"A perfect woman, nobly planned
To warn, to comfort, and command;
And yet a spirit still, and bright,
With something of an angel light."
Wordsworth.
The lustre that was thrown around the voyage of Columbus, brought the
seas into favor. It was no longer deemed an inferior occupation, or
unsuited to nobles to engage in enterprises on its bosom; and that very
propensity of our hero, which had so often been mentioned to his
prejudice in former years, was now frequently named to his credit.
Though his real connection with Columbus is published, for the first
time, in these pages, the circumstance having escaped the superficial
investigations of the historians, it was an advantage to him to be known
as having manifested what might be termed a maritime disposition, in an
age when most of his rank and expectations were satisfied with the
adventures of the land. A sort of fashion was got up on behalf of the
ocean; and the cavalier who had gazed upon its vast and unbroken
expanse, beyond the view of his mother earth, regarded him who had not,
much as he who had won his spurs looked down upon him who had suffered
the proper period of life to pass without making the effort. Many of the
nobles whose estates touched the Mediterranean or the Atlantic, fitted
out small coasters--the yachts of the fifteenth century--and were met
following the sinuosities of the glorious coasts of that part of the
world, endeavoring to derive a satisfaction from a pursuit that it
seemed meritorious to emulate. That all succeeded who attempted thus to
transfer the habits of courts and castles to the narrow limits of xebecs
and feluccas, it would be hazarding too much to assert; but there is
little doubt that the spirit of the period was sustained by the
experiments, and that men were ashamed to condemn that, which it was
equally the policy and the affectation of the day to extol. The rivalry
between Spain and Portugal, too, contributed to the feeling of the
times; and there was soon greater danger of the youth who had never
quitted his native shores, being pointed out for his want of spirit,
than that the adventurer should be marked for his eccentric and vagrant
instability.
In the meanwhile, the seasons advanced, and events followed, in their
usual course, from cause to effect. About the close of the month of
September, the ocean, just without that narrow and romantic pass that
separates Europe from Africa, while it connects the transcendent
Mediterranean with the broader wastes of the Atlantic, was glittering
with the rays of the rising sun, which, at the same time, was gilding
the objects that rose above the surface of the blue waters. The latter
were not numerous, though a dozen different sails were moving slowly on
their several courses, impelled by the soft breezes of the season. Of
these, our business is with one alone, which it may be well to describe
in a few general terms.
The rig of the vessel in question was latine, perhaps the most
picturesque of all that the ingenuity of man has invented as the
accessory of a view, whether given to the eye by means of the canvas, or
in its real dimensions and substance. Its position, too, was precisely
that which a painter would have chosen as the most favorable to his
pencil, the little felucca running before the wind, with one of its high
pointed sails extended on each side, resembling the pinions of some
enormous bird that was contracting its wings as it settled toward its
nest. Unusual symmetry was apparent in the spars and rigging; while the
hull, which was distinguished by lines of the fairest proportions, had a
neatness and finish that denoted the yacht of a noble.
The name of this vessel was the "Ozema," and she carried the Count of
Llera with his youthful bride. Luis, who had acquired much of the
mariner's skill, in his many voyages, directed the movements in person,
though Sancho Mundo strutted around her decks with an air of authority,
being the titular, if not the real patron of the craft.
"Ay--ay--good Bartolemeo, lash that anchor well," said the last, as he
inspected the forecastle, in his hourly rounds; "for fair as may be the
breezes, and mild as is the season, no one can know what humor the
Atlantic may be in, when it fairly waketh up. In the great voyage to
Cathay, nothing could have been more propitious than our outward
passage, and nothing savor more of devils incarnate, than the homeward.
Dona Mercedes maketh an excellent sailor, as ye all may see; and no one
can tell which way, or how far, the humor of the conde may carry him,
when he hath once taken his departure. I tell ye, fellows, that glory
and gold may alight upon ye all, any minute, in the service of such a
noble; and I hope none of ye have forgotten to come provided with
hawk's-bells, which are as remarkable for assembling doblas, as the
bells of the Seville cathedral are for assembling Christians."
"Master Mundo," called out our hero, from the quarter-deck, "let there
be a man sent to the extremity of the fore-yard, and bid him look along
the sea to the north and east of us."
This command interrupted one of Sancho's self-glorifying discourses, and
compelled him to see the order executed. When the seaman who was sent
aloft, had "shinned" his way to the airy and seemingly perilous position
he had been told to occupy, an inquiry went up from the deck, to demand
what he beheld.
