his harbour of Port St. Mary; but he suddenly changed his mind, fearing to awaken the jealousy of the crown, and to be considered as interfering with the views of the sovereigns, who he knew had been treating with Columbus. He advised him, therefore, to return once more to court, and he wrote a letter to the queen in favour of his project.

Columbus felt averse to the idea of subjecting himself again to the tantalizing delays and disappointments of the court, and determined to repair to Paris. He departed, therefore, for the convent of La Rabida, to seek his oldest son Diego, and leave him with his other son at Cordova.

When the worthy Friar Juan Perez de Marchena beheld Columbus arrive once more at the gate of his convent, after nearly seven years' fruitless solicitation at the court, and saw, by the humility of his garb, the poverty he had experienced, he was greatly moved; but when he found that he was on the point of leaving Spain, and carrying his proposition to another country, his patriotism took the alarm. He had been confessor to the queen, and knew her to be always accessible to persons of his sacred calling. He wrote a letter to her, therefore, earnestly vindicating the proposed scheme, and conjuring her not to turn a deaf ear to a matter of such vast importance; and he prevailed upon Columbus to delay his journey until an answer should be received.

The ambassador chosen by the little junto of the convent was one Sebastian Rodriguez, a pilot of Lepe, who acquitted himself faithfully, expeditiously, and successfully, in his embassy. He found access to the benignant princess in the royal camp at Santa Fé, before Granada, and delivered

the epistle of the friar. He returned in fourteen days, with a letter from the queen, thanking Juan Perez for his timely services, and requesting him to repair immediately to the court, leaving Columbus in confident hope of hearing farther from her. This royal epistle caused great exultation in the convent. No sooner did the warm-hearted friar receive it, than he procured a mule, and departed instantly, before midnight, for the court. His sacred office, and his former relation as father confessor, gave him immediate admission to the queen, and great freedom of counsel. It is probable Isabella had never heard the proposition of Columbus urged with such honest zeal and impressive eloquence. She was naturally more sanguine and susceptible than the king, and more open to warm and generous impulses. Moved by the representations of Juan Perez, she requested that Columbus might be again sent to her, and kindly bethinking herself of his poverty, and his humble plight, ordered that a sufficient sum of money should be forwarded to him, to defray his travelling expenses, to provide him with a mule for his journey, and to furnish him with decent raiment, that he might make a respectable appearance at the court. lumbus lost no time in complying with the commands of the queen. He exchanged his threadbare garment for one of more courtly texture, and, purchasing a mule, set out once more, re-animated by fresh hopes, for the camp before Granada.

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He arrived in time to witness the memorable surrender of that capital to the Spanish arms. He beheld Boabdil el Chico, the last of the Moorish kings, sally forth from the Alhambra, and yield up

the keys of that favourite seat of Moslem power; while the king and queen, with all the chivalry and magnificence of Spain, moved forward in proud and solemn procession, to receive this token of submission. It was one of the most brilliant triumphs in Spanish history. The air resounded with shouts of joy, with songs of triumph and hymns of thanksgiving. On every side were beheld military rejoicings and religious oblations. The court was thronged by the most illustrious of that warlike country, and stirring era; by the flower of its nobility, the most dignified of its prelacy, by bards and minstrels, and all the retinue of a romantic and picturesque age.

During this brilliant and triumphant scene, says an elegant Spanish writer, "A man, obscure and but little known, followed the court. Confounded

in the crowd of importunate applicants, and feeding his imagination, in the corners of antechambers, with the pompous project of discovering a world, he was melancholy and dejected in the midst of the general rejoicing, and beheld with indifference, almost with contempt, the conclusion of a conquest which swelled all bosoms with jubilee, and seemed to have reached the utmost bounds of desire. That man was Christopher Columbus.”

The moment had now arrived, however, when the monarchs stood pledged to attend to his proposals. They kept their word, and persons of confidence were appointed to negotiate with him, among whom was Fernando de Talavera, who, by the recent conquest, had risen to be archbishop of Granada. At the very outset of their negotiation, however, unexpected difficulties arose. The prin

cipal stipulation of Columbus was, that he should be invested with the titles and privileges of admiral and viceroy, over the countries he should discover, with one tenth of all gains, either by trade or conquest. The courtiers who treated with him were indignant at such a demand from one whom they had considered a needy adventurer. One observed, with a sneer, that it was a shrewd arrangement which he proposed, whereby he was certain of the profits and honours of a command, and had nothing to lose in case of failure. To this Columbus promptly replied, by offering to furnish one eighth of the cost, on condition of enjoying an eighth of the profits. His terms, however, were pronounced inadmissible, and others were offered, of more moderate nature, but he refused to cede one point of his demands, and the negotiation was broken off.

It is impossible not to admire the great constancy of purpose and loftiness of spirit here displayed by Columbus. Though so large a portion of life had worn away in fruitless solicitings, during which he had experienced the bitterness of poverty, neglect, ridicule, and disappointment; though there was no certainty that he would not have to enter upon the same career at any other court; yet nothing could shake his perseverance, or make him descend to terms which he considered beneath the dignity of his enterprise. Indignant at the repeated disappointments he had experienced in Spain, he now determined to abandon it for ever, and, mounting his mule, sallied forth from Santa Fé, on his way to Cordova, with the intention of immediately proceeding from thence to France.

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When the few friends, who were zealous believers in the theory of Columbus, saw him on the point of abandoning the country, they were filled with distress. Among the number was Luis de St. Angel, receiver of the ecclesiastical revenues of Arragon, and Alonzo de Quintanilla, who determined to make one bold effort to avert the evil. They hastened to the queen, and St. Angel addressed her with a courage and eloquence inspired by the exigency of the moment. He did not confine himself to entreaties, but almost mingled reproaches. He expressed his astonishment that a queen who had evinced the spirit to undertake so many great and perilous enterprises should hesitate at one where the loss could be but trifling, while the gain might be incalculable; for all that was required for this great expedition was but two vessels, and about thirty thousand crowns, and Columbus himself had offered to bear an eighth of the expense. He reminded her how much might be done for the glory of God, the promotion of the christian faith, and the extension of her own power and dominion, should this enterprise be adopted; but what cause of regret it would be to herself, of sorrow to her friends, and triumph to her enemies, should it be rejected by her, and accomplished by some other power. He vindicated the judgment of Columbus, and the soundness and practicability of his plans; and observed, that even a failure would reflect no disgrace upon the crown. It was worth the trouble and expense to clear up even a doubt, upon a matter of such importance; for it belonged to enlightened and magnanimous princes to investi