se at the head of
affairs in Spain in the following terms. Given an island, rich and
luxuriant beyond the dreams of man; given a native population easily
subdued; given settlers of one kind or another; and given a Viceroy with
unlimited powers--could he or could he not govern the island? It was a
by no means unfair way of putting the case, and there is little justice
in the wild abuse that has been hurled at Ferdinand and Isabella on this
ground. Columbus may have been the greatest genius in the world; very
possibly they admitted it; but in the meanwhile Spain was resounding with
the cries of the impoverished colonists who had returned from his ocean
Paradise. No doubt the Sovereigns ignored them as much as they possibly
could; but when it came to ragged emaciated beggars coming in batches of
fifty at a time and sitting in the very courts of the Alhambra,
exhibiting bunches of grapes and saying that that was all they could
afford to live upon since they had come back from the New World, some
notice had to be taken of it. Even young Diego and Ferdinand, the
Admiral's sons, came in for the obloquy with which his name was
associated; the colonial vagabonds hung round the portals of the palace
and cried out upon them as they passed so that they began to dislike
going out. Columbus, as we know, had plenty of enemies who had access to
the King and Queen; and never had enemies an easier case to urge. Money
was continually being spent on ships and supplies; where was the return
for it? What about the Ophir of Solomon? What about the Land of Spices?
What about the pearls? And if you want to add a touch of absurdity, what
about the Garden of Eden and the Great Khan?

To the most impartial eyes it began to appear as though Columbus were
either an impostor or a fool. There is no evidence that Ferdinand and
Isabella thought that he was an impostor or that he had wilfully deceived
them; but there is some evidence that they began to have an inkling as to
what kind of a man he really was, and as to his unfitness for governing a
colony. Once more something had to be done. The sending out of a
commissioner had not been a great success before, but in the difficulties
of the situation it seemed the only thing. Still there was a good deal
of hesitation, and it is probable that Isabella was not yet fully
convinced of the necessity for this grave step. This hesitation was
brought to an end by the arrival from Espanola of the shi