"Senor Conde," answered the fellow, "the ocean is studded with sails, in
the quarter your Excellency hath named, looking like the mouth of the
Tagus, at the first of a westerly wind."
"Canst thou tell them, and let me know their numbers?" called out Luis.
"By the mass, Senor," returned the man, after taking time to make his
count, "I see no less than sixteen--nay, now I see another, a smaller
just opening from behind a carrack of size--seventeen, I make them in
all."
"Then are we in season, love!" exclaimed Luis, turning toward Mercedes
with delight--"once more shall I grasp the hand of the admiral, ere he
quitteth us again for Cathay. Thou seemest glad as myself, that our
effort hath not failed."
"That which gladdeneth thee, Luis, is sure to gladden me," returned the
bride; "where there is but one interest, there ought to be but one
wish."
"Beloved--beloved Mercedes--thou wilt make me every thing thou canst
desire. This heavenly disposition of thine, and this ready consenting to
voyage with me, will be sure to mould me in such a way that I shall be
less myself than thee."
"As yet, Luis," returned the young wife, smiling, "the change promiseth
to be the other way, since thou art much likelier to make me a rover,
than I to make thee a fixture of the castle of Llera."
"Thou comest not out upon the sea, Mercedes, contrary to thine own
wishes?" demanded Luis, with the earnest quickness of one who was
fearful he might unconsciously have done an act of indiscretion.
"No, dearest Luis; so far from it, that I have come with satisfaction,
apart from the pleasure I have had in obliging thee. Fortunately, I feel
no indisposition from the motion of the felucca, and the novelty is of
the most agreeable and exciting kind."
To say that Luis rejoiced to hear this on more accounts than one, is but
to add that he still found a pleasure in the scenes of the ocean.
In half an hour the vessel of the admiral was visible from the Ozema's
deck, and ere the sun had reached the meridian, the little felucca was
gliding into the centre of the fleet, holding her course toward the
carrack of Columbus. The usual hailing passed, when, apprised of the
presence of Mercedes, the admiral gallantly repaired on board the Ozema,
to pay his respects in person. The scenes through which they had passed
together, had created in Columbus a species of paternal regard for Luis,
in which Mercedes shared, through the influence of her noble conduct
during the events that occurred at Barcelona. He met the happy pair,
therefore, with dignified affection, and his reception partook of the
feelings that the count and countess so fully reciprocated.
Nothing could be more striking to one who had an opportunity of
witnessing both, than the contrast between the means with which the
Genoese sailed on this, and on his former voyage. Then he had set forth
neglected, almost forgotten, in three vessels, ill-found, and worse
manned, while now, the ocean was whitened with his canvas, and he was
surrounded by no inconsiderable portion of the chivalry of Spain. As
soon as it was known that the Countess of Llera was in the felucca that
had stopped the fleet, boats put off from most of the vessels, and
Mercedes held a sort of court on the broad Atlantic; her own female
attendants, among whom were two or three of the rank of ladies,
assisting her in doing proper honor to the cavaliers who thronged the
deck. The balmy influence of the pure air of the ocean, contributed to
the happiness of the moment; and, for an hour, the Ozema presented a
scene of gaiety and splendor, such as had never before been witnessed by
any person present.
"Beautiful Countess," cried one, who had been a rejected suitor of our
heroine, "you see to what acts of desperation your cruelty hath driven
me, who am going forth on an adventure to the furthest east. It is well
for Don Luis that I did not make this venture before he won your favor;
as no damsel in Spain is expected, henceforth, to withstand the suit of
one of the admiral's followers."
"It may be as you say, Senor," returned Mercedes, her heart swelling
with the consciousness that he whom she had chosen had made this same
boasted adventure, while others shrunk from its hazard, and when its
result was still a mystery in the unknown future--"It may be as you say;
but one of moderate wishes, like myself, must be content with these
unambitious voyages along the coast, in which, happily, a wife may be
her husband's companion."
"Lady," cried the gallant and reckless Alonzo de Ojeda, in his turn,
"Don Luis caused me to roll upon the earth, in the tourney, by a fair
and manly effort, that hath left no rancor behind it; but I shall outdo
him now, since he is content to keep the shores of Spain in view,
leaving to us the glory of seeking the Indies, and of reducing the
Infidels to the sway of the two sovereigns!"
"It is a sufficient honor to my husband, Senor, that he can boast of the
success you name, and he must rest satisfied with the reputation
acquired in that one deed."
