The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-10-17

I LaIeB OK TIes8 UOII NOTLlIUsI,
1 whose ships had been cast OF uDon tHkHoigT
lands, chiefly of frost-bound and tnhospitabl'
| character, yet all this can in no fair manner de-
/ tract from his seamanship, but rather puts IL Il
holder relief, since it enhances the difficulty, fol
! he neither steered in, nor toward, their lOngl
| tude nor latitude, but as far away as easily
/ possible, whilst theirs was an unreckoned voy
/ age Of castaways from which no advantages
! ever accrued, and they never looked upon theiI
| Greenland as a discovery
Proving the skill of Columbus as a navigator
we must never forget TO add beyond all other
1 obstacles and hardships, body Of men chiefly
notable for their mutinous prOpeDs1tles on board
| the ships, and their murderOus instincts after
| ward. With such men reasoning was at dis
count; yet, despite all these unfavorable and
apparently insuperable difficulties, the hEn
| resolve of him who possessed the ethereal spark
| Of Genius and of command, guided, directed
and governed that motley crew taken INTO a
| torlorn enterprise, chiefly they say from
the galley or 1ails, yet that when
| seemed 'und toiliG sperar"-a deiuslon'
a Madness or at best q wild dream,
incapable Of being brought to=a successful IS
sue actually came to passi Yes; with COD
gracious help, despite all contrary views t1e
AdmirdI landed, took possession OF the
country, and, under the standard OF Jhe
Cross OF Jesus Christ, knees Blended IN prayer'
every head uncovered, the Ie Deu0i was IN
toned, and the first act Of Catholic worship was
begun, never to cease until tine shan pe no
more, and the truth was completed, tardiy
placed as his epitaph;
"Por Castillo y por Leon,
Nuevo mundo do Colon"
To CASTLE and Aragon,
Columbus gave new world
But finally what encomiun can we pass upon
Columbus in his character OF a CbriStIHf Oh
ferlng in almost every respect from oLner Hlt.L
iners, who like soldiers have never been helu Up
as types of piety, Columbus wGs imOued WIN
the spirit of chivalry which formed MS n'hn Fe-
solves.
We must recall the circumstances OF that
century Columbus had seen the power OF Cne
hated Moslem desecTaung the ialr9st HelQs ano
provinces OF Spain. He knew the oitter threat
made by the Sultan, that unless GranddG were
left TO his followers, he would destroy the molly
city of Jerusalem and utterly ruin Lhe seDWlcher
of Christ; that he would erase so Tar as IN MIN
lay, all the tender memories Oh Lne CAtnoIlc
faith for the preservation Of which the Crusaders
had fought and bled
He had seen BoabdH, the last OF the Moors,
take "a last, long, lingering TGre10etF. Oh the
lovely ALhdr! bra, and all the glories OF nearly
six centuries and there was every reason to
fear tho sultans threat as no nero idle talk.
