As Albuquerque had foreseen, Ormuz--from its fortunate situation, as an emporium of trade, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf--became the most important of the Portuguese conquests. The island was by nature little more than a barren rock, and was entirely destitute of water. Its wealth and splendor, however, during the period of its commercial supremacy, gave the world an example of the power of trade which had never yet been witnessed. The trading season lasted from January to March and from August to November: during these months, the houses fronting on the streets were opened like shops, and decorated with piles of porcelain and Indian curiosities, and perfumed with fragrant dwarf shrubs set in gilded vases. Camels laden with skins of water stood at the corners of the streets. The richest wines of Persia and the most costly odors of Asia were offered in profusion to those who visited the city to trade. Thick awnings stretched from roof to roof across the promenades, excluding the rays of the sun. The luxury and magnificence of the place seemed to flow rather from the lavish extravagance of an idle prince than from the legitimate pomp of a stirring and active commercial population. In 1580, Portugal was conquered and annexed to Spain, and the Portuguese Empire in the East at once declined, and the Dutch Empire sprang up upon its ruins. Ormuz was plundered by the Persians and English united in 1662: the very stones of which its edifices were built were carried away as ballast, and it speedily sank back into its primitive state--a barren and desolate rock. Hardly a vestige of the proud city now remains to vindicate history in its record that here once stood one of the most famous emporiums of commerce and most frequented resorts of man. [Illustration: PONCE DE LEON AND THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH.] CHAPTER XXII. PONCE DE LEON--THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH--DISCOVERY OF FLORIDA--THE MARTYRS AND THE TORTUGAS--THE BAHAMA CHANNEL--VASCO NUÑEZ DE BALBOA--HE GOES TO SEA IN A BARREL--MARRIES A LADY OF THE ISTHMUS--HIS SEARCH FOR GOLD--HEARS OF A MIGHTY OCEAN--UNDERTAKES TO REACH IT--PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXPEDITION--LEONCICO THE BLOODHOUND--BATTLE WITH A CACIQUE--ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAINS--BALBOA MOUNTS TO THE SUMMIT ALONE--THE FIRST SIGHT OF THE PACIFIC--CEREMONIES OF TAKING POSSESSION--BALBOA UP TO HIS KNEES IN THE OCEAN--EVERY ONE TASTES THE WATER--A VOYAGE UPON THE PACIFIC, AND A NARROW ESCAPE--IGNOMINIOUS FATE OF BALBOA--JUAN DIAZ DE SOLIS--DISCOVERS THE RIO DE LA PLATA--HIS HORRIBLE DEATH BY CANNIBALS.