CHAPTER XX.
"'_Ora pro nobis, Mater!_'--what a spell Was in those notes, with day's last glory dying On the flush'd waters--seemed they not to swell From the far dust, wherein my sires were lying With crucifix and sword?--Oh! yet how clear Comes their reproachful sweetness to my ear! '_Ora_'--with all the purple waves replying, All my youth's visions rising in the strain-- And I had thought it much to bear the rack and chain!"
The Forest Sanctuary.
It may now be well to recapitulate, and to let the reader distinctlyknow how far the adventurers had actually advanced into the unknownwaters of the Atlantic; what was their real, and what their supposedposition. As has been seen, from the time of quitting Gomera, theadmiral kept two reckonings, one intended for his own government, whichcame as near the truth as the imperfect means of the science ofnavigation that were then in use would allow, and another that wasfreely exhibited to the crew, and was purposely miscalculated in orderto prevent alarm, on account of the distance that had been passed. AsColumbus believed himself to be employed in the service of God, this actof deception would be thought a species of pious fraud, in that devoutage; and it is by no means probable that it gave the conscience of thenavigator any trouble, since churchmen, even, did not hesitate alwaysabout buttressing the walls of faith by means still less justifiable.
The long calms and light head-winds had prevented the vessels frommaking much progress for the few last days; and, by estimating thedistance that was subsequently run in a course but a little south ofwest, it appears, notwithstanding all the encouraging signs of birds,fishes, calms, and smooth water, that on the morning of Monday,September 24th, or that of the fifteenth day after losing sight ofFerro, the expedition was about half-way across the Atlantic, countingfrom continent to continent, on the parallel of about 31 or 32 degreesof north latitude. The circumstance of the vessels being so far north ofthe Canaries, when it is known that they had been running most of thetime west, a little southerly, must be imputed to the course steered inthe scant winds, and perhaps to the general set of the currents. Withthis brief explanation, we return to the daily progress of the ships.
The influence of the trades was once more felt, though in a very slightdegree, in the course of the twenty-four hours that succeeded the day ofthe "miraculous seas," and the vessels again headed west by compass.Birds were seen as usual, among which was a pelican. The whole progressof the vessels was less than fifty miles, a distance that was lessened,as usual, in the public reckoning.
The morning of the 25th was calm, but the wind returned, a steady,gentle breeze from the south-east, when the day was far advanced, thecaravels passing most of the hours of light floating near each other ina lazy indolence, or barely stirring the water with their stems, at arate little, if any, exceeding that of a mile an hour.
The Pinta kept near the Santa Maria, and the officers and crews of thetwo vessels conversed freely with each other concerning their hopes andsituation. Columbus listened to these dialogues for a long time,endeavoring to collect the predominant feeling from the more guardedexpressions that were thus publicly delivered, and watching each turn ofthe expressions with jealous vigilance. At length it struck him that theoccasion was favorable to producing a good effect on the spirits of hisfollowers.
"What hast thou thought of the chart I sent thee three days since, goodMartin Alonzo?" called out the admiral. "Dost thou see in it aught tosatisfy thee that we are approaching the Indies, and that our time oftrial draweth rapidly to an end?"
At the first sound of the admiral's voice, every syllable was hushedamong the people; for, in spite of their discontent, and theirdisposition even to rise against him, in their extremity, Columbus hadsucceeded in creating a profound respect for his judgment and his personamong all his followers.
"'Tis a rare and well-designed chart, Senor Don Christopher," answeredthe master of the Pinta, "and doth a fair credit to him who hath copiedand enlarged, as well as to him who first projected it. I doubt that itis the work of some learned scholar, that hath united the opinions ofall the greater navigators in his map."
"The original came from one Paul Toscanelli, a learned Tuscan, whodwelleth at Firenze in that country; a man of exceeding knowledge, andof an industry in investigation that putteth idleness to shame.Accompanying the chart he sent a missive that hath much profound andlearned matter on the subject of the Indies, and touching those islandsthat thou seest laid down with so much particularity. In that letter hespeaketh of divers places, as being so many wonderful exemplars of thepower of man; more especially of the port of Zaiton, which sendeth forthno less than a hundred ships yearly, loaded with the single product ofthe pepper-tree. He saith, moreover, that an ambassador came to the HolyFather, in the time of Eugenius IV., of blessed memory, to express thedesire of the Great Khan, which meaneth King of Kings, in the dialect ofthose regions, to be on friendly terms with the Christians of the west,as we were then termed; but of the east, as will shortly be ourdesignation in that part of the world."
