dle nonsense to think that anything could be
gained by sailing westward.

Columbus soon heard how the King had deceived him and determined to
leave Portugal forever. In addition to the deceit that had been
practised upon him in which others had so basely tried to rob him of
the rewards of his great design, a far greater sorrow had come into his
life by the death of his good wife, whom he had loved tenderly. So,
with his little son, Diego, Columbus went to Spain, thinking that
perhaps the Spanish King and Queen would listen to him, and give him
ships and money to carry out his plan.

The King and Queen of Spain, or rather the rulers of the two related
kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, were named Ferdinand and Isabella. A
terrible war was going on between these Spanish kingdoms and the Moors,
who had overrun Spain hundreds of years before. Queen Isabella,
however, was deeply interested in the words of Columbus,--particularly
because she was a devout Catholic, and desired to spread the Catholic
religion in the Far East. She told Columbus that she was too busily
engaged in fighting the Moors to help him then and that he must wait
until the wars were finished when, she assured him, he should have the
money and ships he needed to carry out his design for the glory of
Spain and the Catholic faith.

But the war against the Moors lasted for years, and Columbus, vainly
waiting at Court, seemed no nearer to getting the ships and crews that
he so ardently desired than when in Portugal being cheated by the
Portuguese King. He had no money, and in following the Court it was
hard for him to earn anything to pay for his needs. His garments became
worn and tattered,--so much so that he became known as "the man with
the cloak full of holes." At one time he went into the army and battled
against the Moors, but as he received no pay, he was compelled at last
to take up his map drawing once again to earn enough money for food and
clothing. Disappointed and discouraged he sent his brother Bartholomew
to the Court of the King of England, but the ship was robbed by pirates
and Bartholomew was obliged to return.

After compelling Columbus to wait for seven long years, the King and
Queen of Spain went back on their word and refused to have anything to
do with his adventure. Scientists had ridiculed it and told them that
they might just as well cast their gold into the sea as to give it to
Columbus. So the unhappy Columbus was compelled to leav