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nation, which was re-echoed throughout all Spain. The jealous Ferdinand joined with his generous queen in her reprobation of the treatment of the Admiral; and on his arrival at court received him with unqualified favour and distinction. When he found himself thus kindly received, and beheld the tears which flowed from the eyes of Isabella, his long suppressed feelings burst forth; he threw himself upon his knees, and for some time could not utter a word for the violence of his tears and sobbings. There was no need of vindication; he appeared before them a deeply injured man, and it remained for them to vindicate themselves to the world, from the charge of ingratitude towards their most deserving subject. They expressed their indignation at the proceedings of Bobadilla, promised that he should be immediately dismissed, and Columbus reinstated in all his dignities, and indemnified for the losses he had sustained. In the speedy fulfilment of his reinstatement, however, he was doomed to experience a disappointment, which threw a gloom over the remainder of his days. Another was indeed despatched to supersede Bobadilla; but it was only after long delay, and in consequence of his representations that a strait might be found that would likely lead through the lands he had discovered to the rich territories of Eastern India, whence Portugal was now deriving great wealth, that he was despatched on a fourth and last voyage of discovery in May 1502. While prosecuting this voyage, he touched at San Domingo, but was refused liberty of entrance into the harbour by the governor, though he pleaded his fears of an approaching storm. At this very time a fleet, on board of which were Bobadilla and others of the enemies of Columbus, with all their ill-gotten wealth, lay ready to put to sea on their return to Spain. Columbus warned them of their danger, but in vain: they set sail, and, in the tremendous storm which followed, the ship containing the tyrannical Bobadilla and other enemies of Columbus was swallowed up with all its crew, while Columbus rode out the tempest in the shelter of a neighbouring bay. After exploring the coast from the Bay of Honduras to the Gulf of Darien in search of the supposed strait, and again visiting the coast of Veragua in quest of gold mines, and where he met with some disasters, the frail condition of his vessels compelled him

to steer for Hispaniola. On his voyage thither, however, he was forced, for the safety of himself and crew, to run his two vessels aground on the north coast of Jamaica, where he was detained upwards of a year. One of the boldest of his followers volunteered to sail to San Domingo with a few Indians in a small canoe, but the governor Ovando, his interested enemy, cruelly delayed to send any vessel to his relief. In the meantime, while suffering from bad health, part of his crew mutinied and deserted him. Being straitened likewise for provisions, he had recourse to stratagem. Knowing that an eclipse of the moon was at hand, he informed the natives that the Deity whom he and his followers worshipped was about to inflict a fearful punishment upon them, for their neglecting to supply him with provisions, and lest they should disbelieve him, a signal would be given that very night in the heavens. When, therefore, according to his prediction, they beheld a black shadow stealing over the moon, and a mysterious gloom gradually covering the whole face of nature, they were seized with consternation, and hurrying with provisions to the ships, implored Columbus to intercede with his God to withhold the threatened calamities, and at the same time promising to furnish him with all he required. From that time there was no want of provisions.

At length a vessel arrived, which conveyed him and his crew to San Domingo. Here he was grieved at the desolation of the island, and the horrible massacres that had been committed by order of Ovando. The continual misunderstandings that arose between him and the governor, induced Columbus to hasten his departure, and after a tempestuous voyage he arrived again in Spain on the 7th of November 1504.

In the commencement of his application to the court of Spain to be reinstated in his dignities and offices, he had the misfortune to lose his friend and patron the generous Isabella. Ferdinand, jealous of his dignities, and repenting of having granted such high honours and prerogatives, which were increased by every discovery, met the application of Columbus with promises and evasions. A long series of fatigues, anxieties, and hardships, had enfeebled his health, and the dissappointment and neglect he now experienced preyed upon the spirit and hastened the death of

the high-minded and ill-requited Columbus. He died on the 20th of May 1506, being about seventy years of age.

Columbus was a man of great and inventive genius. His ambition was lofty and noble, and his conduct was characterized by the grandeur of his views, and the magnanimity of his spirit. His piety was genuine and fervent ; religion mingled with the whole course of his thoughts and actions. Whenever he made any great discovery he devoutly returned thanks to God. The voice of prayer and the melody of praise rose from his ships on discovering the new world, and his first action on landing was to prostrate himself upon the earth, and offer up thanksgivings. Every evening the Salve Regina and other vesper hymns were chanted by his crew, and masses were performed in the beautiful groves that bordered the wild shores of this heathen land. It cannot be denied, however, that his piety was mingled with superstition, and darkened by the bigotry of the age. He evidently concurred in the opinion that heathen nations were destitute of natural rights, and that the sternest measures might be used for their conversion. In this spirit of bigotry he considered himself justified in making captives of the Indians, and transporting them to Spain to have then taught the doctrines of Christianity. But though these were the errors of the times, and not his individual faults, it is not intended to justify him on a point where it is inexcusable to err. Let it remain a blot on his illustrious name, and let others derive a lesson from it. And let us not forget the retribution he received. He had denied justice to the inhabitants of the world he discovered, and justice was denied him; he had condemned them to slavery, and he was sent home in chains; he had given over the Indians to that thraldom of despair which broke the heart of millions, and he himself died broken-hearted."

