at Calicut. The King himself accompanied Cabral to the waterside.
He had already adopted the magnificent title, "King, by the Grace of
God, of Portugal, and of the Algarves, both on this side the sea and
beyond it in Africa, Lord of Guinea and of the Conquest, Navigation,
and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India."

Then Cabral, flying a banner with the royal arms of Portugal, started
on a voyage which was to secure for Portugal "an empire destined to
be richer and greater than all her dominions in Asia." Sailing far
to the west, he fell in with the South American continent and was
carried to a new land. The men went on shore and brought word that
"it was a fruitful country, full of trees and well inhabited. The people
were swarthy and used bows and arrows." That night a storm arose and
they ran along the coast to seek a port. Here Mass was said and parrots
exchanged for paper and cloth. Then Cabral erected a cross (which was
still shown when Lindley visited Brazil three hundred years later)
and named the country the "Land of the Holy Cross." This name was,
however, discarded later when the new-found land was identified with
Brazil already sighted by Pinzon in one of the ships of Christopher
Columbus.

Meanwhile, unconscious of the importance of this discovery, Cabral
sailed on towards the Cape of Good Hope. There is no time to tell of
the great comet that appeared, heralding a terrific storm that
suddenly burst upon the little fleet. In the darkness and tempest four
ships went down with all hands--amongst them old Bartholomew Diaz,
the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope, who thus perished in the waters
he had been the first to navigate.

September found Cabral at last at anchor off Calicut. He found the
King yet more resplendent than Vasco da Gama the year before. The old
historians revel in their descriptions of him. "On his Head was a Cap
of Cloth of Gold, at his Ears hung Jewels, composed of Diamonds,
Sapphires, and Pearls, two of which were larger than Walnuts. His Arms,
from the Elbow to the Wrist and from the knees downwards, were loaded
with bracelets set with infinite Precious Stones of great Value. His
Fingers and Toes were covered with Rings. In that on his great Toe
was a large Rubie of a surprising Lustre. Among the rest there was
a Diamond bigger than a large Bean. But all this was nothing, in
comparison to the Richness of his Girdle, made with precious stones
set in Gold, which cast a Lustre