prematurely snatched from him. His shipmates, however, were sure to
disperse the intelligence; and the gains to be made on the Pearl Coast
were, probably, the most tempting bait for future navigators to follow in
the track of Columbus, and complete the discovery of the earthly Paradise.


ILLNESS OF COLUMBUS.

Of the delights of this Paradise Columbus himself was to have but a slight
and mocking foretaste. He had been constantly ill during the voyage,
suffering from the gout and from an inflammation in his eyes which
rendered him almost blind. His new colony in Hispaniola demanded his
attention, and must often have been the cause of anxious thought to him;
and the grave but glowing enthusiast made his way to St. Domingo, and
afterwards returned to Spain, to be vexed henceforth by those mean
miseries and small disputes which afflicted him for the remainder of his
days--miseries the more galling, as they were so disproportionately small
in comparison with the greatness of such a man, and with the aims and
hopes which they effectually hindered.



CHAPTER X.


SLAVES AND LOGWOOD; PLAN OF SLAVE BARTER.

It was on the 30th of August, 1498, that Columbus arrived at Hispaniola,
where he found the state of his colony far from cheering, the defection of
Roldan and his followers having put everything into confusion. The admiral