"This is surprising, Senor!" exclaimed Pinzon: "how is it known, or isit known at all, of a certainty?"
"Beyond a question; since Paul stateth, in his missive, that he saw muchof this same ambassador, living greatly in his society, Eugeniusdeceasing as lately as 1477. From the ambassador, no doubt a wise andgrave personage, since no other would have been sent so far on a missionto the Head of the Church; from this discreet person, then, didToscanelli gain much pleasant information concerning the populousnessand vast extent of those distant countries, the gorgeousness of thepalaces, and the glorious beauty of the cities. He spoke of one town, inparticular, that surpasseth all others of the known world; and of asingle river that hath two hundred noble cities on its own banks, withmarble bridges spanning the stream. The chart before thee, MartinAlonzo, showeth that the exact distance from Lisbon to the city ofQuisay is just three thousand nine hundred miles of Italy, or about athousand leagues, steering always in a due-west direction."[2]
[Footnote 2: NOTE.--It is worthy of remark that the city of Philadelphiastands, as near as may be, in the position that the honest PaulToscanelli supposed to have been occupied by "the famous city ofQuisay."]
"And doth the learned Tuscan say aught of the riches of thosecountries?" demanded Master Alonzo--a question that caused all withinhearing to prick up their ears, afresh.
"That doth he, and in these precise and impressive words--'This is anoble country,' observed the learned Paul, in his missive, 'and ought tobe explored by us, on account of its great riches, and the quantity ofgold, silver, and precious stones, which might be obtained there.' Hemoreover described Quisay as being five-and-thirty leagues in circuit,and addeth that its name in the Castilian, is 'the City of Heaven.'"
"In which case," muttered Sancho, though in a tone so low that no onebut Pepe heard him, "there is little need of our bearing thither thecross, which was intended for the benefit of man, and not of paradise."
"I see here two large islands, Senor Almirante," continued Pinzon,keeping his eyes on the chart, "one of which is called Antilla, and theother is the Cipango of which your Excellency so often speaketh."
"Even so, good Martin Alonzo, and thou also seest that they are laiddown with a precision that must prevent any experienced navigator frommissing his way, when in pursuit of them. These islands lie just twohundred and twenty-five leagues asunder."
"According to our reckoning, here, in the Pinta, noble Admiral, wecannot, then, be far from Cipango at this very moment."
"It would so seem by the reckonings, though I somewhat doubt theirjustness. It is a common error of pilots to run ahead of theirreckonings, but in this instance, apprehension hath brought ye behindthem. Cipango lieth many days' sail from the continent of Asia, andcannot, therefore, be far from this spot; still the currents have beenadverse, and I doubt that it will be found that we are as near thisisland, good Martin Alonzo, as thou and thy companions imagine. Let thechart be returned, and I will trace our actual position on
it, that allmay see what reason there is to despond, and what reason to rejoice."
Pinzon now took the chart, rolled it together carefully, attached alight weight, and securing the whole with the end of a log-line, he hoveit on board the Santa Maria, as a seaman makes a cast with the lead. Sonear were the vessels at the moment, that this communication was madewithout any difficulty; after which, the Pinta, letting fall anadditional sail or two, flapped slowly ahead, her superiority,particularly in light winds, being at all times apparent.
Columbus now caused the chart to be spread over a table on the poop, andinvited all who chose to draw near, in order that they might, with theirown eyes, see the precise spot on the ocean where the admiral supposedthe vessels to be. As each day's work was accurately laid down, andmeasured on the chart, by one as expert as the great navigator himself,there is little question that he succeeded in showing his people, asnear as might be, and subject to the deduction in distance that wasintentionally made, the longitude and latitude to which the expeditionhad then reached; and as this brought them quite near those islandswhich were believed to lie east of the continent of Asia, this tangibleproof of their progress had far more effect than any demonstration thatdepended on abstract reasoning, even when grounded on premises that weretrue; most men submitting sooner to the authority of the senses, than tothe influence of the mere mind. The seamen did not stop to inquire howit was settled that Cipango lay in the precise place where it had beenprojected on this famous chart, but, seeing it there, in black andwhite, they were disposed to believe it was really in the spot itappeared to be; and, as Columbus' reputation for keeping a ship'sreckoning far surpassed that of any other navigator in the fleet, thefacts were held to be established. Great was the joy, in consequence;and the minds of the people again passed from the verge of despair to anexcess and illusion of hope, that was raised only to be disappointed.
