Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/148

124 124 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. PART I. InterpoBi- tion in his behalf. His progress, however, was arrested at the con- vent of La Rabida, which he visited previous to his departure, by his friend the guardian, who pre- vailed on him to postpone his journey till another effort had been made to move the Spanish court in his favor. For this purpose the worthy ecclesiastic undertook an expedition in person to the newly erected city of Santa Fe, where the sovereigns lay encamped before Granada. Juan Perez had for- merly been confessor of Isabella, and was held in great consideration by her for his excellent quali- ties. On arriving at the camp, he was readily ad- mitted to an audience, when he pressed the suit of Columbus with all the earnestness and reasoning of which he was capable. The friar's eloquence was supported by that of several eminent persons, whom Columbus during his long residence in the country had interested in his project, and who viewed with sincere regret the prospect of its abandonment. Among these individuals, are par- ticularly mentioned Alonso de Quintanilla, comp- troller general of Castile, Louis de St. Angel, a fiscal officer of the crown of Aragon, and the marchioness of Moya, the personal friend of Isabel- la, all of whom exercised considerable influence referring his application to Genoa to 1485, and liis first appearance in Spain to a subsequent period, make no provision for the resi- dence with the duke of Medina Celi. Mr. Irving- indeed is betray- ed into a chronological inaccuracy, in speaking of a seven years' resi- dence at the court in 1491, which he had previously noticed as hav- ing before begun in 1486. (Life of Columbus, (London, 1828,) comp. voL i. pp. 109, 141.) In fact, the discrepancies among the earliest authorities are such as to render hopeless any attempt to set- tle with precision the chronology of Columbus's movements previous to his first voyage.