General RECONCILATION.

The followers of the great man, whose occasional faintheartedness must often have driven all sleep from his weary eyelids throughout the watches of the night, now began to think with remorse how much suffering they had needlessly inflicted upon their greatly-enduring leader.  They sought his pardon with tears, and, subdued for the moment by his greatness when illustrated by success, expressed in loving terms their admiration, their gratitude, and their assurances of fidelity.  The placable Columbus received their gracious sayings with all the warmth and tenderness that belonged to his large-hearted and amiable character.

  They take legal possession.

The great business of the day then commenced; and Columbus, with the due legal formalities, took possession, on behalf of the Spanish monarchs, of the island Guanahani, which he forthwith named San Salvador.  The gravity of the proceeding must have astonished the beholding islanders.  Their attention, however, was soon turned to the Spaniards themselves; and they approached the strangers, wondering at their whiteness and at their beards.  Columbus, as being the noblest looking personage there present, and also from wearing a crimson scarf over his armour, attracted especial attention, and justly seemed, as he was, the principal figure in this great spectacle.

Columbus is for the present moment radiant with success.  Our interest passes now from him to the new people he was amongst.  And what were they like?  Were they worthy of the efforts which the Old World had made to find them?  Was there mind and soul enough in them for them to become good Christians?  What says the greatest of the men who first saw them?  What impression did they make on him?  Let him answer for himself:—­

“Because they had much friendship for us, and because I knew they were people that would deliver themselves better to the Christian faith, and be converted more through love than by force, I gave to some of them some coloured caps and some strings of glass beads for their necks, and many other things of little value, with which they were delighted, and were so entirely ours that it was a marvel to see.  The same afterwards came swimming to the ship’s boats where we were, and brought us parrots, cotton threads in balls, darts and many other things, and bartered them with us for things which we gave them, such as bells and small glass beads.  In fine, they took and gave all of whatever they had with good will.  But it appeared to me they were a people very poor in everything.  They went totally naked, as naked as their mothers brought them into the world.”

  Character of the Indians.