might be pending against him. He received, also, a letter from Henry VII of England, inviting him to that country, and holding out promises of encouragement. There must have been strong hopes, authorized about this time by the conduct of the Spanish sovereigns, to induce Columbus to neglect these invitations; and we find ground for such a supposition in a memorandum of a sum of money paid to him by the treasurer Gonzalez, to enable him to comply with a summons to attend the Castilian court. By the date of this memorandum, the payment must have been made immediately after Columbus had received the letter of the king of Portugal. It would seem to have been the aim of King Ferdinand to prevent his carrying his proposition to another and a rival monarch, and to keep the matter in suspense, until he should have leisure to examine it, and, if advisable, to carry it into operation. In the spring of 1489, the long-adjourned investigation appeared to be on the eve of taking place. Columbus was summoned to attend a conference of learned men, to be held in the city of Seville; a royal order was issued for lodgings to be provided for him there; and the magistrates of all cities and towns through which he might pass, on his way, were commanded to furnish accommodations gratis, for himself and his attendants. A provision of the kind was necessary in those days, when even the present wretched establishments, called posadas, for the reception of travelers, were scarcely known. The city of Seville complied with the royal command, but as usual the appointed conference was postponed, being interrupted by the opening of a campaign, "in which," says an old chronicler of the place, "the same Columbus was found fighting, giving proofs of the distinguished valor which accompanied his wisdom and his lofty desires."* The campaign in which Columbus is here said to have borne so honorable a part, was one of the most glorious of the war of Granada. Queen Isabella attended with all her court, including as usual a stately train of prelates and friars, among whom is particularly mentioned the procrastinating arbiter of the pretensions of Columbus, Fernando de Talavera. Much of the success of the campaign is ascribed to the presence and counsel of Isabella. The city of Baza, which was closely besieged and had resisted valiantly for upwards of six months, surrendered soon after her arrival; and on the 22d of December, Columbus beheld Muley Boabdil, the elder of the two rival kings of Granada, surrender in person all his remaining possessions, and his right to the crown, to the Spanish sovereigns. During this siege a circumstance took place which appears to have made a deep impression on the devout and enthusiastic spirit of Columbus. Two reverend friars arrived one day at the Spanish camp, and requested admission to the sovereigns on business of great moment. They were two of the brethren of the convent established at the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem. They brought a message from the Grand Soldan of Egypt, threatening to put to death all the Christians in his dominions, to lay waste their convents and churches, and to destroy the sepulchre, if the sovereigns did not desist from the war against Granada. The menace had no effect in altering the purpose of the sovereigns, but Isabella granted a yearly and perpetual sum of * Diego Ortiz de Zuñiga. Ann. de Sevilla, lib. xii, anno 1489, p. 404. one thousand ducats in gold,* for the support of the monks who had charge of the sepulchre; and sent a veil, embroidered with her own hands, to be hung up at its shrine.† The representations of these friars of the sufferings and indignities to which Christians were subjected in the Holy Land, together with the arrogant threat of the Soldan, roused the pious indignation of the Spanish cavaliers, and many burned with ardent zeal once more to revive the contests of the faith on the sacred plains of Palestine. It was probably from conversation with these friars, and from the pious and chivalrous zeal thus awakened in the warrior throng around him, that Columbus first conceived an enthusiastic idea, or rather made a kind of mental vow, which remained more or less present to his mind until the very day of his death. He determined that, should his projected enterprise be successful, he would devote the profits arising from his anticipated discoveries, to a crusade for the rescue of the holy sepulchre from the power of the Infidels. If the bustle and turmoil of this campaign prevented the intended conference, the concerns of Columbus fared no better during the subsequent rejoicings. Ferdinand and Isabella entered Seville in February, 1490, with great pomp and triumph. There were then preparations made for the marriage of their eldest daughter, the Princess Isabella, with the Prince Don Alonzo, heir apparent of Portugal. The nuptials were celebrated in the month of April, with extraordinary splendor. Throughout the whole winter and spring the court was in a continual tumult of parade and pleasure, and nothing was to be * Or 1423 dollars, equivalent to 4269 dollars in our time. seen at Seville but feasts, tournaments, and torch-light processions. What chance had Columbus of being heard amid these alternate uproars of war and festivity? During this long course of solicitation he supported himself, in part, by making maps and charts, and was occasionally assisted by the purse of the worthy friar Diego de Deza. It is due to the sovereigns to say, also, that whenever he was summoned to follow the movements of the court, or to attend any appointed consultation, he was attached to the royal suite, and lodgings were provided for him and sums issued to defray his expenses. Memorandums of several of these sums still exist in the book of accounts of the royal treasurer, Francisco Gonzalez, of Seville, which has lately been found in the archives of Simancas; and it is from these minutes that we have been enabled, in some degree, to follow the movements of Columbus during his attendance upon this rambling and warlike court. During all this time he was exposed to continual scoffs and indignities, being ridiculed by the light and ignorant as a mere dreamer, and stigmatized by the illiberal as an adventurer. The very children, it is said, pointed to their foreheads as he passed, being taught to regard him as a kind of madman. The summer of 1490 passed away, but still Columbus was kept in tantalizing and tormenting suspense. The subsequent winter was not more propitious. He was lingering at Cordova in a state of irritating anxiety, when he learnt that the sovereigns were preparing to depart on a campaign in the Vega of Granada, with a determination never to raise their camp from before that city, until their victorious banners should float upon its towers. Columbus was aware that when once the campaign was opened and the sovereigns were in the field, it would be in vain to expect any attention to his suit. He was wearied, if not incensed, at the repeated postponements he had experienced, by which several years had been consumed. He now pressed for a decisive reply with an earnestness that would not admit of evasion. Fernando de Talavera, therefore, was called upon by the sovereigns to hold a definitive conference with the scientific men to whom the project had been referred, and to make a report of their decision. The bishop tardily complied, and at length reported to their majesties, as the general opinion of the Junto, that the proposed scheme was vain and impossible, and that it did not become such great princes to engage in an enterprise of the kind on such weak grounds as had been advanced.* Notwithstanding this unfavorable report, the sovereigns were unwilling to close the door upon a project which might be productive of such important advantages. Many of the learned members of the Junto also were in its favor, particularly Fray Diego de Deza, tutor to Prince Juan, who from his situation and clerical character had access to the royal ear, and exerted himself strenuously in counteracting the decision of the board. A degree of consideration, also, had gradually grown up at court for the enterprise, and many men, distinguished for rank and merit, had become its advocates. Fernando de Talavera, therefore, was commanded to inform Columbus, who was still at Cordova, that the great cares and expenses of the wars rendered it impossible for the sovereigns to engage in any new enterprise; but that when the war was concluded they would have both time and inclination to treat with him about what he proposed.† This was but a starved reply to receive after so many days of weary attendance, anxious expectation, and deferred hope; * Hist. del Almirante, cap. 2. + Idem, ubi sup. |