The Story of Magellan and The Discovery of the Philippines Part 17

"To that the King and all his people answered that they would obey the commands of the Captain and do all that he told them. The Captain took the King by the hand, and they walked about on the scaffolding, and when he was baptized he said that he would name him Don Charles, as the Emperor his sovereign was named; and he named the Prince Don Fernand, after the brother of the Emperor, and the King of Mazzava, Jehan; to the Moor he gave the name of Christopher, and to the others each a name of his fancy. Thus, before ma.s.s, there were fifty men baptized."

The baptism of the Queen followed.

"Our Chaplain and some of us went on sh.o.r.e to baptize the Queen. She came with forty ladies, and we conducted them onto the scaffolding; then made her sit down on a cushion, and her women around her, until the priest was ready. During that time they showed her an image of our Lady, of wood, holding her little child, which was very well made, and a cross. When she saw it, she had a greater desire to be a Christian, and, asking for baptism, she was baptized and named Jehanne, like the mother of the Emperor. The wife of the Prince, daughter of this Queen, had the name of Catherine, the Queen of Mazzava Isabella, and to the others each their name.

"That day we baptised eight hundred persons of men, women, and children. The Queen was young and handsome, covered with a black and white sheet; she had the mouth and nails very red, and wore on her head a large hat made of leaves of palm, with a crown over it made of the same leaves, like that of the Pope. After that she begged us to give her the little wooden boy to put in the place of the idols. This we did, and she went away. In the evening the King and Queen, with several of their people, came to the sea beach, where the Captain had some of the large artillery fired, in which they took great pleasure. The Captain and the King called one another brother."

The "little boy" spoken of was an image of the infant Christ. The figure was preserved until the year 1598, when the Spaniards sent missionaries to the place who gave it a place in a shrine and named a city for it.

The naming of the Queen at her baptism for poor Juana, or "Crazy Jane,"

the incapable mother of Charles V, who was watching beside her dead husband in Granada, and who had signed the commission of Magellan by proxy, completes a tale of missionary work in a somewhat ideal way. If these people did not maintain their faith, the work reveals the intention of Magellan, and shows the n.o.bility of character of the Christian Knight.

CHAPTER XIX.

HALCYON DAYS.

These were indeed days of joy. The glory of them grew. All the inhabitants of the island came to be baptized. Magellan went on sh.o.r.e daily to hear ma.s.s.

It was Pigafetta who gave to the Queen the image of the infant Christ, which became historical.

On one of the occasions that Magellan went on sh.o.r.e to hear ma.s.s he met the Queen, who appeared in a veil of silk and gold. He sprinkled over her some rose water and musk, and noticed that she cherished the image of the infant Christ.

"You do well," said he. "Put it in the place where your idols were; it will keep in your mind the Son of G.o.d."

"I will cherish it forever," said the veiled Queen.

She seems to have kept her word.

The joy of these scenes reached their height, when the King of Seba swore fealty to the King of Spain.

The scene of the conclusion of this ceremony was knightly indeed, and again reveals the heart of Magellan.

He, seeing a good spirit, of the King of Seba, resolved to swear fealty of eternal friendship to him. Only a Christian Knight would have dreamed of such a thing.

"I swear," he said, "by the image of our Lady, the Virgin, by the love of my Emperor, and by the insignia, on my heart, that I will ever be faithful to you, O King of Seba!"

Here the true character of the statesman as well as teacher appeared.

History records few acts more n.o.ble. Magellan sought the good of mankind.

There was one officer on the ships whose soul, like that of Pigafetta's, must have been in all these benevolent efforts.

The expedition was tarrying long, seeking the glory of the Cross rather than the gold and spices. There were impatient hearts in Seville.

Mesquita in his still prison, with the world against him, dreamed of Magellan, Del Cano, and the Italian historian. The half world separated them now.

In his dreams Mesquita saw the fleet coming back again, and he heard the shouting of the people and the ringing of the bells. The star of hope in his heart did not fail.

"Padre," he said, "the day of my vindication will come."

But the seasons came and went, and the light changed color in the window of his cell, and the birds sang their notes in the trees in spring and left their empty nests to silence in the retreating summer. The great Cathedral grew, and the achievement of Charles had begun to excite the world.

We now come to the tragedy of this wonderful expedition; to the tempest that rose out of the calm. The transition from these ideal scenes to what is to follow is sudden indeed.

CHAPTER XX.

THE DEATH OF MAGELLAN.

Magellan, as we have shown, had sought not wealth, nor glory, but the good of the world in his life. He was ever ready to put his own interest aside in the service of that which was best for others. He had sought welfare and not wealth, service and not self, and his life was about to end in the unselfish spirit in which it had lived.

On Friday, April 26, 1520, Zula, one of the great chiefs of the Island of Matan, sent to Magellan one of his sons and two goats as a present.

He had promised his service to the King of Spain, but this surrender of royalty had been opposed by another chief named Silapalapa. This chief had declared with native spirit that Matan would never submit to the Spanish King.

"But I can overthrow Silapalapa," ran the Matan chief's message, "if I can have your help. Send me a boatload of men. Let them come to-morrow night."

Magellan received the message and the presents in a friendly feeling, and resolved to follow the chief's lead.

"I will not send another on this expedition so full of peril," he thought. "I will lead it myself."

So he set out from Zubu to Matan at midnight, with sixty men, in corselets and helmets. He took with him the Christian King, and the chief men of his new adherents.

The boats moved silently over the tropic waters under the moon and stars. Magellan had become a happy man. He could not doubt that he was on his way to new victories. Pigafetta, the Italian, always true to the Admiral, was with him.

The expedition arrived at Matan just before the dawn of the morning.

The mellow nature of Magellan came back to him on this short night journey. He had no wish to slaughter men.

So he spoke to a Moorish merchant.

"Go to the natives," he said, "and tell them if they will recognize a Christian King as their sovereign I will become their friend. If not, that they must feel our lances."

The Moorish amba.s.sador was landed, and met the chiefs.

"Go tell your master," they said, "that if he has lances, so have we, and our lances are hardened by fire."

At the red dawn of the morning, the Admiral gave the order to disembark, and forty-nine men leaped into the water. They faced a fierce army, some fifteen hundred in number.

Magellan divided his followers into two bands. The musketeers and cross bowmen began the attack. But the firing was not effective. The black army moved down upon them like a cloud, throwing javelins and spears hardened with fire. Some of them singled out Magellan. They threw at him lances pointed with iron.

Magellan, seeing that the odds were against him in such a contest, sought to break their lines by firing their houses. Some thirty houses burst into flame.

The sight of the fire maddened the natives and rendered them furious.