Address of the Hon. Philip A. Roach, on the three hundred and eighty-fifth anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus, October 12, 1492 : delivered at South San Francisco Park, October 14, 1877, by invitation of the Italian population of San Francisco

ADDRESS

ON. ^PHILIP

OACH,

THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF
THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS.
OCTOBER 12, 1492.

DELIVERED AT SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO PARK, OCTOBER 14, 1877,

BY INVITATION OF THE ITALIAN POPULATION OF SAN FRANCISCO.

SAN FRANCISCO:

W. M. Hinton & (Company, Printers, 536 <$lay Street.

1877-

With Compliments of

PHILIP A. ROACH,

Of the SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINES.

GRAND MARSHAL.

J. F. FUGAZI.

CHIEF AIDS.

Capt. Baker, Angelo Noce, H. I. Fisher, John A. McLaughlin, G. Bovo,

F. Giovannini, Andrea Sburboro, E. M. darken,

M. J. Walsh, J. E. Cureton, B. Sarti.

AIDS.

A. Corduri, A. Mazza, L. Focacci, A. Focacc-, G. Marselli, F. Raffo, G.

B. Ghiozzi, L. Gardella, D. Paravagiia, G. Pera, Vittorio Tachini,

G. Demartini, B. Santuilosci, F. Orsi, D. Dalporto,

E. Menesini, A. Belli, G. Baltron, A.

Merici, G. Constantino,
L. Paolucci, Fiori Frugolli, S. Giovannini.

FIRST DIVISION.

Marshal — Luigi Bacigalupo.
AIDS — G. Equi, G. Caglieri.

BAND — Lometti.

Escort— German Eifles, Capt. Wm. Brockhoff.

Barouche — Containing the Orator of the Day, Hon. P. A. Eoach; the Presi
dent of the Day, Mr. G. Cuneo; Mr. S. Antoldi, Poet, and Judge Ferral.
Barouche — Containing the President of the Garibaldi Guard. M. V. Eavenna,

with the Civil Administration.

Barouche — Containing the reprt- sentatives of the Mutual Benevolent Associa
tion, Mr. G. Sala, President.

SECOND DIVISION.

Marshal — A. Quilici.
AIDS — O. Menesini, IT. Bertini.

BAND— San Francisco.
Barouche — Containing Messrs. L. Ghilardi, M. Perpoli, P. Canepa, and

E. E. Palmieri, officers of the Gardeners' Association.
Triumphal Car, representing the Goddess of Agriculture,

Miss Louisa Arata.

Fishermen's Association— Triumphal Car, representing the Santa Maria, with
the allegoric figure of Christopher Columbus, in costume of that age,

D.Mengolo, President.

Garibaldi Guard— Capt. G. Malatesta.

Italians in carriages and on foot.

BANCROFT LIBRARY

ADDRESS

OF THE

HON. PHILIP A. ROACH

ON THE

THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY^

OF THE

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS.

DELIVERED OCTOBER 14. 1877,

AT

SOUTH SAN FftANCISCO PARK,

BY INVITATION OF THE ITALIAN POPULATION OF SAN FRANCISCO,

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, —

The concourse assembled here to-day is actuated by u
spirit of gratitude towards the memory of ope of Italy's noblest
sons. Prolific as she has been in poets, heroes, philosophers and
sages, no name in her annals, nor in those of other lands, has
attained a higher place, as a benefactor of mankind, throughout
the civilized world, than that of Christopher Columbus.

Every nation honors itself by commemorating the achievements
of those who have rendered important services to their respective
peoples. And various nations celebrate the anniversary of the
birth-day of their great men, with a spirit of enthusiasm which
finds a response in the most distant regions, where members of
the nationality are scattered.

Such commemorative demonstrations have their origin in the no
blest impulses of the human heart. They, are the expressions of
gratitude for benefits conferred upon humanity, which prompt
emulation of noble deeds. Low in the scale of civilization must be
the people who fail to recognize the benefits received from the

[ 2 ]

teachings and examples of their heroes, statesmen, philosophers
and benefactors.

NATIONAL SPIRIT

Will achieve national greatness and elevate character, when the
people, on occasions like the one which has brought together this
intelligent audience, assemble in their native or adopted homes,
to honor the memory of their countrymen distinguished for the
performance of deeds beneficial to humanity.

