The descendants of the Pinzons are still quite numerous in the vicinity of Palos. When Mr. Irving visited that town in 1828, he saw the ruins of a family mansion which belonged to one of the two Pinzons who sailed with Columbus on his first voyage. Mr. Irving was accompanied in his visit to Palos, the monastery of Ribida, and other localities in the vicinity, by Juan Fernandez Pinzon, a descendant of one of. the companions of Columbus. ** The pile of buildings in this view, standing upon the bluff, is the ancient Church of St. George. For some misdemeanor, the people of Palos were obliged to serve the crown for one year with two armed caravels. They were under this penalty when Columbus made his arrangement with Isabella, and they were ordered to fit out the two caravels for the expedition. In the porch of the old Church of St. George, Columbus first proclaimed this order to the inhabitants of Palos. Mr. Irving, who visited Palos in 1828, says of this edifice, "It 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 to 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." *** This is the amount given by Munoz, one of the most reliable of Spanish authors. Others have named s much higher sum Dr. Robertson rates the amount at £4000 sterling, or about $00,000, but docs not give his authority. {xxiv}navigating the pleasant seas of the Old World. After various delays at the Canary Islands, they passed and lost sight of Ferro, the most westerly one of the group, on Sunday, the ninth of September. Now Europe was left behind, and the broad Atlantic, mysterious and unknown, was before them. As the space widened between them and their homes, the hearts September, 1492. of mariners failed; and when, on the thirteenth, the commander and his pilots discovered the variations of the magnetic needle, misgivings, arose in the stout hearts of the explorer and his friends, the Pinzons. They were now six hundred miles westward of the Canaries, in an unknown sea. It was a phenomenon unknown to the world of science, and Columbus tried in vain to satisfy himself respecting the cause. He could not long conceal the fact from his seamen. It filled them with consternation and awe; for they believed they were entering another world, subject to the influence of laws unknown and dreadful. Columbus quieted their apprehensions by telling them that the needle did not point to the north star, but to an invisible point around which that star revolved daily. Thus he explained a phenomenon now well known; and his companions, relying upon his astronomical knowledge, received his theory as truth, and their alarm subsided.