, and science hath aided in producing
the conviction necessary to impel myself to proceed, and to enable me to
induce others to join in this enterprise."
"And do all your followers, noble admiral, act under the same guidance?"
demanded the Dona Inez, glancing at Luis, whose manly graces, and
martial aspect, had found favor in the eyes of most of the ladies of the
island. "Is the Senor Gutierrez equally enlightened in this manner? and
hath he, too, devoted his nights to study, in order that the cross may
be carried to the heathen, and Castile and Cathay may be more closely
united?"
"The Senor Gutierrez is a willing adventurer, Senora, but he must be the
expounder of his own motives."
"Then we will call on the cavalier, himself, for an answer. These ladies
feel a desire to know what may have impelled one who would be certain to
succeed at the court of Dona Isabella, and in the Moorish wars, to join
in such an expedition."
"The Moorish wars are ended, Senora," replied Luis, smiling; "and Dona
Isabella, and all the ladies of her court, most favor the youths who
show a manly disposition to serve the interests, and to advance the
honor of Castile. I know very little of philosophy, and have still
smaller pretensions to the learning of churchmen; but I think I see
Cathay before me, shining like a brilliant star in the heavens, and am
willing to adventure body and soul in its search."
Many pretty exclamations of admiration broke from the circle of fair
listeners; it being most easy for spirit to gain applause, when it is
recommended by high personal advantages, and comes from the young and
favored. That Columbus, a weather-worn veteran of the ocean, should see
fit to risk a life that was already drawing near its close, in a rash
attempt to pry into the mysteries of the Atlantic, seemed neither so
commendable, nor so daring, but many discovered high qualities in the
character of one who was just entering on his career, and that under
auspices apparently so flattering, and who threw all his hopes on the
uncertain chances of success in a scheme so unusual. Luis was human, and
he was in the full enjoyment of the admiration his enterprise had
evidently awakened among so many sensitive young creatures, when Dona
Inez most inopportunely interposed to interrupt his happiness, and to
wound his self-esteem.
"This is having more honorable views than my letters from Seville
attribute to one youth, who belongeth to the proudest of our Castilian
houses, and whose titles alone should invite him to add new lustre to a
name that hath so long been the Spanish boast," resumed the Senora
Peraza. "The reports speak of his desire to rove, but in a manner
unworthy of his rank; and that, too, in a way to serve neither the
sovereigns, his country, nor himself."
"And who may this misguided youth be, Senora?" eagerly inquired Luis,
too much elated by the admiration he had just excited to anticipate the
answer. "A cavalier thus spoken of, needeth to be warned of his
reputation, that he may be stimulated to attempt better things."
"His name is no secret, since the court speaketh openly of his singular
and ill-judged career; and it is said that even his love hath been
thwarted in consequence. I mean a cavalier of no less lineage and name
than Don Luis de Bobadilla, the Count of Llera."
It is said that listeners seldom hear good of themselves, and Luis was
now fated to verify the truth of the axiom. He felt the blood rushing to
his face, and it required a strong effort at self-command to prevent him
from breaking out in exclamations, that would probably have contained
invocations of half the patron saints he had ever heard of, had he not
happily succeeded in controlling the sudden impulse. Gulping the words
he had been on the point of uttering, he looked round, with an air of
defiance, as if seeking the countenance of some man who might dare even
to smile at what had been said. Luckily, at that moment, Columbus had
drawn all of the males present around himself, in warm discussion of the
probable existence of the island of St. Brandan; and Luis nowhere met a
smile, with which he could conveniently quarrel, that had a setting of
beard to render it hostile. Fortunately, the gentle impulses that are
apt to influence a youthful female, induced one of Dona Inez's fair
companions to speak, and that in a way greatly to relieve the feelings
of our hero.
