Chapter I.

Sensation in Spain on the Arrival of Columbus in Irons.--His Appearance at
Court.

[1500.]



The arrival of Columbus at Cadiz, a prisoner and in chains, produced
almost as great a sensation as his triumphant return from his first
voyage. It was one of those striking and obvious facts, which speak to the
feelings of the multitude, and preclude the necessity of reflection. No
one stopped to inquire into the case. It was sufficient to be told that
Columbus was brought home in irons from the world he had discovered. There
was a general burst of indignation in Cadiz, and in the powerful and
opulent Seville, which was echoed throughout all Spain. If the ruin of
Columbus had been the intention of his enemies, they had defeated their
object by their own violence. One of those reactions took place, so
frequent in the public mind, when persecution is pushed to an unguarded
length. Those of the populace who had recently been loud in their clamor
against Columbus, were now as loud in their reprobation of his treatment,
and a strong sympathy was expressed, against which it would have been
odious for the government to contend.

The tidings of his arrival, and of the ignominious manner in which he had
been brought, reached the court at Granada, and filled the halls of the
Alhambra with murmurs of astonishment. Columbus, full of his wrongs, but
ignorant how far they had been authorized by the sovereigns, had forborne