leave, was it not to be feared that some misfortune would follow, and that all would be lost? Which God forbid. The Emperor would take upon himself to punish Olid, who would no doubt be chastised for his treachery. Such were the arguments the officials repeated, but in vain. In their own name and in that of the Emperor, they again prayed and enjoined Cortes to renounce his undertaking. He promised and even swore not to march in person against Olid, but against some rebellious caciques not far distant.

He did not, however, keep his promise, and by forced marches pushed towards the east, still burning with fury against Olid. In the course of his march Cortes came upon vast lagoons along the seacoast, swamps in the valleys, and elsewhere steep mountains. Everywhere he commanded the natives to build bridges, dry up swamps, level mountains, and nobody dared refuse. With fire and sword he ravaged the territory of those who did not share his views; cutting his way through everything that opposed his march.

He had inspired the natives with such terror, by his defeat of so powerful a sovereign as Muteczuma and the conquest of his vast empire, that they believed him able to destroy the heavens if his fancy so prompted him. He took with him much baggage and many horses, a method of campaigning which was unknown to these nations. He collected his auxiliaries from the neighbours of those whose territories and kingdoms he traversed, and who had formerly been their enemies. On the other hand, he sent ahead overland two captains, one Pedro Alvarado, starting from the south coast, and the other a certain Godoy, starting from the north coast. These captains have sent reports to Cortes which are now, in our hands, describing these new, vast countries, and the warlike tribes inhabiting them; the cities built in lakes, upon mountain tops, and on the plains. The father of

Cortes, who is now here, has received a volume on this subject from his son, and has had it printed in Spanish; it is now exhibited for sale in the public bookstalls.

His sea force consists of three large ships and many high-born officers, under command of captain Francisco de las Casas. I have already spoken, and I shall again later on, about this. But let us return to past events which the order of my narrative demands. Cortes had instructed the commander of his sea force to capture Olid, if possible; and this he did, as I shall relate at the proper moment.

Such was the state of things when the two vessels recently arrived in Spain, bringing seventy thousand pesos of gold and two tigers, sailed from the country of Temistitan. One of these animals died at Seville from sea-sickness and fatigue; the other, which is a female and has been tamed, is still here. The culverin, of which there has been so much talk, is still to be seen. It is not in reality made entirely of gold, as has been reported, but it is very curious to examine. The ornaments, the weapons covered with gold and precious stones, the artistically wrought jewels, sent either by Cortes or by other conquerors of the country, have been seen by everybody. Persons who have come here in company with the most reverend legate of Your Holiness will one day verbally describe them to you. But enough said about these two ships. Let us now speak of the one caravel out of all seven ships, which succeeded in leaving the port of Medellin, the naval port of New Spain.

In the first place, why did Cortes decide to thus name this port? We shall explain. Medellin is a very well known town in Castile, and it was there Cortes was born. He therefore wished that the place destined to serve as the port for all these countries should bear the name of Medellin, in honour of his birthplace; and his desire has been gratified. It is likewise he who gave to the entire

country the name of New Spain, and asked the Emperor to confirm his appellation.

There were seven merchant vessels lying in the port of Medellin, ready to return to Spain with full cargoes, when dissensions broke out among the royal officials. Some wished to send the gold and precious stones that had been collected by those ships to the Emperor who by the by, needs money badly because of the wars he is carrying on. They alleged that they should take advantage of the presence of those ships, since such an opportunity rarely occurred. Another reason was because two hundred thousand pesos of gold had been promised to the Emperor through the intermediary of Juan Ribera, secretary of Cortes, on condition that ships should immediately be sent over to carry back that amount. Their colleagues were of an opposite opinion, declaring that they should await the return of the governor, Cortes, and make no change in the established usage during his absence. They ended by taking up arms. By a mere chance Francisco de las Casas, commander of the maritime forces of Cortes, arrived, quite proud of having strangled Olid. He sided with the partisans of Cortes against those of the King, and it appears that the treasurer, Albornoz, had his horse wounded under him and was himself wounded and thrown into prison. The victors rushed to the shore, seized the captains of the seven ships, and, to prevent their departure, unloaded the vessels and carried off the tillers and rudders.

The commander of the caravel which succeeded in reaching Spain, furious at this disaster, awaited a favourable opportunity and returned to his ship. Although without sails and deprived of all his nautical instruments, he attempted a praiseworthy feat of navigation. He had cast aside as worn out and useless some old torn sails; with these rags, full of holes, and one large new canvas, he improvised a sail. Without saying a word to those

who used violence against him, he raised his anchor and set sail. Aided by a favourable west wind, he reached Spain after the quickest passage that has ever been made by a ship returning from the extremity of the ocean.

The captain of this ship had no letters or instructions from any of the colonists, but the stories told by his sailors were in such agreement that they were believed. They claimed that they believed Cortes and all his followers had been killed by the natives whose territories he sought to cross in order to gratify his rage. He had left behind him the greater part of his lieutenants, having given them instructions to make ready to follow him; but when they set out they found the bridges broken and all communications cut off behind him. News was even circulated that skeletons of men and horses covered with sea-weed, which had been washed up by the tides and tempests and had taken root amongst the undergrowth, had been found in certain marshes. Such are the particulars concerning Cortes and the royal functionaries occupied in quarrelling with one another, which were brought by the caravel that succeeded in escaping.

Concerning the four captains who fairly pant with desire to discover the strait, the sailors give the following information; but one must take up this story a little farther on.

If Your Holiness remembers well, Most Holy Father, a venerable jurisconsult, Antonio Tamarano, presented you in my name after the death of Pope Adrian, with the Decade beginning PRIUSQUAM, and he reported to me that you had accepted the dedication. In the course of that book I had spoken of the noble, Egidius Gonzales d'Avila, commonly called Gil Gonzales. I explained how he discovered such a stretch of fresh water that he called this lake a fresh-water sea. The populous shores of this lake, the abundant rainfall, the ceremonies, customs, and religious rites of these nations the gold mines, the prelim

inaries of peace and treaties, war, and the fierce battles against the sovereigns of Nicoragua and Diriangen, and the return of Gil Gonzales to Hispaniola, where he raised a troop of soldiers and horsemen whom he conducted to the gulf called Figueras which separates the shores of the continent into two parts just as the Adriatic appears to separate Italy from Illyria and the remainder of Greece, all these things I have related. It is known that he believed a navigable river discharged this mass of water into the gulf, just as the Ticino serves as an outlet of Lake Maggiore or the Mincio for the Lake of Garda. I have written at length on this subject and this question.

I must not forget to explain the reason of the name of this gulf, so much talked about at the present time. The first discoverers called it the Gulf of Figueras because, on their voyage of exploration they found there trees whose leaves resembled those of the fig, though their trunks were different. The trunk is in fact solid, while that of the fig-tree is porous. Since the fig-trees are called figueras in Spanish, they bestowed the name of Figueras on these trees. The natives use the trunks and large branches of fig-trees for making vases, which look as though they had been turned, and are used to ornament sideboards and other table service. There are long platters, bowls, cups, plates, and other similar utensils of common use, all artistically fashioned.

Egidius Gonzales, or, if preferred, Gil Gonzales, marched overland to the lake he had discovered, but did not find the outlet he sought. In the kingdom of the cacique Nicoragua, from whom he had parted on the best of terms, he encountered a lieutenant of Pedro Arias, governor of Castilla del Oro, called Francisco Fernandez. latter had taken possession of the country and founded a colony there. In a few words, the following happened. Gil Gonzales complained that he was attacked and that his discovery was interfered with. The above-mentioned

The