ve
attention. Hitherto the Sovereigns had only heard one side of the
matter; an occasional jealous voice may have been raised from the
neighbourhood of the Pinzons or some one else not entirely satisfied with
his own position in the affair; but such small cries of dissent had
naturally had little chance against the dignified eloquence of the
Admiral.

Now, however, the matter was different. People who were at least the
equals of Columbus in intelligence, and his superiors by birth and
education, had seen with their own eyes the things of which he had
spoken, and their account differed widely from his. They represented
things in Espanola as being in a very bad way indeed, which was true
enough; drew a dismal picture of an overcrowded colony ravaged with
disease and suffering from lack of provisions; and held forth at length
upon the very doubtful quality of the gold with which the New World was
supposed to abound. More than this, they brought grave charges against
Columbus himself, representing him as unfit to govern a colony, given to
favouritism, and, worst of all, guilty of having deliberately
misrepresented for his own ends the resources of the colony. This as we
know was not true. It was not for his own ends, or for any ends at all
within the comprehension of men like Margarite and Buil, that poor
Christopher had spoken so glowingly out of a heart full of faith in what
he had seen and done. Purposes, dim perhaps, but far greater and loftier
than any of which these two mean souls had understanding, animated him
alike in his discoveries and in his account of them; although that does
not alter the unpleasant fact that at the stage matters had now reached
it seemed as though there might have been serious misrepresentation.

Ferdinand and Isabella, thus confronted with a rather difficult
situation, acted with great wisdom and good sense. How much or how
little they believed we do not know, but it was obviously their duty,
having heard such an account from responsible officers, to investigate
matters for themselves without assuming either that the report was true
or untrue. They immediately had four caravels furnished with supplies,
and decided to appoint an agent to accompany the expedition, investigate
the affairs of the colony, and make a report to them. If the Admiral was
still absent when their agent reached the colony he was to be entrusted
with the distribution of the supplies which were being sent out;