The anniversary we celebrate to-day is one in which all the
civilized races of mankind tender to Italy their earnest sympa
thies. Columbus gave not a new world alone to " Castile and
Leon," — he gave it to mankind. The new world which he dis
covered has become the abode of representatives of all the known
races.

CENTURIES OF IMMIGRATION.

During nearly four centuries Europe has been sending her
active and enterprising sons to find their homes on her hospita
ble shores. And at the present day three languages — English,
Spanish and Portuguese — dominate the vast territory extending
from Alaska to Patagonia, and from Baffin's Bay to Cape Horn.
In the interval of centuries the New World has poured into the
Old her treasures of gold and silver and precious stones; and
now, within a few years of the close of the fourth century since
the discovery, the annual yield of the precious metals has not
decreased in volume. These productions have developed the
manufactures and commerce of the entire globe. The warlike
spirit of the 15th century has been gradually changed for com
mercial and scientific enterprises, and the older continent has
been enabled to support in abundance four-fold a larger popula
tion than it did in the days of Columbus. Great as has been the
value of

THE TREASURES

America has given to the older hemisphere, her soil has yielded
products more valuable than her diamonds, her silver or her gold.
The Missionary Fathers discovered in her forests that precious
bark called Cinchona, which has saved millions of the human
race from the jaws of death. Other trees have yielded the pre
cious balsams which have proved specifics against various diseases.
And from her fields, extending nearly from Hudson's Bay on the

[ 3 ]

north to the drear wastes of Patagonia on the south, have been
tlrawii the productions which have fed and clothed countless
millions of mankind ; also, from her islands has come that pre
cious fertilizer which has repaired the waste of European culti
vation. Abundant yields of coffee, sugar, wheat, rice, tobacco
and the potato, have cheapened to the toiling masses of the hu
man family the necessaries of life. Her prodigious yield of cot
ton, principally obtained in the United States and Brazil, has
clothed about one-half the members of the human family; while
its manufacture has given employment to a few nations, aided by
machinery, that could not be performed by the manual labor of
the entire world unaided by that agency. To carry on the com
merce between the western and eastern hemispheres, vessels are
employed of a tonnage so great that the Santa Maria, the admi
ral3 s ship, and the Pinta and Nina could be placed upon their
decks and leave ample space for promenading.

To-day a great republic, which has attained its 100th year of
existence, and an empire nearly as great in area as that of the
United States, with several sister republics, attest the greatness
of the achievement of Columbus. History will bear out the
assertion, that no individual deed has been so fraught with bene
ficial influences to humanity as that accomplished by the firm
ness, constancy, and untiring perseverance which sustained
Columbus in his dreary path over then unknown seas.

MORAL INFLUENCES.

Great as have been the material advantages resulting from the
discovery of America, the crowning glory has been the solving of
the problem of man's ability for self-government. On the virgin
soil of the New World were early planted the seeds of civil and
religious freedom, which rapidly fructified under her genial skies,
and extended their benign influence over Europe. Kingly sys
tems could not be enforced on this continent, and with the ex
ception of the Dominion of Canada, the whole region has thrown
off European tutelage. The idea which germinated on the soil
of America, and which resisted long years of wars to extirpate,
is self-government by their respective peoples; and that idea can
never perish so long as its governments maintain a proper sys
tem of public education, and prevent by proper precautions the
falsification of the popular will.

As the history of Columbus will give this audience the most

[ 4 ]

correct idea of his sufferings, services, and claims to the grati
tude of mankind, I shall briefly allude to the incidents of his
eventful career.

H"IS EARLY EDUCATION.

Columbus was born in Genoa in 1436, of parents of the indus
trial class. At the age of 10 he commenced his studies at the
University of Pavia, then one of the most renowned in Europe
for the learning and ability of its professors and for the number
of its students. At that period Italy stood pre-eminent in letters,
in the arts, and sciences. Her poets and philosophers had opened
new fields to thought and speculation. The art of printing, dis
covered in 1430, had made giant strides in diffusing* knowledge
by the publication of works of great merit, which had remained
almost unknown in the cloisters. The downfall of the Greek
empire, on the capture of Constantinople in 1453, forced many
of the learned men of the empire of Constantine, to seek refuge
in Italy. Their presence gave a powerful impetus to literature,
and led to that era which has been called " La Renaissance," or
the revival of learning. A spirit of enthusiasm was awakened in
Italy for the acquisition of knowledge, and the writings of poets
and philosophers inspired the youth of that land with the most
lofty ideas and undaunted courage to follow their suggestions.
The dreams of poets have often been proved correct, realized by
scientific discovery. Dante, born in 1265, promulgated in his
almost heaven-inspired work, with the tongue of a prophet, the
theory of the rotundity of the earth. Nor is that the only sug
gestion that science has received from poets to secure the attain
ment of what seemed the impossible. Later, but not less mem
orable, was the declaration of Shakspeare, "in 40 minutes will
I put a girdle round the earth/' now realized by the flashings of
thought even through ocean's depths, from one continent to the
other. The influx of the learned Greeks into Italy spread a
knowledge of the cosmography of the world, and was educating
in Italy the race of navigators who form fid that brilliant galaxy
in the history of maritime discovery, among whom were the
brothers Cabot and Amerigo Vespucci.

