Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-19


had brought, and spoke with certainty of the dis
coveries which had been made, as only precursors
of those yet to come. When his short narrative
ended, all the company knelt and united
in chanting the "Te Deum," 1--WE Praise Thee
o God" Las Casas, describing the joy and hope
of that occasion, says 1T seems as If they had
a foretaste of the joys of paradise"
From this time for several weeks a series of
pageants and festivities surrounded him. At no
other period of his life were such honors paid
to him. 1t at one of the banquets, at which
he present that the incident of the egg, SO
often told in connection with the great discovery
took place. fppant courtier-of that large class
of people who stay at home when great deeds
are done, and afterwards depreciate the doors
of them-had the impertinence to ask Columbus
if the adventure much praised was not, after
ALL a very simple matter. He probably said:
"a short voyage of four or five weeks, it
anything more?" Columbus replied by giving him
an egg which on the table and asking him
if he could stand it on end. He said he
could not and the other guests said that they
could not Columbus tapped it on the table
as to break the end of the SHE'LL and the egg
stood erect. 1T is easy enough he said, when
any has shown you how
1t is we'll to remember that if after years
showed that the ruler of Spain wearied in his
gratitude, Columbus was at the time, welcomed
with the enthusiasm which he deserved. From
the very grains of gold brought home in this
first triumph, the queen, Isabella, had the golden
illumination wrought on most beautiful mlssal-
book
1t Immediately determined that second
expedition should be sent out as those at court
feared that King John of Portugal, the successful
rival of Spain, thus far in maritime adventure,
might anticipate further discovery Acting
Spanish request, a papa bill issued May
3, 1893, decreeing that all discoveries made west
of meridian line hundred leagues west of
the Azores should belong to Spain. All discoveries
east of that line should belong to Portugal Column
bus sent out in absolute command of second
expedition; magnificent fleet, equipped with all
hat rOVa1 could command crowded
with eager adventures who are excited by
pectations of romance and of success, goes on
the very adventure On this second adj
venture, Columbus was surrounded by officers
of court, whose titles cannot be translated into
modern language, so artificial their habits
and so conventional the duties to which they had
been accustomed
Such it who made poor Columbus
endless trouble. Such men it was who, at the
last, dragged him down from his noble position,
so that he died unhonored, dspirited and poor.
The great fleet sailed from Cadiz on the twenty
fifth day of September in the year 1893, rather
more than thirteen months after the sailing of the
little fleet from Palos in the year before. On
the third of November in early morning a pilot
cried out to the captain that he saw land. The
joy of the voyagers great. AS the light in
creased, there were two islands in sight; the first
was mountainous, being the island of Dominica,
which still retains that name, of the Sunday when
it was discovered; the other, the island OF Maria
Galante. They landed on the latter and took
possession of it in the name of the king and
some of the cannibal Caribs, but made haste,
being DESTROYS of arriving at the settlement of
La Navidad in Hispaniola On Friday, the twenty