V LIVES OF THE CATHOLIC HEROES AND HEROINES OF AMERICA. BY JOHN O’KANE MURRAY, B.S., M.A., M.D., Author of the “Popular History of the Catholic Church in the United States,” “ Prose and Poetry of Ireland,” “ Little Liyes of the Great Sajnts,” “Lessons in English Literature,” and “Catholic Education in the United States.” “ Lives of great men all remind ns We can make our lives sublime.” *• There is no sort of literature which has afforded me more pleasure than biogra- phies and memoirs .” — Bishop Bruti. Homo OMtn ; humani nihil m me alionum puto. BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRAKT CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. NEW YORK : F. J. KENEDY, PUBLISHER TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE, EXCELSIOR CATHOLIC PUBLISHING HOUSE, 5 Barclay Street, 1896. N ■>f . COPYRIGHT. ■ Y 1AM ES SHEEHT, 1879. 7 0 <" ' 12691 i TO REVEREND F. WM.GOCKELN, S. J. President of St. John’s College, FORDHAM, NEW YORK, THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED WITH DEEP RESPECT AND EVERY KIND WISH, BY HIS GRATEFUL FRIEND AND PUPIL, John O’ Kane Murbat I PREFACE. It was on Friday, October 12th, 1492, that Christopher Columbus first stepped on the shores of the New World. He was the pioneer of a long line of Catholic Heroes and Heroines, some of whom I have attempted to sketch in the present volume. It would, indeed, be easy to add to my list. But the names I give are representative. I have aimed to be just in selecting. I have chiefly sought those whose lives exhibit great virtue, heroism, and lofty achievements. Nor are the names chosen in any spirit of narrowness either as to nationality or profession. Of the twenty-four famous personages given, four were Americans, ten were French, three were Spanish, three were Irish, one was a Belgian, one a Russian, one an Italian, and one a native of England. Two were Archbishops, two Bishops, five Missionaries, one a Parish Priest, one an Admiral, two Generals, one a Commodore, four Religious Ladies, four Explorers, one a Lady who belonged to no Religious Society, and one a Lawyer and Statesman — thus making in all ten ecclesiastics, four religious, and ten lay persons. I hope the work, in spite of many short-comings, will be found to combine variety, interest, and instruction. The Catholic dis- coverers, explorers, and missionaries of America were men unsur* passed in all that constitutes heroic greatness. The perusal of their lives cannot fail to elevate the mind, and give a healthy stimulus to deeds of virtue. “Where’er a noble deed is wrought, Where’er is spoken a noble thought. Our hearts in glad surprise To higher levels rise.” In all my statements, I have labored to be accurate. I have made it a point to consult the best authorities available, and of these I have not hesitated to make a free use. My chief sources of infor* mation are indicated in the foot-notes at the beginning of each Life, I take great pleasure in acknowledging my special indebtedness V VI PREFACE. to the works of Francis ParKinan. His writings abound in exquisite scenes and touching narratives , presented in a style at once surpass- ingly graphtc, picturesque, and beautiful. This, together with the fact that Mr. Parkman does not belong to our Faith, makes his testimony doubly valuable, as an eloquent and impartial authority. For kind courtesies rendered during the preparation of this volume, I return my warm thanks to Mr. Francis Parkman, Boston; Rev. Father Walther H. Hill, S. J. , of the St. Louis University; Messrs. J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia; Messrs, (i. P. Putnam's Sons, New York; Mr. Lawrence Kehoe , New York; Mr. James Sheehy, New York; Rev. Maurice Hickey, Brooklyn, L. I.; Rev. Mother St. George, of the Ursuline Convent, Quebec; Rev. Sister St. Josephine, Villa Maria, Montreal; Rev. Mother Leahy of the Hotel Dieu, Kingston, Canada; and Peter Jerome Curren, A. M., M. D., Flatbush, L. I. With these brief remarks , I venture to Introduce the “Lives of the Catholic Heroes and Heroines of America," to the reading public. John o’Kane Murray. Brooklyn, L. I., July 4th, 1879. CONTENTS turn Dedication Preface .... CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. CHAPTER I. FROM INFANCY TO MANHOOD. The parents and birth of Columbus — School-days — Early life and adreti* tures — Appearance, manners and character — Marriage. . . .11 chapter II. THE STRUGGLES OF GENIUS. Columbus and Alphonso V. — The growth of a great idea — Basis of Columbus’ theory — Dr. Toscanelli and Columbus — His difBcultiea— Visits his native-city and his Father — Portugal treats him meanly — Death of his wife, Dona Felippa — Directs his steps to Spain — Father Perez and Doctor Hernandez — The Convent of La Rabida — Columbus at the Spanish Court — Father de Talavara — Second marriage of Columbus — Hie letter to King Ferdinand — Interview with the Spanish Sovereigns — The Junta of Salamanca — His Dominican Friends — The Moorish War^- Ferdinand aod Isabella — He never despairs of success — T? e fall of Granada— He is about to leave Spain — The turn of Fortune — Isabella be- comes his patron — The terms of agreement — Final preparations . SI CHAPTER III. THE PATH THAT LED TO A NEW WORLD. Obstacles in the way of preparation — Great services of Father Perez— The Pinzons — The three vessels — Religious preparations — Scenes at the departure — " The Sea ! the sea I the open sea I” — Terror produced by a volcano — Fears, dangers, and adventures of the voyage — A New World found — Ceremony of taking possession — The natives — Cuba and Hayti — Romantic incidents — Shipwreck — The erection of the fortress of La Navidad — Adieu to America Cf vii Of CO viii OOIfTENTS. CHAPTER IV. HOMEWAKD BOUND. fASB A truant — The first bloodshed — Storms on the wild waves — Religious vows — The cast — Land — An upstart Governor — “ Home, sweet home! ” —Genius honored — Preparations for a second voyage . ... 84 " xlAPTER V. THIS TRIADS, ADVENTURES, AND HEROISM IN THE SECOND VOYAGB. Kew officials and the final preparations — A singular mistake — A powerful enemy of Columbus — On the ocean again — Adventure in Guadaloupe— At Hispaniola once more — A sad tale of La Navidad — The progress of af- fairs in Hispaniola — The City of Isabella — The Royal Plain — Revolution of lazy insolence — Difficulties with Father Boil — Exploration and Adven- tures — Sickness of Columbus — Character of Don Bartholomew-Villainy of Margarite Ojeda and Caonabo — Battle of 200 against 100,000 — CMumny — Diaz and his dusky bride — The Admiral sails for Spain. . 98 CHAPTER VI. A TEAR IN SPAIN. Uolumbus as a monk — Activity of his enemies — Other difficulties — James Ferrer — The Admiral draws up his will — Delays, and preparations for another voyage. ... 180 CHAPTER VII. THE THIRD AND FOURTH VOYAGES TO AMERICA. Columbus punishing insolence — Crossing the stormy ocean in the name of the Holy Trinity — Touches the mainland of America — At Hispaniola again — Quelling troubles — The din of calumny — Bobadilla and his mis- sion — Columbus sent home in chains — Great Schemes — A fourth voyage planned — Going to the relief of a fort — Columbus insulted again at His- paniola — Awful fate of a fieet containing his enemy — Search for an Imaginary strait — Sailing along the coast of Central America — Battle with a water spout — A vision — Aground on Jamaica — Mendez and his adven- tures — Mutiny of Porras — The threatened fatnine — An historical eclipse of the moon — A singular visit — A fierce conflict — Relief comes — Columbus reaches Spain. .... ... 139 CHAPTER VIII. THE SETTING SUN OP A GLORIOUS LIFE. Pbverty and old age assail Columbus — Death of Isabella the Catholic — ^Ex- tracts from the Admiral’s letter — The death-bed of a hero — Confirming his will— The last moments of America’s Discoverer — His many tombs — His character — Miracles. 168 CONTENTS. ALONZO DE OJ^DA. CHAPTER I. THB YOUNG CAVALIER, rAOl Youth of Ojeda — Spain in the fifteenth century— A reckless feat — Des- cription of our hero— A famous painting — Adventure in Guadaloupe —Exploring Hispaniola— Siege of Fort St. Thomas— Taking Caonaho prisoner— Battle of the Royal Plain— Ojeda returns to Spain. . 179 CHAPTER H. ACROSS THE ATLANTIC AND BACK. Ojfida as a navigator — .\merigo Vespucci — Expedition to South America — A battle with the Cannibals — Explores the coast of South America — Makes trouble at Hispaniola — Returns to Spain 180 CHAPTER HI. STIRRING SCENES AND ADVENTURES Another expedition to South America — Trying to found a colony and what came of it — Ojeda appointed Governor of New Andalusia — Two fieets — John de la Cosa — An aspiring lawyer — The two rival Governors — Again on the coast of South America — Battles and poisoned arrows— Death of the brave de la Cosa — Miraculous escape of OjMa. . . 194 CHAPTER IV. CLOUDS GATHER IN THE SKY OP LIPE, The Colony of San Sebastian — Adventures — Ojeda wounded — Voyage and shipwreck — A fearful march through bog and forest — The picture - of the Holy Virgin — Ojeda’s oratory — Anecdote — The end of a stirring life 203 VASCO ntjNez de balboa. CHAPTER I. EARLY LIPE AND ADVENTURES. Birth — Voyage to America — Balboa as a farmer — As an adventurer— Lawyer Enciso — An unexpected meeting — A disaster — Balboa rises to prominence — Nicuesa and his fate — Balboa at the head of affairs — He visits a great cacique — Hears of the Pacific Ocean — Conversions — Preparations — A famous dog called Leoncico. .... t09 CHAPTER II. THE DISCOVERY OP THE PACIFIC OCEAN. Final preparations— The march begins — Difficulties — A Battle — The first view of the Pacific Ocean — Address and Thanksgiving — A Cross in the _ wilderness — Takes possession of the Pacific — The marcA back. . 233 CONTENTS. f CHAPTER III, BLASTED HOPES AND THE HEROIC END. Accounts of the discovery sent to Spain — A new governor — The situation at Darien — Sickness — Bad treatment of the Indians — Balboa raises his voice— Is appointed Lieutenant-Governor — Preparations to go to Peru— Carrying ships across the mountains— New difficulties and dangers — The first European vessels on the Pacific — Pour ships complet* ed and all ready— Balboa suddenly arrested— His trial and unjust condemnation — He meets death like a true hero 2S8 HERNANDO CORTES. CHAPTER I. THE YOUTH OF THE CONQUEROR OF MEXICO, Birth and Parentage of Cortes — Early years — Sails for the New World- First year in America — Is appointed to command an expedition to Mexico — Velasquez and Cortes — Difficulties and final preparations-Ap- Jtearance and manners of Cort& — Departure of the fleet. . . .237 CHAPTER II. BEGINNING OP THE ROAD THAT LED TO AN UNKNOWN EMPIRE. Redeems a holy and useful captive — A rude reception — The first battle with the Indians — The second — Planting the Faith — Palm Sunday in a wild land — Away for Mexico — New visitors and methods of interpretations — Dona Marina — Montezuma, the Mexican Emperor — An interview and its results— Indian painters — Astonishment of the Mexicans. . . 24® CHAPTER III. CORTES OUTWITS MONTEZUMA. The Spanish General and the Mexican officials — Great presents to Cortes — The wishes of Montezuma — Demand of Cortes — His firmness — His hopes. 253 CHAPTER IV. ' GLANCES AT THE MEXICAN EMPIRE AND THE SPANISH CAMP. Extent of the Mexican Empire — A warlike people — The powerful and haughty Montezuma — His timidity in a great crisis — A strange tradition — Hopes and fears of the Spaniards — Great changes — The little town of the True Cross — A strange election — A rebellion in the camp — New light in regard to the Mexican Empire — New subjects for Spain — Destruc- tion of the fleet — The work of conversion . ... 256 CHAPTER V. THE MEMORABLE MARCH TO MEXICO. The little army moves — Travelling on a rough road — Adventures on the confines of Tlascala — A battle — Another battle, in which there was no CONTENTS. XI PAOK alternative but death or victory — Peace —Tlascala becomes subject to Spain — At Cholula, and what happened there — The first sight of the city of Mexico — Grand reception of the Spaniards by Montezuma . 266 CHAPTER VI, THE STORY OF THE CONQUEST BRIEFLY TOLD. Views and interviews —Visit to the Great Temple— Cort4s in a dangerous and delicate position — A bold step, how it was executed — Other pro- jects — Montevuma becomes a vassal of the Spanish sovereigns — He invites Cortes to return home — A new enemy, and how Cortes disposed of him — Unwelcome intelligence. — The revolt against the Spaniards — War in the city of Mexico — Desperate fighting and fearful scenes — Death of Montezuma — The “sorrowful night” and retreat of the Span- iards — On the road to Tlascala — A great battle — Amongst friends again — Cortes resolves to take Mexico—Glances at the historic siege — Fall of the great Capital — Thanksgiving — A new empire for Sdain 274 CHAPTER VII. AFTER CAREER OF THE CONQUEROR OF MEXICO. Is appointed Governor of Mexico — The new capital — The conversion of the Indians — Arrival of twelve Franciscan Missionaries — Activity of Cort6s — Desperate journey to Honduras — Calumny — Cort4s goes to Spain — His reception — Honors— Return to Mexico — New difficulties and enterprises — Discovesy of California — To Spain once more — The call of death — His pious and — Character of Cortes. . . • 300 ST. ROSE OF LIMA. CHAPTER I. THE CHILDHOOD OF AMERICA’S FIRST SAINT. Brith of St. Rose — How she got the name of Rose — Takes St. Catharine ofSienna as her model — Her vow at five years of age— Her heroic obedi- ence — Her spirit of penance — Rose’s devotion to her father and mother. .......... 311 CHAPTER II. GLANCES AT VIRTUE IN ACTION. Matrimonial annoyances — Rose becomes a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic — Her humility — Her charity and great self-control — Her wonderful purity - Her fasts — How she chastized herself — Her singular bed — The honor paid to her even by irrational creatures. . . 315 CHAPTER III. ALONG THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW WAY. Rose’s spirit of prayer — Her deep insight into the mysteries of religions — A CONTENTS. xii PASS tormenter at home— Persecution— Sickness — The Saint’s charity — Her confidence in God — She learns of the day of her death by revelation — Her last sufferings — The end . ....... 324 CHAPTER IV. MIRACLES AND CANONIZATION. Examination of one hundred and eighty persons — A visit to the Saint’f tomb— What a physician saw — The visions of a pious lady — Sinners converted — Two persons raised to life — An incurable arm cured — A poor cripple healed of his infirmities — A child cured of a leprosy — Can- onization of St. Bose. 387 SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN. CHAPTER I. GLANCES AT CHAMPLAIN’s EARLY CAREER. Birth and parents — Early years — Henry IV. and Champlain — ^Visit to the ' West Indies — Discovery of Canada — The Commander de Chastes— Champlain’s first visit to Canada — De Monts and his schemes — Acadia — Visit to the Bay of Fundy — Champlain’s labors — Father Aubry lost in the woods — St. Croix — The Coast of Maine — Winter again — The first garden in North America — Fight with Massachusetts Indians — The “Ordre de Bon-Temps.” 831 CHAPTER 11. THE PRINCE OF PIONEERS IN CANADA. Champlain’s love of adventure — He founds the city of Quebec — How he strangled a conspiracy — Spending the winter at Quebec — A woful scene of destitution — The Hurons and Algonquins — The Iroquois — Discovery of Lake Champlain — A battle with the Iroquois — Homeward bound 341 CHAPTER III. HOW A PATHWAY TO CHINA WAS NOT FOUND. Champlain’s Visit to France — Returns to Canada — The attack on an Iro- quois fortress — Meets two hundred Indians — Death of Henry IV. — Marriage of Champlain — His unceasing toil and activity — The impostor Du Vignon and the voyage up the Ottawa — Coming down the stream — Algonquin fear of the Iroquois — At the Chaudi^re Falls — In France. 847 CHAPTER IV. RELIGION IN THE WILDERNESS. Champlain as a^ missionary — The first priests in Canada — Mass at Quebec CONTENTS. xiii — Beginning of the Canadian missions — Father Dolbeau — Father Le Caron — Voyage to the Huron country — Champlain again on the ‘war- path — The Huron nation — The first Mass in Upper Canada — The march for the land of the Iroquois — A Picture of early warfare — The return to Canada — Wintering among the savages — State of affairs at Quebec — Other important events — Madame de Champlain comes to Quebec. . 860 CHAPTER V. THE DEATH OF CHAMPLAIN. Growth of the colony — Religious discord — Quebec taken by the English — The feeling in France — The lofty energy of Champlain — Canada restored to France — Champlain becomes Governor — His influence over the Sav- ages — Onward progress of the colony — A college at Quebec — Glance at Champlain’s daily life — His death, on Christmas Day, 1635 — His Char- acter . 872 FATHER ISAAC JOGUES, S.J. CHAPTER I. THE YOUTH OF A GREAT MISSIONARY. Jogues’ birth and family — His mother — Education — Becomes a Jesuit — Ordination— Seeks a foreign mission — Is sent to Canada — Letter to his his mother — Another letter — Is sent to the Huron mission — Description of the journey — His missionary toils — Diflaculties of the missionaries— His journey to the Tobacco Nation 379 CHAPTER II. A CAPTIVE AMONG THE MOHAWKS. The Cross planted in Michigan— The Huron mission— Father Jogues on his way to Quebec— Is taken on the return voyage by the Mohawks- Sufferings and adventures on the way from the St. Lawrence to the land of the Mohawks — Lake George — Revolting tortures — The death of Goupil — The martyr-missionary’s life among the savages — His escape and arrival in New Amsterdam . 888 CHAPTER III. THE GLORIOUS END. New York City two centuries and a half ago — Two Catholics — A pious Irishman — Father Jogues is wrecked on the English coast — Lands in Prance on Christmas Day — Pathetic incidents — At the College of Rennes — The nation honors him as a saint and martyr — Returns to. Canada — Again among the Mohawks — Returns to Quebec — Comes back as an apostle — The glorious death of Father Jogues . . • • 899’ CONTENTS. xiy FATHER JOHN DE BRl^BEUF, S.J. CHAPTER I. THIRTY- SIX EVENTFUL TEARS. The Pioneer Jesuits of North America — John de Breheuf — His birth — His family — Enters the Society of Jesus — His humility — Goes to Canada — Hardships — Is sent on the Huron Mission — Among the red men — All alone— His recall to Quebec — Returns to France .... 