COLUMBUS LEFT COLLEGE

At the age of 14, possessed of an extraordinary amount of
knowledge for his age. His father placed him writh his grand

[ 5 ]

uncle, who held a commission in the Genoese navy, for Genoa
was then at war with Venice, Naples and the Turk. He spent
twenty years afloat, acquiring by this severe training, a thorough
knowledge of seamanship, an acquaintance with the character
istics of the sailors of that time, of the methods of managing
them, and frequently gaining from the conversations of expe
rienced pilots facts, which, to his logical mind, formed a clue to
solve the great problem he had in contemplation. In 1470,
swimming from a burning galley, one of the attacking vessels
011 a Venitian fleet, off Cape St. Vincent, he succeeded, with
the assistance of a spar, in reaching the shore, and proceeded to
Lisbon, where he met his brother, Bartolommeo, who was then
engaged in the business of chart making.

THE COURT OF PORTUGAL.

After a few years residence there, he married the daughter of
the distinguished Italian navigator, Palestrello, and at his death
inherited his charts and papers Lisbon was then the grand
center of commercial movement. Pilots and sailors who had
been on voyages to the Canaries, the Azores, and African coast,
were here met with, and they recounted many incidents which
confirmed Columbus in his theories. In 1474 the celebrated Ita
lian cosmographer, Toscanelli, replied to inquiries from Alfonso
V, sending a chart, placing the east coast of Asia opposite the
west coast of Africa, with an ocean of indefinite extent lying
between. Columbus opened a correspondence with that vener
able philosopher, who pronounced his plan of sailing to the
west feasible. In 1477 he made a voyage apparently of explora
tion, to the northwest, LOO leagues beyond Iceland, into latitude
73, where he was astonished to find the sea, so near the polar
circle, not frozen. This remained for a long period one of the
most northerly of explorations. After his return he made a trip
to the coast of Guinea.

We now arrive at the period when Columbus, having matured
his plans, made application to different governments to furnish
him the means of carrying them out. It is asserted that he ap
plied to Genoa for assistance; but the Republic was unable to
grant it. He then applied to John II, king of Portugal, who
ascended the throne in 1481. This young monarch had imbibed
the passion for discovery from his grand uncle, Prince Henry;

[ 6 }

and with his reign all its activity revived. At this period the
wildest stories prevailed regarding the wealth and inhabitants of
Asia. Impatient of the slowness with which his discoveries ad
vanced along the coast of Africa, and of the impediments pre
sented to nautical enterprise, the youthful monarch called in
the aid of science to devise some means by which greater cer
tainty might be given to navigation. His t\vo physicians, Bode-
rigo and Joseph, the latter an Israelite, the most able astrono
mers and cosmographers of his kingdom, together with Martin
Behen, of Nuremberg, entered into a learned consultation on
the subject. The result of their labor was the application of the
astrolabe to navigation, enabling the seaman, by the altitude of
the sun, to ascertain the distance from the equator. This instru
ment has been improved and modified into the modern quadrant.
This invention enabled the mariner to rove the deep and to enter
boldly into unknown seas, confident of his ability to retrace his
course by means of the compass and the astrolabe.

Columbus, aware of the liberality of the Court of Portugal in
rewarding nautical discovery sought an audience of King John
and proposed to discover a shorter route to India than that along
the coast of Africa. His plan was to strike directly to the west
across the Atlantic. He then unfolded his hypothesis in regard
to the extent of Asia, and of the immense riches of the island of
Cipango, the first land at which he expected to arrive. The king-
referred the proposition of Columbus to a learned Junto, com
posed of Roderigo and Joseph, and the Bishop of Ceuta. This
scientific body treated the project as extravagant and visionary.