"True, Senora," rejoined the pretty young advocate, the first tones of
whose voice had an effect to calm the tempest that was rising in the
bosom of the young man; "true Senora, it is said that Don Luis is a
wanderer, and one of unsettled tastes and habits, but it is also said he
hath a most excellent heart, is generous as the dews of heaven
themselves, and carrieth the very best lance of Castile, as he is also
like to carry off the fairest maiden."
"It is vain, Senor de Munos, for churchmen to preach, and parents to
frown," said Dona Inez, smiling, "while the beautiful and young will
prize courage, and deeds in arms, and an open hand, before the more
homely virtues commended by our holy religion, and so zealously
inculcated by its servants. The unhorsing of a knight or two in the
tourneys, and the rallying a broken squadron under a charge of the
Infidel, counteth far more than years of sobriety, and weeks of penance
and prayer."
"How know we that the cavalier you mention, Senora, may not have his
weeks of penance and his hours of prayer?" answered Luis, who had now
found his voice. "Should he be so fortunate as to enjoy a conscientious
religious adviser, he can scarce escape both, prayer being so often
ordered in the way of penance. He seemeth, indeed, to be a miserable
dog, and I wonder not that his mistress holdeth him cheap. Is the name
of the lady, also, given in your letter?"
"It is. She is the Dona Maria de las Mercedes de Valverde, nearly allied
to the Guzmans and the other great houses, and one of the fairest
maidens of Spain."
"That is she!" exclaimed Luis; "and one of the most virtuous, as well as
fair, and wise as virtuous!"
"How now, Senor, is it possible that you can have sufficient knowledge
of one so situated, as to speak thus positively of her qualities, as
well as of her appearance?"
"Her beauty I have seen, and of her excellence one may speak by report.
But doth your correspondent, Senora, say aught of what hath become of
the graceless lover?"
"It is rumored that he hath again quitted Spain, and, as is supposed,
under the grave displeasure of the sovereigns, since it hath been
remarked that the queen now never nameth him. None know the road he hath
taken, but there is little doubt that he is again roaming the seas, as
usual, in quest of low adventures among the ports of the east."
The conversation now changed, and soon after the admiral and his
attendants repaired to their different vessels.
"Of a verity, Senor Don Christoval," said Luis, as he walked alone with
the great navigator toward the shore, "one little knoweth when he is
acquiring fame, and when not. Though but an indifferent mariner, and no
pilot, I find my exploits on the ocean are well bruited abroad! If your
Excellency but gain half the reputation I already enjoy, by this present
expedition, you will have reason to believe that your name will not be
forgotten by posterity."
"It is a tribute the great pay for their elevation, Luis," returned the
admiral, "that all their acts are commented on, and that they can do
little that may be concealed from observation, or escape remarks."
"It would be as well, Senor Almirante, to throw into the scales, at
once, calumnies, and lies, and uncharitableness, for all these are to be
added to the list. Is it not wonderful, that a young man cannot visit a
few foreign lands, in order to increase his knowledge and improve his
parts, but all the gossips of Castile should fill their letters to the
gossips of the Canaries, with passages touching his movements and
demerits? By the Martyrs of the East! if I were Queen of Castile, there
should be a law against writing of others' movements, and I do not know,
but a law against women's writing letters at all!"
"In which case, Senor de Munos, thou wouldst never possess the
satisfaction of receiving a missive from the fairest hand in Castile."
"I mean a woman's writing to a woman, Don Christopher. As to letters
from noble maidens intended to cheer the hearts and animate the deeds of
cavaliers who adore them, they are useful, out of doubt, and the saints
be deaf to the miscreant who would forbid or intercept them! No, Senor,
I trust that travelling hath at least made me liberal, by raising me
above the narrow prejudices of provinces and cities, and I am far from
wishing to put an end to letters from mistresses to their knights, or
from parents to their children, or even from wives to their husbands;
but, as for the letters of a gossip to a gossip, by your leave, Senor
Almirante, I detest them just as much as the Father of Sin detests this
expedition of ours!"