"Countess, a year hence you would love him better, did he come forth
with us, and show his spirit among the people of the Grand Khan!"
"Thou see'st, Don Alonzo, that the illustrious admiral doth not
altogether despise him as it is. They seek a private interview in my
cabin together; an attention Don Christopher would not be apt to pay a
recreant, or a laggard."
"'Tis surprising!" resumed the rejected suitor; "the favor of the conde
with our noble admiral hath surprised us all, at Barcelona. Can it be,
de Ojeda, that they have met in some of their earlier nautical
wanderings?"
"By the mass! Senor," cried Alonzo, laughing, "if Don Luis ever met the
admiral, as he met me in the lists, I should think one interview would
answer for the rest of their days!"
In this manner did the discourse proceed, some speaking in levity, some
in more sober mood, and all in amity. While this was passing on deck,
Columbus had, indeed, retired to a cabin with our hero.
"Don Luis," said the admiral, when they were seated near each other, and
alone, "thou know'st the regard I bear thee, and I feel certain that
thou returnest it with an equal degree of esteem. I now go forth from
Spain, on a far more perilous adventure than that in which thou wert my
companion. Then I sailed concealed in contempt, and veiled from human
eyes by ignorance and pity; now, have I left the old world, followed by
malignancy and envy. These facts am I too old not to have seen, and
foreseen. In my absence, many will be busy with my name. Even they who
now shout at my heels will become my calumniators, revenging themselves
for past adulation by present detraction. The sovereigns will be beset
with lies, and any disappointment in the degree of success will be
distorted into crimes. I leave friends behind me, too--friends, such as
Juan Perez, de St. Angel, Quintanilla, and thyself. On ye, then, do I
greatly rely, not for favors, but for the interest of truth and
justice."
"Senor, you may count upon my small influence under all circumstances. I
have seen you in the day of trial, and it exceedeth ordinary
misrepresentations to weaken my faith in you."
"This did I believe, Luis, even before it was so warmly and sincerely
said," returned the admiral, squeezing the young man's hand with fervor.
"I doubt if Fonseca, who hath now so much power in the affairs of India,
is truly my friend. Then, there is one of thy blood and name, who hath
already regarded me with unfavorable eyes, and whom I distrust
exceedingly, should an occasion offer in which he might do me injury."
"I know him well, Don Christopher, and account him as doing no credit to
the house of Bobadilla."
"He hath credit, nevertheless, with the king, which is of more
importance, just now!"
"Ah! Senor, to that wily and double-faced monarch, you must look for
nothing generous. So long as Dona Isabella's ear can be kept open to the
truth, there is nothing to fear, but Don Ferdinand groweth each day more
worldly and temporizing. Mass!--that one who, in youth, was so bold and
manly a knight, should in his age betray so many of the meannesses that
would disgrace a Moor! My noble aunt, however, is a host in herself, and
will ever remain true to you, as she commenced."
"God overruleth all, and it were sinful to distrust either his wisdom or
justice. And now, Luis, one word touching thyself. Providence hath made
thee the guardian of the happiness of such a being as is seldom found
this side the gates of heaven. The man who is blessed with a virtuous
and amiable wife, like her thou hast wedded, should erect an altar in
his heart, on which he ought to make daily, nay, hourly sacrifices of
gratitude to God for the boon; since of all earthly blessings, he
enjoyeth the richest, the purest, and the most lasting, should he not be
unmindful of his own riches. But a woman like Dona Mercedes is a
creature as delicate as she is rare. Let her equanimity check thy
impetuosity; her purity rebuke the less refined elements of thy
composition; her virtue stimulate thine own; her love keep thine in an
unceasing flame, and her tenderness be a constant appeal to thy manly
indulgence and protection. Fulfil all thy duties as a Spanish grandee,
son, and seek felicity in the partner of thy bosom, and in love to God."
The admiral now gave Luis his blessing, and, taking leave of Mercedes in
the same solemn manner, he hastened to his carrack. Boat after boat
quitted the felucca, many calling out their leave-takings even after
they were at a distance. In a few minutes, the heavy yards swung around,
and the fleet was again sweeping off toward the south-west, holding its
way, as was then fancied, toward the distant shores of India. For an
hour the Ozema lay where she had been left by Columbus, as if gazing at
her retiring friends; then her canvas filled, and she hauled up toward
that bight of the coast, at the bottom of which lay the port of Palos de
Moguer.