A STRATAGEM TO OBTAIN HIS PLANS.

But still King John manifested an inclination for the enter
prise, and his ministers sought by stratagem to obtain the fruits
of the labors of Columbus without acceding to his terms. Co
lumbus was required to furnish for the consideration of the coun
cil a detailed plan of his proposed voyage, with the charts and
documents from which he intended to shape his course. These
being obtained, a caravel was dispatched with the ostensible
purpose of carrying provisions to the Cape de Verde Islands, but
with private instructions to pursue the designated route. The
pilots, alarmed by the stormy weather, and seeing nothing but
an immeasurable waste of waters before them, put back, ridicul-

ing the project of Columbus as extravagant and visionary. This
unworthy attempt aroused the indignation of Columbus, and he
refused all further efforts of King John to renew negotiations.
Towards the end of 1484 he left Lisbon privately, fearing that
bis creditors might prevent his departure, the grand project
which he had in view having reduced him to the verge of poverty.

ISABELLA THE CATHOLIC.

•ANCROFTLiBK/M

Columbus arrived in Spain in 1485, and the Duke of Medina
Celi wrote to Queen Isabella strongly recommending his project
to her attention. She was in her own right Queen of Castile,
and shared the sovereignty of the united kingdom of Castile and
Arragonwith her husband Ferdinand; they were joint sovereigns,
and Isabella participated in the labors of the cabinet and was
frequently in armor on the field. The historians of her age
are enthusiastic in their eulogies of her talents and virtues. She
possessed wonderful firmness and earnestness of spirit. Her
geniu^arid grandeur of soul inspired the chivalry of Spain with
lofty ideas, her pious example exercised a benign influence on
the Court, and she loved her people, diligently promoting their
welfare by her wise counsels. She appears in history as one of
the purest and noblest mentioned in its pages. Her trials and
triumphs made her life the romance of reality. She fostered the
art of printing and some of the great works of the early press
were published under her auspices. She lavished her means in
promoting letters and arts, and through her aid Salamanca rose
to the height which it assumed in that age. It was to that Uni
versity that the queen referred the proposals of Columbus, which
were debated before a learned commission in 1486. The theory
of the rotundity of the earth advanced by Columbus was opposed
by citations drawn from the writings of the Fathers of the Church,
passages of the Bible, and the epistles of SI. Paul, and that
it was impossible we could have antipodes. But the argu
ments of Columbus had made a favorable impression on many of his
auditors. Ferdinand and Isabella were now actively engaged in
campaigns against the Moorish Kingdom of Granada, and Colum
bus was frequently invited to attend them, but he was never able
to obtain an audience from the sovereigns in reference to his pro
ject. In the Fall of 1490, Columbus received a reply from Fer
dinand declining to engage in the enterprise for the present, but

holding out hopes of support when relieved from the cares and
expenses of war. Disgusted at this disappointment he left
Seville, indignant at having lost so many years of his life in ex
pecting assistance from Princes. He was now reduced to extreme
poverty, and so pressing were his needs that he stopped one day
at the Convent of Santa Maria, near Palos de Moguer, to beg
bread and water for himself and son who accompanied him.

THE PRIOR OF SANTA MARIA.

While receiving this miserable fare the Prior Juan Perez de Mar-
chena happened to pass by and- was pleased with the noble ap
pearance of the stranger. The Prior, from his residence near an
important sea port, took an active interest in maritime affairs;
he was a man of extensive learning and became impressed with
the conversation of Columbus. Fearing that the refusal of Fer
dinand might lose to Spain the opportunity of greatness by re
alizing the discovery of new regions, he induced Columbus to
remain a few days at his Convent until he could visit Isabella,
whose confessor he had been. The representations of the Prior
convinced the Queen of the merits of the project, and with con
siderate kindness she bethought herself of his poverty and sent
him a sum of money — twrenty thousand maravedies, equal to
f'220 of our money, to buy a mule for his journey and a proper
outfit to present himself at Court. He arrived at Court in time to
witness the surrender of Granada, and to see the last of the
Moorish Kings sally from the Alhambra. Nearly eight hundred
years of war ended by restoring a large portion of Spain to Chris
tian rule; and during three centuries of that period, the Caliphs
of Cordova exceeded in the splendor of their Court that of their
rivals of Bagdad. There was in the crowd that flocked to congra
tulate their sovereigns one, who, in a very short period was des
tined to give to Spain the finest and richest regions of the earth.
The war being over negotiators were appointed to treat with
Columbus, but his conditions were regarded as so exorbitant as
to be declared inadmissible, and in February, 1492. he deter
mined to abandon Spain immediately, and had actually made
some progress on his journey toward France, when he was called
back by a special courier. The day before, the receiver of the
ecclesiastical revenue, St. Angel, successfully urged Isabella to
aid the enterprise, stating the advantages that would redound to

