Page:The life of Christopher Columbus.djvu/80

56 Towards this period, Christopher, the intelligent élève of that noble and experienced commander, became, in his turn, master of a ship. King René gave him a command in an expedition that required uncommon boldness and ability. The object in view was to go to Tunis and bear away the Fernandine, a galley of the first rank. When he was in the waters of San Pietro, in Sardinia, it was learned that the Fernandine was convoyed by two vessels and a carack; this disproportion of forces so much troubled the seamen, that, getting into a state of revolt, they refused going further, and determined to return to Marseilles. Whatever eloquence Columbus may have used, he was not able to overcome their fear; and as he had no material means of making himself obeyed, he had recourse to stratagem. The evening being come, he turned the needle, and caused the sails to be unfurled. The seamen, reassured, thought they sailed for Marseilles; but the next morning, at daybreak, the vessel hove in sight of Carthagena, without any of the malcontents suspecting the route they had taken. This act of his youth, related incidentally by himself at the time that he was grand Admiral of the Ocean, paints well his character. We there recognize his intrepidity, his resolution, his address; how little he allowed himself to be stopped by obstacles that come from men; if he cannot surmount them, he goes round them; and the obedience which he cannot obtain openly, he gains possession of and conquers by his ability.

It cannot be doubted that, after having obtained a command, Columbus, during the four years King René employed in the attempt of making a conquest of Naples, continued to serve him. It was particularly on sea that René gained the greatest advantages, and that he had longest to sustain the struggle.

It appears certain that, afterwards, Columbus continued to navigate, sometimes alone, and sometimes with one or the other of the Colombos, his kinsmen. The last day of his naval military life was marked by a dramatic