Lazy and lawless, but through the pretext of religion, the infected crew
wrought on the pious feelings of the good admiral, inducing him at every
landing to hold mass instead of cleaning the foul ship. Thus through
petty intrigue and grave neglects, they brought disaster and sorrow on
their leader and confusion on their own heads. Their religion, never
deep, could not be expected to keep _Terredo_ from the ship's bottom, so
her timbers were ravished, and ruin came to them all! Poor Columbus! had
he but sailed with his son Diego and his noble brother Bartholomew, for
his only crew and companions, not forgetting the help of a good woman,
America would have been discovered without those harrowing tales of woe
and indeed heartrending calamities which followed in the wake of his
designing people. Nor would his ship have been less well manned than was
the _Liberdade_, sailing, centuries after, over the same sea and among
many of the islands visited by the great discoverer--sailing, too,
without serious accident of any kind, and without sickness or
discontent. Our advantage over Columbus, I say, was very great, not
more from the possession of data of the centuries which had passed than
from having a willing crew sailing without dissent or murmur--sailing in
the same boat, as it were.
Pages:
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122