ceived, but Columbus did not survive to behold the CHAPTER young sovereigns. 12 XVIII. His mental vigor, however, was not impaired by His death. the ravages of disease, and on the 19th of May, 1506, he executed a codicil, confirming certain testamentary dispositions formerly made, with special reference to the entail of his estates and dignities, manifesting, in his latest act, the same solicitude he had shown through life, to perpetuate an honorable name. Having completed these arrangements with perfect composure, he expired on the following day, 1506. being that of our Lord's ascension, with little apparent suffering, and in the most Christian spirit of resignation. His remains, first deposited in the convent of St. Francis at Valladolid, were, six years later, removed to the Carthusian monastery of Las Cuevas at Seville, where a costly monument was raised over them by King Ferdinand, with the memorable inscription, 13 "A Castilla y a Leon Nuevo mundo dió Colon ;" "the like of which," says his son Ferdinand, with as much truth as simplicity, "was never recorded of any man in ancient or modern times." 14 From 12 Navarrete has given the letter, Coleccion de Viages, tom. iii. p. 530. Herrera, Indias Occidentales, ubi supra. 13 Zuñiga, Annales de Sevilla, p. 429. Fernando Colon, Hist. del Almirante, cap. 108. Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 131. Navarrete, Coleccion de Viages, tom. ii., Doc. Dipl. 158. 14 Hist. del Almirante, ubi sup. The following eulogium of Paolo Giovio is a pleasing tribute to the deserts of the great navigator, VOL. III. 31 showing the high estimation in May 20. PART II. His person and habits. this spot his body was transported, in the There is considerable uncertainty as to Columbus's age, though it seems probable it was not far from seventy at the time of his death. 16 His person has been minutely described by his son. He was tall and well made, his head large, with an aquiline nose, small light-blue or greyish eyes, a fresh complexion and red hair, though incessant toil and exposure had bronzed the former, and bleached the latter, before the age of thirty. He had a majestic presence, with much dignity, and at the same time affability of manner. He was fluent, even eloquent in discourse; generally temperate in deportment, but sometimes hurried by a too lively sensibility into a sally of passion." He was abstemious in his diet, indulged little in amusements of any kind, and, in truth, seemed too much absorbed by 15 Navarrete, Coleccion de Viages, tom. ii., Doc. Dipl. 177. On the left of the grand altar of this stately edifice, is a bust of Columbus, placed in a niche in the wall, and near it a silver urn, containing all that now remains of the illustrious voyager. See Abbot's "Letters from Cuba," a work of much interest and information, with the requisite allowance for the inaccuracies of a posthumous publication. 16 The various theories respecting the date of Columbus's birth cover a range of twenty years, XVIII. the great cause to which he had consecrated his CHAPTER life, to allow scope for the lower pursuits and pleasures, which engage ordinary men. Indeed, his imagination, by feeding too exclusively on this lofty theme, acquired an unnatural exaltation, which raised him too much above the sober realities of existence, leading him to spurn at difficulties, which in the end proved insurmountable, and to color the future with those rainbow tints, which too often melted into air. asm. This exalted state of the imagination was the His enthusiresult in part, no doubt, of the peculiar circumstances of his life. For the glorious enterprise which he had achieved almost justified the conviction of his acting under the influence of some higher inspiration than mere human reason, and led his devout mind to discern intimations respecting himself in the dark and mysterious annunciations of sacred prophecy. 18 That the romantic coloring of his mind, however, was natural to him, and not purely the growth of circumstances, is evident from the chimerical speculations, in which he seriously indulged before the accomplishment of his great discoveries. His scheme of a crusade for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre was most deliberately meditated, and strenuously avowed from the very first date of his proposals to the Spanish government. His enthusiastic communications on the subject must have 18 See the extracts from Columbus's book of Prophecies, (apud Navarrete, Coleccion de Viages, tom. ii., Doc. Dipl. no. 140,) as still PART II. His lofty character. provoked a smile from a pontiff like Alexander the Sixth; 19 and may suggest some apology for the tardiness, with which his more rational projects were accredited by the Castilian government. But these visionary fancies never clouded his judgment in matters relating to his great undertaking; and it is curious to observe the prophetic accuracy, with which he discerned, not only the existence, but the eventual resources of the western world; as is sufficiently evinced by his precautions, to the very last, to secure the full fruits of them, unimpaired, to his posterity. acter. Whatever were the defects of his mental constitution, the finger of the historian will find it difficult to point to a single blemish in his moral charHis correspondence breathes the sentiment of devoted loyalty to his sovereigns. His conduct habitually displayed the utmost solicitude for the interests of his followers. He expended almost his last maravedi in restoring his unfortunate crew to their native land. His dealings were regulated by the nicest principles of honor and justice. His last communication to the sovereigns from the Indies remonstrates against the use of violent measures in order to extract gold from the natives, as a thing equally scandalous and impolitic. 20 The grand object to which he dedicated himself seemed 19 See his epistle to the most selfish and sensual of the successors of St. Peter, in Navarrete, Coleccion de Viages, tom. ii., Doc. Dipl. no. 145. "El oro, bien que segun informacion el sea mucho, no me paresció bien ni servicio de vuestras Altezas de se le tomar por via de robo. La buena orden evitará escándolo y mala fama," &c. Cartas de Colon, apud Navarrete, Coleccion de Viages, tom. i. p. 310. XVIII. to expand his whole soul, and raised it above the CHAPTER petty shifts and artifices, by which great ends are sometimes sought to be compassed. There are some men, in whom rare virtues have been closely allied, if not to positive vice, to degrading weakness. Columbus's character presented no such humiliating incongruity. Whether we contemplate it in its public or private relations, in all its features it wears the same noble aspect. It was in perfect harmony with the grandeur of his plans, and their results, more stupendous than those which Heaven has permitted any other mortal to achieve. 21 21 Columbus left two sons, Fernando and Diego. The former, illegitimate, inherited his father's genius, says a Castilian writer, and the latter, his honors and estates. (Zuñiga, Annales de Sevilla, año 1506.) Fernando, besides other works now lost, left a valuable memoir of his father, often cited in this history. He was a person of rather uncommon literary attainments, and amassed a library, in his extensive travels, of 20,000 volumes, perhaps the largest private collection in Europe at that day. (Ibid., año 1539.) Diego did not succeed to his father's dignities, till he had obtained a judgment in his favor against the crown from the council of the Indies, an act highly honorable to that tribunal, and showing that the independence of the courts of justice, the greatest bulwark of civil liberty, was well maintained under King Ferdinand. (Navarrete, Coleccion de Viages, tom. ii., Doc. Dipl. nos. 163, 164; tom. iii., Supl. Col. Dipl. no. 69.) The young admiral subsequently married a lady of the great Toledo family, |