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

CHAPTER XXI.
soJouRN OF COLUMBUS AT BARCELONA.
The JOY occasioned by the great dis
covery Of Columbus was not confined to
Spain; the tldings were spread far and
wide by the communications of embas-
sailors, the correspondence Of the learned,
the negotiations of merchants, and the
reports of travellers, and the whole civil
lied world was filled with wonder and
delight. How gratifying would it have
been had the press at that time, rs at
present, poured forth Its daily tide of
speculation on every passing occurrence!
With what eagerness should we seek to
know the first ideas and emotions Of the
public on an event SO unlocked for ana
sublime. Even the first announcements
of it by contemporary writers, though
brief and incidental, derive interest from
being written at the time; and from
showing the casual way in which such
great tidings We're conveyed about the
world Alleeretto AlIegretti, in his an
mails of Sienna for 1883, mentions it as
Just made known there by the letters Of
their merchants who We're III Spain and
by the mouths of various Travellers
The news was brought to Genoa by
the return of her ambassadors, Francisco
Narchesi and Giovanni Antonio Grim
aldl, and was recorded among the tri-
umphant events of the year; for the re-
public though she may have Sighted
the opportunity of making herself mis-
tress Of the discovery, has ever since
been tenacious Of the glory OF having
given birth to the discoverer The It'd
ings We're soon carried to England,
which as yet was but a maritime power
of inferior importance They caused,
however. much wonder in London, and
great talk and admiration in the court
of Henry VII, where the discovery was
pronounced "a thing more divine than
human" We have this On the author
ity of Sebastian Cabot himself, the flu
ture discoverer of the northern continent
of America, who WAS in London at the
time and was inspired by the event with
generous spirit of emulation.
Every member of civilized society, in
fact, rejoiced in the occurrence as one
in which he was more or less interested.
To some it opened a new and unbounded
field of inquiry; to others, OF enterprise,
and every one awaited with intense
eagerness the further development of
this unknown world, still covered with
mystery, the partial glimpses of which
were so full of wonder. We have brief
testimony of the emotions of the learned
in letter, written at the time, by Peter
Martyr to his friend, Pomponious Lac
tus. "You tell me, my amiable Pom
ponius," he writes, that you leaped for
JOY, and that your delight WAS mingled
with tears, when you read my epistle,
certifying to you the hitherto hidden
world of the antipodes. You have felt
and acted as became man eminent for
learning, for can conceive no allment
more delicious than such tidings to
cultivated and ingenious mind. | feel
a wonderful exultation Of spirits when |
converse with intelligent men who have
returned from these regions. 1t Is like
an accession Of wealth to a miser. Our
minds, soiled and debased by the com
mon concerns of life and the vices of So
ciety, become elevated and ameliorated
by contemplating such glorious events"
Notwithstanding this universal en-
thuslasm, however, no one was aware
of the real Importance of the discovery
No one had an idea that this was
totally distinct portion of the globe,
separated by oceans from the ancient
world. The opinion Of Columbus WAS
universally adopted that Cuba was the
end Of the Asiatic continent, and that
the adjacent islands We're in the Indian
seas This agreed with the opinions of
the ancients, heretofore cited, about the
moderate distance from Spain to the ex-
treinlty OF India, sailing westwardly.
The parrots We're also thought to rese1-
BILE those described by Phny as abound
ing IN the remote parts Of Asia. The
lands, therefore, which Columbus had
visited were called the West Indies, and
rs he seemed to have entered upon a
vast region of une6plored counties ex-
listing in a state Of nature, the whole re-
ceved the comprehensive appellation Of
"the New World"
During the whole Of his sojourn at
Barcelona the sovereigns tool, every oc-
cason to Dcstow ON Columbus personal
marks Of their high consideration. lie
was admitted at AL times to the royal
presence, and the queen delighted to CON
verse with him on the subject Of his en-
terprises TIE king, too, appeared occa-
siopally on horseback, with Prince Juan
on one side and Coiumhus or the other,
To perpetuate III his family the glory of
his achievement coat Of aims was as
signed him, II which the royal arms,
the castle and the lion, were quarter
with his proper bearings, which were a
group OF islands surrounded by waves.
To these arms was aiterWard annexed
the motto: