His soul had stood against his own country; his name had been cast out by his countrymen. But in the splendors of the sunset sea he had found his faith to be reality. It is said that the sailors wept when they beheld the Pacific.
We may fancy the joy of Del Cano.
We may imagine how the heart of Pigafetta, the young Italian, which had always been true to the Admiral, must have overflowed with delight when the Pacific opened before his eyes! There is a strong heart beat in the happiness of one who has been true to a successful man in the hour of his need.
He may have sung the song that cheered Columbus and his men—the mariners' hymn to the Virgin:
"Gentle Star of Ocean!
Portal of the sky!
Ever Virgin Mother
Of the Lord most high!"
"Wednesday, the 20th of November, 1520," says the original narrative, "we came forth out of the same strait, and entered the Pacific Sea."
The ships sailed on into the calm mystery of the ocean, the soul of Magellan glowing. But though the Admiral had risen superior to so many obstacles, there were others to be met. The sea was indeed placid and full of promise, but starvation now stared him in the face, and after the spectre of Treason had departed that of Famine appeared.
Day after day the sun arose on the same serenity of sea. One month passed, and still there spread before the ships the same infinite ocean. Another month passed, and another, and twenty days more.
How did the crews live on this long voyage of silence and calms?
The narrative says: "We only ate old biscuit reduced to powder, and full of grubs, and we drank water that had turned yellow and smelled."