[ 9 1

the interests of religion and the glory of Spain. Ferdinand ob
jected that there was no money in the treasury. Isabella re
plied to this: " I will undertake the enterprise for my crown of
Castile, and will pledge my jewels to raise the necessary functe."
That noble declaration opened a new era in the history of the
world.

THE DEPARTURE.

Capitulations were signed by Ferdinand and Isabella April 17,
1492, and Columbus immediately repaired to Palos, with the royal
mandate to secure three vessels and crews. After weeks of efforts,
three small vessels were obtained, many of the crew being im
pressed.. The largest, the Santa Maria, was decked and carried
the Admiral's nag; the Pinta and the Nina were only partially
decked, and the entire number on board the vessels consisted of
J 20 persons. The largest of the fleet was about 100 tons. They
left the port of Palos on Friday, the 3d of August, 1492, all
having previously partaken of the sacraments and committed
themselves to the special guidance and protection of heaven.
It was a day of gloom for that community as nearly every family
had a friend or relative in the expedition. The spirits of the
seamen, already cast down, were still more depressed at the
affliction of those they left behind, who took leave of them with
tears and lamentations as if they were embarking never to re
turn. On the 10th of August, the ships arrived at the Canary
Islands to make necessary repairs and remained there three
weeks. He then set sail over the unknown sea. His crew as
they progressed became more and more dissatisfied and were
anxious to return. Many indications, such as seeing land-birds,
sea-weed, excited temporary confidence that they were nearing
land, and sometimes the clouds seemed to cover well defined
traces of land. But as they sailed on these disappeared and the
crews became more and more obstinate; the Pinzons admirably
sustained Columbus, and prevented mutiny, and at last on the
morning of Friday, Oct. 12, land was discerned from the mast
head of the Pinta, which was made known by the firing of a
gun from that vessel. Sail was now taken in and the dawn im
patiently awaited. They arrived at the island now called San
Salvador. The great mystery of the ocean was solved. The
theory of Columbus was established ! In ten weeks, after leav
ing Spain, the sublime achievement to which he had devoted his

life was realized. His long years of poverty, anguish and hu-
nfciliation were recompensed. He was now fifty-six years of age
and the realization of his views made him the Viceroy of regions
greater than had ever been given to any individual. Landing-
he took possession of the island in the name of Ferdinand and
Isabella; and with imposing religious ceremonies he unfurled the
banner of Spain which we see now floating from the masthead
of the Santa Maria, which forms a feature of this celebration.
The meeting of the races was an extraordinary sight. The sim
ple Indians, gazing upon the commanding and venerable person
of Columbus and his mailed followers, believed them to have de
scended from the skies. While to the Europeans the natives
were the objects of the most intense curiosity differing as they
did from all known races of mankind.

THE RETURN.

Columbus, after visiting many of the Islands in the vicinity of
the one he discovered, left on the 4th of January, 1493, for
Spain. For a few days, everything was favorable to a safe and
speedy voyage, and the little barks sped gaily on their home
ward course. But soon a tempest rose and the vessels almost
foundered. Nor was this their only trial. A few days of fail-
weather was followed by a storm far more terrible than that
which they had before encountered. For the space of two weeks
they were driven constantly before the furious winds. The
whole crew were terrified and firmty believed their last hour had
come. One heart however never quailed in all the long war of
the elements; one soul alone, trusting in the power of the Al
mighty to stay the fury of the tempest, remained in the vessels, —
Columbus firm and undaunted. Prayers, vows and supplications
were directed to Heaven, that the storm might cease. On the
17th of February, after seven weeks of mingled fear and hope
land was seen. It proved to be St. Mary's, one of the Azores Is
lands, and Columbus staid there four days to perform the vows
he had made, and to refresh his tired crews. He again set sail,
but when a short distance from Portugal, encountered a storm
scarcely less fierce than the last, but this being weathered he ar
rived at Lisbon on the 4th of March, 1493. He immediately
asked permission of the Portuguese government to enter that
port. When the tidings reached the Court of the arrival of Col-

