Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-10-29

an achievement that eclipsed them all.
! Curiosity could scarcely have been more
excited had the vessel come freighted
with the wonders of another planet.
For several days the Tagus presented a
barges and boats of every kind, swarm.
ing round the caravel. From morning
till night the vessel was thronged with
visitors, among whom were cavaliers OF
high distinction and various officers OF
the crown.
All hung with rapt attention upon the
accounts given by Columbus and his
crew, of the events of their voyage and
Of the New World they had discovered
and gazed with Unsuitable curiosity upon
the specimens Of unknown plants and
animals, but above all upon the In
dians, so different from any race of men
hitherto known. Some were filled with
generous enthusiasm at the idea of dis
covery SO sublime and SO beneficial tc
mankind; the avarice Of others was in
famed by the description of wild, unap
propriated regions teeming with gold,
with pearls and spices, while others re.
pined at the incredulity Of the king and
his councillors, by which so immense an
acquisition had been forever lost to
Portugal
On tl'c Sth Of March a cavalier called
Don NJ tin de Norcna came with let.
ter fro.n King John congratulating Co.
lumbus on his arrival and inviting him
to court. which was then at Valparaiso,
about njno leagues from Lisbon. The
king with his usual magnfcence, issued
orders at the same time that everything
which the admiral required for himself,
his crew or his vessel should be fur
nished promptly and abundantly, with
out cost.
Columbus would gladly have declined
the royal invitation, feeling distrust Of
the good faith of the king; but tempestu.
Gus weather had placed him in his power,
and he thought it prudent to avoid all
appearance Of suspicion. He set forth,
therefore, that very evening for Val
paraiso, accompanied by his pilot. The
first night he slept at Sacamben, where
preparations had been made for his hon
Orable entertainment. The weather be
ing rainy, he did not reach Valparaiso
until the following night. On approach.
ing the royal residence, the principal
cavaliers Of the kings household came
forth to meet him, and attended him
with great ceremony to the palace. His
reception by the monarch was worthy of
an enlightened prince. He ordered him
to seat himself in his presence, an honor
only granted to persons Of royal dignity;
and after many congratulations on the
result Of his enterprise, assured him that
everything in his kingdom that could be
Of service to his sovereigns or himself
was at his command.
A long conversation ensued, in which
Columbus gave an account of his voy-
age and of the countries he had discov-
cred. The king listened with much
seeming pleasure, but with secret grief
and modification, rejecting that this
splendid enterprise had once been offered
tc himself and had been rejected. A
casual observation showed what was
passing in his thoughts. He expressed
doubt whether the discovery did not
really appertain to the crown of Portu-
gal, according to the capitulations of the
treaty OF 1919 with the Castilian SOW
ereigns. Columbus replied that he had
never seen those capitulations, nor knew
anything Of their nature; his orders had
been not to go to La Nina, nor the coast
of Guinea, which orders he had care
fully observed. The king made gra-
cious reply, expressing himself satisfied
that he had acted correctly, and per
shaded that these matters would be
readily adjusted between the two pow
ers without the need Of umpires. On
dismissing Columbus for the night he
gave him in charge as guest to the prior
Of Cratic, the principal parsonage present,
by whom he was honorably and nospita-
bly, entertained.
On the following day the king made
many minute inquiries as to the soil, pro-
auctions and people Of the newly dis
covered countries, and the route taken in
the voyage, to all which Columbus gave
the fullest replies, endeavoring to show
in the clearest manner that these were
regions heretofore undiscovered and I'M
appropriated by any Christian power
Still the king was uneasy lest this vast
. md underlined discovery should in some
way interfere with his own newly &C
quired territories. He doubted whether
.. Columbus had not found short way
to those very countries which were the
object of his own expeditions, and which
were comNehended in the papal bull,
granting to the crown Of Portugal all
!, the lands which 1t should discover from
Cape Non to the Indies.
On suggesting these doubts to his
councillors they eagerly confirmed them
> Some Of these were the very person:
!, who had once derided this enterprise
= and scoffed at Columbus as dreamer
To them its success was a source of con
!. fusion, and the return of Columbus
!, covered with glory, q deep humiliation
:, Incapable Of conceiving the high anC
;, generous thoughts which elevated hin
= at that moment above all mean consid
: erations, they attributed to all his &C
. lions the most petty and ignoble mo
> tives. His rational exultation was con
strued into an insulting triumph, ant