It is difficult even for the imagination to conceive the feelings of such a man, at the moment of so sublime a discovery. What a bewildering crowd of conjectures must have thronged upon his mind, as to the land which lay before him, covered with darkness. That it was fruitful was evident from the vegetables which floated from its shores. He thought, too, that he perceived in the balmy air the fragrance of aromatic groves. The moving light which he had beheld, proved that it was the residence of man. But what were its inhabitants? Were they like those of other parts of the globe; or were they some strange and monstrous race, such as the imagination in those times was prone to give to all remote and unknown regions? Had he come upon some wild island, far in the Indian seas; or was this the famed Cipango itself, the object of his golden fancies? A thousand speculations of the kind must have swarmed upon him, as he watched for the night to pass away; wondering whether the morning light would reveal a savage wilderness, or dawn upon spicy groves, and glittering fanes, and gilded cities, and all the splendors of oriental civilization.

CHAPTER XI.

First Landing of Columbus in the New World.-Cruise among the Bahama Islands.-Discovery of Cuba and Hispaniola. [1492.]

WHEN the day dawned, Columbus saw before him a level and beautiful island, several leagues in extent, of great freshness and verdure, and covered with trees like a continual orchard. Though every thing appeared in the wild luxuriance of untamed nature, yet the island was evidently populous, for the inhabitants were seen issuing from the woods, and running from all parts to the shore. They were all perfectly naked, and from their attitudes

residence of Martin Alonzo or Vicente Yañez Pinzon, in the time of Columbus.

We now arrived at the church of St. George, in the porch of which Columbus first proclaimed to the inhabitants of Palos the order of the sovereigns, that they should furnish him with ships for his great voyage of discovery. This edifice has lately been thoroughly repaired, and, being of solid mason-work, promises to stand for ages, a monument of the discoverers. It stands outside of the village, on the brow of a hill, looking along a little valley toward the river. The remains of a Moorish arch prove it to have been a mosque in former times; just above it, on the crest of the hill, is the ruin of a Moorish castle.

I paused in the porch, and endeavored to recall the interesting scene that had taken place there, when Columbus, accompanied by the zealous friar Juan Perez, caused the public notary to read the royal order in presence of the astonished alcaldes, regidors, and alguazils; but it is difficult to conceive the consternation that must have been struck into so remote a little community, by this sudden apparition of an entire stranger among them, bearing a command that they should put their persons and ships at his disposal, and sail with him away into the unknown wilderness of the ocean.

TL rior of the church has nothing remarkable,

work of creation and the work of grace revealed in the word of God. Proofs corroborative of the authenticity of the Bible, have been gathered from those very sources which formerly were applied to by the skeptic for his sharpest weapons; and at this moment, (such is the security with which Christianity may regard the progress of knowledge,) there does not exist in our own country, nor, so far as I am aware, in any other, one philosopher of eminence who has ventured to confront Christianity and philosophy, as manifestly contradictory. May we not venture to hope that, in a very short time, the weak darts of minor spirits, which from time to time are still permitted to assail our bulwarks, will be also quenched, and the glorious Gospel, set free from all the oppositions of science falsely so called, shall walk hand in hand over the earth with a philosophy always growing in humility, because every day becoming more genuine. C. J. C. D.

TWELFTH WEEK-MONDAY.

VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES USED FOR WEAVING.-THE COTTONPLANT.

THE cotton-plant, another vegetable substance, extensively used in manufactures, differs materially from that already described, in its properties, appearance, and habits. Instead of being generally diffused over temperate climates, it belongs more properly to the torrid zone, and the regions bordering on it; and instead of being chiefly confined to one species, as to its peculiar and useful qualities, its varieties seem scarcely to have any limit, extending from an herb* of a foot or two in height, to a treet

* Gossypium herbaceum, or common herbaceous cotton-plant.

† Bombax ceiba, or American silk cotton-tree.-[The Baobab, or Adansonia digitata, an enormous and long-lived tree, also belongs to this family. But it is incorrect to call these trees "varieties" of the cotton plant. They are nearly allied to it, indeed, but they stand in different divisions of the great order of malvacee, or mallows; and the downy contents of their pods are of little use compared with true cotton. -AM. ED.]

residence of Martin Alonzo or Vicente Yañez Pinzon, in the time of Columbus.

We now arrived at the church of St. George, in the porch of which Columbus first proclaimed to the inhabitants of Palos the order of the sovereigns, that they should furnish him with ships for his great voyage of discovery. This edifice has lately been thoroughly repaired, and, being of solid mason-work, promises to stand for ages, a monument of the discoverers. It stands outside of the village, on the brow of a hill, looking along a little valley toward the river. The remains of a Moorish arch prove it to have been a mosque in former times; just above it, on the crest of the hill, is the ruin of a Moorish castle.

I paused in the porch, and endeavored to recall the interesting scene that had taken place there, when Columbus, accompanied by the zealous friar Juan Perez, caused the public notary to read the royal order in presence of the astonished alcaldes, regidors, and alguazils; but it is difficult to conceive the consternation that must have been struck into so remote a little community, by this sudden apparition of an entire stranger among them, bearing a command that they should put their persons and ships at his disposal, and sail with him away into +1 unknown wilderness of the ocean.

The interior of the church has nothing

work of creation and the work of grace revealed in the word of God. Proofs corroborative of the authenticity of the Bible, have been gathered from those very sources which formerly were applied to by the skeptic for his sharpest weapons; and at this moment, (such is the security with which Christianity may regard the progress of knowledge,) there does not exist in our own country, nor, so far as I am aware, in any other, one philosopher of eminence who has ventured to confront Christianity and philosophy, as manifestly contradictory. May we not venture to hope that, in a very short time, the weak darts of minor spirits, which from time to time are still permitted to assail our bulwarks, will be also quenched, and the glorious Gospel, set free from all the oppositions of science falsely so called, shall walk hand in hand over the earth with a philosophy always growing in humility, because every day becoming more genuine. C. J. C. D.

TWELFTH WEEK-MONDAY.

VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES USED FOR WEAVING.-THE COTTONPLANT.

THE Cotton-plant, another vegetable substance, extensively used in manufactures, differs materially from that already described, in its properties, appearance, and habits. Instead of being generally diffused over temperate climates, it belongs more properly to the torrid zone, and the regions bordering on it; and instead of being chiefly confined to one species, as to its peculiar and useful qualities, its varieties seem scarcely to have any limit, extending from an herb* of a foot or two in height, to a treef

* Gossypium herbaceum, or common herbaceous cotton-plant. † Bombax ceiba, or American silk cotton-tree.-[The Baobab, or Adansonia digitata, an enormous and long-lived tree, also belongs to "y. But it is incorrect to call these trees "varieties" of the They are nearly allied to it, indeed, but they stand in difns of the great order of malvacea, or mallows; and the s of their pods are of little use compared with true cotton.