transactions of common life, we are as much diverted from truth by the love of making a neat and fluent narrative as by almost any other temptation. Admitting, however, to the full any tediousness that there may be in this account of early Portuguese discovery, we ought not, I think, to confider it uninteresting. The beginnings of great thingseven if obfcure, trivial, isolated; without the details which bring reality into presence; and round which the hopes and the fortunes of men have not yet gathered-still cannot be devoid of interest to any thoughtful, forecasting mind. The traveller willingly difmounts to see the streamlet which is the origin of a great river: and the man of imagination, (who is patient in research because he is imaginative) as, in science, he laboriously follows with delight the tracks now hardened in the fandstone of obfcure birds which paddled over those buried plains ages ago; fo, in history, he will often find material to meditate upon, and to obferve, in flight notices which, however, like the others, indicate much to him of bygone times and .wondrous changes. CHAPTER II. CA DA MOSTO'S VOYAGE-PRINCE HENRY'S DEATH - -HIS CHARACTEr-further DISCOVERIES OF THE KINGS OF PORTUGAL. T the clofe of the preceding chapter it was intimated that the narrative of these Portuguese Voyages is rather uninviting. Could we recall, however, the voyagers themselves, and liften to their story, we should find it animating enough. Each enterprize, as we have it now, with its few dry facts, feems a meagre affair; but it was far otherwise to the men who were concerned in it. We have seen that piety had a large part in these undertakings: doubtless the love of adventure and the craving for novelty had their parts too.* And what adventure it was! new trees, new men, new animals, new stars, to be seen: nothing bounded, nothing trite; nothing which had the bloom taken off it by much previous description! These * See Humboldt's Kofmos. Sabine's tranflation, London, 1848. vol. 2, p. 274. early voyagers, moreover, were like children coming out to take their first gaze into the world, with ready credulity and unlimited fancy, willing to believe in fairies and demons, Amazons and "forms of a lower hemisphere," mystic Islands and fountains of perpetual youth. Then, too, befides the hopes and fears of each individual of the crew, the conjoint enterprize had in it a life and a career to be made out. It started to do something; fulfilled its purpose, or at least some purpose; and then came back radiant with fuccefs-thenceforth to be a great historical fact. Or, on the other hand, there was perhaps fome small failure or mischance early in the voyage: the failors then began to reckon up ill omens and say, that little good will come of this bufinefs: further on, fome serious mifadventure happened which made them turn, or from the mere lapse of time, they were obliged to bethink themselves of getting back; fafety, not renown or profit, now became their object, and their hope was at best but the negative of fome fear. Thereupon enfued a good deal of recrimination amongst themselves; for very few people are magnanimous enough to share ill-fuccess kindly together. Then, in the long dull evenings of their voyage homewards, as they fat looking on the waters, they thought what excuses and explanations they would make to their friends at home, and how fhame and vexation would mingle with their joy at returning. This thing, teeming as it was with anxious. life, makes but a poor fhow in fome chroniclethey failed; and did something, or did not; and then came back; and this was in fuch a year— like the entry in an almanack or the brief tale on a tombstone. We are now, however, entering upon a time when we are fortunate enough to meet with a voyager who can tell us more of the details of things than we have hitherto heard, and who is, himself, his own chronicler. In 1454, Ca da Mofto, a young Venetian, 1454. who had already had fome experience in voyaging, happened to be on board a Venetian galley that was detained by contrary winds at Cape St. Vincent. Prince Henry was then living close to the Cape. He fent his fecretary and the Venetian conful on board the veffel where Ca da Mofto was. They told of the great things the Prince had done, showed samples of the commodities that came from the lands discovered by him, (Madeira fugars, Dragon's blood, and other articles,) and spoke of the gains made by Portuguese voyagers, being 700 or 1000 per cent. Ca da Mosto asks permiffion to go, is informed Ca da Mofto's voyage. Manage ment of in 1454. of the terms, and hears that a Venetian would be well received by the Prince "because he was of "opinion, that fpices, and other rich merchan"dize, might be found in these parts; and knew, "that the Venetians understood these Commodi"ties better than any other Nation.* In fine, Ca da Mofto fees the Prince, is evidently much impreffed by him; and being furnished with a caravel, embarks his merchandize in it, and fets off on a voyage of difcovery. We have now for the first time an intelligent man on board one of these veffels giving us his own account of the voyage. From Ca da Mofto we at once learn the state of things with regard to the flave trade. The Portuguese factory at Arguim is the head quarters of the trade. Thither come all kinds of flave-trade merchandize, and gold and flaves are taken back in return. The " Arabs" of that district (Moors, the Portuguese would call them,) are the middle men in this affair. They take their Barbary horses to the negro country, and "there barter with the great men for slaves," getting from ten to eighteen for each horfe. They alfo bring filks of Granada and Tunis, and filver, for which they * Aftley's Voyages, vol. 1, p. 574. |