not ceased to beg incredulous monarchs for ships and men that he might open up the secrets of the sea. He was a tall man, of grave and gentle manners and noble though saddened look. His name was Christopher Columbus.

Christopher Columbus was born at Genoa, Italy, about the year 1436. He was of a humble family, and one of his early employments was feeding swine. But he had a high spirit and a restless zeal, and at the age of fourteen he engaged in the life of a mariner. He thirsted for knowledge and studied geometry, astronomy, geography, navigation, and the Latin language. From this time he stored his mind. with knowledge, and it was this studiousness that put it in his power to interest a good Spanish prior in his schemes for exploration.

For, one day, hungry and weary, and discouraged that no one would favor his enterprises, he stopped to rest in the shadow of an old Spanish convent. It was high noon, and he asked the prior for a cup of water. The monk brought him the draught, and stopped to talk with him while he rested. He was astonished at the schemes, visions, and learning of the weary Genoese, and he promised to use his influence with the Spanish court in the behalf of Columbus. And in that chance hour the destiny of the Western World, then unknown, was changed.

Columbus was convinced by his studies that the world must be spherical in form, and that there was probably land on the western sides to counterbalance that on the east; but he thought this land would prove to be a continuance of Asia.

He applied to the senate of his native city for ships, but in vain. He next sought the patronage of the king of Portugal, but was disappointed. In 1484 he turned to Spain and procured an interview with Ferdinand, king of Aragon. The cautious monarch heard the story of Columbus, and referred his theory to the learned men of the University of Salamanca. Some of these wise men concluded that if there were indeed land on the other side of the globe, the people there must be obliged to walk about with heads down. ward; and so they dismissed the subject.

But at last Columbus obtained a hearing from the Spanish queen. Isabella listened to his story and favored his cause. She is said to have parted with some of her jewels to procure ships for the enthusiastic adventurer.

No sailor of our time would cross the Atlantic in such ships as were given to Columbus. In size they resembled the smaller of our river and coasting vessels. Only one of them was decked. The others were open, save at the prow and stern, where cabins were built for the crew.

And now the feeble squadron of three ships is on the sea, and the prows are turned toward the waste of waters, in whose mysterious distances the sun seemed to set. It is Friday, August 3, 1492. On Sunday, September 9, the timid crews passed the farthest known island. Out on the unknown sea, the mariner's compass no longer pointed directly north, and terror seized the sailors, as the distance. between them and the land grew wider and wider.

The ships moved on under serene skies. Trade winds blew from east to west. The air at last grew balmy, and fields of seaweed began to appear.

One evening, just at sunset, it was September 25,- a sailor mounted the stern of the Pinta and peered into the distance. He descried a shadowy appearance far over the western sea, and cried out in great excitement: "Land! Land! I claim the promised reward!" For a prize had been offered to the person who should first discover land.

In the morning nothing but the wide waters appeared. The supposed island was but a cloud.

For a fortnight more the ships drifted on over the quiet waters. The seamen lost heart again and again in this awful unexplored space. They mutinied, but the lofty spirit of their leader disarmed them. At last, birds came singing again; a branch of thorn with berries floated by the ships.

"We shall see land in the morning," said Columbus. He stood upon the deck all that night, peering into the dim, starlit spaces. At midnight he beheld a light. The morning came. Beautifully wooded shores rose in view. Birds of gorgeous plumage hovered around them. The crews set off from the ships in small boats. Columbus first stepped upon the shore. The crews knelt on the strand and kissed the earth. They wept and chanted hymns of praise. Then Columbus unfurled the banner of Spain, and claimed the land in the name of the Spanish sovereigns, calling it San Salvador.

Columbus knew not the magnitude of his discovery. He died in the belief that he had merely found a shorter route to India. He never enjoyed that which would have been the best recompense for all his toil, -the knowledge that he had added a vast continent to the possessions of civilized men.