Excerpt from The Relics of Columbus: An Illustrated Description of the Historical Collection in the Monastery of La Rabida
The date of the first visit of Columbus to La Rabida is a matter of doubt and the subject of discussion; but recent researches seem to show that he appeared there shortly after he left Portugal in 1484 or 1485, when he was on his way to Moquer, a little village in the neighborhood, where he intended to leave his little son Diego, then nine years old, with his sister-in-law, a woman named Muliar, while he went to the Court of Ferdinand and Isabella at Cordova to ask their aid in discovering a western passage to the Indies. Weary, hungry and penniless, he approached the monastery and asked food and drink for himself and child. The good monks invited him in, gave him refreshments, detained him for several months, and becoming interested in his plans gave him letters to influential persons at court.
His next appearance there was several years later, when, disheartened by the indifference and procrastination of the sovereigns, he was about to leave Spain to seek aid from the king of France or the Republics, of Genoa or Venice. Again the monks detained him, and through their influence he was invited to return to court for a further presentation of his plans.
His third visit was in May, 1494, when he came back bearing a contract with the sovereigns, a commission as Grand Admiral of the Ocean Seas, and a royal requisition upon the people of Palos to furnish him vessels and supplies for the voyage. He remained a guest at La Rabida while making his preparations for the memorable expedition, and on the morning of his departure attended mass in the chapel.
His next visit was upon his return to Palos bearing the news and the trophies of his triumph, when the monks sang a Te Deum in the chapel with as much fervor as was ever felt in human worship. Again he remained a guest at La Rabida until summoned to court.
The artistic arrangement of the pictures is the work of Mr. Henry Reinhardt, of the firm Roebel Reinhardt, Milwaukee.
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