Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/204

180 180 RETURN OF COLUMBUS, PART I. Disgust of John II. King John was deeply chagrined at learning the departure of the Spanish expedition. He saw that his rivals had been acting, while he had been amus- ed with negotiation. He at first threw out hints of an immediate rupture ; and endeavoured, it is said, to intimidate the Castilian ambassadors, bj bringing them accidentally, as it were, in presence of a splendid array of cavalry, mounted and ready for immediate service. He vented his spleen on the embassy, by declaring, that " it was a mere abor- tion ; having neither head nor feet ; " alluding to the personal infirmity of Ayala, who was lame, and to the light, frivolous character, of the other en- voy. ^'^ These symptoms of discontent were duly noti- fied to the Spanish government ; who commanded the superintendent, Fonseca, to keep a vigilant eye on the movements of the Portuguese, and, in case any hostile armament should quit their ports, to be in readiness to act against it with one double its force. King John, however, was too shrewd a prince to be drawn into so impolitic a measure as war with a powerful adversary, quite as likely to baffle him in the field, as in the council. Neither did he relish the suggestion of deciding the dispute by arbitration ; since he well knew, that his claim rested on too unsound a basis, to authorize the ex- pectation of a favorable award from any impartial umpire. He had already failed in an application 27 La Clede, Hist, de Portugal, Hist, del Nuevo-Mundo, lib. 4, torn. iv. pp. 53-58. — Munoz, sec. 27, 28. I