"An expedition, certainly, that he hath no great reason to love,"
answered Columbus, smiling; "since it will be followed by the light of
revelation and the triumph of the cross. But what is thy will, friend,
that thou seemest in waiting for me, to disburden thyself of something?
Thy name is Sancho Mundo, if I remember thy countenance?"
"Senor Don Almirante, your memory hath not mistaken," returned the
person addressed; "I am Sancho Mundo, as your Excellency saith,
sometimes called Sancho of the Ship-Yard Gate. I desire to say a few
words concerning the fate of our voyage, whenever it shall suit you,
noble Senor, to hear me where there are no ears present that you
distrust."
"Thou may'st speak freely now; this cavalier being my confidant and
secretary."
"It is not necessary that I should tell a great pilot, like your
Excellency, who is King of Portugal, or what the mariners of Lisbon have
been about these many years, since you know all better than myself.
Therefore I will just add, that they are discovering all the unknown
lands they can, for themselves, and preventing others, as much as in
them lies, from doing the same thing."
"Don John of Portugal is an enlightened prince, fellow, and thou wouldst
do well to respect his character and rank. His Highness is a liberal
sovereign, and hath sent many noble expeditions forth from his harbor."
"That he hath, Senor, and this last is not the least in its designs and
intentions," answered Sancho, turning a look of irony toward the
admiral, that showed the fellow had more in reserve than he cared to
divulge without some wheedling. "No one doubts Don John's willingness to
send forth expeditions."
"Thou hast heard some intelligence, Sancho, that it is proper I should
know! Speak freely, and rely on my repaying any service of this sort to
the full extent of its deservings."
"If your Excellency will have patience to hear me, I will give the whole
story, with all minuteness and particularity, and that in a way to leave
no part untold, and all parts to be as easily understood as heart can
wish, or a priest in the confessional could desire."
"Speak; no one will interrupt thee. As thou art frank, so will be thy
reward."
"Well, then, Senor Don Almirante, you must know that about eleven years
since, I made a voyage from Palos to Sicily, in a caravel belonging to
the Pinzons, here; not to Martin Alonzo, who commandeth the Pinta, under
your Excellency's order, but to a kinsman of his late father's, who
caused better craft to be constructed than we are apt to get in these
days of hurry, and rotten cordage, and careless caulking, to say nothing
of the manner in which the canvas is"--
"Nay, good Sancho," interrupted the impatient Luis, who was yet smarting
under the remarks of Dona Inez's correspondent--"thou forgettest night
is near, and that the boat is waiting for the admiral."
"How should I forget that, Senor, when I can see the sun just dipping
into the water, and I belong to the boat myself, having left it in order
to tell the noble admiral what I have to say?"
"Permit the man to relate his story in his own manner, Senor Pedro, I
pray thee," put in Columbus. "Naught is gained by putting a seamen out
in his reckoning."
"No, your Excellency, or in kicking with a mule. And so, as I was
saying, I went that voyage to Sicily, and had for a messmate one Jose
Gordo, a Portuguese by birth, but a man who liked the wines of Spain
better than the puckering liquors of his own country, and so sailed much
in Spanish craft. I never well knew, notwithstanding, whether Jose was,
in heart, most of a Portuguese, or a Spaniard, though he was certainly
but an indifferent Christian."
"It is to be hoped that his character hath improved," said Columbus,
calmly. "As I foresee that something is to follow on the testimony of
this Jose, you will let me say, that an indifferent Christian is but an
indifferent witness. Tell me, at once, therefore, what he hath
communicated, that I may judge for myself of the value of his words."
"Now, he that doubteth your Excellency will not discover Cathay is a
heretic, seeing that you have discovered my secret without having heard
it! Jose has just arrived, in the felucca that is riding near the Santa
Maria, and hearing that we were an expedition that had one Sancho Mundo
engaged in it, he came speedily on board of us to see his old shipmate."
