114 Field Columbian Musf.um. 



althong-h there is no evidence that he ever lived in it; but it was oc- 

 cupied by Fernando Columbus for many years, and until his death, 



Fernando was born about 1488. We know nothing about his 

 early life, but in 1502, when the admiral sailed on his last voyage, he 

 accompanied the expedition. vSubsequently he was appointed a page 

 at court, where he appears to have received a good education and 

 acquired a literary taste. As a member of the retinue of Charles V 

 he seems to have been a favorite with that monarch. Fernando 

 traveled extensively in western Europe, and not only learned much by 

 observation, but became an ardent collector of books in all languages. 

 Oviedo describes him as a person of sweet dispostion, affable manners, 

 and nobility of character. 



Although Columbus in his will gave the greater portion of his 

 estates to Diego, his legitimate son. King Ferdinand awarded to 

 Fernando a considerable amount of land in San Domingo, and 

 Charles V. gave him a generous pension, so that his income was 

 more than $30,000 a year. There is no evidence that he ever mar- 

 ried or had children, for at his death, in 1539, he left all his property, 

 including a very large library, to his nephew Luis, the son of Diego 

 Columbus. This library was one of the most notable collections of 

 books in Europe, and is said to have contained twenty thousand vol- 

 umes, which were mostly obtained between 15 10 and 1537. Nearly 

 every volume in the collection contained a memoranda giving the 

 date and place of purchase, and affording a clue to the extent and 

 direction of his travels. That he was a studious reader is shown by 

 the copious annotations made upon the margins. 



Don Luis Columbus, who was in vSanto Domingo at the time, 

 appears to have cared nothing for the books. He allowed them to 

 pass into the control of the monks attached to the cathedral at 

 Seville, and by royal command the manuscripts in the collection 

 were placed in the national archives of vSpain. Although Fernando 

 left a legacy for the care and increase of the library, the funds ap- 

 pear to have been diverted to other uses, and the precious volumes 

 were neglected until 1832, when it was found that the principal of 

 the legacy had entirely disappeared and two-thirds of the books 

 were missing. It was not until 1885, when Henry Harrisse, the 

 famous Columbian scholar, called public attention to the outrage, 

 that the Spanish government ordered the library repaired and cata- 

 logued, and placed in proper shelter and custody at Seville. There 

 is a catalogue of the collection in the handwriting of the owner, 

 which shows that it was of inestimable value. It appears, also, that 

 it contained a manuscript work on the New World by Fernando him- 

 self, but that has disappeared with many other priceless manuscripts 

 and printed volumes. 