400 CHAPTER H. AMONG THE HURONS. A glimpse — A council and what came of it — The eventful journey to the Huron country — Indian geography — The house for the Jesuits, and its wondrous furniture — Anecdotes — Labors of the missionaries — The good seed falling on rocks — The thousand-and one obstacles — Heroism — De Brebeuf’s visit to the savages of the Neutral Nation . . . . 410 CHAPTER III. THE BLESSING OF SUCCESS AND THE HEROIC END. The great harvest of souls — Piety of the Indians— Father de Be Brebeufs appearance some time before his death— His virtues— The Iroquois inva- sion— Assault on the village of St. Louis— A noble Indian chief— De Biebeuf taken prisoner— Appalling tortures— The sublime end— His greatness ^ FATHER ANDREW WHITE, S.J, CHAPTER I. THE EARLY LIFE OF A YOUNG PRIEST IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Date of White’s birth— The England of three centuries ago— Persecution and robbery— Little known of White’s early years— His home education — “Popery” a low word and a nickname — Toung Whitest Douay Returns home a priest — England as a priest-hunter Father White s banishment — Enters the Society of Jesus — Labors as a professor in various Universities — His great learning . ■ • • . ' <11 CHAPTER II. THE VOYAGE TO MARYLAND. The new Catholic Colony — The “Ark” and the “Dove sail from the Isle of Wight— The “Relatio Itineris in Marylandiam,” note— “ The sea, the sea, the open sea” — Fear of the Turks — A violent storm The “ Dove” thought to have perished — A dreadful tempest and Father White’s prayer— Sunshine on the sea— A providential incident— The Flying Fish— The Isle of Barbadoes— Deliverance from a new danger— Cabbage 180 feet high— The soap tree— The pine-apple— Matalina an6 CONTENTS. PAM Its wild men — The "Carbunca” — Montserrat and its "Exiles of Erin” — Courtesy at St. Christopher’s — A Sulphurous mountain — The locust tree — Nearing the end 436 CHAPTER III, THE rROWNING LABORS AITD ADVENTURES OP A GLORIOUS CARBMl. Reception of the Catholic Pilgrims in Virginia — Chesapeake Bay — The Potomac — Armed Natives — Taking possession of Maryland — A cross in the wilderness — First interview with an Indian Chief — Father Altham preaches — St. Mary’s — Appearance, manners, habits, weapons, and religion of the Maryland Indians — Soil and animals of the country — Mission labors — Difficulties — Conversions — Religion reigns among the Colonists — Buying off Catholic Slaves — Father White at Kittama- quindi — What a red king was — The Apostle of Maryland converts Chilomacon — Ceremony of the chief’s baptism — Illness of Father White — A Famine — A singular incident — Punishment of a backslider— A New Englander and his bigotry — Indian tribes converted along the Potomac — An Indian war — How the Jesuits made a missionary journey — A miracle — The clouds of misfortune gather — End of Father White’s labors — Is sent to England — His last years — Death and charac- ter 4a MOTHER MARY OF THE INCARNATION. CHAPTER I. A Tli.VK'AND-SMILE CHAPTER OF LIFE. Mary’s parents and education — Marriage — Her married life not happy — Death of her husband — Prophetic words — Becomes an Ursuline nun — Her business talents — A ncysterious dream — Madame de la Peltrie — The singular recognition— Embarking for Canada— On the ocean— Up the St. Lawrence— Reception at Quebec 478 CHAPTER II. MOTHER MART OP THE INCARNATION AND HER PUPILS. Learning the Indian languages— The little convent and academy— Small- pox — Convent life — Difficulties — The Indian girl as a convent pupil — Some examples — Teresa, the Huron girl — Her letter to Mother Mary on parting from her convent home — Some short and sharp reflections . , 4S8 CHAPTER HI. A HOLY HEROINE TO THE LAST GASP. A new convent erected — Pupils — Letters of Mother Mary — What a pan of coals did — The fire fiend — Mother Mary surrounded by flames — Her es- cape — Another convent raised up — The educational programme of the time — Mother Mary and her novices — The illustrious woman’s accom- plishments — Her death Am xvi CONTENTS. MISS JANE MANCB. CHAPTER L EAKLY TEAKS OF OUB HEROINE. Birth and family — Her singular childhood — Her charming piety — A re- markable vocation — Her confessor’s opposition — The Duchess de Bullion — De la Dauversi^re — Finally determines to go to Montreal. 496 CHAPTER II. THE TOWN OP MARY. Montreal — Dauversi^re — The Abbe Olier — A vision — The singular interview between Olier and Dauversi^re — A great design assumes shape — Th« memorable ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral — Glance at the plan — Maisonneuve — Miss Mance sails in the expedition for Canada — At Que- bec — Up the St. Lawrence — Arrival at the site of Montreal — The land- ing — The first altar — Mass — Father Vimont’s address — The birth-night of Montreal 49S CHAPTER HI. THE PIONEER HEROINE OF MONTREAL. The first hospital at Montreal — Ville Marie’s Guard — Miss Mance’s seven- teen years’ work — Olier’s remark — Plenty of hospital work — The fall on the ice — Loss of her arm — Voyage to France in company with Mar- garite Bourgeois — The miraculous cure — Madame de Bullion — Depar- ture of three Hospital Nuns for Canada — The severe voyage — At Mon- treal — Sufferings of the nuns — The Iroquois — A pen-picture — A beauti- ful death 504 FATHER JAMES MARQUETTE, S.J. CHAPTER I. A mother’s TEACHING AND ITS RESULTS. Birth— Parents— Family— Early education— Enters the Society of Jesus— Lands in Canada— The voyage to Lake Superior— The First Church at Sault Ste. Marie— Hears of the Mississippi for the first time— Various events — The arrival of Jolliet ... .... 511 CHAPTER II. HOW THE MISSISSIPPI WAS DISCOVERED. The final preparations— First part of the pathway— Joy at entering the Mississippi— The eventful voyage down the mighty stream— Halting at the Arkansas — ^The return ....•••• 510 CHAPTER III. THE SUBLIME END OP A BEAUTIFUL LIFE. Father Marquette battling with disease— A new mission— The Jouraey CONTENTS. xvii FASl along Lake Michigan — At the site of Chicago — Among the Kaskaskias — Return of the disease — On the way to Mackinaw — The last days of the great missionary — The beautiful end — His fame and character . 52€ ROBERT CAVELIER DE LA SALLE, CHAPTER I. YOUTHFUL GENIUS AND VAST DESIGNS. Birth, family, and education of La Salle — Goes to Canada — Settles near Montreal — How little was known of North America then — Vast schemes of La Salle— Discovers the Ohio— At Fort Frontenac— Developing thoughts — Privileges granted by the King of France — A Glimpse at Fort Frontenac 53ff CHAPTER II. TEAVELLING THE THOENY EOAD OF DISCOVEEY, PEEIL, ADVENTUEE. Great preparations — Paddling up the St. Lawrence — The first written de- scription of Niagara — Ship- building — Launch of the “ Griflin” — The first voyage up the Lakes — Fort Crevecceur — A dreadful journey of over 1,200 miles — Nothing but disaster — Returning to Illinois — A ghastly scene — More forest roving, and pushing through the snows of Indiana —At Fort Miami — A council — Final preparations for the discovery of the mouth of the Mississippi •‘>41 CHAPTER HI. THE MOUTH OP THE MISSISSIPPI DISCOVEEED. ’ *‘e expedition down the Father of Waters — “ the sea ! The sea ! the open sea !” — Taking formal possession of the Mississippi Valley for France — Attempts at colonization — Difficulties — Wanderings — The last tragic journey towards the north — Traitors in the camp — Father Douay’s ac- count of La Salle’s assassination — His character as depicted by several distinguished writers . . . 554 VENERABLE MARGARITE BOURGEOIS. CHAPTER I. BEIGHT YOUNG YEAES. Her birth, and parents A wise, promising little girl — Death of her mother Is placed over her father’s household — The vision at the church of Notre Dame — A change of life . . . . . 563 CHAPTER H. A NEW AND HEKOIC CAEEEE. Father Jandret — Lofty virtue — Purity of mind and heart — The vow— Margarite wishes to be a Nun — Is refused admittance — A new Order — A loss that is a gain — Her father’s death — Protects Innocence — A dream CONTENTS. xviii FACE — Gov. De Maisonneuve — Difficulties come and vanish — The heroine goes to Canada 666 CHAPTER III. CANADIAN LIFE TWO CENTURIES AGO. Sister Bourgeois arrives in Canada — A howling wilderness — Estreme cli- mate — The St. Lawrence — “Lo ! the poor Indian” — How the red man lived, moved, and had his being — Canadian towns of the seventeenth century — Montreal a dreary forest — Mass in a tent — Sister Bourgeois teaches the little Indian girls — Makes herself all to all, that she might gain all to Christ — A new idea — The voyage to France — Its success — The ship “ St. Andr^”— Again in Ville-Marie 576 CHAPTER IV. THE FIRST RELIGIOUS ORDER FOUNDED IN AMERICA. An historic stable — Margarite Bourgeois founds the Sisters of the Congre- gation de Notre Dame — Her second trip to Europe — Founds a Chapel in honor of the Most Blessed Virgin — Labors and growth of her commu- nity — Its two chief objects — Dress of the Sisters — Qualities which a Sis- ter should possess — They receive their rule from Bishop St. Valier — The convent destroyed — Four years of mental agony — Peace of soul 581 CHAPTER V. THE SUNSET OF A BEAUTIFUL LIFE. The virtues of Mother Bourgeois — Her Charity — Gives away her bed — In- stitutes missions for women — Schools for country children — Walks 180 miles in winter — Her humility — Poverty of spirit — Miraculous favors — The last sublime act of life— Her death — her character. . . 587 LOUIS JOSEPH DE MONTCALM. CHAPTER I. A FRENCH PHILOSOPHER ON FRANCE IN AMERICA. The family, youth, education, and early career of Montcalm— The dread- ful charge at the pass of Exilles— A glance at the Map— State of affairs in Canada at the time of Montcalm’s arrival 595 CHAPTER II. MONTCALM IN AMERICA. A.t Quebec — The chief Strongholds — The Indians as allies Montcalm greatly loved by the dusky chiefs and warriors — At Fort Frontenac The storming of Oswego— The capture of Fort William Henry— Famine— The battle of Ticonderoga— Great foresight of Montcalm— The battle of the Plains of Abraham at Quebec— Wolfe’s victory— Montcalm mortally wounded— His last hours— His death— His personal appearance . 60* CONTENTS. XIX COMMODORE JOHN BARRY. CHAPTER I. BATTLING FOR FREEDOM ON THE OCEAN. PA«X Barry’s birth-place in Ireland — His love of the ocean — Becomes a sailor. — Meets Washington — The Revolution — Barry’s bold, enterprising spirit — Equipping a fleet — The “ Stars and Stripes” hoisted — The first Capture — Fighting on the Delaware — Lord Howe tries to tribe Barry — Barry’s noble answer — Fighting with little boats and gaining a brilliant vic- tory 616 CHAPTER H. WARRING STILL ON THE OCEAN. Barry receives command of the “ Raleigh”— A contest with two British ships — Takes command of the frigate “Alliance” — Another sharp con- test — The Commodore badly wounded — Encounter with a British squad- ron — Barry’s memorable reply, when hailed by the squadron. , 621 CHAPTER III. FAITHFUL TO THE END, Difficulties in creating our first navy — Achievements of the navy — Barry continues at the head of the service— The frigate “ United States” chas- tising the French — Barry’s devotion to his cou ntry — His death — Appear- ance and character 629 MOST REVEREND JOHN CARROLL, D.D., LL.D. CHAPTER I. FIRST YEARS OF OUR FIRST ARCHBISHOP. Birth — Parents — Ancestors — Education and the Penal Laws — Bohemia Manor — Young Carroll sent to Europe — Enters the Society of Jesus — Is ordained — Suppression of the Society — Sketch in a note — Father Carroll goes to England .635 CHAPTER II. DURING THE REVOLUTION. England and her colonies — Father Carroll sails for America — “ Home, sweet home” — Changes — Resides with his mother at Rock Creek — Con- gress invites Father Carroll to go to Canada — The journey — Result of the mission — Franklin and Father Carroll — Homeward — Praying for the cause of freedom — Controversy with Wharton .... 644 CHAPTER HI. FATHER CARROLL AND OUR EARLY CHURCH. itate of ecclesiastical jurisdiction before the Revolution— What the clergy of Maryland and Pennsylvania did — Father Carroll appointed Prefect XX CONTENTS. Apostolic— Dr. Franklin— Washington at Mass— Dr. Carroll’s labors —Appointed first Bishop of Baltinaore— Statistics of Catholicity. . 647 CHAPTER IV. PLANTING THE CROSS. The Church of the United States and its early troubles— Bishop Carroll di- recting the pioneers of the Faith— Georgetown College founded— The first Synod of Baltimore— Visiting Boston— Priests from France— “Ex- iles of Erin”— Baltimore becomes a metropolitan see— Four new Bish- ops — The death of Archbishop Carroll 063 MOTHER ELIZABETH ANN SETON. CHAPTER I. EARLY YEARS OF OUR HEROINE. Birth — Parents — Education — Religion — Personal appearance — Marriage — Spirit of piety— As a mother— Death of Dr. Bayley . . . .669 CHAPTER H. THE VOYAGE TO ITALY. Mr. Seton’s health declines — A sea voyage proposed — The voyage — At Leg- horn — Pen-pictures — “ Poor William” — Death of Mr. Seton — How she was most kindly treated by the Messrs. Filicchi — At mass — Scraps from letters CHAPTER HI. SEEKING THE TRUTH. Mrs. Seton returns to America — Mr. A. Filicchi — Rev. J. H. Hobart — Mental Agony — Father de Cheverus — Light at last — Mrs. Seton enters the Church of Ages — Is baptized in old St. Peter’s — Her first confession and communion. 679 CHAPTER IV. ' ON THE WAY OF CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. Peace — Father Cheverus — Filicchi — Mrs. Seton opens a boarding-house — Is confirmed by Bishop Carroll — Another Convert — Persecutions — Rev. W. V. Dubourg and his plans — Mrs. Seton goes to Baltimore— Liberal- ity of the Filicchi brothers— Mr. Cooper — The “Sisters of St. Joseph” — At Emmittsburg — St Joseph’s Valley 690 CHAPTER V. THE NEW RELIGIOUS SOCIETY. Rules adopted— Mother Seton’s daughter Anna — Her many virtues- Her death — A Mother’s tears— The growing community — Mother Seton as a teacher — Her eldest son— Mr. P. Filicchi’s death 701 CONTENTS. XXI CHAPTER VI. CROSS CROWN. _ Death of Alother Seton’s youngest daughter — Father Brute — " Luther is Luther ” — Mother Seton’s health becomes feeble — Her patience — Her last moments — Her holy death — Her character — The results of her toiL 71fl CHARLES CARROLL OF CARROLLTON. CHAPTER I. A GRBAT man’s EARLY YEARS. The Carroll family — Birth and Education of Charles Carroll of Carrollton — His active opposition to English tyranny — Marriage — As a Popular advocate — His keen foresight in regard to the revolution — Repeal of the laws againt Catholics. 729 CHAPTER II. THE VISIT TO CANADA. Congress appoints three commissioners to visit Canada — Instructions — The commissioners leave New York on their way to Canada — Extracts from Carroll’s “Journal” — Up the Hudson— At Albany — Visiting the Falls on the Mohawk — Moore’s “ Lines” — At Montreal — Examining the con- dition of affairs — On the way home — Failure of the mission. . . 739 CHAPTER III. GLANCES AT AN ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER. Patriotic labors in Maryland — Signing the immortal Declaration — Glimpses of Mr. Carroll’s public life— His character as a public man— As a Catholic — “The year of Jubilee” — Receiving the united homage of the country — His death — A picture of the closing scene — His favorite books — His opinion of religion . . . • 7C RIGHT REVEREND SIMON GABRIEL BRUTfi. CHAPTER I. A WISE YOUTH IN WILD TIMES. Birth and family Death of Mr. Brute — A good mother — Recollections of a pious Confessor — The first prayer-book — First Communion — Young Brute as a student — His wide range of studies — The study of medicine — Graduates with the highest honors — Enters the seminary — Is raised to the priesthood — Becomes Professor — Goes to America. . . 740 CHAPTER II. A GREAT TEACHER IN THE NEW WORLD. Father Brute at Baltimore — At Emmittsburg — Note on Mt. St. Mary's vvii CONTENTS ' PA6I College — Trying to leant English — His zeal and labors — Mother Seton — A short trip to France — His labors and examnle in the seminary at the mountain — John Hughes and Father Brute — Letters. . . . 768 CHAPTER III. TOILING IN THE WESTERN WILDERNESS. Documents from Rome — A retreat — Is consecrated Bishop of Vincennes — Reception in his new See — Everything to create — Glance at his labors and virtues — His death and character. .... 769 FATHER DEMETRIUS AUGUSTINE GALLITZIN. CHAPTER I. A prince’s youth. Birth and Parents — Education— Mother and Son — Young Gallitzin becomes a Catholic — A pen-picture — Demetrius prepares to travel in America — Incidents before departing — On the bright, blue sea 765 CHAPTER H. THE YOUNG PRINCE-PRIEST. First days in America — New and higher thoughts — In the seminary — Or- dained to the Priesthood— Father Gallitzin is sent on a singular mission to Virginia — Strange events — Adam Livingston and his troubles — What followed — A mysterious voice — Captain McGuire — Gallitzin founds a Catholic colony . . 770 CHAPTER HI. an apostle at work. State of Father Galitzin’s colony-The pastor’s toils-Loretto-The Prince and his sister— Laboring late and early in the vineyard of the Lord— A priest of order and discipline-As a preaeher-“ Every one kneels h^e” -Father Gallitzin and his rebuke to a Protestant lady in church-Her conversion after wards-Many conversions-Father Galitizin as a writer— His hospitality— A forest scene— Death of the great missionary -Anecdotes RIGHT REVEREND JOHN ENGLAND, D.D. CHAPTER I. THE SCHOOL-BOY BECOMES A BISHOP. Early years—" The little Papist”— Leaves law for theology— A patriot priest Is appointed to the parish cf Bandon — His difficulties — Appointment to the see of Charleston— Items from the Bishop’s diary . . .788 CONTENTS. xxiii CHAPTER II. AN IRISH APOSTLE IN AMERICA. State of the new diocese— An apostolic toiler — The Bishop “ barefooted” Dr. England’s visit to Savannah — At Augusta — Visits Locust Grove — Mrs. Thomson — His first open-air sermon — At Warrington — Columbia — A course of lectures at Charleston — Anew Catechism — The “Book Society” — A suggestive quotation in relation to Wilmington. . . 