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turn. The favourable breeze soon died away; light winds from the east, and frequent calms, succeeded; but they had intervals of favourable weather, and by the 12th of February they had made such progress as to begin to flatter themselves with the hopes of soon beholding land. The wind now came on to blow violently; on the following evening there were three flashes of lightning in the north-north-east; from which signs Columbus predicted an approaching tempest. It soon burst upon them with frightful violence; their small and crazy vessels were little fitted for the wild storms of the Atlantic ; all night they were obliged to scud under bare poles at the mercy of the elements. As the morning dawned, there was a transient pause, and they made a little sail; but the wind rose with redoubled fury from the south, and increased in the night, the vessels labouring terribly in a cross sea, which threatened at each moment to overwhelm them or dash them to pieces. The tempest still augmenting, they were obliged again to scud before the wind. The admiral made signal lights for the Pinta to keep in company; for some time she replied by similar signals, but she was separated by the violence of the storm; her lights gleamed more and more distant, until they ceased entirely. When the day dawned, the sea presented a frightful waste of wild broken waves, lashed into fury by the gale; Columbus looked round anxiously for the Pinta, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Throughout a dreary day the helpless bark was driven along by the tempest. Seeing all human skill baffled and confounded, Columbus endeavoured to propitiate Heaven by solemn vows. Lots were

cast to perform pilgrimages and penitences, most of which fell upon Columbus; among other things, he was to perform a solemn mass, and to watch and pray all night in the chapel of the convent of Santa Clara, at Moguer. Various private vows were made by the seamen, and one by the admiral and the whole crew, that if they were spared to reach the land, they would walk in procession, barefooted, and in their shirts, to offer up thanksgivings in some church dedicated to the Virgin.

The heavens, however, seemed deaf to all their vows; the storm grew still more furious, and every one gave himself up for lost. During this long and awful conflict of the elements, the mind of Columbus was a prey to the most distressing anxiety. He was harassed by the repinings of his crew, who cursed the hour of their leaving their country, and their want of resolution in not compelling him to abandon the voyage. He was afflicted, also, when he thought of his two sons, who would be left destitute by his death. But he had another source of distress, more intolerable than death itself. It was highly probable that the Pinta had foundered in the storm. In such case, the history of his discovery would depend upon his own feeble bark; one surge of the ocean might bury it for ever in oblivion, and his name only remain as that of a desperate adventurer, who had perished in pursuit of a chimera.

In the midst of these gloomy reflections, an expedient suggested itself, by which, though he and his ships might perish, the glory of his achievements might survive to his name, and its advantages be secured to his sovereigns. He wrote on parchment a brief account of his discovery, and of his having

taken possession of the newly found lands in the name of their catholic majesties. This he sealed and directed to the king and queen, and superscribed a promise of a thousand ducats to whomsoever should deliver the packet unopened. He then wrapped it in a waxed cloth, which he placed in the centre of a cake of wax, and enclosing the whole in a cask, threw it into the sea. A copy of this memorial he enclosed, in a similar manner, and placed it upon the poop of his vessel, so that, should the caraval sink, the cask might float off and survive.

Happily, these precautions, though wise, were superfluous; at sunset there was a streak of clear sky in the west, the wind shifted to that quarter, and on the morning of the 15th of February they came in sight of land. The transports of the crew at once more beholding the old world were almost equal to those they had experienced on discovering the new. For two or three days, however, the wind again became contrary, and they remained hovering in sight of land, of which they only caught glimpses through the mist and rack. At length they came to anchor, at the island of St. Mary's, the most southern of the Azores, and a possession of the crown of Portugal. An ungenerous reception, however, awaited the poor tempest-tossed mariners, on their return to the abode of civilized man, far different from the kindness and hospitality they had experienced among the savages of the new world. Columbus had sent one half of the crew on shore, to fulfil the vow of a barefooted procession to a hermitage or chapel of the Virgin, which stood on a solitary part of the coast, and awaited their return to perform the same ceremony with the remainder

of his crew. Scarcely had they begun their prayers and thanksgiving, when a party of horse and foot, headed by the governor of the island, surrounded the hermitage, and took them all prisoners. The real object of this outrage was to get possession of the person of Columbus; for the King of Portugal, jealous lest his enterprise might interfere with his own discoveries, had sent orders to his commanders of islands and distant ports to seize and detain him wherever he should be met with.

Having failed in this open attempt, the governor next endeavoured to get Columbus in his power by stratagem, but was equally unsuccessful. A violent altercation took place between them, and Columbus threatened him with the vengeance of his sovereigns. At length, after two or three days' detention, the sailors who had been captured in the chapel were released; the governor pretended to have acted through doubts of Columbus having a regular commission, but that being now convinced of his being in the service of the Spanish sovereigns, he was ready to yield him every service in his power. The admiral did not put his offers to the proof. The wind became favourable for the continuation of

his voyage, and he again set sail on the 24th of February. After two or three days of pleasant sailing, there was a renewal of tempestuous weather. About midnight of the 2d of March, the caraval was struck by a squall, which rent all her sails, and threatened instant destruction. The crew were again reduced to despair, and made vows of fastings and pilgrimages. The storm raged throughout the succeeding day, during which, from various signs, they considered themselves in the vicinity of land,

which they supposed must be the coast of Portugal. The turbulence of the following night was dreadful. The sea was broken, wild, and mountainous, the rain fell in torrents, and the lightning flashed, and the thunder pealed from various parts of the heavens. In the first watch of this fearful night, the seamen gave the usually welcome cry of land; but it only increased their alarm, for they were ignorant of their situation, and dreaded being driven on shore, or dashed upon the rocks. Taking in sail, therefore, they endeavoured to keep to sea as much as possible. At day-break on the 4th of March, they found themselves off the rock of Cintra, at the mouth of the Tagus. Though distrustful of the good will of Portugal, Columbus had no alternative but to run in for shelter, and he accordingly anchored about three o'clock in the river, opposite to Rastello. The inhabitants came off from various parts of the shore, to congratulate him on what they deemed a miraculous preservation, for they had been watching the vessel the whole morning, with great anxiety, and putting up prayers for her safety. The oldest mariners of the place assured him that they had never known so tempestuous a winter. Such were the difficulties and perils with which Columbus had to contend on his return to Europe: had one-tenth part of them beset his outward voyage, his factious crew would have risen in arms against the enterprise, and he never would have discovered the new world.

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