His purse had been emptied by the long delays, and he was forced at last into begging bread for himself and his little boy at the door of a convent. He was a man of commanding presence and dignified bearing, with hair that had turned white long before. The prior, struck by his appearance, made inquiries of him and was impressed by his sad history. He interested himself in obtaining an audience for Columbus with the king and queen.

Ferdinand was inclined to favor a project which promised to bring new and wealthy regions under his sway, and the sympathies of Isabella were aroused by the possibility of converting the heathen. But Colum bus, thoroughly convinced of the practicability and value of his plans, insisted on what seemed extravagant terms. The coffers of the Spanish treasury had been drained by a long war with the Moors, and his demands were denied.

Once more all seemed lost, and he had already started to depart, when a messenger, hurrying after, recalled him to Isabella. Her religious enthusiasm had been deeply stirred by Columbus, and she offered to pledge her crown-jewels to carry out his plans. This sacrifice, however, was afterward found unnecessary.

It was the early part of 1492. For seven long years Columbus had been in Spain, struggling against hindrances and obstacles, hardships and despair, but at last, when about fifty-six years of age, success crowned his attempts and the sufferings of the past were forgotten. He was ennobled, made admiral of the "Ocean Sea," and viceroy and governor of all the countries which he might discover therein.

On Friday morning, August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from the seaport of Palos in the Santa Maria. Two other vessels, hardly more than open boats, named the Pinta and the Nira and commanded by the

Pinzons, accompanied him. His men numbered 120, many of them being forced to go on a voyage that was too hazardous for their taste. The crews soon showed signs of a mutinous spirit. As they sailed

star. Unacquainted with the variations of the compass, they took this as an ill omen. Morning after morning as the sun rose it shone over the same limitless and dreary expanse of waters, They lost hope

of ever penetrating the vast floating masses of seaweed on the Sargasso Sea. Again and again an ap parent glimpse of land proved illusory.

At last they threatened openly to throw their ad miral overboard if he did not turn back. Columbus had not lost confidence; he insisted that a few more days would bring them to land. The very next day hope was revived: a carved stick was picked up from the water. Inhabited shores must now be close at hand. A careful watch was kept on board all the vessels. That night Columbus saw a faint light far ahead, and just at daybreak Rodrigo de Triana, from the deck of the Pinta, caught sight of land, and a gun was fired to give notice to the other vessels.

As the sun rose above the horizon on Friday morn. ing, October 12, 1492, Columbus stepped ashore, clad in scarlet and carrying the banner of Spain. We may faintly imagine his feelings as he fell upon the ground and kissed it in the exuberance of his joy, and then planting the cross and the banner, took possession of the new territory in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella.

The island on which he first landed, one of the Bahamas, he named San Salvador. For three months he cruised among the neighboring islands, which he called the West Indies, supposing they lay off the coast of India. He visited Hayti, which was called Hispaniola, Cuba, and other islands. On Hayti a fort was built of timbers from the Santa Maria. This is the first structure known to have been built by Europeans on American soil.

In the early part of the next year he turned eastward to carry back to Spain the news of his success. The commander of the Pinta had deserted off Cuba, and had started home expecting to be the first narrafor of this wonderful discovery. It is said, however, that Pinzon did not arrive till the midst of the gen

eral rejoicings over the return of Columbus, who had preceded him by a few hours. He did not live long to bear the intense mortification which he felt at the failure of his treachery.

Ferdinand and Isabella received Columbus in state, and did him the unusual honor of requesting that he be seated in their presence while telling his marvelous story. Everywhere now there was unbounded enthusiasm, and praise, and fame for the man who a few months before had been considered a fanatic and forced to beg his bread.

In the fall of this same year, 1493, Columbus started on a second voyage to the New World in command of seventeen vessels. He discovered Jamaica, Porto Rico, and other islands, and established a colony on Hayti. On his return to Spain in 1496 he found that envy had begun its infamous work against him.

But he succeeded in freeing himself for a time from the effects of malice and started on a third voyage in 1498. It was on this voyage that he first touched the main-land of the Western Continent near the mouth of the Orinoco River, in South America. Returning to Hayti, where he exerted himself in restoring order to the disorganized colony, he was arrested by a commissioner from Spain, put in chains, and carried home in disgrace. Jealousy and_dissension had done their worst against him. But the people were indignant, and Ferdinand had to declare the act unauthorized. Columbus, however, was superseded in his command and had lost much influence at court.

But his desires were not dead. Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese navigator, had sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in 1498 and had found a way of reaching India by water. This reanimated Columbus. He hoped to find a strait near Darien by which his old dream of opening direct westward communica

tion with India might be realized. Ferdinand was once more persuaded by the promise of new realms and abundant treasures to provide a fourth equip. ment for Columbus.

The discoverer set sail on his last voyage in 1502 and coasted in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico, without, of course, finding the desired strait or accomplishing anything of particular value.

He returned, after much discouragement and hardship, in 1504. His friend Isabella died about this time, and his influence was gone. He lingered for a while, poor, suffering, and neglected, till on the 20th of May, 1506, death came to his release. He was buried with magnificence in Valladolid, Spain, and ultimately his body was removed to the cathedral of San Domingo, in Hayti, where it is supposed to be still resting.

His own age did not appreciate Columbus at his full worth. The continent he had led the way in discovering was named after another man. Amerigo Vespucci, a Venetian navigator, made several voyages to the New World and touched the main-land. His account of his travels was published in 1505, and a German geographer suggested that the land he had described be called America. The name soon found popular favor and was adopted, but Vespucci was an honorable man and a friend of Columbus, and there is no reason to believe that he himself desired to take from Columbus the honor of giving a name to the Western Continent. Yet we cannot but regret that some part of the fame which has increased for the memory of Columbus with every year since his death did not fall to him in life to assuage the misery and the pain of his last years.

But Columbus was not the first to see the mainland of America. John Cabot was a skillful sailor who had lived long in Venice and England. To him Henry VII. of England gave a commission to make