That Columbus was sincere in all that related to this new delusion, withthe exception of the calculated reduction of the true distance, isbeyond a doubt. In common with the cosmographers of the age, he believedthe circumference of the earth much less than actual measurement hassince shown it to be; striking out of the calculation, at once, nearlythe whole breadth of the Pacific Ocean. That this conclusion was verynatural, will be seen by glancing at the geographical facts that thelearned then possessed, as data for their theories.
It was known that the continent of Asia was bounded on the east by avast ocean, and that a similar body of water bounded Europe on the west,leaving the plausible inference, on the supposition that the earth was asphere, that nothing but islands existed between these two greatboundaries of land. Less than half of the real circumference of theglobe is to be found between the western and eastern verges of the oldcontinent, as they were then known; but it was too bold an effort of themind, to conceive that startling fact, in the condition of humanknowledge at the close of the fifteenth century. The theories wereconsequently content with drawing the limits of the east and the westinto a much narrower circle, finding no data for any freer speculation;and believing it a sufficient act of boldness to maintain the sphericalformation of the earth at all. It is true, that the latter theory was asold as Ptolemy, and quite probably much older; but even the antiquity ofa system begins to be an argument against it, in the minds of thevulgar, when centuries elapse, and it receives no confirmation fromactual experiment. Columbus supposed his island of Cipango, or Japan, tolie about one hundred and forty degrees of longitude east of its actualposition; and, as a degree of longitude in the latitude of Japan, or 35 deg.north, supposing the surface of the earth to be perfectly spherical, isabout fifty-six statute miles, it follows that Columbus had advancedthis island, on his chart, more than seven thousand English miles towardthe eastward, or a distance materially exceeding two thousand marineleagues.
All this, however, was not only hidden in mystery as regards the commonmen of the expedition, but it far out-stripped the boldest conceptionsof the great navigator himself. Facts of this nature, notwithstanding,are far from detracting from the glory of the vast discoveries that weresubsequently made, since they prove under what moral disadvantages theexpedition was conceived, and under what a limited degree of knowledgeit finally triumphed.
While Columbus was thus employed with the chart, it was a curious thingto witness the manner in which the seamen watched his smallest movement,studied the expression of his grave and composed countenance, and soughtto read their fate in the contraction, or dilation, of his eyes. Thegentlemen of the Santa Maria, and the pilots, stood at his elbow, andhere and there some old mariner ventured to take his post at hand, wherehe could follow the slow progress of the pen, or note the explanation ofa figure. Among these was Sancho, who was generally admitted to be oneof the most expert seamen in the little fleet--in all things, at least,that did not require the knowledge of the schools. Columbus even turnedto these men, and spoke to them kindly, endeavoring to make themcomprehend a part of their calling, which they saw practised daily,without ever succeeding in acquiring a practical acquaintance with it,pointing out particularly the distance come, and that which yet remainedbefore them. Others, again, the less experienced, but not the lessinterested among the crew, hung about the rigging, whence they couldoverlook the scene, and fancy they beheld demonstrations that came oftheories which it as much exceeded their reasoning powers to understand,as it exceeded their physical vision to behold the desired Indiesthemselves. As men become intellectual, they entertain abstractions,leaving the dominion of the senses to take refuge in that of thought.Until this change arrives, however, we are all singularly influenced bya parade of positive things. Words spoken seldom produce the effect ofwords written; and the praise or censure that would enter lightly andunheeded into the ear, might even change our estimates of character,when received into the mind through the medium of the eye. Thus, thevery seamen, who could not comprehend the reasoning of Columbus, fanciedthey understood his chart, and willingly enough believed that islandsand continents must exist in the precise places where they saw them soplainly delineated.
After this exhibition, cheerfulness resumed its sway over the crew ofthe Santa Maria; and Sancho, who was generally considered as of theparty of the admiral, was eagerly appealed to by his fellows, for manyof the little circumstances that were thought to explain the features ofthe chart.
"Dost think, Sancho, that Cipango is as large as the admiral hath gotthe island on the chart?" asked one who had passed from the verge ofdespair to the other extreme; "that it lieth fairly, any eye may see,since its look is as natural as that of Ferro or Madeira."
"That hath he," answered Sancho, positively, "as one may see by itsshape. Didst not notice the capes, and bays, and headlands, all laiddown as plainly as on any other well-known coast? Ah! these Genoese areskilful navigators; and Senor Colon, our noble admiral, hath not comeall this distance without having some notion in what roadstead he is toanchor."