787 CHAPTER III. GLANCES AN AN HEROIC LIFE. Dr. England’s great Fame and worth — His love for the United States — The founder of the Catholic press in this Republic — How he travelled — The power of Father O’Neill’s flute — Preaching on a stump by the way- side — A pen picture — How the Great Bishop punished a conceited, ill- bred preacher 791 CHAPTER IV. LAST YEARS OF “ THE NOBLEST ROMAN OF THEM ALL.” Bishop England and his classical school — Bigotry — His efforts against duelling — Preaching in the hall of the House of Representatives — His extensive influence — His solicitude for all — His boundless zeal — Dr. England and the minister — “ Boys, the Bishop’s stripped to his shirt!” — His care of the negroes — His heroism during the plague — His last days — Scenes at his death-bed — Glances at his character. . . 793 MOST REVEREND JOHN HUGHES, D.D. CHAPTER I. A YOUNG CATHOLIC HERO. Birth — Parents— Education — Kneeling behind a hay-rick — Emigrates to the United States — The future Archbishop toiling as a day-laborer— His college career— Is ordained— His labors in the vineyard of the Lord — His patriotism — The Hughes and Breckenridge controversy — An anecdote about the appointment to the see of Cincinnati. . . . 807 CHAPTER II. THE YOUNG BISHOP OF NEW YORK. Dr. Hughes becomes Bishop of New York — Scene at his consecration-^ Stormy times — Lay-trusteeism — Bishop Hughes sails for Europe — Es- tablishment of St. John’s College, at Fordham — Sketch of the college (note) — The public school system — Battle of Bishop Hughes — His great influence over his flock 818 CHAPTER III. BATTLING WITH KNOWNOTHINGISM. Friends in Philadelphia — Sympathy in New York — The Catholics — Dr. XXIV CONTENTS. PASS Hughes and the Mayor — The Bishop’s memorable letter to Mayor Harper — Immense debt of the churches — Consecration of Dr.McCloskey Division of the diocese — Catholic chaplains in the army — The sisters of Charity — Preaching before Congress — Progress of Catholic Education — Patriotism 821 CHAPTER IV. THE FIRST ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK. Mew York raised to the rank of a metropolitan^see — The Immaculate Con- ception — Failing health — St. Patrick’s Cathedral — The Archbishop’s energ}' — The Archbishop and Pius IX. — The civil war — His mission to Europe — Some of his last acts — The mournful end — His greatness summed up 880 FATHER PETER JOHN DE SMET, S.J. CHAPTER I. THE YOUNG MISSIONARY, Birth and education — Goes to America and joins the Society of Jesus — Helps to build a university — Among the Indians — The Flathead mission founded — Back to St. Louis — The difficulties of the Indian missionary — A system of missions planned — How Father De Smet raised money to help on the work of God 836 CHAPTER II. THE GREAT BLACK-GOWN AS CHAPLAIN OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY SENT AGAINST THE MORMONS. Our Government recognizing Father De Smet’s great influence over the Indians — Letter of De Smet — The Mormons — Appointed chaplain in United States Army — Pen pictures — The buffalo — Scenes of death — A caravan on the plains — Submission of the Mormons 843 CHAPTER HI. NEW SIGHTS AND SCENES. At the Isthmus of Panama— San Francisco— For Vancouver— The great blackgown among the Indians — Renewing a treaty of peace — Forest scenes — Father Point’s crosses — Listening to bears and wolves at night. 856 CHAPTER IV. THE SUNSET OF LIFE. The Catholic Faith and the Indian — The Skalzi tribe — Their virtues— Their country — The tobacco plain — The Flatbow river — Agriculture — Hon- esty — Anecdote of an old chief — A young warrior and his bride — A little Indian church — The missionary and the Indians — Old Chief Michael — Honors to Father De Smet on his last visit to Europe — A sad accident — Death of Father De Smet — The magnitude of his work — " Ad majorem Dei gloriam.” ... 869 THE WORLD’S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. The Republic of the United States and all the NATIONS OF THE EARTH HONOR THE MEMORY OF Christopher Columbds on American Soil. America MUST AND SHALL BE CaTHOLIC, When under the providence of God it fell to the lot of Christopher Columbus to discover America, results mightier than human imagination could conceive were hidden in the womb of a future greater tlian mortal mind could prophesy. With the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ emblazoned on his banner, and the name of Mary adorning his enterprise the in- trepid Catholic discoverer presented to Christianity and civil- ization this vast continent ; and greatest of all the conse- quences of his immortal act was the establishment in God’s own season of the Great Republic — the United States of America. Four hundred years after the Genoese navigator had reached the virgin soil of America it was reserved for the United States to pay the grandest of all possible tributes to his imperishable memory. International expositions in which the nations of the earth reveal to one another their treasures of mental activities and material development are essentially of modern origin. Within half a century they have had their birth. But their effects on civilization have been of gigantic growth, and they are destined to bear to future ages blessings of priceless value. In the race toward the topmost goal of civilized effort it was fitting that the United States should sometime enter as be- came the extent of our wonderful progress. Hence it was that when it came for us to celebrate the centennial of our 2 THE WORLD'S COL UMBIAN EKPOSITION. existence as a peerless sovereign among the sovereignties of human government, we invited the nations to share our re- joicing in the great international exposition of 1876. Philadelphia — city of memories dear and tender and touching to every patriotic heart — city of reminiscences, of grand struggles and mighty endeavors in the cause of human freedom —was then chosen as a suitable place in which we might commemorate the glories of 1776, while mani- festing to all races and peoples that the Republic which hailed no less than a Washington as its Father was indeed '‘proud, prosperous and invincible.” The Philadelphia exposition fairly rivalled those of Lon- don, Paris and Vienna. The United States was then formally introduced to the older civilizations as a country worthy of their highest esteem. Our limitless resources were borne to their minds as a wondrous realization of which the most op- timistic dreams were but phantomic shadows, and thereupon it began to dawn on the intelligences of the century that the approaching quadri-centennial of the New World’s discovery should be celebrated on American soil in a manner befitting the greatness of our country and in some measure commen surate with the deep debt of gratitude that the whole world owed to the memory of Columbus. In 1882 public opinion underwent a general and spon- taneous feeling in favor of commemorating the discovery of the Western Hemisphere by an International Exposition. The question was agitated in a way to attract the pride of the country and the practical sense of our people. That such an exposition should be held was conceded by all. Meanwhile the question as to where it should be held gradu- ally narrowed until it lay between New York, Washington, Chicago and St. Louis as to which of these great centres should win the coveted prize. The press of these cities val- iantly fought in favor of their respective claims and public- spirited citizens of all shades of politics entered the contest with pen and speech and purse. Much was to be said in favor of each one of the claimants. New York was the im- perial city of the Union, the metropolis of the country and THE WORLD'S COL UMBIAN EXPOSITION. 3 its chief commercial centre. Washington was the capital, the seat of our government. St. Louis was so situated that it was the centre of a teeming population greater for a radius of five hundred miles, than could be found within a like circle by any other city, and was therefore more accessible to the greatest number of our people. Chicago however ac- centuated her pretensions by showing that she was in very deed the great American city — the phenomenon of American growth; gigantic in proportions; rich, progressive, strong ; but half a century old and yet springing from the prairie like a goddess with at least 1,250,000 inhabitants to worship at her shrine. Chicago held that she was the grand wonder of American possibilities and progress, and should therefore be selected to bear aloft the banner of American glory be- fore the world. Chicago prevailed ! In December 1889, Congress assem- bled and from the first the balloting in the House of Rep- resentatives resulted in favor of the Prairie City. In March, 1890, Senator Daniels, of Virginia, introduced a bill provid- ing that the World’s Columbian Exposition should be held in Chicago and furthermore that a great naval parade should take place in the harbor of New York. On the 25th day of April in the same year. President Harrison signed the bill and thereupon the power and prestige of the United States were added to the enterprise of Chicago in launching the project before the admiring gaze of an appreciative world. Little did he think when seeking the shelter of the Francis- can monastery of La Rabida close to the small seaport town of Palos in Andalusia, and later still when setting forth on his wondrous quest for new lands that the day would come when his name — the name of COLUMBUS — would ring from ocean to ocean and be hailed by men of speech and blood other than his as that of one whom all should delight to honor. Little did he think that the day would come when Southern cavalier and Northern puritan would sound his praises and proclaim his memory as one of ever-increasing benediction. Little did he dream that mighty colonies would yet people the primeval forests and nations arise to glorify 4 TEE WORLD'S COL UMBIAN EXPOSITION. civilization, witli arts and sciences, attending their growth like ministering spirits from above. Little did he imagine that a day would come when a proud republic— greatest of all in ancient or modern times — would invite the world to join in its acclaim of his greatness. But so it was written by the inscrutable hand of Him who governs all things and when the President of the United States affixed his signature to the Act which gave the sanction of our republic’s illimitable maj- esty to the Columbian Exposition civilization received an impetus of vaster import than any other human agency has been privileged to afford in modern times. Chicago rose grandly to the task it had assumed and re- sponded nobly to the trust reposed in her by the nation. Three miles in extent, in Jackson Park, fronting Lake Mich- igan was the site selected for the marvel of our century. Marching onward with resistless energy and overcoming obstacles of almost insuxjerable difficulty, the promoters of the Exposition seemed gifted with supernatural prevision and strength. With ingenuity of conception and fixity of purpose they reared on high, above marsh and waste and dune, a city of ivory-like palaces within which the treasures of the world were destined to receive suitable and worthy sanctuary. Orient and Occident heard of this wonderful effort of man’s creative genius and hastened to lay their most precious gifts in the custody of our republic’s trusty representatives. "Vast in conception the Exposition build- ings were yet vaster in execution. The great hall set apart for Manufactures and Liberal Arts alone consumed twice as much iron and steel as were used in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. The pyramids of Cheops might bestowed away under its great roof of glass. It occupied nine times as much ground as the Capitol at Washington and was in all respects equal to the most prodigal of demands. In like appropriateness of space and with every concom- itant of necessity and beauty the other buildings were erected. The pride of our republic was fully awakened. Stale after State wheeled into line to make of this Exposition the grandest that mortal agency could achieve. As the glori IHE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. 5 ous form of Columbia arose in all the majestic proportions of her inimitable splendor and illimitable greatness, extending her gracious invitation to the world, the nations rushed to ac- cept the exhilarating welcome of her hospitable embrace. The blood-red banner of Turkey with its snowy star and crescent was first of the foreign flags unfurled. The white ensign of Japan with its scarlet disk soon followed. Mexico ; the cen- tral and South American republics ; Spain, which had given us Columbus ; Italy, the country of his birth ; France ; Germany ; Austria ; Holland ; Belgium ; Sweden and Nor- way ; Denmark ; Switzerland ; Russia ; Burmah and Siam; Great Britain and her colonies — all the world responded. Even discrowned Ireland was represented and thus the quadri-centennial of America’s discovery brought the na- tions together as no other event could have done. Here was an occasion in which all could participate and rejoice. It was a vantage ground upon w'hich civilization could stand without fetter of racial prejudice or religious bigotry. The work of Columbus belonged to all mankind and the glory of his achievement reflected honor on the whole human race. Here in all the splendor of rational liberty, with every right guaranteed by law, stood the citizens of a self-governing na- tion to welcome every comer ; and if we learned much from our visitors they learned no less from ourselves. They saw us as God’s angels see us. holding the blossoming rod of freedom in our hands, knowing no master save the Almighty Ruler of the universe. They saw us extending to all within our borders the absolute, indefeasible and inalienable right to worship God in peace according to the dictates of conscience. They saw the Church of the Living God — the Church of Columbus — free to pursue her heaven-inspired mission among men. On all sides were apparent the evidences of our abundant resources and when they left us for their homes in the glowing East or gorgeous West they carried with them new lights to shed yet more refulgence on the varied systems of thought and government which had swayed their intel- lect and commanded their allegiance. The marvels of the Columbian Exposition were so many 6 TEE WORLD'S COL UMBIAN EKPOSITION. that one turns in bewilderment from tbeir remembrance. In the vast Manufacturers’ Building four great nations, France, Germany, Great Britain and the United States, oc- cupied the centre. It was in that building that the surpris- ing fertility of thought, the resource and ingenuity of the American people were fully displayed. The exhibits of the United States alone, occupied twelve acres and yet only one tenth of the space asked for by American exhibitors could be accorded them. The progress of the world was spread before the nations in the Manufacturers’ Building and it is of remarkable interest that the British colony of New South Wales, in proportion to its population and wealth, was held by competent judges to have made the best exhibit. Again in Machinery Hall which covered eighteen acres the inventive genius of modern times demonstrated its capacity to meet the demands of the human race in a num- ber of ways that seemed to reach the level of every imagin- able requirement. In the building devoted to Agriculture, including Forestry, Dairy products and a Live Stock Pavilion; the buildings given over to Horticulture ; Fisheries ; Mines ; Electricity, and Transportation, the same wonderful results of man’s endeav- or to reach the highest proportions of excellence were dis- played, while the comprehensive breadth of view of the pro- moters of the Exposition was shown in the ample means af- forded to exhibitors of displaying the results of their skill and industry. All these buildings reflected honor on the architects and builders connected with their erection, but from architects and laymen alike the Gallery of Fine Arts received the high- est meed of praise. In this building of classical beauty a vast number of exhibits revealed the extent of the World’s genius in Art, showing how in statuary and painting the human mind delights to show its love of the beautiful and re- fined. Educational methods and systems; instruments of science and musical instruments received fitting shelter in the build- ing devoted to Liberal Arts while the several State Buildings THE WORLD'S COL UMBIAN EXPOSITION. 