[ 11 ]

urabiiB and the success which had attended his efforts, the ex
citement almost surpassed all conceivable bounds. The King of
Portugal prepared a magnificent reception to his honor, and when
approaching the city at which the King was, Columbus was met
by an immense concourse of nobles and members of the royal
household. Columbus related his adventures to the King who
attentively listened with feeling of pleasure and regret. But
amidst all this outward show of friendship, an under current of
animosity concealed by this pomp and grandeur was attempting
to destroy the fruit* of this grand discovery. Columbus was
not slow to perceive this and hastened his departure. He set sail
for Spain on the 13th of March, and arrived in the port of Palos
two chiys later, after an absence of not quite seven months on
fyie most remarkable enterprise which had ever been undertaken.

HIS RECEPTION.

The return of Columbus to Spain with proof of his amazing dis
covery, created a far greater state of excitement than that wit
nessed in Lisbon. The news of his arrival spread with almost
the speed of lightning. Bonfires blazed from every eminence,
bells were rung, cannon were fired, and the whole populace gave
themselves up to demonstrations of joy. At this time the King
and Queen were at Barcelona, about seven hundred miles dis
tant from Palos. Columbus was immediately ordered to repair
thither. His journey was one continued ovation; not a village,
not a hamlet, not a person, but came forward to see the discov
erer of the Indies. The windows, housetops, balconies, were
always filled with eager thousands., striving to do homage to this
great man. Yet amidst all this grandeur and pomp, the heart of
Columbus never grew proud. He remained always the meek and
humble man he had been, before he added these magnificent
realms to the domain of Spain. At length he reached Barcelona.
As he neared that city an immense concourse of nobles came
forth to meet him. Ferdinand and Isabella, with their son
Prince John, were seated beneath a silken canopy in a vast sa-
looii, prepared for the occasion. The apartment was crowded
with the grandees of the realm. As Columbus approached, the
sovereigns did him the honor of rising and inviting him to a seat
at their side. This was an honor conferred on persons only of
highest rank. Columbus desired to kiss their hands, to which with

[ 12 ]

some reluctance, they consented. He then narrated his adven
tures, his sufferings, the storms and dangers which they had en
countered and their happy return. He showed them all that he
had brought from the islands, and dwelt particularly on the great
field that existed in the New World for missionary labor. At the
close of this narration, the King and Queen, and the whole as
sembly with one accord, fell on their knees and raised their
voices to heaven in that beautiful anthem : ' ' TE DEUM LAUDAMUS.
Not a shout of joy or other demonstration. The feelings were
too great for expression. As Las Casas says: " The souls of the
auditors in that solemn hour were so borne up to Heaven, that it
seemed as if they communicated with the celestial light."

The news of this great discovery excited the profoundest at
tention in Europe. In Italy, the wildest enthusiasm prevailed,
and Genoa was justly proud of the achievements of her son.
Other Italian navigators, the Cabots, Vespucci, and others, soon
followed in the paths of maritime discovery. Ferdinand and
Isabella manifested toward Columbus their warmest gratitude;
showing him the most signal marks of royal favor, even allow
ing the arms of Spain to be quartered on his shield, with this

inscription :

" To Castile and Leon,
A New World gave Colon.''

And Isabella made him the confidant of her plans for the pro
tection and conversion to the faith of the native population. After
a sojourn of six months, occupied in making preparations on a
grand scale, in September, 1493, Columbus sailed from Cadiz on
his second voyage, with 17 ships and 1500 men, and discovered
several large islands; but his enemies in Spain, by their calum
nies, to which Ferdinand was too willing to listen, forced him to
return in 1496. Having cleared himself with his sovereigns he,
in May, 1498, set out on his third expedition, and steering more
to the southward, discovered the mouths of the Oroiioco. and
landed in South America, at a place now forming a part of Vene
zuela. Returing from these discoveries he sailed for Santo Do
mingo, where, on arrival, he found everything in disorder.
Ferdinand, crafty, envious and suspicious, had again listened to
calumnies against the Admiral and had appointed an officer of his
household, Bobadillo, to succeed him as Governor, who, shortly
after his arrival, exceeding his powers, put him in prison, seized his