In such conclusive arguments, the dullest minds of the crew foundexceeding consolation; while among all the common people of the ship,there was not one who did not feel more confidence in the happytermination of the voyage, since he had this seeming ocular proof of theexistence of land in the part of the ocean they were in.
When the discourse between the admiral and Pinzon ceased, the lattermade sail on the Pinta, which vessel had slowly passed the Santa Maria,and was now a hundred yards, or more, ahead of her; neither goingthrough the water at a rate exceeding a knot an hour. At the moment justmentioned, or while the men were conversing of their newly awakenedhopes, a shout drew all eyes toward their consort, where Pinzon was seenon the poop, waving his cap in exultation, and giving the usual proofsof extravagant delight.
"Land!--Land! Senor!" he shouted. "I claim my reward! Land! Land!"
"In what direction, good Martin Alonzo?" asked Columbus, so eagerly thathis voice fairly trembled. "In which quarter dost thou perceive thiswelcome neighbor?"
"Here, to the south-west," pointing in that direction--"a range of d
imbut noble mountains, and such as promise to satisfy the pious longingsof the Holy Father himself!"
Every eye turned toward the south-west, and there, indeed, they fanciedthey beheld the long-sought proofs of their success. A faint, hazy masswas visible in the horizon, broken in outline, more distinctly markedthan clouds usually are, and yet so obscure as to require a practisedeye to draw it out of the obscurity of the void. This is the manner inwhich land often appears to seamen, in peculiar conditions of theatmosphere; others, under such circumstances, being seldom able todistinguish it at all. Columbus was so practised in all the phenomena ofthe ocean, that the face of every man in the Santa Maria was turnedtoward his, in breathless expectation of the result, as soon as thefirst glance had been given toward the point of the compass mentioned.It was impossible to mistake the expression of the admiral'scountenance, which immediately became radiant with delight and piousexultation. Uncovering himself, he cast a look upward in unboundedgratitude, and then fell on his knees, to return open thanks to God.This was the signal of triumph, and yet, in their desolate situation,exultation was not the prevalent feeling of the moment. Like Columbus,the men felt their absolute dependence on God; and a sense of humble andrebuked gratitude came over every spirit, as it might be simultaneously.Kneeling, the entire crews of the three vessels simultaneously commencedthe chant of "Gloria in excelsis Deo!" lifting the voice of praise, forthe first time since the foundations of the earth were laid, in thatdeep solitude of the ocean. Matins and vespers, it is true, were thenhabitually repeated in most Christian ships; but this sublime chant wasnow uttered to waves that had been praising their Maker, in their mightand in their calm, for so many thousand years, for the first time in thevoice of man.
"_Glory be to God on high!_" sang these rude mariners, with heartssoftened by their escapes, dangers, and success, speaking as one man,though modulating their tones to the solemn harmony of a religiousrite--"_and on earth peace, good will toward men. We praise thee, webless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee forthy great glory! O Lord God! Heavenly King! God the Father Almighty!"&c., &c._
In this noble chant, which would seem to approach as near to the praisesof angels as human powers can ever hope to rise, the voice of theadmiral was distinct, and deep, but trembling with emotion.
When this act of pious gratitude was performed, the men ascended therigging to make more certain of their success. All agreed in pronouncingthe faintly delineated mass to be land, and the first sudden transportof unexpected joy was succeeded by the more regulated feelings ofconfirmed security. The sun set a little north of the dim mountains,and night closed around the scene, shadowing the ocean with as muchgloom as is ever to be found beneath a tropical and cloudless sky. Asthe first watch was set, Columbus, who, whenever the winds wouldallow, had persevered in steering what he fancied to be a due-westcourse, to satisfy the longings of his people, ordered the vessels tohaul up to south-west by compass, which was, in fact, headingsouth-west-by-south-southerly. The wind increased, and, as the admiralhad supposed the land to be distant about twenty-five leagues, when lastseen, all in the little fleet confidently relied on obtaining a full andcomplete view of it in the morning. Columbus himself entertained thishope, though he varied his course reluctantly, feeling certain that thecontinent would be met by sailing west, or what he thought to be west,though he could have no similar confidence as to making any island.