7 contained the diversified proofs of our people’s exhaustless resources and resistless energy. A sketch however brief of the World’s Columbian Exposi- tion would be wholly incomplete if the Midway Plaisance were forgotten. In the park system of Chicago this strip of land, one mile in length and six hundred feet in width, con- nects Jackson Park, which lies on the lake shore, with Wash- ington Park the oldest and best improved of all the parks and situated on the South side of the city. During the Exposi- tion Midway Plaisance was a feature of constant attraction. It was a conglomeration of foreign peoples, each race with a village of its own and with every accessory of scene and surrounding to show the veritable home life of the various inhabitants of the globe. In the Irish Village, Irish lace weavers, makers of hand lace, weavers of linens, carvers in wood and marble with operators in art linens showed the perfection to which they could triumphantly aspire. In the Japanese Bazaar the ingenuity of the first among the Mon- golian races was shown in steel, iron and brass work, screens and fans. The Dutch Settlement brought to view a Javanese or South Sea Islands gathering ; while in the German Village the steady home life of the German people with their best hopes tor yet further greatness invited general admiration. Streets in Cairo, Algiers and Tunis, with villages showing life in Lapland, and Dahomey ; China stood forth in striking contrast with Austrian revelations of the streets in old Vienna and Turkish exhibitions of the public highways and marts in Constantinople. The Midway Plaisance seemed as though it had brought all mankind together to make of Chi- cago a great rallying centre. One feature of immediate connection with the World’s Columbian Exposition deserves special mention. It is one of the proudest as indeed it is one of the most attractive boasts of Christian civilization that it has ennobled and ex- alted the standing of woman as no pagan or unbeliever of ancient or modern times could understand or appreciate. Even among the Chosen People the position of woman was closely assimilated to that of slavery. But with the coming \ 8 TBB WORLD’S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. of Christ a mighty change was inevitable. Holy and pure indeed must she be who will bear the Saviour in the sanc- tuary of her virginal womb. Favored beyond all other creatures must she be upon whose consent depends the won- derful mystery of the Incarnation. Hence it was that from the beginning the Church of Christ delighted to honor the ever Immaculate Mother of God — her whom Gabriel saluted as full of grace and whose own glorious prophecy in tlie beautiful canticle of the Magnificat declared that all generations should hail as blessed. It followed as a natural sequence that the reverence paid to Mary should operate favorably on the whole sex of which she was the peerless pearl ; and the true emancipation of woman and her exalta- tion among the creatufes of God were due to the Church of which Columbus was a faithful and pious member. Again it is to be remembered that the enterprise of the great dis- coverer owed its initiatory success to the devotion, piety, zeal and self-sacrificing spirit of a woman. It was from Isa- bella, the Catholic, that Columbus received the necessary means to prosecute his designs; and, unintended though it undoubtedly was, no grander tribute has been paid to Cath- olic influences in modern times than was the establishment of the Board of Lady Managers to specially foster, promote and protect the genuine interests of woman in the World’s Columbian Exposition. In none of the preceding interna- tional expositions had such a striking innovation been dreamt of. It was reserved for America to place those “who rock the cradle” upon a yet higher plane among the rulers of the world ; and to their immortal honor it is to be recorded that the Board of Lady Managers, in all that came within the legitimate scope of their work, fully upheld the dignity of woman as understood by the Church which is her special protector, recognizing her as the worthy helpmeet but not the slave of man. October 20, 21 and 22 in the year 1892, were gala days in the history of Chicago — days of grace and of promise, in the history of the United States. These v^ere the days de- voted to the ceremonies of dedication and never before in the THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. 9 history of American cities had an event of greater moment, or one so pregnant with blessings for the country, been cele- brated. October 20 opened with clear skies and a ra- diant dawn upon the city of Chicago. All the inhabitants put on holiday guise and from every point of vantage, from dome and spire and roof, flags were fluttering in the bracing air. This day was given to a monster civic parade in which all the societies joined — the municipal authorities, the members of the National Guard and the Governors of various States attended by their respective suites. In every detail the civic parade proved to be a great success and a happy aug- ury for the future of the Exposition. On the following day the regular exercises of the dedica- tion took place. Over one hundred thousand persons were seated during the ceremonies. As became the genius of American institutions in which the civil authority is para- mount, the Mayor of the city, Hon. Hempstead Washburne, presided. Colonel Geo. R. Davis, Director General of the Exposition, delivered the Introductory Address. Mrs. Pot- ter Palmer, President of the Lady Board of Managers, de- livered an address also. Two Protestant clergymen offered prayer, and the majestic simplicity of the Catholic faith which had inspired the great Columbus was splendidly manifested when His Eminence, Cardinal James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, arose to beseech God’s blessing on this greatest of modern enterprises. Kentucky sent her great Democratic orator, Henry Watterson, to deliver the Dedicatory oration while New York’s Republican speaker, Chauncey M. Depew, thrilled his hearers in the Columbian oration, the echoes of which rang across the continent and elicited universal applause. An ode by Miss Harriet Monroe of Chicago and musical exercises by John K. Paine of Cambridge and G. V. Chadwick of Boston filled in an ad- mirable programme, and thus with every pomp and circum- stance of glorious Peace the great work was auspiciously ded- icated. On the evening of the same day the dedicatory exercises of the W orld’s Congress Auxiliary were held in the vast hall of the Auditorium ; and there the chief feature was 10 THE WORLD’S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. tile oration of Most Reverend John Ireland — the great Cath- olic, the great American, the great citizen, whose voice as it thunders from his episcopal city of St. Paul commands the instant attention of our people of all creeds and of all part- ies. American Catholics are proud indeed of such eminent prelates as Archbishops Gibbons and Ireland. And when we look back through the struggles and vicissitudes of the past we rejoice and are glad in realizing that the Church of God ill oiir country is so efficiently represented, as beyond all question she is, by a hierarchy of such merit as is that of the holy, able, energetic archbishops and bishops who direct the destinies of the Church in America. The spirit which ani- mates a Gibbons or an Ireland fills the heart and governs the acts of all our venerable guides. To them we are devoted in the bonds of a holy allegiance which leads us to move on the lines they indicate for us — lines of obedience to the laws of God in the first place and next of a patriotic love of country which inspires us to reverence the Constitution, to revere the laws, to cherish our free political institutions and to be ever ready to shed our blood, if need be, in defense of our Starry banner. Catholic citizens are proud of America and in the exercises which dedicated the “White City” to its great mis- sion of peace and progress it was eminently in keeping with our status in the citizenship of the Republic that Catholic dignitaries should by presence, prayer and speet^ give testi- mony of Catholic piety and Catholic patriotism. On October 22 the several State buildings in Jackson Park were dedicated and the inaugural exercises closed with military manoeuvres in Washington Park. With the close of the dedicatory exercises work on the preparations to receive the industrial and art treasures of the world, was resumed with energy. Meanwhile public in- terest was focussing in the direction of New York. To the nations of the world the President of the United States had extended a cordial invitation asking them to join in honoring the memory of Columbus by a great naval parade. No such splendid harbor existed elsewhere within our jurisdiction as the unrivalled expanse of water across whose swelling THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. 11 waves the light of “Liberty Enliglitening the World” casts its welcoming rays. New York, so favored by nature and developed by man, was chosen for this magnificent naval display. Early in April, 1893, Hampton Roads beheld rep resentative vessels from all the great navies of the world making rendezvous there and when all had gathered — ves- sels from Great Britain, Prance, Germany, Russia, Italy, Spain, Holland, the South American republics This is the Italian form of the name. Columbus latinized his name in his letters according to the usage of the time, when Latin was the language of learned correspondence.— /mng'. 2 In regard to the ancestors of Columbus. Irving’s account is exceedingly vague, and leaves us to wander in the mazes of conjecture. DeLorgues says: “It \s, cei-taiii that the ancestors of Columbus belonged to the nobility.’’ But on this point, we feel very little interested. The true greatness of Columbus — as of all really great men— arose from his own achievements, not those of his ancestors. He stands on his own merits. He shines by no borrowed light. His son, Fer- nando, who wrote the life of his illustrious father, had a true Christian feeling on this subject. “ I am’ of opinion,” says he, “ that I should derive less dignity from any nobility of ancestry tha« from being the son of such a father.” > Christopher signifies the Christ-bearer; Columbus, a dove. « Longfellow, “ The Hanging of the Crane.” CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. n Years rolled on. Christoplier grew up to boyhood, the hope and pride of his parents. The brightness of his eldest son — he had now more than one' — did not escape the keen eye of Dominic Colombo. He remarked, among other qual- ities, that the lad loved the sea, and was very fond of study- ing geography. He saw his course as became a wise father. He resolved to second the genius of his son. And at the risk of pinching himself and his family, he sent Christopher in his tenth year to the University of Pavia, where the boy studied Latin," geometry, geography, astronomy and navi- gation. His collegiate career, however, was short. In his twelfth year the young student was obliged to return home to assist his father. The wide knowledge and deep scientific attainments which Columbus possessed in after life were the result of experi- ence and long and careful self-instruction. Men of strong genius derive an advantage from having thus, at the very outset, to contend with poverty and privations. They learn to depend upon themselves, to improve every casual advan- tage, and to effect great ends by small means. Such a man was Columbus. His own energy and invention supplied every deficiency, and in all his undertakings, the scantiness of his means enhanced the grandeur of his achievements. For the next two years, it seems, Christopher worked at his father’s business. But, no doubt, he felt that this was not the path of life which Providence and his own inclina- tions pointed out. The sea was his destined field of action. “More frequently than not,” says Father Knight, S. J., ‘ ‘ (jrod leads men by the path of their own natural character even to the sublimest apostolate.” At fourteen years of age, Columbus became a sailor. In those days life on the sea was full of peril and adventure. Commerce and war went hand in hand. Pirates and free- booters were in abundance. The Christian mariners, in many parts of the Mediterranean, were always armed to the teeth, and ready for an encounter with Mahometan corsairs. * Christopher ColmnbnB was the eldest of a family of five — four sons and one danghter. • Latin was the only language in which science was taught at that time. — RuberUon. 20 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. Such was the rugged school in which the future admiral was first broken into discipline. Nor was the teacher less rugged than the school. He was a relative named Colombo, a hardy- old captain of the seas, bold and adventurous, ready to fight in any cause, and to take up a quarrel whenever it might lawfully be found. Many were the deeds of daring performed by Christopher Columbus, both under this stern, old admiral, or -with a no less bold and fighting nephew, known as Colombo the younger. While on a cruise with the latter, an event occurred which gave a new direction to the career of our hero. On the Por- tuguese coast, near cape St. Vincent, a number of rich Venetian merchantmen were attacked by Colombo’s squad- ron. Long and fierce was the encounter. The fight had lasted nearly all day, the combatants were nearly exhausted, and the evening was casting its shades over the mighty deep, when the privateer commanded by Christopher Columbus, grappled a large Venetian vessel, which after a hand-to-hand struggle, caught fire, and both were soon enveloped in flames. Friends and foes alike sought safety in the sea. Seizing a floating oar, the future discoverer of America, boldly struck for land, some six miles distant. He reached it after a desperate struggle for life. His first impulse was to thank Heaven. It pleased God — wrote his son Ferdinand many years after- wards — to preserve him for greater things. Columbus now found himself on the strange coast of Por- tugal, a penniless wanderer. He directed his steps towards Lisbon, made the acquaintance of several fellow-countrymei? there, and was, above all, happy in finding his brother, Bar- tholomew. To his eldest brother, Bartholomew was ever devotedly attached, and he received him with the greatest affection. Portugal, at this time, took the lead in discovery and maritime enterprise. This was due to the bright genius and scientific attainments of Prince Henry, a fearless knight, a true Catholic, and the most eminent navigator before Co- CHEISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 21 lumbus. Encouraged by the Holy See, Henry made several expeditions along the African coast, seeking by water a path to tbe East Indies. The Pope granted a plenary indulgence to aU, who taking part in those voyages, should perish in fulfilling the condi- tions of the indulgence. In truth, the spirit of discovery was connected with zeal for religion, which, in that Catholic age, was a principle of such activity, as to influence the con- duct of nations. Under the hospitable roof of his brother, Columbus made his abode in the capital of Portugal, and supported himself by drawing maps and charts.* He not only provided for his own immediate wants, but by economy and the self-denial which his filial tenderness imposed upon him, he was ena- bled to sweeten the old age of his father, to whom fortune had not been favorable. “ He always took care,” writes the historian Oviedo, “to provide for the wants of his father.” Let us glance at the appearance, manners, and habits of Columbus, who had now reached the fuU vigor of phys- ical and intellectual manhood, having completed his thirty third year. His biographers are minute; and their picture is both interesting and instructive. In person, Columbus was tall, well-formed, and commanding. About his whole figure there was something elevated. His appearance was impressive. His face was a pure oval upon which nature had stamped a look of unusual grace, strength, and beauty. The breadth of his mind was clearly indicated in his intel- lectual brow and large forehead. His nose was aquiline, and his finely chiseled lips expressed the magnanimity of his heart. All his senses were remarkably acute. His eyes, grey, keen, and strong, kindled in moments of enthusiasm, and lit up his manly countenance. A dimpled chin, a few freckles, a ruddy complexion, and hair white as snow since his thirtieth year — such is a rough pen-picture of that won- derful man of destiny. • The construction of a correct map or chart, in those days, required a degree of knowledge and experience, sufBcient to entitle the possessor to distinction.— /rctn^. 22 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. Though simply clad, he could pass nowhere without being noticed. His very look suggested an air of modest distinc- tion. Before kings and grandees he appeared with as much ease and grace as if he had been born in a palace. He had no other finery of dress than cleanliness. In this, however, he was exquisite. To the absence of stains or rents, or negligence in his clothing — which he knew how to pre- serve a long time — he endeavored to join whiteness, and often fineness of linen, always slightly perfumed. For him sweet scents had ever an unfailing attraction. Nature had gifted him with an elegant taste. He admired with tenderness the works of the Almighty, and sought vdth eagerness for flowers, birds, and the productions of the sea. Though a mariner from boyhood, the lofty character of Columbus, raised him above the vices of the seaman. Swear- ing and indecent songs he abhorred. He drank but little wine. He disliked games of chance. He despised effeminate pleasures. With no inclination for the pleasures of the table he preserved on land the frugal habits of shipboard. He preferred vegetable food. Water sweetened Avith candy sugar and some drops of orange-flower, was his favorite drink. His punctuality and habits of order were also remarkable. He knew the value of time. His sense of duty — his ener- getic nature, and well-balanced character prevented him from putting off till to-morrow what could be done to-day. Never was he seen acting at random, or outside of the dic- tates of duty or of good sense. His goodness of heart made him most affectionate to his relatives and friends, and affable to those about him, show- ing his inferiors the kindness of superiority graced with an urbanity which is not learned on shipboard. His simple and flowing language harmonized with his richness of thought The ease of his elocution, the graphic turn of his images, his expressions, often hardy, but always happy, rendered his conversation attractive. He was, in short, one to be loved by those near him. Of a singularly resolute and enduring nature, he was likewise rapt in his own designs, having a ringing forever in his ears of bold and gigantic projects. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 23 He was naturally hasty and inclined to anger. But this im- pulse never injured any one save himself. Reflection — not less sudden than the transport — enabled him to master his feelings. It would appear that this extreme irritability of temper was given him as a test, an occasion to strive against himself; to subdue his natural inclination, to overcome this internal obstacle before surmounting exterior ones. Trials designed to produce the greatest impatience were the lot of him who was to be a model of patience itself, in order to ac- complish his ever-enduring work. The virtues which Columbus had learned to practice at home did not desert him on the ocean. If he was always a gentleman, neither did he ever forget that he was a Catholic. In his bright and thoughtful mind, God and Religion held the flrst place. “Throughout his life,” writes Irving, “he was noted for a strict attention to the offices of religion; nor did his piety consist in mere forms, but partook of that lofty and solemn enthusiasm with which his whole character was strongly tinctured.” From the day of his arrival in Lisbon, Columbus was a regular attendant at morning Mass in the Church of All Saints, just adjoining a convent of nuns. His piety and the distinction of his manners were remarked even through the grating of the cloister. Among the" boarders at this relig- ious institution was a noble young lady named Doha Felippa de Perestrello. About Columbus there w^as a mysterious and indescribable something, that won her affection, and tender curiosity invented the means of making his acquain- tance. This pure and romantic attachment ended in mar- riage. But neither was wealthy. Miss de Perestrello’ s real riches were her virtue, beauty and accomplishments. She was the daughter of an eminent Italian navigator' in the ser- vice of Portugal, who died governor of Porto Santo, but • This was Don Bartholomew de Perestrello. For distinguished sendees, the famous Princs Henry created him Governor of the island of Porto Santo, and bestowed upon him large estates there, which ruined rather than enriched him. The rabbits were so numerous that they literally ate him out, playing the mischief with the products of the soil. The wife of Columbus inherited a portion of those unprodnetive estates. 24 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. who, by an unhappy reverse of fortune, was compelled to leave his family with little save the memory of an honored name. In his young bride, however, Columbus found a cul- tured and devoted companion who lovingly sympathized with aU his plans. CHAPTER 11. THE STRUGGLES OF GENIUS. Columbus and Alphonso V. — The growth of a great idea — Basis of Columbus' theory — Dr. Toscanelli and Colum- bus — His difficulties — Visits his native city' and his Father — Portugal treats him meanly — Death of his wife, DohaFelippa — Directs his steps to Spain — Father Perez and Doctor Hernandez — The Convent of La Ra- bida — Columbus at the Spanish Court — Father de Tala- vara — Second marriage of Columbus — His letter to King Ferdinand — Interview with the Spanish Sovereigns — The Junta of Salamanca — His Dominican Friends — The Moorish War — Ferdinand and Isabella — He never despairs of success — The fall of Granada — He is about to leave Spain — The turn of Fortune — Isabella becomes his patron — The terrris of agreement — Final prepara- tions. Columbus, after his marriage, was invited to reside in the house of his mother-in-law, who appears to have been a lady of no ordinary piety and distinction. To gain his daily bread, however, he continued to work at his charts and manuscripts. But he was now, more than ever before, brought within the sphere of discovery. His alliance with an honorable family procured him access to the highest quarters. It introduced him to the distinguished men of the Court, and the most noted scholars of Portugal. An incident attests this beyond doubt. King Alphonsus V., though not engaged in maritime expeditions, still from tradition and instinct, interested himself about naval affairs, and cheerfully admitted the foreign pilot into his presence. He was delighted with the conversation of Columbus, who 25 26 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. often spoke to him of the natural sciences and maritime ad- ventures. One day, at the end of the conversation on the usual topic of discourse, and perhaps to confirm the Genoese in his ideas, the Portuguese ruler showed him some reeds of an enormous size, unknown to any climate of Europe. A storm had driven them on the shore of the Azores where they were picked up. This fact, though trifling, is sug- gestive. In their friendly chattings, his mother-in-law, struck with his desire to discover unknown countries, recounted the life of her husband to Columbus. Perestrello’s notes and jour- nais she also confided to him. From the observations they contained, Columbus soon drew a new support for his grad- ually maturing project of exploring the earth, and especially, of penetrating the great and unknown ocean which stretched away to the west. Towards this grand achievement tended all his studies, voyages, and researches. Among other things, he examined the progress of the Portuguese on the coast of Guinea, and the route they followed to arrive there. Some time after, he embarked with his wife for lier sterile possessions in Porto Santo,* where he remained for a short period. It was there that James, his first son, was bom. “I have been seeking out the secrets of nature for forty years,” wrote Columbus at a later pejiod of life, “and wherever ship has sailed there have I voyaged.” He had doubtless early conceived the plan of examining the whole world. About the fourth year of his sojourn in Portugal — 1474 — it was already developed in his mind. This extraor- dinary man was never inconsistant with himself. In the ex- amination of his life we find him always the same. That which he was in advanced age, he was in his youth. He was ever a man of prompt action and ready wit, keenly alive to tell what was passing around him, self-possessed in > Porto Santo is one of the Madeira islands. Its length Is eight miles, breadth three miles, and in 184'2 its population was 6,000. It was discovered in 1418 by the Portuguese, and it still be- longs to that nation. It was named Porto Santo — or the Holy Port — because the discoverers happily escaped shipwreck by reaching it. This was the first of the Madeira group discovered. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 27 danger, and fertile in resources; but he was not the less on that account a great reader, a great student, and a dreamer of splendid di’eams. He was possessed of all the cosmographical knowledge of his time, and was well versed in all the books which were then regarded as oracular in their statements about the lim- its of the habitable globe. He had pored over the glow- ing pages of Marco Polo till the magnificent vision of Cipango * and Cathay ' — founded upon the actual wonders of China and Japan — had fastened upon his soul; and he never doubted that the Grand Khan was such as he had been depicted, and only waited the summons of the Catholic sov- ereign to be baptized with all his people. The continuous current of Portuguese discoveries under Prince Henry and others had excited the mind of Europe, and must have had no little influence on Columbus, living, as he was, in the midst of them. This may be said without in any way detracting from his unequalled merits as a great discoverer. In real life people do not spring from shadows to something substantial, as people in sick dreams. A great invention or discovery is often like a daring leap, but it is from land to land — not from nothing to something. Fernando Columbus divides into three classes the ground on which his father's theory was based; namely, reasons from nature, the authority of writers, and the testimony of sailors. He believed the world to be a sphere. He under- estimated its size. He over-estimated the size of the Asiatic continent. The further that continent extended to the east- ward, the nearer it came round towards Spain. And this, in a greater or less degree, had been the opinion of the ancient geographers. Both Aristotle and Seneca thought that a ship might sail “in a few days” from Cadiz to India. Strabo, too, believed that it might be possible to navigate on the same parallel of latitude, due west from the coast of Africa * Cipango is the name given to a man'ellous island described in the “ Voyages ” of Marco Pol* the famons Venitian traveler. It is represented as lying in the eastern seas some 1500 miles frow laad, and of its beauty and wealth many stories are related. ’ Cathay is simply an old name for China. It owes its origin, it is said, to Marco Polo, 28 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. or Spain to that of India. The accounts given by Marco Polo* and Sir John Mandeville’ of their explorations toward China confirmed the exaggerated idea of the extent of Eastern Asia. But of all the works of learned men, that which, accord- ing to Fernando Columbus, had most weight with his father, was the “ Cosmographia” of Cardinal Aliaco. It is a singular work. Learned arguments are interspersed with the most wonderful fables of lion-bodied men and dog-faced women; grave and often very sound disquisitions on the earth’s surface are mixed up with the wildest stories of mon- sters and salamanders, of giants and pigmies. It is here that we find the original, of our modern romantic acquaint- ance, the sea-serpent, described as being “of huge size, so that he kiUs and devours large stags, and is able to cross the ocean.” ’ It is, indeed, a curious subject for meditation that the con- jecture of land in the west grew out of a series of mistaken notions. Because Columbus believed the earth to be of smaller circumference than it really is, and because he be- lieved that the land covered a larger area than the water, therefore he believed that the eastern extremity of Asia could be speedily reached by sailing west. He did not at • Marco Polo, a native of Venice, In the thirteenth century, was the king of travelers In his day. He belonged to a noble family, and according to the custom of his country, engaged early in trade. His ardent mind sought some new sphere of commercial activity. This prompted' him to travel into unknown countries. He continued his wanderings in Asia for upwards of twenty- six years; and when he came home wrote his “ Travels,” a book that astonished all Europe, and was afterwards a great favorite with Columbus. ’ Sir John Mandeville was an Englishman and a learned physician of the fourteenth century. About fifty years after Marco Polo''s time, Mande\ille set out on his wanderings. He visited Turkey, Armenia, Egypt, Syria, Persia, Chaldea. Tartary, and the Indies. But his great delight was the Holy Land, where he remained for a long time carefully examining every trace connected with the history of our Blessed Redeemer. He returned to England after an absence of thirty- four years. Hisbookof “Travels” is generally considered the earliest monument of English prose. But there was also a Latin edition. Irving says this work bad great authority ^vith Columbus. Marco Polo and Sir John Mandeville were both pious Catholics. > Cardinal Peter de Aliaco. Archbishop of Cambray, was bom in 1340, and died about 1435. He was the author of many works, and one of the most learned and scientific men of his day. While making researches in Seyille in the Bibliotheca Columbina— the library given b) Fer- nando Columbus to the Cathedral of that city— the historian, Washington Irving, discovered the very copy of Cardinal Aliaco's work used by the illustrious discoverer of America. Its margins are covered with notes by Columbus, “ written in a very small but neat and distinct hand.” CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 29 that time contemplate the possibility of an intervening con- tinent; and it was the false idea that only about one-third of the circumference of the earth remained untraversed which induced him to plunge boldly into the great ocean. He sought Asia, but he found America. In 1474 we find Columbus in correspondence with Dr. Paul Toscanelli, a learned physician of Florence, who was a kind of grand referee to the explorers and cosmographers of his time, and was highly esteemed at Rome. A letter from the Florentine philosopher to Columbus, dated June 25th, 1474, is extant, in which he shows lively interest in the proposal of Columbus to sail westward, and gives him much singular information, with amusing assurance, just as if he were speaking of known truths, and takes notice of his ardent desire to spread the knowledge of the truth. To Toscanelli, on the whole, much credit is due for the encour- agement he gave that colossal enterprise which led to the discovery of a new world. * But that the notices of western land were not such as to have much weight with other men is sufficiently proved by the difficulty which Columbus had in contending with ad- verse geographers and men of science in general, of whom he says, he never was able to convince any one. After a new world had been discovered, many scattered indications were then found to have foreshown it. “When he prom- ised a new hemisphere,” wrote Voltaire, “people main- tained that it could not exist; and when he had discovered it, that it had been known a long time ! ” When the great resolve, however, was once taken by Columbus to reduce speculation to practice by an actual voyage, never more was it laid aside. This was the real point of departure in the discovery of America, not that other moment when Ferdinand and Isa- bella signed the conditions conferring the Vice-Royalty of ' This famous Catholic physician also sent a map with his letter, in which was traced a route to India across the Atlantic. This map, hy which Columbus sailed on his first voyage of discov- ery, Les Casas says, he had in his possession at the time of writing his history. It is greatly to be regretted that so interesting a document shouid be lost. It may yet exist among voo chaotia lumber of the Spanish archives. — Irving. 30 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. the Indies on him and his heirs, nor yet the moment when he set sail with an unwilling crew of conscript sailors from Palos. The idea never went from his mind; it only gained strength from rebuffs and delays, cold answers and cruel evasions. We see the grandeur of mind of Columbus best in those eighteen years of weary waiting and hoping against hope, when heaven and earth seemed to conspire against him, when opinions were divided about him, and some con- sidered him a dangerous lunatic, and some more than half a heretic, and even his well-wishers for the most part thought that he indulged in miuih unprofitable dreaming, while all the time he saw and felt the vigorous years of his manhood waning fast, and death perhaps approaching to carry him away with his mighty purpose unfulfilled. But with the thoughts of Columbus there ever mingled a deep religious sentiment, giving them a tinge of sublimity. He looked upon himself as standing in the hand of Heaven, chosen from among men for the accomplishment of a high purpose. He read, as it seems, his contemplated discovery foretold in the Holy Book, and shadowed forth darkly in the prophecies, wherein it was declared that the ends of the earth should be brought together, and all nations and tongues and languages, united under the banner of the Re- deemer; and, perhaps, something within him also whispered that he would not die till he had carried the knowledge of Grod across the great and gloomy waters. The long and painful preparatory efforts of Columbus to interest Europe in his mighty enterprise would, at this day, seem almost incredible. To find a continent he besought kings and nations for a ship or two, and they refused him. With true patriotism he made his first application to the senate of his native Genoa. It was refused. The idea was too new to be grasped by the senators of the “City by the sea ;” and they pleaded the poverty of their exchequer, and even denied Columbus the praise of originality. It was written, they said, in the archives of their city that two no- ble captains, two hundred years before, had sailed for the west, and never were heard of again. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 31 Our hero turned to V enice. A polite refusal was his only answer. From Venice he paid a visit to his father at Savona in 1476, and from his own slender means did his best to help the old man, then seventy years of age, and weighed down by accumulated misfortunes. He next directed his steps to Lisbon. Portugal was at that time under John II., an active and enterprising prince; and when Vasco de Gama, the famous Portuguese naviga- tor was on the point of discovering the sea route to India by rounding the Cape of Good Hope, Columbus, convinced that he could find a wider and more direct path by going straight forward towards the west, obtained after a tedious applica- tion, an audience of the king, in order to unfold, once more, his projects of discovery, and solicit the means of carrying them out for the advantage of the state.* John listened with interest. Struck with the boldness of the scheme, he referred it to a junto of men of science. It was treated by them with contempt, as extravagant and visionary. The king, however, w'as not satisfied with their decision. He desired the opinion of his privy-counselors, among whom were some of the most learned men of the kingdom. Their opinion was equallj” unfavorable with that of the junto. Certain of the counsellors, however, seeing tliat the liing still retained an inclination for the enterprise, devised a plan by which it might be secretly put to the test, without publicly committing the dignity of the crown, in what they considered a mere fantasy. Procuring from Col- umbus a detailed plan of his proposed voyage, and the charts by which he intended to shape his course, they pri- vately dispatched a caravel, or small vessel, to pursue the designated route. > Reflections upon the uncertainty, the danger, and tedionsness of that course which the Portu- guese were pursuing, naturally led Columbus to consider whether a shorter and more direct passage to the East Indies might not be found out. After revohing long and seriously every circumstance suggested by his superior knowledge in the theory, as well as practice of navigation; after com- paring attentively the obseivations of modem pilots with the hints and conjectures of ancient authors, he at last concluded, that by sailing directly towards the west, across the Atlantic ocean, new countries, which probably formed a part of the great continent of India, must infallibly be discovered. — SoberUon. 