was permitted scarcely to see, and of whose vast extent he had
no conception. While they were yet his associates, these voyagers had
become acquainted with the pearl fisheries of Paria and Cubaga; they
learned to believe that they had approached the confines of the golden
regions of the east, described by the ancients in glowing colours; and
they had heard something of a vast ocean to the south, in which they
expected to find the oriental islands of spice and perfumes. All that
they thus collected from tradition or partial observation, they
treasured up to form the groundwork of schemes for future adventures,
which they might pursue for the purposes of individual gain, or from
motives of individual ambition, when no longer sailing under the ensign
of their great commander. The more selfish objects of these exploits,
their want of connexion with the lofty views that inspired Columbus, the
comparatively small scale on which they were conducted, gave to them a
sort of daring and chivalrous character, which much resembles the
warfare of the predatory nobles of Europe during the middle ages. While
they were as far removed from the treacherous rapine of the buccaneers,
as the inroads of the armed bands of knights were from the secret
attacks of the robber and assassin; they were yet the offspring of
personal interest, and were distinguished by innumerable incidents of
personal valour. They offered new fields where the burning desire for
romantic achievement might be gratified; and the old spirit of Castile,
which no longer found scope among the fastnesses of Andalusia, or the
rich valleys of Granada, was delighted to embark on the waves of an
ocean scarcely known, and to seek beyond it wealth and glory in golden
regions, of which the discovery had already made one man the object of
unmingled admiration and applause.

Of these voyagers, the first to whom Mr. Irving directs our attention is
_Alonzo de Ojeda_--a man whose daring exploits, enterprising spirit, and
headlong valour, cannot be forgotten by those who have already read the
History of Columbus. He was his companion in the second voyage, and, it
may be remembered, attracted the admiration of the bold cacique Caonabo,
who paid that reverence to his undaunted prowess, which he refused to
the superior rank of Columbus. Whether his restless and ambitious spirit
could not bear the control of a superior, or whether he had formed,
during the voyage he had made, some plan of ind