The afternoon was deliciously balmy, and when the felucca drew in with
the land, the surface of the sea was as smooth as that of an inland
lake. There was just wind enough to cool the air, and to propel the
little vessel three or four knots through the water. The day apartment
occupied by our hero and heroine, was on the quarter-deck. It was
formed, on the exterior, by a tarpauling, bent like the tilt of a wagon,
while the interior was embellished with a lining of precious stuffs that
converted it into a beautiful little saloon. In front, a canvas bulkhead
protected it from the gaze of the crew; and, toward the stearn a rich
curtain fell, when it became necessary to shut out the view. The latter
was now carelessly festooned, permitting the eye to range over a broad
expanse of the ocean, and to watch the glories of the setting sun.
Mercedes reclined on a luxurious couch, gazing on the ocean, and Luis
touched a guitar, seated on a stool at her feet. He had just played a
favorite national air, which he had accompanied with his voice, and had
laid aside the instrument, when he perceived that his young wife did not
listen, with her usual fondness and admiration, to his music.
"Thou art thoughtful, Mercedes," he said, leaning forward to read the
melancholy expression of those eyes that were so often glowing with
enthusiasm.
"The sun is setting in the direction of the land of poor Ozema, Luis,"
Mercedes answered, a slight tremor pervading her voice; "the
circumstance, in connection with the sight of this boundless ocean, that
so much resembleth eternity, hath led me to think of her end.
Surely--surely--a creature so innocent can never be consigned to eternal
misery, because her unenlightened mind and impassioned feelings were
unable to comprehend all the church's mysteries!"
"I would that thou thought'st less on this subject, love; thy prayers,
and the masses that have been said for her soul, should content thee;
or, if thou wilt, the last can be repeated, again and again."
"We will offer still more," returned the young wife, scarce speaking
above her breath, while the tears fell down her cheeks. "The best of us
will need masses, and _we_ owe this to poor Ozema. Didst thou bethink
thee, to intercede again with the admiral, to do all service to
Mattinao, on reaching Espanola?"
"That hath been attended to, and so dismiss the subject from thy mind.
The monument is already erected at Llera, and we may feel regret for the
loss of the sweet girl, but can scarce mourn for her. Were I not Luis de
Bobadilla, thy husband, dearest, I could think her the subject of envy,
rather than of pity."
"Ah! Luis, thy flattery is too pleasing to bring reproof, but it is
scarce seemly. Even the happiness I feel, in being assured of thy
love--that our fortunes, fate, name, interests are one--is, in truth,
but misery, compared with the seraphic joys of the blessed; and to such
joys I could wish Ozema's spirit might be elevated."
"Doubt it not, Mercedes; she hath all that her goodness and innocence
can claim. Mass! If she even have half that I feel, in holding thee thus
to my heart, she is no subject for grief, and thou say'st she hath, or
wilt have, ten-fold more."
"Luis--Luis--speak not thus! We will have other masses said at Seville,
as well as at Burgos and Salamanca."
"As thou wilt, love. Let them be said yearly, monthly, weekly, forever,
or as long as the churchmen think they may have virtue."
Mercedes smiled her gratitude, and the conversation became less painful,
though it continued to be melancholy. An hour passed in this manner,
during which, the communion was of the sweet character that pervades the
intercourse of those who love tenderly. Mercedes had already acquired a
powerful command over the headlong propensities and impetuous feelings
of her husband, and was gradually moulding him, unknown to herself, to
be the man that was necessary to her own feelings. In this change, which
was the result of influence, and not of calculation or design, she was
aided by the manly qualities of our hero, which were secretly persuading
him that he had now the happiness of another in his keeping, as well as
his own. This is an appeal that a really generous mind seldom
withstands, and far oftener produces the correction of minor faults,
than any direct management, or open rebukes. Perhaps Mercedes' strongest
arm, however, was her own implicit confidence in her husband's
excellence, Luis feeling a desire to be that which she so evidently
thought him; an opinion that his own conscience did not, in the fullest
extent, corroborate.
Just as the sun had set, Sancho came to announce that he had let go the
anchor.
"Here we are, Senor Conde--here we are, at last, Senora Dona Mercedes,
lying off the town of Palos, and within a hundred yards of the very spot
where Don Christopher and his gallant companions departed for the
discovery of the Indies--God bless him a hundred-fold, and all who went
with him. The boat is ready to take you to the shore, Senora; and there,
if you do not find Seville, or Barcelona, cathedrals and palaces, you
will find Palos, and Santa Clara, and the ship-yard-gate--three places
that are, henceforth, to be more renowned than either: Palos, as having
sent forth the expedition; Santa Clara, as having saved it from
destruction, by vows fulfilled at its altars; and the gate, for having
had the ship of the admiral built within it."