32 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. The caravel took its departure from the Cape de Verde islands, and stood westward for several days. The weather grew stormy; the pilots, having no zeal to stimulate them, and seeing nothing but a waste of wild tumbling waves still extending before them, lost all courage, and returned to Lisbon, ridiculing the project as extravagant and irrational. But it was not an enterprise to be carried out successfully • by men who had only stolen the idea of it. It required the dauntless spirit of a true hero to triumph over the terrors of the Atlantic and cut his way to a new hemisphere! When Columbus learned the base attempt that had been made to defraud him of his enterprise, he renounced all further negotiations with the crown of Portugal. And as if to add to his trials, at this time, death snatched away his dear Dona Felippa, his love and his consolation. She was that sweet and noble companion whose smiles, like rays of sunlight, had illumined his poor home, lit up his lonely path, and encouraged all his grand enterprises; but now she. was no more in this world. “Columbus,” writes the Count de Lorgues, “remained silent and looked up to Heaven.” The death of his wife dissolved the last tie that bound him to Portugal. Taking his little son, James, by the hand, he shook the very dust from his feet, and turned his back upon a country which had treated him with such meanness and little faith. This was at the close of the year 1484. He sailed at once for Genoa, and solicitously pressed his offer for the second time upon the Government of his native city, but the fleet of the Republic was required for home service and not a vessel could be spared. It was at this time he took the little James to see his grandfather. Columbus now cast his eyes around the European thrones. The Christian spirit of Spain and her power on sea seemed to hold out hope of the help he sought.” His arrival in Spain is scarcely less mysterious than his flrst ’ Ab he had already experienced the uncertain issue of application to kings and ministers, he took the precaution of sending into England his brother Bartholomew, to whom he had fully com- municated his ideas, in order that he might negotiate, at the same time, with Henry who was reputed one of the most sagacieus as well as opulent princes in Europe. — BoberUon. COLUMBUS PLANNING THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. ! CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 33 landing in Portugal. He is first heard of as a wanderer ask- ing for a little bread at the gate of the Franciscan Convent of La Rabida, close to the small sea- port town of Palos, in Andalusia. He had his dear little boy with him, and was on his way to Huelva to see a sister-in-law, with whom, in spite of her poverty, he no doubt, wished to leave the child. Father John Perez, the Guardian of the Convent, found his friend. Dr. Garcia Hernandez, the physician of the ' house, in conversation with the stranger on the porch. Some good angel had certainly guided Columbus to La Rabida, for Father Perez was no ordinary man. There was scarcely another in Spain so well prepared by nature and study to appreciate the great thoughts of that singular mendicant. Father Perez had been the confessor of Queen Isabella, but a Court life was less to his liking than retirement and study. His love for mathematics and cosmography was only the handmaid of his zeal for souls. He longed for the discovery of new lands, in order that Christ might be preached to more men, and with him, as with Columbus at Porto Santo, the place of his abode was well suited to feed his restless imagination and his Christian hopes. He had built a kind of observatory on the roof of his monastery, and he spent much of his spare time in contemplating the stars by night and the sea by day. Did that wide and gloomy ocean really bound the world, or had it a further shore with races of men to be evangelized? There was infinite room for speculation where all was conjecture. Some cosmog- raphers thought that it could be sailed across in three years, and some thought it was of indefinite extent. Father Perez had reached the advanced stage of venturing to doubt the impracticability of a voyage across, when Columbus ap- peared at his convent gate, and soon the doubt of an alleged impossibility gave place to the ardent desire of an actual accomplishment. From the first the Father Guardian was a good friend. He made Columbus live at his convent till a favorable op- portunity should present itself for laying his plans before Ferdinand and Isabella; and we cannot doubt that it was at 34 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. this period of his life that the future great discoverer ac- quired that astonishing acquaintance with theology and the Fathers of the Church which must have seemed to the bish- ops and doctors of the Junta of Salamanca a curious result of a sailor’s education. There is no record however, of his conventual life, for most unfortunately the archives of La Rabida perished utterly in some revolution of the present century, the library being pillaged and the manuscripts de- stroyed, and the convent itself was finally abandoned on the suppression of religious houses in 1834; but it is no unfair surmise that he spent his time in religious preparation for his great work. ' Father Perez had an influential friend at Court, a Hier- onymite. Father Ferdinand de Talavera, Prior of Our Lady of Prado at Valladolid, Confessor to the King and Queen, a priest of learning and virtue; and he felt that in recom- mending Columbus to the intercession of such a man, he was almost ensuring the successful issue of his application. But the learning of the Prior of Prado was not in the cos- mographical line, and he was at all times unwilling to push his right of patronage. The letter of Father Perez, it seems, only served to show that he himself had too readily assented to the dreams of this unknown enthusiast, and Talavera had no mind to assist the delusion, He listened with perfect politeness to the explaftations of Columbus, but he did not intend at that time, more particularly, when the attention of the sov- ereigns was concentrated on the Moorish war, to allow any idle dreams to molest their sacred ears. Columbus was helpless, and had to fall back upon caligraphy and map- making for his support. This was at Cordova, where the sovereigns, always in movement, happened then to be. It was during this painful suspense that Columbus mar- ried a young lady of rank, Doha Beatrix Enriquez, who became the mother of his son, and future biographer, Fernando. * The Duke of Montpeneier in 1854 undertook the restoration of the monastery and the church. The cell of the Father Guardian was especially cared for . — Father Knight, S. J. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 36 ‘'She was,” writes DeLorgnes, “of high descent. Her birth far surpassed her fortune, and her beauty, her birth. She was named Beatrix. This name so much loved by Dante, seemed to have been made for an Italian. Dona Beatrix Enriquez belonged to the noble house of Arana, one of the most ancient families of Cordovo, in which virtue was transmitted by right of birth, and which, notwithstand- ing its little opulence, enjoyed that respectability which riches alone can never confer.” This young lady would not have been willing to marry a poor man and a foreigner, who to less generous souls appeared no better than a needy adventurer or an eccen- tric visionary, unless she had received from Heaven un- usual power of discerning real merit; and she would never have carried into effect the marriage with Columbus in the face of all the opposition and ridicule which she could not fail to encounter from her kinsmen of the powerful Arana family, unless she had been endowed with that lofty spirit and strong will, which are unknown to cold and feeble na- tures. Poverty and anxiety could never vulgarize Col- umbus, and a noble, kind-hearted, and somewhat romantic girl might easily find him worth loving. His marriage did not change his plans. When he found that Talavera was a hindrance, not a help, he wrote with his own hand a characteristic letter to the king. “Most Serene Prince; I have been engaged in navigation from my youth. For nearly forty years have I voyaged on the seas. I have visited nearly all the known quarters of the world, and have conversed with a great number of learned men — ivdth eccles- iastics, seculars, Latins, Greeks, and persons of all kinds of religion. I have acquired some knowledge of navigation, astronomy, and geometry; and am sufficiently expert in de- signing the chart of the earth, to place the cities, rivers, and mountains in their correct situations. To the study of works on cosmography, history and philosophy, I have also ap- plied myself. At present, I feel strongly urged to undertake 36 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. the discovery of the Indies; and I come to your Highnes* to supplicate you to favor my enterprise. That those who hear it will turn it into ridicule, I doubt not; but if your Highness will give me the means of executing it, let the obstacles be what they may, I hope to be able to make it succeed.” In this style, firm, manly, concise, and straightforward — a style in which facts take the place of words — we see shin- ing forth the solid mind of Christopher Columbus. Of this letter no notice was taken. He succeeded, how- ever, in making the acquaintance of Antonio Geraldini, for- merly Papal Nuncio, who at the Queen’s request had re- turned to Spain to be tutor to her eldest daughter, and was by him introduced to the great Cardinal Mendoza, Grand Chancellor of Castile. The keen eye of Mendoza recognized at once the extraor- dinary merit of Columbus, and he felt it a duty to obtain for him an audience. Notwithstanding the poorness of his dress, and his foreign accent, Columbus appeared before the sovereigns of Spain, vuthout hesitation or awkwardness. The native dignity of his air and the grace of his deportment, together with the noble familiarity of his language, won their attention. He spoke with the confidence of one who brings his masters more than they can give him in return. “ In thinking what I was,” he wrote at a later period, “I was overwhelmed vuth humility; but in remembering what I brought, I found my- self equal to crowned heads. I was no longer myself, but the instrument of God, chosen and marked out to accom- plish a vast design.” He spoke to them of “serving our Lord, spreading the knowledge of His name and the light of faith among many nations.” He had held out temporal motives to tempt Genoa and Venice, promising to lead their merchants by a shorter path to the spice-groves of the eastern world. Per- haps he thought that Isabella was less mercenary, or per- haps his stay with the Franciscans had made him more unworldly. Now, the service of God evidently held the CHBISTOPEER COLUMBUS. 37 first place in his esteem, and that is a point too lightly passed over by most writers on Columbus. Isabella seems from that moment to have entertained an enthusiastic es- teem for Columbus. She was his Mend for life. Ferdinand, with his usual caution, commissioned Talavera • to call a council of learned men to examine into the case. The court was then at Salamanca, a place of great learning. To the council were summoned all the men of science of the University of Salamanca,' professors present and past. They met in the Dominican Convent of St. Stephen." Father John Perez, unhappily, was not one of the board, and the chief cosmographer of Spain, James Ferrer, the learned lapidary of Burgos, was absent in the East. Talavera was not quite the president Columbus would have chosen, and all came disposed to judge harshly of a man who, in his pride, preferred his own conclusions to the united learning of mankind. As every body knows, many silly objections were made. Texts from Scripture and the Fathers were quoted to disprove the roundness of the earth, and the existence of men with their feet above their heads. Some thought, with Seneca, that the ocean might turn out to be infinite; some were inclined to judge by appearance, and deemed it possible to descend the western slope, but hope- less to climb up the hill of waters on the voyage back. In short, too many of the learned commissioners showed a great deal of childish confusion of thought upon subjects which had formed no part of their studies. As his son Fer- nando drily remarks, “The more powerful the Admiral’s reasons were, the less they understood them through their ignorance; for when a man grows old upon ill principles in mathematics, he cannot conceive the true cause of the false notions imprinted in his mind.” Columbus was likewise a little hampered in his answers by his resolve not to be too minute in relating his plans for fear of exposing himself a second time to the perfid- • At that time, nearly 8,009 stndenta had their namea regigtered on the books of the University, of Salamanca. * It was in November, 1486. 38 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. ious treatment he had experienced from King John of Portugal; but he displayed marvellous erudition of an unexpected kind, and seemed to have the writings of the philosophers and Fathers of the Church at ready command. His sense of the grandeur and the sacredness of the cause for which he pleaded, increased the native dignity of his de- meanor; and, when from technical replies he passed to the exposition and elucidation of the great thought which pos- sessed his soul, he rose at once to the full sublimity of the theme, and in words to which strong conviction, based upon human study and completed by supernatural faith, gave force and beauty, he tried to show that his proposal was in harmony with the mind of the Church, and he claimed for it the sanction of prophecy. His eloquence and learning took his judges by surprise, but he quite failed to convince the greater part of them; for it was not to be expected that a lifelong prejudice of learned men would yield to a few sensible and well-directed words. The Dominican Fathers, in whose house the conferences were held, were almost alone in their favorable judgment of his cause; and they also, though the examination lasted long, generously entertained him all the time, and even paid the expenses of his journey. Father Diego de Deza, O P., their first Professor of Theology, was completely convinced by the reasoning of Columbus, and gained over the leading men of the University. But the majority voted the project chimerical, while the rest thought it scarcely practical, and the council broke up with no very definite declaration at the time. Before the council dispersed the Court had left Salamanca. One consequence, at all events, was the increased consid- eration for a man who had given so much trouble. He was regarded henceforth as an important person. Several times he was summoned to court, his expenses being paid. This is seen in the accounts of the royal treasurer. At the date of May 5th, 1487, we read: “Pay Christopher Columbus, a foreigner., three thousand maravides, for things done in the CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 39 service of their Highnesses.”' On the third of June follow- ing, we find that an equal sum was paid him by the treas- urer Gonzales. But nothing further was done. For Columbus it was an unpropitious time. Far from dreaming of the conquest of some problematic regions beyond unknown seas, Ferdinand and Isabella were engrossed in recovering their own domin- ions from the Moors. These victorious Mussulmen, after a long and prosperous possession, beheld themselves stripped, one by one, of the towns and provinces they had appropri- ated as their own. In spite of their exploits they were every- where defeated, and were now compelled to occupy the moun- tains and valleys around Granada, the Capital and wonder of their empire. Ferdinand and Isabella employed aU their powers, all their efforts, and the resources of their united kingdoms to wrest from the Moors the citadel of Spain. United by a marriage of policy which love had sealed, and which was radiant with a common glory, the one had brought the Kingdom of Arragon, the other that of Castile as a mar- riage portion to this union of crowns. But although the King and Queen, had blended their separate provinces into one country, they yet preserved a distinct and independent dominion over their hereditary kingdoms. They had each a council and ministers for the separate interests of their ancient personal subjects. These councils were only united in one common government when patriotic interests com- mon to the two Kingdoms and the two sovereigns were at stake. Ferdinand, a little older than Isabella, was an able politi- cian and an accomplished soldier. Before that age when by experience man learns to know men, he had already di- vined them. His greatest fault was a certain coldness which sprung from mistrust, and which closed his heart to enthus- iasm and magnanimity. His royal companion, however, more truly deserves our at- tention and our admiration. Of all the illustrious women of • The title at that time given to the sovereigns of Spain. 40 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. history, Isabella alone is honored with the beautiful title of The Catholic in consideration of her greatness and illus- trious piety. In the annals of the past, hers is one of the brightest names. In person she was of the middle height, and well propor- tioned. She had a clear, fresh complexion, with light blue eyes and auburn hair — a style of beauty exceedingly rare in Spain. Her features were regular and uncommonly beauti- ful. The illusion which attaches to rank, more especially when united with engaging manners, might lead us to sus- pect some exaggeration in the praises so liberally lavished on her. But they would seem to be in a great measure jus- tified by the portraits that remain of her, which combine a faultless symmetry of features with singular sweetness and intelligence of expression.