school, he engaged in a seafaring life. Of his youth and early manhood little is known, except that he sailed for some years under his uncle, a celebrated sea-captain of Genoa, who commanded a small squadron, which was employed in cruising against the Mahometans; and that he was engaged in voyages of commerce in the Mediterranean, and occasionally in warlike contests with the ships of neighbouring states, in which he was distinguished for his bravery and his experience as a sailor. His life was one of great hardship and danger; but for that very reason it proved the best school in which he could have been educated, for it developed that fertility of resource that undaunted resolution and vigilant self-command, for which he was afterwards so remarkable. It also enabled him to acquire the nautical experience which, later in life, proved of so much value to him.

The passion which Columbus had manifested in his childhood for geographical discovery increased as he grew up, and it was doubtless with a view to gratifying it, that, in 1470, he went to Lisbon, the capital of the kingdom of Portugal. While there he became attached to a lady of rank, the daughter of an Italian cavalier, who had been one of the most distinguished navigators under Prince Henry, and on his marriage with her shortly afterwards, he settled at Lisbon. Columbus was now in the full vigour of manhood, and was of a most engaging appearance. Contemporary

writers describe him as being tall, well formed, and with an air of considerable authority. His complexion was fair and ruddy, and his eyes, which were light grey, seemed to light up when he was animated. His hair in his youthful days was of a light colour; but care and trouble soon turned it grey, and at thirty years of age it was quite white. He was moderate and simple in diet and apparel, eloquent in discourse, engaging and affable in his manners, and of a very religious turn of mind.

Columbus was very poor, and in order to support his family he occupied himself in constructing maps and charts. At that time such guides were much needed, and those drawn out by Columbus were of especial value from their great correctness. His marriage had thrown him into connection with all the principal navigators and scientific men of Portugal, and this circumstance, combined with the increased geographical knowledge which he acquired in the construction of his maps, served to foster his natural taste for discovery. The more he learned and studied, the more he perceived how much of the world remained unknown, and his desire to go in search of these vast unknown regions increased daily. Rumours, too, had lately reached Portugal of land seen far to the westward in the Atlantic Ocean, and these rumours inflamed his imagination still further, and tended to confirm the ideas that were awakening in his mind.

After carefully studying the writings and maps of the ancients, collecting all his own geographical experience, and separating what was absurd and exaggerated in the reports of the day, from what seemed likely to be true, Columbus formed a theory of his own, to which he adhered during his life. This was, that, by sailing due west across the Atlantic Ocean, it would be possible to arrive at the eastern coast of Asia, or India, as he termed it, and thus reach those rich countries explored by Marco Polo. Columbus agreed in the received opinion that the earth was round; but he believed that its circumference was much less than was generally supposed; that the continent of Asia stretched far to the east, and that the distance between it and the Azores, the farthest land from Europe that had yet been explored, was not nearly so great as it really is. His opinion as to the existence of land to the west was further strengthened by the fact that some sailors, when more than 400 leagues from Portugal, had picked up out of the sea some carved wood of peculiar workmanship, which had drifted from the west, probably from some unknown land; and that the bodies of two dead men, of an unknown race, had been cast up on one of the islands of the Azores.

That land really existed to the west, Columbus himself proved in the course of a few years; that this land was part of Asia was an error in which he remained till his death. Had he known that the country which he desired to go in search of

would prove to be an entirely new continent, whose existence had never even been imagined, he would indeed have been overpowered by the magnitude of the idea. As it was, his ardent spirit was kindled with zeal and enthusiasm, while a deep religious sentiment increased the elevation of his mind, and added to the dignity and loftiness of his demeanour. He believed that his contemplated discoveries were foretold in Scripture, and he imagined himself to be chosen by God to carry the light of Christianity into pagan worlds, and to bring the heathen from darkness to the knowledge of the Redeemer.

Several years passed, however, before Columbus made any efforts to carry his grand design into execution, and during this interval he made various expeditions to Madeira and the Azores; he also visited Iceland, and advanced several degrees within the polar sea, into regions hitherto unexplored. At this time the passion for discovery among the Portuguese appears to have flagged ; but it revived again on the accession of John II., in 1431, who inherited many of the tastes of his great uncle, Prince Henry.

And now at last Columbus's time seemed to have arrived. He laid his project of discovery before the king, and proposed to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to India. His plan was listened to with attention by John, who perceived the advantage that such a route would be to Portugal; but before entering into any engagement with Colum

bus, he assembled a council of the most learned men of the country, and asked their advice. This council condemned the proposition; but John, being still unwilling to give it up, devised a plan by which he hoped, without committing himself to Columbus, to secure the advantages of the project. He kept Columbus for a considerable time without giving him an answer, and secretly despatched a ship in the direction he had pointed out. This crafty policy met with a just reward. The ship he sent out encountered such severe storms, that the pilots took fright, and returned to Lisbon, excusing their own want of courage by representing the enterprise as absurd and impracticable. On hearing of John's treachery, Columbus was filled with indignation; and though the king was anxious to renew negociations with him, he declined to enter into the service of so unworthy a master, and quitted Portugal for ever, resolved to seek patronage elsewhere.

For about a year after Columbus left Portugal, little is known of his movements, but it is supposed that he carried his project to Genoa and Venice, and that neither of these states would have any thing to say to it. He also sent his brother Bartholomew to England, with a similar proposal to Henry VII. Bartholomew was kindly received by Henry, who seemed disposed to look favourably on the project, and he remained for some years in England. It was not, however, reserved for England