AMERICA. 217 



and there, after eight years attendance, he succeeded, and chiefly- 

 through the interest of queen Isabella. Columbus now set sail, anno 

 1492, with a fleet of three ships, upon the most adventurous attempt 

 ever undertaken by man, and in the fate of which the inhabitants of 

 two worlds were interested. In this voyage he had a thousand diffi- 

 culties to contend with ; the most formidable was the variation of the 

 compass, then first observed, and which seemed to threaten that the 

 laws of nature were altered in an unknown ocean, and that the only 

 guide he had left was ready to forsake him. His sailors, always dis- 

 contented, now broke out into open mutiny, threatening to throw him 

 overboard, and insisted on their return. But the firmness of the com- 

 mander, and much more the discovery of land alter a voyage of 33 

 days, put an end to the commotion. Columbus first landed on one of 

 the Bahama islands ; but here, to his surprise and sorrow, discover- 

 ed, from the poverty of the inhabitants, that these could not be the 

 Indies he was in quest of. In steering southward, however, he found 

 the island which he called Hispaniola, or St. Domingo, abounding in 

 all the necessaries of life, inhabited by a humane and hospitable peo- 

 ple, and, what was of still greater consequence, as it insured his 

 iavourable reception at home, promising, from some samples he re- 

 ceived, considerable quantities of -gold. This island therefore he pro- 

 posed to make the centre of his discoveries ; and, having left upon it 

 a few of his companions, as the ground-work of a colony, returned to 

 Spain to procure the necessary reinforcements. 



The court was then at Barcelona : Columbus travelled thither from 

 Seville ; amidst the acclamations of the people, attended by some of 

 the inhabitants, the gold, the arms, the utensils, and ornaments, of 

 the country he had discovered. This entry into Barcelona was a spe- 

 cies of triumph more glorious than that of conquerors, more uncom- 

 mon, and more innocent. In this voyage he had acquired a general 

 knowledge of all the islands in the great sea which divides North 

 and South America ; but he had no idea that there was an ocean be- 

 tween him and China. The countries which he had discovered were 

 considered as a part of India. Even after the error which gave rise 

 to this opinion was detected, and the true position of the new world, 

 was ascertained, the name has remained, and the appellation of the 

 West Indies is given by all the people of Europe to the country, and 

 that of Indians to its inhabitants. Thus were the West Indies disco- 

 vered by seeking a passage to the East ; and, even after the discove- 

 ry, still conceived to be a part of the eastern hemisphere. The present 

 success of Columbus, his former disappointments, and the glory at- 

 tending so unexpected a discovery, rendered the court of Spain as 

 eager to forward his designs now, as it had been dilatory before. A 

 fleet of seventeen sail was immediately prepared : all the necessaries 

 for conquest or discovery were embarked ; 1500 men, among whom 

 were several of high rank and fortune, prepared to accompany Co- 

 lumbus, now appointed governor with the most ample authority. It is 

 impossible to determine whether the genius of this geat man, in first 

 conceiving the idea of these discoveries, or his sagacity in the exe- 

 cution of the plan he had conceived, most deserves our admiration. 

 Instead of hurrying from sea to sea, and from one island to another, 

 which, considering the ordinary motives to action among mankind, 

 was naturally to be expected, Columbus, with such fields before him, 

 unable to turn on either hand without finding new objects of his curi- 

 osity and his pride, determined rather to turn to the advantage of the 



Vol. II. F f 