* Her manners were most gracious and pleasing. They were marked by natural dignity and modest reserve, tem- pered by an affability which flowed from the kindness of her disposition. She was the last person to be approached with undue familiarity; yet the respect which she imposed was mingled with the strongest feelings of devotion and love. She showed great tact in accommodating herself to the pecu- liar situation and character of those around her. She ap- peared in arms at the head of her troops, and shrunk from none of the hardships of war. During the reforms intro- duced into the religious houses, she visited the nunneries in person, taking her needle -work with her, and passing the day in the society of the inmates. In short, she gained an as- ■ Contemporary authors have been enthusiastic in their description of Isabella, but time has sanctioned their eulogies. She is one of the purest and most beautiful characters in the pages of history. — Irving. Methinks I can still see her beautiful majestic face — with broad brow, and clear honest loving eye — as it looks down upon the beholder from one of the chapels in the Cathedral of Granada: a conntenance too expressive and individual to be what painters give as that of an angel, and yet the next thing to it.— Sir Artkvr Helps. Isabella was the Imng personification of the chivalrous genius of her time and of her nation. No lady on the throne joined a more sincere faith to a most consummate prudence, or shone there with a more nnaffected loyalty. A kind of benediction appeared manifestly to attend her projects as well as her acts. She conld always do when she willed and she always willed when she could do. Success crowned all her undertakings. While surrounding herself for her service with persons of the highest capacity and of sincere devotedness, God willed that the w isdom of her counsels should still surpass that of her counsellors . — Count de Lorgues. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. cendency over her turbulent subjects which no king of Spain could ever boast. She spoke the Castilian language with elegance and cor- rectness. She had an easy pliancy of discourse, which though generally of a serious complexion, was occasionally seasoned with agreeable sallies, some of which have passed into proverbs. She was most temperate in her diet seldom or never tasting wine; and so frugal in her table that the daily expenses for herself and family did not exceed the moderate sum of forty ducats. She was equally simple and economi- cal in her apparel. On all public occasions, indeed, she dis- played a royal magnificence; but she had no relish for it in private, and she freely gave away her clothes and jewels as presents to her friends. Naturally of a sedate, though cheerful temper, she had little taste for the frivolous amuse- ments which make up so much of a court life; and, if she en- couraged the presence of minstrels and musicians in her pal- ace, it was to wean her young nobility from the coarser and less intellectual pleasures to which they were addicted. Among her moral qualities, the most conspicuous, per- haps, was her magnanimity. She betrayed nothing little or selfish in thought or action. Her schemes were vast, and executed in the same noble spirit, in which they were con- ceived. She never employed doubtful agents or sinister measures, but the most direct and open policy. She scorned to avail herself of advantages offered by the perfidy of others. Where she had once given her confidence, she gave her hearty and steady support, and she was scrupulous to redeem any pledge she had made to those who ventured in her cause, however unpopular. She sustained Cardinal Ximenes in all his obnoxious, but salutary reforms. She seconded Columbus in the prosecution of his arduous enter- prise, and shielded him from the calumny of his enemies. She was incapable of harboring any petty distrust, or latent malice; and although stern in the execution and exaction of public justice, she made the most generous allowance, and even sometimes advances, to those who had personally in- jured her. 42 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. But the principle, which gave a peculiar coloring to every feature of Isabella’s mind, was piety. It shone forth from the very depths of her soul with a heavenly radiance, which illuminated her whole character. Fortunately, her earliest years had been passed in the rugged school of adversity, un- der the eye of a mother, who implanted in her serious mind such strong principles of religion as nothing in after life had power to shake. At an early age, in the flower of youth and beauty, she was introduced to her brother’s court; but its blandishments, so dazzling to a young imagination, had no power over hers; for she was surrounded by a moral at- mosphere of purity, Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt.* But to come back to Columbus. He still felt that confi- dence in success which is at once the illusion and the star of genius. Following the Court as it moved about for the better pros- ecution of the war, he must have watched with aching heart the long round of festivities, which greeted at Seville, first the capture of Baza, and then the mamage of the young Isa- bella of Spain with Don Alonza, heir presumptive to the Crown of Portugal. Columbus knew that there would be no peace till Isabella the Catholic had Granada in her hands, and that the recommencement of the war, would mean an in- definite postponement of his cause, so he pressed at once for the formal reply of the Junta of Salamanca. The Prior of Prado, appointed in the interval. Bishop of Avila, was in- structed to furnish it, and it was to the effect that “the proj- ect rested on a false basis, since the author of it asserted as a truth what was an impossibility.” Even after this an- swer, Isabella would not dismiss the case, and Talavera was instructed to say, that as soon as the war was over, there should be a fresh discussion. Columbus, by this time, was well inured to delay, scoffs, and ridicule; but the delay now seemed likely to be endless, and still he could not leave Catholic Spain without one more ’ Prescott. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 43 effort. Spain was even now fighting the infidel, and Spain deserved to be the Patron of the Cross. If the King and Queen were too busy with the campaign, there were other Spainards of almost regal power and wealth, who could fit out his little armament. He applied to the Duke of Medina Sidonia, but he also was busy with the war. He turned to the Duke of Medina Celi, and this great noble- man consented to furnish him with all things needful, but at the last moment he bethought him that such an enter- prise scarcely belonged to a subject, and he asked the Queen to give her sanction. She returned a gracious answer, but begged him to leave the expedition to the Crown, and she summoned Columbus and told him that he really must wait till the close of the war, and he should then receive fuU sat- isfaction. But the end of the war was an event of the un- certain future, and Columbus felt that his time was growing, with every wasted year, more precious. He made up his mind to go at once to the King of France, who had written an encouraging letter. But he went first to La Rabida, to take James from the care of Father Perez and leave him with little Fernando, in his wife’s hands, at Cor- dova. We may imagine the grief of the good Franciscan, to see his friend, after so many years of patient hope, return with his prayer unheard. He called in the learned village doctor, Garcia Hernandez, and they put Columbus steadily through his proofs, with the objections to them and solu- tions, like another Junta of Salamanca. The monk and the physician were both completely convinced. Father Perez felt that it was time for prompt action. As the former con fessor of the Queen, he felt that he could speak and be lis tened to, and so he wrote a letter to Isabella; but he was de- termined that it should be placed without delay in her royal hands, and they sent it accordingly by the hands of Sebas- tian Rodriguez, an experienced sailor and a trusty envoy. It found the Queen at Santa Fe. In a fortnight Rodriguez returned with an invitation to the Franciscan Father and a message of encouragement to Columbus. The poor monk had no mule of his own to sad- 44 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. die, as our Irving supposed, so Columbus bad to borrow one for bim. He obtained tbe ear of tbe Queen, and bis pleading was irresistible. Columbus was summoned to Court anew, but now fate was banging over tbe famous city of Granada, and all things human might wait a few days to watch tbe death agony of a war that bad lasted for eight hundred years. He arrived just in time to witness tbe mem- orable surrender of that Capital to tbe Spanish arms. On tbe 2nd of January 1492, be beheld Boabdil, tbe last of tbe Moorish Kings, sally forth from Alhambra, and yield up tbe keys of that favorite seat of Moslem power; while Ferdi- nand and Isabella, with all the chivalry and magnificence of Spain, moved forward in proud and solemn procession, to receive this token of submission. The air resounded with shouts of joy, songs of triumph, and hymns of thanksgiving. The Cross had finally triumphed over the Crescent, and the power of the Arabian Prophet was forever destroyed in the beautiful plains and valleys of Andalusia. During this brilliant and triumphant scene, remarks an elegant Spanish writer, “a man, obscure and but little known, followed the Court. Confounded in the crowd of importun- ate applicants, and feeding his imagination, in the corners of antechambers, with the pompous project of discovering a world, he was melancholy and dejected in the midst of the general rejoicing, and beheld with indifference, almost with contempt, the conclusion of a conquest which swelled all bosoms with jubilee, and seemed to have reached the utmost bounds of desire. That man was Christopher Columbus.” In the midst of the rejoicings, Isabella kept her promise, and sent for Columbus. She had full faith in him. She ac- cepted his project, but the terms had to be agreed upon and it so happened that the Bishop of Avila was appointed to arrange them. Years of waiting had not changed the ex- alted views of Columbus. To Talavera’s narrow mind, the price was too high to pay. “A beggar,” said he, “made conditions like a king to monarchs.” The Queen, against her better judgment, was even persuaded to tell Columbus that his demands were too large, and he took his departurer Spain CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 45 would not pay the price, and the price could not be altered ! But Columbus was incomparably greater than any mon- arch of his age, and what were his conditions ? As became him, they were not insignificant. He asked to be made an Admiral at once,to be appointed Viceroy of the countries he should discover, and to have an eighth of all the profits of the expedition. The best way of accounting for the extent of these demands and his perseverance, in making them — even to the risk, of total failure — is that the discovery of the Indies was but a step in his mind to what seemed to him a far grander undertaking ; namely, raising a large army and making another crusade for the recovery of the Holy Land from the dominion of the infidel Turk. If we would not en- tirely misunderstand Columbus, we must constantly remem- ber the lofty motives that guided his life’s labors. To him the great things of this world were very trifling. His pierc- ing glance analyzed them, and stripped them of all illu- sion. He looked beyond the stars. Giod, Heaven, Religion — these were the supernatural ideas that filled that capa- rious intellect, raising it far above the low plain of common thoughts, thus imparting an iron resolution to a will naturally strong, and giving marvellous elevation to a character natur- ally grand and fearless. The discoverer of America was, in- deed, a true Catholic son of the old Crusaders — pious and enthusiastic as Peter the Hermit, bold as the Coeur de Lion, patient and dauntless as Godfrey de Bouillon, and a par- taker in the holy wisdom of St. Louis and St. Bernard. Columbus now mounted his mule and rode from Santa Fe in the direction of Cordova, fully convinced, at last, that eighteen good years of life had been spent to no purpose, and that he would have to begin all over again at some other Court, the thankless task of suing for the loan of three little ships and a handful of men ; for this was really all that he had asked the Spanish sovereigns to pay him in advance. The haughty demands which the Bishop of Avila could not brook depended upon the success of a design which, if it were ever realized, would make Ferdinand and Isabella the debtors of their long- suffering petitioner beyond all their 46 CHRISTOPEEB COLUMBUS. power to pay him back. A vice-royalty to him and his heirs in the event of great discoveries, would not be deemed an excessive recompense, and in the event of slight success or failure would not press heavily upon the donors. If he was human, Columbus must have included in one grand sweeping condemnation Court and courtiers, learned men and selfish politicians ; and even Isabella could scarcely hope to escape censure. His feelings as he rode away would be worth the analysis, but he kept them to himself, and conjecture unsupported by word or sign is to little pur- pose. A man of his deep, earnest temperament would need all his Christian philosophy to bear up against such a dis- appointment. But he never lost faith in his cause, for he felt that the cause was God’s, in Whose hands are the hearts of rulers, and the destinies of nations. Fortunately for Isabella, the Bishop of Avila was not the only counsellor at hand. Luis de St. Angel, Receiver of Ecclesiastical Revenues, and Alonzo de Quintanilla, Comptroller-General of Finance, at whose house Columbus had been staying, were full of grief. St. Angel rushed into the presence of the Queen, and in the fervor of his zeal for Christendom and Spain he even reproached her for the un- worthy part she was playing under evil dictation. Isabella thanked him for his frankness. Alonzo de Quintanilla sup- ported the remonstrance. Father John Perez was in the Queen’s chapel close by on his knees before the Blessed Sacrament, praying with all his heart and soul that God, for the Five Sacred Wounds of Jesus, would vouchsafe to guide her decision. Her eyes were opened. The thought of the vast interests at stake darted into her mind with the force of an inspira- tion, and her resolve was formed. No power on earth could change it then, not even her husband’s xinwillingness to move in the matter; for she was a sovereign in her own right, and as such, and for her own crown of Castile, she undertook the enterprise, and as the war had drained the royal coffers of Castile, she was ready to pledge her jewels to raise the funds required. “I undertake it,” exclaimed this VHRISTOPHES COL UMB US. 47 noble and generous lady, “ for my own crown, of Castile, and I will pledge my jewels to raise the necessary funds!” This was the brightest moment in the life of Isabella. It stamped her renown forever as the patroness of the discovery of the New World. The money, however, was a very small consideration at that stage of the proceedings. Ferdinand of Aragon agreed to lend to Isabella of Castile the sum required, and in due time w’as careful to exact repayment. An officer was sent in haste to overtake Columbus. When he came up with hint at the bridge of Pinos, two leagues from Granada, his first summons failed to induce the fugitive to retrace his steps; but as soon as Columbus heard of Isabella’s noble declara- tion, he turned his mule, and hastened back to Sante Fe. And weU he might. This illustrious Catholic Queen had set aside the verdict of the Junta, representing as it did the learning of Spain; she had rejected the advice of her confessor, to which she usually showed a ready deference; she had acted against the opinion of Ferdinand, whose wishes at other times had for her the force of laws. Surely she deserved that her royal word, once given, should be trusted. Good Father Perez, now that his prayer had been so fully heard, fancied his work was done, and hurried back to his convent of La Ra- bida; but it was only as the event showed, to make himself scarcely less useful to Columbus by his business-like co-op- eration at Palos than by his valuable prayers at Sante Fe. Columbus was now almost another man. He was high in favor. Indeed, the Queen gave him so warm a welcome that it was evident she wished to make amends for all past neglect. No more time was taken up in haggling about terms. All that had been asked for was conceded vuthout a word, and Isabella, with delicate thoughtfulness, gracefully added to the more formal grant a personal favor which must have been particularly grateful to a sensitive and wounded spirit, appointing Don James’ one of the pages of honor to i Columbus' eldest soa. 48 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS Prince John, a distinction coveted for their sons by the highest grandees of Spain. The terms of agreement were, with all convenient dispatch, drawn up by the Queen’s secretary, and Ferdinand affixed his signature conjointly, according to the Articles of Mar- riage, but he took no further interest in the matter, and Isabella singly was the life and soul of the whole enterprise. It was to the following effect : — The favors which Christopher Columbus has asked from the King and Qneen of Spain, in recompense of the discover- ies which he has made in the ocean seas, and as recompense for the voyages, which he is about to undertake are the following — 1. He wishes to be made admiral of the seas and countries which he is about to discover. He desires to hold the dig- nity during his life, and that it should descend to his heirs. This request is granted hy the King and Queen. 2. Christopher Columbus wishes to be made viceroy of all the countries and islands. Granted hy the King and Queen. 3. He wishes to have a share, amounting to a tenth part, of the profits' of all merchandise — be it pearls. Jewels, or any other things — that may be found, gained, bought, or exported from the countries which he is to discover. Granted hy the King and Queen. 