Few slept soundly that night--visions of oriental riches, and of thewonders of the East, crowding on the minds of even the leastimaginative, converting their slumbers into dreams rendered uneasy bylongings for gold, and anticipations of the wonders of the unknown East.The men left their hammocks, from hour to hour, to stand in the rigging,watching for some new proofs of their proximity to the much-desiredislands, and straining their eyes in vain, in the hope of looking deeperinto the obscurity in quest of objects that fancy had already begun toinvest with forms. In the course of the night, the vessels ran in adirect line toward the south-west, seventeen of the twenty-five leaguesthat Columbus had supposed alone separated him from this new discovery;and just before the light dawned, every soul in the three vessels wasstirring, in the eager hope of having the panorama of day open on such asight, as they felt it to be but a slight grievance to have come so far,and to have risked so much, to behold.
"Yonder is a streak of light, glimmering in the east," cried Luis, in acheerful voice; "and now, Senor Almirante, we may unite in terming youthe honored of the earth!"
"All rests with God, my young friend," returned Columbus; "whether landis near us or not, it boundeth the western ocean, and to that boundarywe must proceed. Thou art right, truly, friend Gutierrez; the light isbeginning to shed itself along the eastern margin of the sea, and evento rise in an arch into the vault above it."
"Would that the sun rose, for this one day, in the west, that we mightcatch the first glimpse of our new possessions in that radiant field ofheaven, which his coming rays are so gloriously illuminating above thetrack we have just passed!"
"That will not happen, Master Pedro, since Sol hath journeyed dailyround this planet of ours, from east to west, since time began, and willso continue to journey until time shall cease. This _is_ a fact on whichour senses may be trusted, though they mislead us in so many otherthings."
So reasoned Columbus, a man whose mind had out-stripped the age, in hisfavorite study, and who was usually so calm and philosophical; simplybecause he reasoned in the fetters of habit and prejudice. Thecelebrated system of Ptolemy, that strange compound of truth and error,was the favorite astronomical law of the day. Copernicus, who was thenbut a mere youth, did not reduce the just conception of Pythagoras--justin outline, though fanciful in its connection with both cause andeffect--to the precision of science for many years after the discoveryof America; and it is a strong proof of the dangers which attended theadvancement of thought, that he was rewarded for this vast effort ofhuman reason, by excommunication from the church, the maledictions ofwhich actually rested on his soul, if not on his body, until within afew years of the present moment! This single circumstance will show thereader how much our navigator had to overcome in achieving the greatoffice he had assumed.
But all this time, the day is dawning, and the light is beginning todiffuse itself over the entire panorama of ocean and sky. As means wereafforded, each look eagerly took in the whole range of the westernhorizon, and a chill of disappointment settled on every heart, assuspicion gradually became confirmation, that no land was visible. Thevessels had passed, in the night, those bounds of the visible horizon,where masses of clouds had settled; and no one could any longer doubtthat his senses had been deceived by some accidental peculiarity in theatmosphere. All eyes now turned again to the admiral, who, while he feltthe disappointment in his inmost heart, maintained a dignified calm thatit was not easy to disturb.
"These signs are not infrequent at sea, Senor," he said to those nearhim, speaking loud enough, nevertheless, to be heard by most of thecrew, "though seldom as treacherous as they have now proved to be. Allaccustomed to the ocean have doubtless seen them often; and as physicalfacts, they must be taken as counting neither for nor against us. Asomens, each person will consider them as he putteth his trust in God,whose grace and mercy to us all, is yet, by a million of times,unrequited, and still would be, were we to sing _Glory in excelsis_,from morn till night, as long as breath lasted for the sacred office."
"Still, our hope was so very strong, Don Christopher," observed one ofthe gentlemen, "that we find the disappointment hard to be borne. Youspeak of omens, Senor; are there any physical signs of our being nearthe land of Cathay?"
"Omens come of God, if they come at all. They are a species of miraclespreceding natural events, as real miracles surpass them. I think thisexpedition cometh of God; and I see no irreverence in supposing thatthis late appearance of land may have been heaped along the horizon foran encouraging sign to persevere, and as a proof that our labors will berewarded in the end. I cannot say, neve
rtheless, that any but naturalmeans were used, for these deceptions are familiar to us mariners."
"I shall endeavor so to consider it, Senor Almirante," gravely returnedthe other, and the conversation dropped.
