19
LIFE A N D VOYAGES OF
[BOOK VIII.
brother. On reaching Paris, he first received the joyful intelli gence that the discovery was already made ; that his brother had returned to Spain in triumph ; and was actually at the Spanish court, honored by the sovereigns, caressed by the nobility, and idolized by the people. The glory of Columbus already shed its rays upon his family, and Bartholomew found himself immedi ately a person of importance. He was noticed by the French monarch, Charles VIII, who, understanding that he was low in purse, furnished him with one hundred crowns to defray the expenses of his journey to Spain. He reached Seville just as his brother had departed on his second voyage. Bartholomew immediately repaired to the court, then at Valladolid, taking with him his two nephews, Diego and Fernando, who were to serve in Christopher Columbus, to verify certain points appertaining to his history, of which I before was in doubt."
(Hist. Ind., lib. i. cap. 11.)
It was a great satisfaction to the author, therefore, to discover this identical volume, this Vade Mecum of Columbus, in a state of good preservation. is in the cathedral library, E — G , Tab. 178, No. 21.]
[It
The notes and cita
tions mentioned by Las Casas art in Latin, with many abbreviations, written in a very small, but neat and distinct hand, and run throughout the volume ; calling attention to the most striking passages, or to those which bear most upon the theories of Columbus ; occasionally containing brief comments or citing the opinions of other authors, ancient and modem, either in support or contradiction of the text.
The memorandum particularly cited by Las Casas,
mentioning the voyage of Bartholomew Diaz to the Cape of Good Hope, is to disprove an opinion in the text, that the torrid zone was uninhabitable.
This
volume is a most curious and interesting document, the only one that remains of Columbus prior to his discovery.
It illustrates his researches and in a man
ner the current of his thoughts, while as yet his great enterprise existed but in dea, and while he was seeking means to convince the world of its practica lity.
It will be found also to contain the grounds of many of his opinions
and speculations on a variety of subjects.