[ 13 ]

papers, and sent him home in chains. This unworthy treatment
excited the indignation of the Spanish people. With rare eloquence
the Admiral related his wrongs to the sovereigns; Isabella was af
fected unto tears, and Ferdinand disavowed all knowledge of the
disgraceful affair; but he refused to redress the grievances of which
Columbus had so long complained. But calumnies, disappoint
ments, and injustice could not crush the spirit of the grand old
man. He had not yet fully realized his predictions. On the 9th
of May, 1502, he set sail from Spain with four vessels and one
hundred and fifty men, to seek once more a passage uniting the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The mutinous character of his
crew, however, forced him aside to seek for gold, and after many
difficulties and disasters, and having added but little to his pre
vious discoveries, he returned to Spain in 1504. Isabella, his
protectress, was dead. Washington Irving says of that noble
woman: . " She Avas one of the purest spirits that ever ruled over
the destinies of a nation. Had she been spared, her benignant
vigilance might have prevented many a scene of horror in the
colonization of the New World, and might have softened the lot
of its native inhabitants."

EOYAL INGRATITUDE.

After her death Ferdinand proved basely ungrateful; and the
man who had given him such immense territories, broken down
by exposure, suffering the terrible torments of the gout, and in
abject poverty, died at Val lad olid ^ May 20, 1506. His dying
words were — " Lord, into thy hands I commit my spirit!" Death
did not end his voyages. His remains were first buried in the
Convent of St. Francis; in 1513 they were transferred to Las
Cuevas; in 1536 they were escorted by a royal squadron to St.
Domingo and deposited in the cathedral of that city; when the
island was ceded to France, the remains, amid the greatest pomp,
were removed in 1796 to Havana, where they now repose.

What a destiny of the living body and its mortal remains! The
former, animated by a noble spirit, four times crossed the ocean
and performed the greatest achievement recorded in the annals
of time. The latter, four times conducted to the sepulchre, it is
to be hoped has at last found a permanent resting place.

As this address is nearly ended, permit me a few personal re
marks. Frequently in Lisbon I visited the church where Colum-

[ 14 ]

bus was married, and where often he humbly knelt in prayer,
invoking divine grace to sustain him in his trials and tribulations.,
And in the cathedral of Havana I have paid the homage of my
respect to his memory, by kneeling at the grand altar and praying
to God the Merciful for the eternal happiness of his Fiml. Aud
T yet cherish the hope of being able to visit the land that gave
him birth- — Genoa the Beautiful — the Republic so renowned by
the sublime achievements of her sons.

The conclusion of this address will be the character of Colum
bus, as drawn by the master hand of Washington Irving,

THE CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS.

Sis impetuous ardor threw him into the study of the Fathers
of the Church, the Arabian Jews atcl the ancient geographers;
while his daring but irregular g'enius, bursting from the limits
of imperfect science, bore him to conclusions far beyond, the in
tellectual vision of his contemporaries. If some of his conclu
sions were erroneous, they were at least ingenious and splendid ;
and their errors resulted from the clouds which still hung over
his peculiar path of enterprise. His own discoveries enlightened
the ignorance of the age, guided conjecture to certainty, and
dispelled that very darkness with which he had been compelled
to struggle.

In the progress of his discoveries he has been remarked for
the extreme sagacity and the admirable justness with which he
seized upon the phenomena' of the exterior world. The varia
tions, for instance, of terrestrial magnetism, the direction of cur
rents, the groupings of marine plants, fixing one of the grand
climacteric divisions of the ocean, the temperature changing.,
not solely with the distance to the equator, but also with the dif
ference of meridians : these and similar phenomena, an they
broke upon him, were discerned with wonderful quickness of
perception, and made to contribute important principles to the
stock of general knowledge. This lucidity of spirit, this quick
convertibility of facts to principles, distinguished him from the
dawn to the close of his sublime enterprise, insomuch that, with
all the sallying ardor of his imagination, his ultimate success has
been admirably characterized as a " conquest of reflection."

And he thus concludes : ' ' And how would his magnanimous
spirit have been consoled, amidst the afflictions of age, and the

[ 15 ]

cares of penury, the neglect of a fickle public, and the injustice
of an ungrateful king, could he have anticipated the splendid
empires which were to spread over the beautiful world he had
discovered; and the nations and tongues and languages which
were to fill its lands with his renown and revere and bless his
name to the latest posterity."

!'