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APPENDIX.
Having finished the examination of the church, we resumed our seats in the calesa and returned to Moguer. the object of my pilgrimage. of Santa Clara.
One thing only remained to fulfill
This was to visit the chapel of the Convent
W h e n Columbus was in danger of being lost in a tem
pest on his way home from his great voyage of discovery, he made a vow, that, should he be spared, he would watch and pray one whole night in this chapel ; a vow which he doubtless fulfilled
immediately after his
arrival. M y kind and attentive friend, Don Juan, conducted me to the convent. It is the wealthiest in Moguer, and belongs to a sisterhood of Franciscan nuns.
T h e chapel is large, and ornamented with some degree of richness,
particularly the part about the high altar, which is embellished by magni ficent monuments of the brave family of the Puerto Carreros, the ancient lords of Moguer, and renowned in Moorish warfare.
T h e alabaster effi
gies of distinguished warriors of that house, and of their wives and sis ters, lie side by side, with folded hands, on tombs immediately before the altar, while others recline in deep niches on either side.
T h e night had
closed in by the time I entered the church, which made the scene more impressive.
A few votive lamps shed a dim light about the interior ; their
beams were feebly reflected by the gilded work of the high altar, and the frames of the surrounding paintings, and rested upon the marble figures of the warriors and dames lying in the
monumental repose of ages.
T h e solemn pile must have presented much the same appearance when the pious discoverer performed his vigil, kneeling before this very altar, and praying and watching throughout the night, and pouring forth heart felt praises for having been spared to accomplish his sublime discovery. I had now completed the main purpose of my journey, having visited the various places connected with the story of Columbus.
It was highly
gratifying to find some of them so little changed though so great a space of time had intervened ; but in this quiet nook of Spain, so far removed from the main thoroughfares, the lapse of time produces but few violent revolutions.
Nothing, however, had surprised and gratified me more than
the continued stability of the Pinzon family.
O n the morning after m y
excursion to Palos, chance gave me an opportunity of seeing something of the interior of most of their households.
Having a curiosity to visit
the remains of a Moorish castle, once the citadel of Moguer, Don Fernan dez undertook to show me a tower which served as a magazine of wine to one of the Pinzon family.
In seeking for the key we were sent from
house to house of nearly the whole connection.
A l l appeared to be living