4. He wishes, in his quality of admiral, to be made sole judge of all mercantile matters that may be the occasion of dispute in the countries which he is to discover. Granted hy the King and Queen, on the condition, how- ever, that this jurisdiction should belong to the office of admiral, as held hy Don Enriquez and other admirals. 5. Christopher Columbus wishes to have the right to con- tribute the eighth part of the expenses of aU ships, which traffic in the new countries, and in return to earn the eighth part of the profits. Granted hy the King and Queen. Santa Fb, in the Vega of Granada, April 17th, 1493. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 49 This agreement was written by Almazan, and signed by the secretary, Colona. One of the great objects held out by Columbus in his un- dertakings, was the propagation of the Catholic faith. He expected to find barbarous and infidel nations in the un- known parts of the east, and to visit the territories of the Grand Khan, whose conversion had in former times been an object of pious missions. The Spanish sovereigns concurred with him in these ideas, and, when he afterwards departed on his voyage, they actually gave him letters addressed to the Grand Khan of Tartary. Isabella without delay, issued her orders for the necessary arrangements. It happened that the little seaport of Palos, which Columbus knew so well, had been for some miscon- duct condemned to furnish to the Crown one year’s service of two caravels, armed and manned. Advantage was taken of this existing obligation, and the caravels were now re- quired to be in readiness in ten days, and to be placed at the disposal of Columbus. This might be a saving of actual expense, but it was an unwise economy, for it gave to what, at the best, would have been a suflBciently unpopular com- mission, the character of a penal conscription, and this upon an occasion when volunteers were most desirable, and forced men were sure to prove daugerous and possibly altogether unmanageable. * The royal mandate was read to the natives of Palos in the Church of St. George by the notary public, on the requisi- tion of Columbus, who was accompanied as a matter of course, by the Franciscan Guardian, Father Perez. The au- thorities signified their submission; but seamen had wills of their own, and when they knew the nature of the service for which they were ordered to hold themselves in readiness, they showed extreme repugnance to give in their names. Not even a royal order, or the promise of immunity from le- gal prosecution and of four months’ pay at a higher rate ' “ The ship of ColnmbuB,” says Helps, was, therefore, a refuge for criminals and runaway debtors, a cave of Adullam for the discontented and the desperate. To have to deal with such a community was not one of the least of Columbus’ difficulties.” 50 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. than usual, to be made in advance at the time of embarka- tion, could induce men to offer themselves for so mad a ven- ture as a voyage due west into the vast and gloomy ocean. They valued their lives, and they did not wish to be sent off on a fool’s errand, or agree to make up a forlorn hope for anybody’s asking. TTor were these timid landsmen, but bold and haxdy sailoiAt. CHAPTER IIL THE PATH THAT LED TO A HEW WOBLR Obstacles in the way of 'preparation — Great services of Father Ferez — The Pinzons — The three vessels — Relig- ious preparations — Scenes at the departure — ^'‘The sea! the sea! the open sea!^^ — Terror produced by a vol^ cano — Fears, dangers, and adventures of the voyage — A New World found — Ceremony of taking posses- sion — The natives — Cuba and Hayti — Romantic inci- dents — Shipwreck — The erection of the fortress of La Navidad^ Adieu to America. Often have gifted pens recounted the story of this cele- brated voyage — the most celebrated in the history of discov- ery. But never can it become threadbare, never can it cease to possess a thrilling interest for all, who can admire the heroic, for all, who love the good, the beautiful, the sublime. It is, in truth, suggestive to think that the little port of Palos, in Andalusia, was assigned to Columbus, as the head- quarters of organization for the expedition, and the point of departure for his squadron. There he first found a true friend in Spain. The idea discussed in the monastery of La Rabida, near Palos, by Father John Perez and Dr. Garcia Hernandez, when they first talked with Columbus, was thus brought home to them once more ; and the learned Franciscan himself was going to preside over all the prepar- atons, and see from his own hermitage, the first sail of his friend, spread towards that unknown world, which they had already contemplated together, with the keen, bright eye of faith and genius. In spite of the kindness and authority of Isabella, many unforeseen obstacles threw themselves in the way of success. 61 52 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. The very beginning was up-hill work. The first proclamation was on the 23d of May, 1492. On the 20th of June more peremptory orders were issued, empowering the magistrates on the coast of Andalusia to press into the service at their discretion, any Spanish ships with their crews. John De Pehalosa was sent to enforce the execution with pains and penalties, and acting upon his orders, he at once seized a vessel named the Pinta, joint property of two citizens of Palos, who gave themselves up for lost and cursed the Gen- oese adventurer. It was no easy matter to fit out the Pinta. Materials were not forthcoming; ship-carpenters were op- portunely indisposed : every obstacle, which ingenuity could devise was thrown in Pehalosa’ s way. He did not make happy progress. Three ships were wanted, and as yet he had but one. If it had not been for the active help of that first and firmest friend, the Father Guardian of La Pabida, Colum- bus might have seen his cherished project fall through finally, not for want of letters patent, but for want of men. A Franciscan by his vocation is at home among the poor. Father Perez, sometimes with and sometimes without his friend, made his rounds among the townspeople of Palos. Both his position and his personal character made him wel- come and gave him influence. He maintained the feasibility of the voyage and made light of imaginary terrors ; nor did he fail, priest as he was and speaking to Catholics, to insinuate motives of a loftier kind than mere thirst for dis- covery or desire of profit. He was defending his own pro- found convictions all the time. He was thinking also of souls to be saved, far away beyond that mysterious ocean, which barred them from the light of the Gospel. If he could not communicate to lesser souls the noble confidence he felt himself, at least, he did much to weaken prejudice and soften down hostility; and when glorious success had crowned that westward voyage, his energetic efforts were gratefully remembered. One service, rendered by Father Perez in Palos, was the introduction of Columbus to Martin Alonzo Pinzon. The CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 5a meeting would assuredly have taken place in any case, but we may reasonably doubt, in the first place, whether the Pinzon family would have entered so warmly into the views of Columbus, and in the second place, w'hether they would have been able to overcome the reluctance of uneducated sailors, if Father Perez had not brought his scientific repu- tation and his local popularity to the aid of the stranger. Penalosa, with his royal warrant to impound ships and im- press Sailors, would soon have made Columbus an object of general execration. The Pinzons might have shared the common feeling, or might have had little power to allay it. It is not necessary to detennine the exact value of the Fran- ciscan’s intervention, but there can be no doubt, that he once again made himself very useful at a critical moment. The three brothers Pinzon, all experienced mariners, lived in the best house at Palos. ‘ Martin Alonzo, the eldest, had lately returned from Rome with seemingly some fresh infor- mation, which predisposed him to favor the idea of Colum- bus. He brought a map given him by one of Innocent VIII. ’s librarians, upon which an unnamed land was marked in the far west. Whether it be that some of the many floating ideas, such as had already arrived at some definiteness of conception in the brain of Father John Perez, had taken shape also in the mind of the Pope’s librarian; or, by a still more simple hypothesis, that Dr. Paul Toscanelli, who was a frequent visitor in Rome, had mentioned the speculations of Columbus to the librarian or his Mends, and that the map was constructed from the ideas so communicated, it is in any case easy to account for the existence of such a map at that time.' Martin Alonzo Pinzon entered heartily into the scheme, and agreed to accompany Columbus, and to provide a fine little caraveP named the Nina, with lateen-saOs, belonging ' Humboldt sneers at the idea that any such map ever existed, and even accuses Pinzon and Columbus of having concocted the story to deceive the simple sailors. This is ridiculous. It is a /act that the map existed; and certainly the ill-natured sneers of a great man cannot disprove this fact. Those who read Humboldt on Columbus will do well to remember that the knowledge and infallibility of the German savant are by no means equal to his bigotry and dogmatism. ’ A kind of light, round, and old-fashioned ship, with a square poop, rigged like a galley, and not much above a hundred tons in burden— formerly used by the Spaniard's and Porto guese.— WebsUr. 54 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. to Vincent Yanez Pinzon — the youngest of the three brothers — who made himself famous in the sequel, as the discoverer of Yucatan, and as the first of the Spanish cap- tains who crossed the equinoctial line. Columbus had en- gaged to furnish an eighth part of the expenses, and the brothers Pinzon enabled him to fulfil his engagement. Public opinion now began to change. For the demand made on it, Palos offered as a second vessel a carack ' named the Galleya, large, heavy, and very solid. She had four masts, was decked throughout, and her long boat is said to have been thirty feet in length. Although unsuited for the service assigned her, neither Columbus, nor his counsellor. Father Perez, dared to refuse her, fearing to add to delay already too greatly extended. Rapidly she was equipped. Columbus even chose her for the erection of his pavilion as ad- miral, but he first changed her name. Placing the ship un- der the protection of the Immaculate Virgin, he had her blessed and called the Santa Maria? Thus the expedition consisted of three vessels — the Santa Maria., the Finta, and the Nina — each having a good ar- mament and provisions for a year. The Santa Maria carried sixty-six persons. Among these, in order of rank, were Christopher Columbus as commander-in-chief and grand Admiral of the Ocean; his nephew by marriage, the Hon. James de Arana; Peter Guttierrez., the king’s yeoman of the stores; Roderic San- chez, controller of the armament; Roderic de Escovedo, the notary royal; Bernard de Tapia, the historiographer of the expedition; Lewis de Torrez, a converted Jew, who knew Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Coplia, and Arminian, as in- terpreter of the expedition; Castillo, a goldsmith from Se- ville, as the official metallurgist; Dr. Alonzo and Dr. Juan composed the board of health. There were also several pi- lots, and among the crew was an Irishman named William ' A large ship of burden, such as the Portuguese formerly used in trading to the East In- dies. — Webster. “ It is w orthy of notice that the chief vessel of the small squadron by which Columbu, di»- covered America, was named the Holy Mary. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 65 Rice. Of those on board the Santa Maria., none were from Palos. Martin Alonzo Pinzon, with his brother Francis Martin Pinzon, for a lieutenant, had command of the Pinta, which numbered thirty on board, all from the neighborhood of Palos, except one, and that one the ill-fated Roderic de Triana. Even Dr. Grarcia Hernandez, in spite of his close intimacy with Father Perez, sailed as surgeon in the Pinta, not in the Santa Maria, . bo that there was evidently an ar- rangement in virtue of which the men of the expedition were divided into those from Palos and Moguer and those from other places, Columbus commanding the latter division and the two brothers Pinzon the former. The Nina, commanded by Vincent Yahez Pinzon, carried the remainder of the Palos contingent, twenty-four souls. It cannot be doubted that in finishing his review of the equipage, Columbus, as was his custom, made an address, and that yielding to the emotions of his heart, he spoke to his hardy hearers of Grod, into whose hands they were about to commit their souls, and the fate of the expedition. Fear and danger turned their hearts to Heaven. Each confessed his sins, and obtained absolution. With Colum- bus at their head, the crews marched in procession to the monastery of La Rabida, to implore the divine assistance, and to put themselves under the special protection of the Most Blessed Virgin. Mass was said, and from the hands of Father Perez they all received Holy Communion — true bread of Saints and heroes. Before departing, Columbus took his son James from the convent of La Rabida, and sent him under convoy to his wife Beatrix, at Cordova, having himself called there on his way from Santa Fe. Having thus carefully provided for all that was dearest to him in this world, the Admiral shut up in his “ cell” to wait for a good east wind. He had previ- ously spent the chief part of his time in the Franciscan monastery, leaving the lesser details of arrangement to the Pinzons, who were in every way competent to undertake the direction, and who had too large a stake in the enterprise to 66 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. be suspected of negligence. Everything was ready, the bag- gage on board, and the signal flag flying. No one was al- lowed to step ashore except the Admiral himself, and he was to be summoned as soon as the first breeze should begin to blow. He was at this period a member of the Third Or- der of St. Francis, and it is probable that he had only a short time previously been enrolled. He attended choir. His fa- vorite book was the Gospel of St. John. We may well im- agine that his own meditations would have had, at such a time, a tinge of sublimity. “Tbe morning is breaking on Palos bay, On its town, and wharf, and ramparts grey. On three barks at their moorings that gallantly ride. With the towers of Castile on their flags of pride.” It was about three o’clock in the morning on Friday, the 3rd of August, 1492. Columbus was awakened by the rust- ling of the tall pines, whose tops were agitated by the land breeze; and at once the keen, practised ear of the veteran mariner recognized the expected favorable wind. Quitting his cell, he quietly rapped at the door of the Father Guar dian. The Brother Sacristan was soon up, and the candles lit, preparatory to the celebration of Holy Mass. On board •the caravels, the watch-guards might, through the stately pine-trees, see the high window-panes of La Rabida shine at that unusual hour. While the community was peacefully slumbering, Columbus, with gentle step, entered the chapel of Our Lady. For him it was a morning of joy and deep solemnity. Father Perez, robed in his sacerdotal vestments, ascended the steps of the altar, and offered up the august Sacrifice for an intention, perhaps until then, unheard of since the institution of the Blessed Eucharist. At the time of Holy Communion, Columbus received the Bread of angels by way of viaticum. Thanksgiving over, the Admiral and the priest noiselessly passed out of the convent, and, absorbed in thought and silence, wended their way, perhaps, down the declivity that leads to Palos. The last stars still glittered in the sky, and the first faint glimmerings of dawn began to appear in the CHRISTOPHER COL UMB US. 57 east. Together they arrived at the town; and without delay the cutter of the Santa Maria was seen approaching the shore to receive the Admiral. The inmates of the neighbor- ing houses were awakened by the shrill voices of the pilots and boatswains. In a moment doors and windows flew open. “They go!” “They go!” resounded from house to house. Mothers and sisters, wives and children hurried to the quay with mingled sighs and sobs and tears. Friends and rela- tions threw themselves into the barks to bid a sad adieu — perhaps, the last forever! It was a touching scene. Colum- bus pressed the Father Guardian to his heart, bid a silent farewell, and, with tears in his great eyes, stepped into the waiting cutter. On reaching the Santa Maria., he was re- ceived with all the hojiors due to an Admiral of Castile. He ascended the poop, and took a careful glance at the arrange- ments. The sign was given, the boats hoisted aboard, and the anchors drawm up to the prows. Columbus waved a flnal adieu to his friend, Father Perez, and the crowd on +.he shore, took his place on the quarter-deck, and with a loud voice ordered the sails to be unfurled in the name of Jesus Christ. Every eye in Palos gazed anxiously on the white canvass, as the little squadron pushed out to sea, and rapidly sped on its dangerous journey. Columbus was now fairly afloat. The great w’ork was really commenced. Eighteen years of weary toil, and suffer- ing, and watching, and waiting had passed away, the white hairs of fifty-seven wdnters crowned his manly, and vener- able head, and now' “With the world all before him, And providence his guide,” he began anew to battle with man and tempest, on the broao; bosom of the unknown and mysterious Atlantic. His choice was made, and his Guide did not fail him.' After ordering the sails to be unfurled, this greatest of Admirals entered his cabin, and with pen in hand, opened the Journal of his voy- • The following sentence sums np a great truth in relation to the Discoverer of America — a tnith too often forgotten by his biographers: ■ The superiority of Columbus, of his genius, and of his grandeur, was owing to his religiou* faith . — Count