he King, "I might add that the Queen, too, is much
interested in this voyage and has even been persuaded to dispose of her
jewels in order that you may make haste."

"Such instant obedience to the will of God", said Colombo, "and such
fine enthusiasm to further His kingdom on earth, does your Majesties
great credit. And I shall indeed congratulate the inhabitants of this
to-be-discovered land for their good fortune in obtaining such a devout
King."

And the tale tells how that night Colombo took leave of Queen Isabel.
"Now do not weep, oh Queen", said he, "for I am only Colombo whom men
call the Dreamer, and I go in search of the land of my imagining, and
perhaps", said Colombo, "I shall return." But they tell how Queen Isabel
refused to be comforted for many and many a day. And unexplainably
curious to Father Bernadino was his absolute and complete failure as
a royal instructor in geography, for Father Bernadino had taught for
fifty-two years at the University.

And so it was that Colombo sat alone in the cabin of the ship which
carried him towards the land of his imagining. And strange and somewhat
fearsome it was to the sailors to see their captain sitting thus
motionless night after night, for already had they left the Canaries far
behind and some there were who said that a madman commanded their ship,
and others who whispered of horrible monsters in these western seas.

And the tale tells how one night Colombo observed across his table
one who had not been sitting there a moment before and whose hair was
strangely red.

"Well now, truly, sir", said Colombo, "This is very curious. For I do
not remember seeing you among the crew nor were you ever at the court,
and on the whole", said Colombo, "your red hair and your sneering grin
interrupt my dreams, and dreams", said Colombo, "are all that I have
left."

"For know you, sir", continued he to the stranger who did not speak,
"that on this earth man has been able to endure only by playing the ape
to his dreams. And in every generation", said Colombo, "there have been
those who dreamed of beautiful things and in every age there have been
those who caught some glimpse of that perfect beauty which the Greeks
call Helen, and to have seen Helen", said Colombo, "is to have been
touched with divine and unbearable madness."

And it became strangely quiet in the cabin as Colombo continued:

"And those authors who wrote perfectly of beautiful dreams", said he,
"will, pe