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Columbus possessed a visionary fervour of imagination, but its fondest dreams fell short of the reality. He died in ignorance of the real grandeur of his discovery! Until his last breath, he entertained the idea that he had merely opened a new way to the wild regions of the east, and the remote parts of Asia. What visions of glory would have broken upon his mind, could he have known that he had indeed discovered a new continent, nearly equal to the old

world in magnitude, and separated by two vast oceans from all the earth hitherto known by civilized man! And how would his magnanimous spirit have been consoled, amidst the afflictions of age, and the cares of penury, the neglect of a fickle public, and the injustice of an ungrateful king, could he have anticipated the splendid empires which would arise in the beautiful world he had discovered; and the nations, and tongues, and languages, which were to fill its lands with his renown, and to revere and bless his name to the latest posterity!

Abridged from WASHINGTON IRVINE.

III.-Discovery of the Compass.

MUCH interest must for ever attach to the discovery of this instrument; and yet there are few subjects concerning which less is known. For a period, the honour of the invention was ascribed to Gioia, a pilot or ship captain, born at Pasitano, a small village situated near Molphi or Amalfi, about the end of the 13th century. His claims, however, have been disputed. According to some, he did not invent but improve it; and according to others, he did neither. Much learning and labour have been bestowed upon the subject of the discovery. It has been maintained by one class, that even the Phoenicians were the inventors; by another, that the Greeks and Romans had a knowledge of it. Such notions, however, have been completely refuted. One passage, nevertheless, of a very remarkable character, occurs in the work of Cardinal de Vitry, Bishop of Ptolemais, in Syria. He went to Palestine during the fourth crusade, about the year 1204; he returned afterwards to Europe, and subsequently went back to the Holy Land, where he wrote his work entitled, "Historia Orientalis," as nearly as can be determined, between the years 1215 and 1220. In chapter xci. of that work, he has this singular passage-" The iron needle, after contact with the loadstone, constantly turns to the northern star, which, as the axis of the firmament, remains immoveable, whilst the others revolve; and hence it is essentially necessary to those navigating on the ocean." These words are as explicit as they are extraordinary; they state a fact and announce a use. The thing, therefore, which essentially constitutes the compass, must have been known

long before the birth of Gioia. In addition to this fact, there is another equally fatal to his claims as the origina discoverer; it is now settled beyond a doubt, that the Chinese were acquainted with the compass long before the Europeans.

It is certain that there are allusions to the magnetic needle in the traditionary period of Chinese history about 2600 years before Christ; and a still more credible account of it is found in the reign of Ching-wang, of the Chow dynasty, before Christ 1114. All this, however, may be granted, without in the least impairing the just claims of Gioia to the gratitude of mankind. The truth appears to be this; the position of Gioia in relation o the compass, was precisely that of Watt in relation to the steam-engine the element existed, he augmented its utility. The compass used by mariners in the Mediterranean, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, was a very uncertain and unsatisfactory apparatus. It consisted only of a magnetic needle afloat in a vase or basin by means of two straws or a bit of cork, supporting it on the surface of the water The compass used by the Arabians in the thirteenth century was an instrument of exactly, the same description. Now the inconvenience and inefficiency of such an apparatus are obvious; the agitation of the ocean and the tossing of the vessel might render it useless in a moment. But Gioia placed the magnetized needle on a pivot, which permits it to turn to all sides. with facility. Afterwards it was attached to a card, divided into thirty-two points, called Rose des Vents; and then the box containing it was suspended in such a manner, that, however the vessel might be tossed, it would always remain horizontal. The result of an investigation participated by men of various nations, and possessing the highest degree of competency, may thus be stated. The discovery of the directive virtue of the magnet was made anterior to the time of Gioia. Before that period, navigators, both in the Mediterranean and Indian seas, employed the magnetic needle; but Gioia, by his invaluable improvement in the principle of suspension, is fully enr titled to the honour of being considered the real inventoin Europe, of the compass as it now exists.

CAMPBELL'S Maritime Discovery.

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