"All that is so plain, that I wonder thou thinkest it worthy of
relating, Sancho; but, now we have him safe on board the good ship, we
can come at once to the subject of his communication."
"That may we, Senor; and so, without any unnecessary delay, I will
state, that the subject was touching Don Juan of Portugal, Don Ferdinand
of Aragon, Dona Isabella of Castile, your Excellency, Senor Don
Almirante, the Senor de Munos here, and myself."
"This is a strange company!" exclaimed Luis, laughing, while he slipped
a piece of eight into the hand of the sailor; "perhaps that may aid thee
in shortening the story of the singular conjunction."
"Another, Senor, would bring the tale to an end at once. To own the
truth, Jose is behind that wall, and as he told me he thought his news
worth a dobla, he will be greatly displeased at finding I have received
my half of it, while his half still remaineth unpaid."
"This, then, will set his mind at rest," said Columbus, placing an
entire dobla in the hand of the cunning fellow, for the admiral
perceived by his manner that Sancho had really something of importance
to communicate. "Thou canst summon Jose to thy aid, and deliver thyself,
at once, of thy burden."
Sancho did as directed, and in a minute Jose had appeared, had received
the dobla, weighed it deliberately on his finger, pocketed it, and
commenced his tale. Unlike the artful Sancho, he told his story at once,
beginning at the right end, and ceasing to speak as soon as he had no
more to communicate. The substance of the tale is soon related. Jose had
come from Ferro, and had seen three armed caravels, wearing the flag of
Portugal, cruising among the islands, under circumstances that left
little doubt their object was to intercept the Castilian expedition. As
the man referred to a passenger or two, who had landed within the hour,
to corroborate his statement, Columbus and Luis immediately sought the
lodgings of these persons, in order to hear their report of the matter.
The result proved the sailor had stated nothing but what was true.
"Of all our difficulties and embarrassments, Luis," resumed the admiral,
as the two finally proceeded to the shore, "this is much the most
serious! We may be detained altogether by these treacherous Portuguese,
or we may be followed in our voyage, and have our fair laurels seized
upon by others, and all the benefits so justly due for our toil and risk
usurped, or at least disputed, by men who had not the enterprise and
knowledge to accept the boon, when fairly offered to them."
"Don John of Portugal must have sent far better knights than the Moors
of Granada to do the feat," answered Luis, who had a Spaniard's distaste
for his peninsular neighbors; "he is a bold and learned prince, they
say, but the commission and ensigns of the sovereign of Castile are not
to be disregarded, and that, too, in the midst of her own islands,
here."
"We have no force fit to contend with that which hath most probably been
sent against us. The number and size of our vessels are known, and the
Portuguese, questionless, have resorted to the means necessary to effect
their purposes, whatever those purposes may be. Alas! Luis, my lot hath
been hard, though I humbly trust that the end will repay me for all!
Years did I sue the Portuguese to enter fairly into this voyage, and to
endeavor to do that, in all honor, which our gracious mistress, Dona
Isabella, hath now so creditably commenced; he listened to my reasons
and entreaties with cold ears--nay, repelled them, with ridicule and
disdain; and yet, here am I scarce fairly embarked in the execution of
schemes that they have so often derided, than they endeavor to defeat me
by violence and treachery."
"Noble Don Christoval, we will die to a Castilian, ere this shall come
to pass!"
"Our only hope is in speedy departure. Thanks to the industry and zeal
of Martin Alonzo, the Pinta is ready, and we may quit Gomera with the
morning's sun. I doubt if they will have the hardihood to follow us into
the trackless and unknown Atlantic, without any other guides than their
own feeble knowledge; and we will depart with the return of the sun. All
now dependeth on quitting the Canaries unseen."
As this was said they reached the boat, and were quickly pulled on board
the Santa Maria. By this time the peaks of the islands were towering
like gloomy shadows in the atmosphere, and, soon after, the caravels
resembled dark, shapeless specks, on the unquiet element that washed
their hulls.
[Illustration]