sconded with his; and all that remained was the Nina, a small vessel, not fit to hold the stores and the men. At this period of misfortune, the cacique, Guacanagari, a chief of the island, went to see Columbus after this disaster, and treated him with the most generous kindness; soothing his dejection by every offer of attention, and showing all the virtues of a genuine and generous compassion. The crew lived on shore, and soon became fascinated with the easy and happy life of the natives; and contrasting it with the hardships they would be obliged to encounter in Europe, they eagerly solicited the admiral's permission to remain behind. It appeared to him to be a favourable opportunity for forming the germ of a colony; and he determined to build a fort there, with the permission of the cacique; and his people eagerly assisted them in its erection, little dreaming that they were assisting to place upon their own necks the galling yoke of perpetual and toilsome slavery. When the fort was finished, and the men who were to be left supplied with proper seeds, and implements for improving, by the productions of Europe, their means of subsistence, Columbus, on the 2nd of January, 1493, bid farewell to the excellent cacique, and sailed for Spain. Soon after his departure from Hispaniola, he fell in with the Pinta, commanded by Martin Alonzo, who had purposely absented himself, in order to make his

own discoveries, though he pretended to have been in search of the admiral.

"They met with heavy tempests on their return, in which the Pinta again parted company with Columbus, who found shelter at St. Mary's, one of the Azores, where he received very ungenerous treatment from the Portuguese governor: but on the weather moderating they again sailed; and once more pressed by the stress of weather, they were obliged to take shelter in the Tagus. Columbus sent to the king of Portugal to request permission to go with his vessel to Lisbon; and despatched a courier with the tidings of his arrival to the sovereigns of Spain. When the intelligence reached Lisbon of the return of the caravel from such a voyage, curiosity could scarcely have been more excited had the vessel come freighted with the wonders of another planet. From morning till night the ship was thronged with visitors, who hung with rapt attention on the accounts given by Columbus and his crew, and gazed with insatiable curiosity upon the specimens of unknown plants and animals; but above all upon the Indians, so different from any race of men hitherto known.

By the express desire of John II. he visited the court at Valparaiso, and gave to the king a minute account of all the wonders he had seen. He listened with a courteous air, but grief sat heavy at his heart; for he was pursued by the

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bitter recollection that this magnificent enterprise had once courted his acceptance, and been rejected.

"He visited the queen also at the monastery of San Antonia, at Villa Franca, and had the gratification of seeing the unbounded interest which he excited.

"The weather having moderated, he put to sea once more; and on the 13th of March he arrived at the Bay of Saltes at sunrise, and at mid-day entered the harbour of Palos, from whence he had sailed on the 3rd of August in the preceding year; having taken not quite seven months and a half to accomplish this most momentous of all maritime enterprises. The triumphant return of Columbus was a prodigious event in the history of the little port of Palos, where every body was more or less interested in the fate of his expedition. When the news arrived that one of the adventurous ships was sailing up the river, the inhabitants were thrown into the greatest agitation; but when they heard that she returned in triumph from the discovery of a world, and beheld her furling her sails in their harbour, the whole community broke forth into transports of joy. The bells were rung, the shops shut, all business was suspended; for a time there was nothing but the hurry and tumult of sudden exultation and breathless curiosity.

"When Columbus landed, the multitude thronged

WELCOME OF THE SOVEREIGNS.

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to see and welcome him; and a grand procession was formed to the principal church, to return thanks to God for so signal a discovery, made by the people of that place.

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Finding the court at Barcelona, he wrote to inform them of his arrival; and taking six of the natives with him, set off to Seville to await their answer there.

"Ferdinand and Isabella considered the event communicated by him as the most wonderful of a prosperous reign. He was commanded to set out to their court without delay; and the most flattering acknowledgments were lavished upon him. His journey was continually impeded by the crowds of persons who came to see and to hear the wonders he had to tell and to show. He entered Barcelona in a kind of triumph; every arrangement had been made to do him honour; the sovereigns rose at his approach, as if addressing a person of the highest rank; and when he bent the knee before them, they raised him in the most gracious manner, and ordered him to seat himself in their presence; a rare honour in that punctilious court; and at their request he detailed to them the wonders he had seen and performed.

"The words of Columbus were listened to with profound emotion by the sovereigns. When he had finished, they sank on their knees, and raising

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their clasped hands to heaven, their eyes filled with tears of joy and gratitude, they poured forth thanks and praises to God for so great a providence. All present followed their example; a deep and solemn enthusiasm pervaded that splendid assembly, and prevented all common acclamation of triumph. The anthem of Te Deum laudamus,' chanted by the choir of the royal chapel, with the melodious responses of the minstrels, rose up from the midst in a full body of sacred harmony; bearing up, as it were, the feelings and thoughts of the auditors to heaven.

"Such was the solemn and pious manner in which the brilliant court of Spain celebrated this sublime event; offering up a grateful tribute of melody and praise, and giving glory to God for the discovery of another world."

"One question more, father, only one," said Edward, as Mr. Delville rose; "what became of Alonzo Pinzon ?"

"When he parted from Columbus he was driven before the gale into the Bay of Biscay, and made the port of Bayonne. Doubting whether Columbus had survived the tempest, and at all events anxious to anticipate him, and to secure the favourable impressions of the court and the public, Pinzon immediately wrote to the sovereigns, giving information of the discovery he had made, and