The non-appearance of the land, which had been so confidently hoped for,produced a deep gloom in the vessels, notwithstanding; again changingthe joy of their people into despondency. Columbus continued to steerdue west by compass, or west-by-south-southerly, in reality, untilmeridian, when, yielding to the burning wishes of those around him, heagain altered his course to the south-west. This course was followeduntil the ships had gone far enough in that direction to leave no doubtthat the people had been misled by clouds, the preceding evening. Atnight, when not the faintest hope remained, the vessels kept away duewest again, running, in the course of the twenty-four hours, quitethirty-one leagues, which were recorded before the crew as twenty-four.
For several succeeding days no material changes occurred. The windcontinued favorable, though frequently so light as to urge the vesselsvery slowly ahead, reducing the day's progress sometimes to little morethan fifty of our English miles. The sea was calm, and weeds were againmet, though in much smaller quantities than before. September 29th, orthe fourth day after Pinzon had called out "land," another frigate-birdwas seen; and as it was the prevalent notion among seamen that this birdnever flew far from the shore, some faint hopes were momentarily revivedby his passage. Two pelicans also appeared, and the air was so soft andbalmy that Columbus declared nothing but nightingales were wanting, torender the nights as delicious as those of Andalusia.
In this manner did birds come and go, exciting hopes that were doomed tobe disappointed; sometimes flying in numbers that would seem to forbidthe idea that they could be straying on the waste of waters, without thecertainty of their position. Again, too, the attention of the admiraland of the people, was drawn to the variation of the needle, all unitingin the opinion that the phenomenon was only to be explained by themovements of the star. At length the first day of October arrived, andthe pilots of the admiral's vessel seriously set to work to ascertainthe distance they had come. They had been misled, as well as the rest,by the management of Columbus, and they now approached the latter, as hestood at his usual post on the poop, in order to give the result oftheir calculations, with countenances that were faithful indexes of theconcern they felt.
"We are not less than five hundred and seventy-eight leagues west ofFerro, Senor Almirante," commenced one of the two; "a fearful distanceto venture into the bosom of an unknown ocean!"
"Thou say'st true, honest Bartolemeo," returned Columbus, calmly;"though the further we venture, the greater will be the honor. Thyreckoning is even short of the truth, since this of mine, which is nosecret from our people, giveth even five hundred and eighty-fourleagues, fully six more than thine. But, after all, this scarceequalleth a voyage from Lisbon to Guinea, and we are not men to beoutdone by the seamen of Don John!"
"Ah! Senor Almirante, the Portuguese have their islands by the way, andthe old world at their elbows; while we, should this earth prove not tobe really a sphere, are hourly sailing toward its verge, and are runninginto untried dangers!"
"Go to, Bartolemeo! thou talkest like a river-man who hath been blownoutside his bar by a strong breeze from the land, and who fancieth hisrisks greater than man ever yet endured, because the water that wettethhis tongue is salt. Let the men see this reckoning, fearlessly; andstrive to be of cheer, lest we remember thy misgivings beneath thegroves of Cathay."
"The man is sorely beset with dread," coolly observed Luis, as thepilots descended from the poop with a lingering step and a heavy heart."Even your six short leagues added to the weight on his spirit. Fivehundred and seventy-eight were frightful, but five hundred andeighty-four became burdensome to his soul!"
"What would he then have thought had he known the truth, of which, youngcount, even thou art ignorant?"
"I hope you do not distrust my nerves, Don Christopher, that this matteris kept a secret from me?"
"I ought not, I do believe, Senor de Llera; and yet one gets to bedistrustful even of himself, when weighty concerns hang by a thread.Hast thou any real idea of the length of the road we have come?"
"Not I, by St. Iago! Senor. It is enough for me that we are far from theDona Mercedes, and a league more or less counts but little. Should yourtheory be true, and the earth prove to be round, I have the consolationof knowing that we shall get back to Spain, in time, even by chasing thesun."
"Still thou hast some general notion of our true distance from Ferro,knowing that each day it is lessened before the people."
"To tell you the truth, Don Christopher, arithmetic and I have littlefeeling for each other. For the life of me, I never could tell the exactamount of my own revenues, in figures, though it might not be sodifficult to come at their results, in another sense. If truth weresaid, however, I should think your five hundred and eighty leagues mightfairly be set down at some six hundred and ten or twenty."
"Add yet another hundred and thou wilt not be far from the fact. We are,at this moment, seven hundred and seven leagues from Ferro, and fastdrawing near to the meridian of Cipango. In another glorious week, orten days at most, I shall begin seriously to expect to see the continentof Asia!"
"This is travelling faster than I had thought, Senor," answered Luis,carelessly; "but journey on; one of your followers will not complain,though we circle the earth itself."