If our hearts beat high at the very thought OF
CITIZENS til cGss'- should be, ever ready ''t to
give up with prompt willingness all
we possess for tho liberty OF our native land
If we despise and loathe the man whose vote is
country where such crimes exist, what must
have been the feelings Of noble Christians at
the thought of an overthrow of all they held
sacred as the land OF our Lords life and deathf
Hence we can explain reasonably one Of the
motives actuating the breast of Columbus when
he claimed large emoluments, not for his oLyn
use, but TO be applied in supplies against the
common and menacing enemy or Christe1dom
This he explicitly and frequently declared, and
left on record in his last toiH end testament"
During the voyage prayers were said devoutly,
The beautiful ''Salve Regina" was sung every
evening. The stiffness Of the UGsty deep, the
wholesome dread of DEATH the winds constantly
taking them far from home, all tended to make
men God-fearing and prayerful, and the notes
nj hn n continuous m No
do not claim that he was personally fautless,
but we do assert that nothing appears in his
writings, nor In authentic coeval
character Of a sincere Christian. Nor even the
cunning of caIumny can find phrase in his
will but what is redolent of all virtues, elevat-
Even Saints had frequently their own personal
faults-not seldom very grave shortcomings
sometimes actual sins; but it may fairly be
said that if through Ohrist's grace ever mortal
expiated in sorrow for his transgressions that
man was Christopher Columbus
The long category Of his woes has been
banded down to posteFtty. 1t Is enough to
make ones heart bleed. We find him ruth
lessly betrayed by seeming friends; forced into
terms which he disapproved; humbled in chains
aud sent back to his country Gs u traitor; de-
MED the conditions on which ne had undertaken
the hardships OF the great enterprise; dying
among strangers an almost unknown Old man,
poor even down to penuryi dlshonoTed, sick in
body and SOUL he found in his Franciscan garb
loved so well and striven TO maintain by word
and example-the Church his first and last and
and truest friend-surrounded by the poor re-
ligious of his order, as tertiary of ST. Francis,
the great man. the navigator. the Christian
hero dies with the prayer OF Christ upon his
lips. I'm mdnlts ttGds, Domino, coBIDIeIld0
sptritunl metn." Into thy hands, o Lord, ]
1t is also a melancholy reflection that he never
understood the real extent OF his wonderful dis
covery. He sought Asia, and the wealth of
Cipango and Cathey, the realms of Prestef
John, concerning whom Marco Polo had related
so much about two centuries before, say 1895.
Columbus found an entirely different continent
and never knew it. He thought the land merely
an extension Of Asia. He never placed his foot
| on terra frmG of our part Of the new world.
| His quest for gold engendered the widest
avarice, the most wanton cruelty, and the curse
OF slavery now three fold bad In its inception
| worse in the manner of its abolition, as slt-
premety dishonest and dtsIonordbIe, ana dtTo-
Ci0Ls an its future most dangerous sequences
| The Indians they we're improperly and ig
norantiy called, learned ell the vices OF wicked
/ and INSCRIPTIONS Spaniards. and were often il
| the mad search for gold, exterminated with In
describable cruelty We have the writings OIL
Las Cas0S, priest and credit to religion, ex-
| onerating the admiral, but a stain remains OF
| those who, dtsloyal to God and to the voice OF
religion, made the name of Spain a synonym
for ingratitude and treachery If it be allow
able from this sacred place TO point
a moral and adorn tale" we might
note here that proud Spain had t
| pay Tor n6r injustice IN other respects
| but also especially in her broken pledges giver
| to Columbus. She has fallen from her position
as ruler oyer all Europa to be helplessly insig-
| nifcant in a political point of view. She VINO
ruled in her universities, whether of Salamau
ca and Valladolid, or other colleges and schools
| as queen Of sciences and arts, and as second Il
none in literature has child for q king tn,
| meaning of which may be found in Eccesi
| dign manner which is q prerogattve OF Goo
| alone, and now we, as strangers, rouse hel
| temporarily from her lethargy by our generous
! appreciation of Christopher Columbus tn
MAN. the NAVIGATOR, the ChTistiGn hero. "
THE MUSICAL SERVICE.
Lambilotte's "Te Deum Laudamusn wa
rendered by the chorus and orchestra, anC
the celebration closed with Wagner's "Mys
tic Harmony" by the orchestra. Owing t,
illness Mr.. Julian Walker was unable q
sing and Prof. Mehrtens played Home
Sweet Home" with variations on the organ
The choir which performed the must
cal part of the programme, unde
the leadership of Prof. Hubner
was as follows. Sopranos, Mrs
Altick, Mrs. Barbour, Miss Coldlng
Miss Lesesne, Mrs. Gaudry. Mrs. Adams
Miss Nolan. Miss Hunter, aud Miss Phillips
altos, Mrs. Reilly, Miss O'Brien, Miss Saw
arese, Miss Conway, Miss Gross, Miss Ken
needy; tenors, Messrs Readick, McDonough
Gibson. Dacey, and Donovan, Father
William and Mccarthy; and bassos, Messrs
Walker, Wolfe, Blaise, Drummond, Dumas