ead. They lacked the courage to sail
onward into the unknown distance. The compass began to vacillate, and
no longer pointed toward the north; this confused both Columbus and his
pilots. The men fell into a panic, but the resolute and patient admiral
encouraged them once more. So buoyed up by his faith and hope, they
continued to sail onwards over the pathless waters.

The next day a heron and a tropical bird flew about the masts of the
ships, and these seemed to the wondering sailors as two witnesses come
to confirm the reasoning of Columbus.

The weather was mild and serene, the sky clear, the waves transparent,
the dolphins played across the bows, the airs were warm, and the
perfumes, which the waves brought from afar, seemed to exhale from
their foam. The brilliancy of the stars and the deep beauty of the night
breathed a feeling of calm security that comforted and sustained the
sailors.

The sea also began to bring its messages. Unknown vegetations floated
upon its surface. Some were rock-plants, that had been swept off the
cliffs by the waves; some were fresh-water plants; and others, recently
torn from their roots, were still full of sap. One of them carried a
live crab,--a little sailor afloat on a tuft of grass. These plants
and living things could not have passed many days in the water without
fading and dying. And all encouraged the sailors to believe that they
were nearing land.

At eve and morning the distant waning clouds, like those that gather
round the mountain-tops, took the form of cliffs and hills skirting the
horizon. The cry of "land" was on the tip of every tongue. But Columbus
by his reckoning knew that they must still be far from any land, but
fearing to discourage his men he kept his thoughts to himself, for he
found no trustworthy friend among his companions whose heart was firm
enough to bear his secret.

During the long passage Columbus conversed with his own thoughts, and
with the stars, and with God whom he felt was his protector. He occupied
his days in making notes of what he observed. The nights he passed
on deck with his pilots, studying the stars and watching the seas.
He withdrew into himself, and his thoughtful gravity impressed his
companions sometimes with respect and sometimes with mistrust and awe.

Each morning the bows of the vessels plunged through the fantastic
horizon which the evening mist had made the sailors mistake for a
shore. They kept rolling on through the bo