"And other great events, good Sancho!" put in the count.
"Just so, your Excellency; and for other great events. Am I to land you,
lady?"
Mercedes assented, and in ten minutes she and her husband were walking
on the beach, within ten yards of the very spot where Columbus and Luis
had embarked the previous year. The firm sands were now covered with
people, walking in the cool of the evening. Most of them were of the
humbler classes, this being the only land, we believe, in which the
population of countries that possess a favorable climate, do not thus
mingle in their public promenades, at that witching hour.
Luis and his beautiful wife had landed merely for exercise and
relaxation, well knowing that the felucca possessed better
accommodations than any hosteria of Palos; and they fell into the
current of the walkers. Before them was a group of young matrons, who
were conversing eagerly, and sufficiently loud to be overheard. Our hero
and heroine instantly ceased their own discourse, when they found that
the subject was the voyage to Cathay.
"This day," said one of the party, in a tone of authority, "did Don
Christopher sail from Cadiz; the sovereigns deeming Palos too small a
port for the equipment of so great an enterprise. You may depend on what
I tell ye, good neighbors; my husband, as you all well know, holding an
appointment in the admiral's own ship."
"You are to be envied, neighbor, that he is in so good repute with so
great a man!"
"How could he be otherwise, seeing that he was with him before, when few
had courage to be his companions, and was ever faithful to his orders.
'Monica'--nay, it was '_good_ Monica'--said the admiral to me, with his
own mouth, 'thy Pepe is a true-hearted mariner, and hath conducted to my
entire satisfaction. He shall be made the boatswain of my own carrack,
and thou, and thy posterity, to the latest antiquity, may boast that you
belong to so good a man.' These were his words; and what he said, he
did--Pepe being now a boatswain. But the _paters_ and _aves_ that I said
to reach this good fortune, would pave this beach!"
Luis now stepped forward and saluted the party, making curiosity to know
the particulars of the first departure, his excuse. As he expected,
Monica did not recognize him in his present rich attire, and she
willingly related all she knew, and not a little more. The interview
showed how completely this woman had passed from despair to exultation,
reducing the general and more public change of sentiment, down to the
individual example of a particular case.
"I have heard much of one Pinzon," added Luis, "who went forth as pilot
of a caravel in the voyage; what hath become of him?"
"Senor, he is dead!" answered a dozen voices, Monica's, however, so far
getting the ascendency, as to tell the story. "He was once a great man
in this quarter; but now his name is lost, like his life. He was untrue,
and died of grief, it is said, when he found the Nina lying in the
river, when he expected to have had all the glory to himself."
Luis had been too much engrossed with his own feelings to have heard
this news before, and he continued his walk, musing and sad.
"So much for unlawful hopes, and designs that God doth not favor!" he
exclaimed, when they had walked a considerable distance. "Providence
hath, I think, been of the admiral's side; and certainly, my love, it
hath been of mine."
"This is Santa Clara," observed Mercedes. "Luis, I would enter, and
return a thanksgiving at its altars for thy safety and return, and offer
a prayer for the future success of Don Christopher."
They both entered the church, and they knelt together at the principal
altar; for, in that age, the bravest warriors were not as much ashamed,
as in our own times, of publicly acknowledging their gratitude to, and
their dependence on God. This duty performed, the happy pair returned
silently to the beach, and went off to the felucca.
Early in the morning, the Ozema sailed for Malaga again, Luis being
fearful he might be recognized if he continued at Palos. Their port was
reached in safety; and shortly after the party arrived at Valverde, the
principal estate of Mercedes, where we shall leave our hero and heroine
in the enjoyment of a felicity that was as great as could be produced by
the connection between manly tenderness on one side, and purity of
feeling and disinterested womanly love on the other.
At a late day, there were other Luis de Bobadillas in Spain, among her
gallant and noble, and other Mercedes', to cause the hearts of the gay
and aspiring to ache; but there was only one Ozema. She appeared at
court, in the succeeding reign, and, for a time, blazed like a star that
had just risen in a pure atmosphere. Her career, however, was short,
dying young and lamented; since which time, the name itself has
perished. It is, in part, owing to these circumstances, that we have
been obliged to drag so much of our legend from the lost records of that
eventful period.
[Illustration]
End of Project Gutenberg's Mercedes of Castile, by J. Fenimore Cooper