probably no one in this country is
better fitted than he to write the story of Columbus. The view he takes
of the life and character of the admiral in this exhaustive study of his
career will surprise those who have looked on Columbus as a hero, with
ideas far in advance of the age in which he lived, and with no blemishes
upon his reputation. Mr. Winsor presents facts, so far as they can be
ascertained, rather than the romantic notions of traditions, and his
picture of Columbus is not flattering to the explorer. In the opening
chapter of the work he gives a review of all the sources of information
about the admiral's life, and shows a respect for the investigations of
Harisse that is undoubtedly justified. Irving's well-known "Life of
Columbus" he treats with scant reverence as an historical work. "The
genuine Columbus," he says, "evaporates under the warmth of the writer's
genius, and we have nothing left but the refinement of his clay."
According to Mr. Winsor's estimate, Columbus was a pitiable man, who
deserved his pitiable end. His discovery was a blunder, and he became
the despoiler of the new world he had unwittingly found. A rabid seeker
of gold and a vice-royalty, he left to the new continent a legacy of
devastation and crime. Finding America, he thought he had discovered the
Indies, and maintained that belief until his death. Claiming to desire
the conversion of the Indians to Christianity, he did what he could to
establish a slave trade with Spain. Slitting the noses and tearing off
the ears of naked heathen are cruelties with which he is charged. In his
early life he deserted his lawful wife and became the father of an
illegitimate son. In his last years his mind weakened, and he became
the victim of wild hallucinations. Such is the man as Mr. Winsor
describes him, in contrast to the demi-god of whom Prescott says:
"Whether we contemplate his character in its public or private
relations, in all its features it wears the same noble aspects." As a
bold navigator Columbus won the fame of a world-discoverer; but he never
knew himself what he had found; and if Mr. Winsor's estimate is just, it
is not altogether unfitting that the name of a more clear-sighted
voyager than he should be given to the world that he discovered.

W. H. H.

PICTURESQUE HAMPSHIRE. Edited by Charles F. Warner, 120 pp. Large
Quarto. Paper, 75 cents. Northampton, Mass.: Picturesque Publishing
Company. 1890.

PICTU