Authentic Letters of Columbus. 133 



VII. 



Letter from Columbus to Father D. Gaspar at Seville. May 

 1502, Original in the collection of the Duke of Veragua, 

 Madrid. 



t 



Reverend and Most Pious Father: 



The wind from the east detained me in Cadiz (calis) until the day 

 in which the Moors besieged Arzila, and I took advantage of that wind 

 to go to the assistance of the besieged, and I was the first to do so. 

 Subsequently to that Oui Lord gave me such a good weather that I 

 arrived here in four days. Now I am going to continue my voyage in 

 the name of the Holy Trinity, and expect to succeed. I pray Your 

 Reverence to remember to write often to Don Diego, and to remind 

 Francisco de Rivarol of the business of Rome. I do not write to him, 

 because I have no time. I commend myself to the Father Superior 

 and to all the pious members of your religious house. We all here 

 are well, thanks to Our Lord. Dated at Gran Canaria, on of May. 



What Your Reverence may command will be done by 



S. 

 o, A, o. 



X. M. Y. 



Xpo Ferens. 



Note. — While the day of the montn is erased in the original, the letter must 

 have been written between the 20th and the 25th. 



