the earliest times, to have considered commerce in the light of a degrading occupation, and under the most favourable auspices, frequently neglected opportunities of establishing it, when it might have been of the highest importance to the welfare of their country. The empty glitter of arms, the parade of public festivals, the pomp and circumstance of a church whose ceremonies have a wonderful charm for heated imaginations, and the luxurious indolence generated by a southern climate-all these which were, and are still to a certain extent, rife in Spain, were amply sufficient to prevent its inhabitants engaging warmly in trade. They looked on with indifference whilst Portugal was adorning herself with such well merited splendour, and allowed their vessels to remain almost inactive, while their neighbours were searching the Ocean for new paths to fame and riches. Events were about to occur which were to arouse them, however, from this state of inertia, and, without having great claims to the title of a maritime people, were destined to raise them at once to a high rank in naval matters; and all this through the agency of one man, and that man a foreigner.

CHAPTER XXII.

Spain-Christopher Columbus-His Views of Opening a Communication by the West-His Departure on his First VoyageLand discovered-The Landing and Solemn Occupation of the Island, that of Salvador-Columbus's Return to Spain.

CHRISTOPHER COLOMBO, or COLUMBUS, was a subject of the Republic of Genoa, and was bred up to the sea, having entered the service in his fourteenth year, A.D. 1461. He had, at that time, a knowledge of Latin, in which tongue the sciences were then taught, and had made great proficiency in drawing, geometry, and astronomy; for, with an ardent fondness for navigation, he studied every thing bearing upon the subject.

The sketch we have given of Genoese history will suffice to prove the arduous nature of commerce as it was carried on by the Italian republics. What with the jealousies existing between them, the attacks of the Moorish pirates, and the inveterate hatred of Turks and other infidels, a voyage, although made for the purpose of commerce, more resembled the roving commission of a privateer than the quiet business-like undertaking of a modern vessel. The galley had often to fight her way from port to port, and as a matter of safety was compelled to look upon every sail she saw skimming over the water as that of an enemy. This was the school in

which young Columbus was nurtured. It made him hardy, adventurous, experienced; and as he was naturally of a studious and thoughtful turn, he lost no opportunity of storing his mind with all the information he could obtain from those with whom he consorted touching the various countries they had visited. By this means, he procured a great deal of curious intelligence. relative to the East; he learned much concerning the productions and trade of India, and observed the importance of its commerce to the welfare of most of the cities of Europe.

He had scarcely reached man's estate, than, desirous of extending the sphere of his knowledge, after having seen most of the ports of the Mediterranean, he passed the Straits of Gibraltar and entered the great ocean, visited the principal resorts of the Italian merchants, travelled from Flanders to England, and thence with a fishing-vessel to the distant shores of Iceland, examined the northern seas with all the delight and curiosity of an enthusiast, and returned to his own country with enlarged views and awakened ambition. He shortly after made some voyages with two distant relations, uncle and nephew; and it was while in command of one of their vessels, that, attacking some Venetian galleys off the coast of Portugal, his ship and one of their adversary's, with which it was grappled, caught fire, and Columbus saved his life by swimming to land.

After recruiting his strength, he proceeded to Lisbon, where he met many of his countrymen, to whom his reputation was well known; and he yielded with pleasure to their solicitations, that he should remain in a country where his merits would be certain to advance

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his fortunes. He shortly after gained the affections of a lady, whom he married, and this union not only induced him to settle in the country, but even increased his enthusiasm for his profession and enlarged his knowledge. His wife was the daughter of one of Prince Henry's captains, Bartolomeo Perestrello, who had contributed to the discovery of Porto Santo, and the colonizing of Madeira; and from his mother-in-law, the old captain's widow, he received a store of curious information, together with the charts, journals, and other documents, formerly belonging to her husband. By closely studying these papers, he procured an insight into the methods pursued by the Portuguese in their discoveries; but not content with the mere theoretical knowledge of the places known to that nation, he resolved to visit them in person. To this end, he made several voyages to Madeira, Porto Santo, the Canaries, the Azores, and sailed down the coast of Africa to the Portuguese settlements on the Guinea coast, and thus gained additional experience and a fresh desire to pursue his researches farther.

We have elsewhere observed, that the grand object of the Portuguese, after they had made such extensive discoveries on the African coast, was the opening of a new road to India by sea; and as this was a question which became agitated in every scientific circle, and discussed in every variety of form, it naturally attracted much of Columbus's attention; for, by the experience he had acquired from his numerous voyages, he was one of the most skilful navigators of his time. A new idea, however, soon struck his ingenious mind, and the more he pondered on it the more feasible did it appear. The

Portuguese, in their attempts to reach India, pursued but one course, that of endeavouring to reach the desired country by doubling the southern point of Africa. This appeared to Columbus, and, indeed, to others, even if accomplished, a voyage of such extreme length as to render its advantages doubtful; and it was, therefore, the desire of shortening the route, and acquiring the title of a new discoverer, that made his own project so dear to him. His plan was to steer due west from the coast of Portugal, and thus reach the other side of that continent, which, from the spherical form of the globe, must, he argued, lie in that direction.

When once this idea got possession of his mind, a thousand circumstances sprang up to corroborate it. Although the works of the ancients were not much to be trusted in matters beyond their actual observation, they were read with avidity, for proofs of the enormous extent of India. Some affirmed that a few days' sail from the Pillars of Hercules would suffice to reach the isles lying on the outskirts of that continent; and as Marco Polo and others, among modern travellers, had described the empire of China as stretching indefinitely eastward, Columbus concluded that the voyage was at least practicable. When at the island of Madeira, he learnt that canes, trees, and even the bodies of men, unlike the inhabitants of either Europe or Africa, had been seen in that neighbourhood, and even cast ashore there; and all served to prove that inhabited land was to be found in that direction.

A mind like that of Columbus was not content with idle speculation; his notions, once confirmed, required to be put into action, and he at once set about the means