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Rh in official pursuits, varied by military exploits and love intrigues which kept his sword from rusting and gave him wounds which he carried through life. An abscess under the right knee, a most lucky affliction, alone prevented his joining the ill-fated expedition of Nicuesa to Veragua.

On assuming the direction of New World affairs as governor, in place of Ovando, Diego Colon in 1511 fitted out an expedition against Cuba, and gave the command to Velazquez, who appointed Cortés his adviser and executive officer, a position which the latter gladly accepted, deprived as he was of his patron Ovando, and heartily tired of the monotony of Española. Still hidden beneath a careless exterior were the deeper qualities of his nature, and there were yet six other years, and more of ordinary business and pleasure, before the appearance of earnest thought or great self-reliance. Meanwhile Spanish women were not numerous in the Indies, and rivalry for their favors was great. Cortés had escaped with light