lic that it was not utter foolhardiness to attempt the
proof at all.

Christopher Columbus, as we call him (as Colon[1] he was better known in
his own day), was born in Genoa, Italy, the son of Dominico Colombo, a
wool-comber, and Suzanna Fontanarossa. The year of his birth is not
certain; but it was probably about 1446. Of his boyhood we know
nothing, and little enough of all his early life,--though it is certain
that he was active, adventurous, and yet very studious. It is said that
his father sent him for awhile to the University of Pavia; but his
college course could not have lasted very long. Columbus himself tells
us that he went to sea at fourteen years of age. But as a sailor he was
able to continue the studies which interested him most,--geography and
kindred topics. The details of his early seafaring are very meagre; but
it seems certain that he sailed to England, Iceland, Guinea, and
Greece,--which made a man then far more of a traveller than does a
voyage round the world nowadays; and with this broadening knowledge of
men and lands he was gaining such grasp of navigation, astronomy, and
geography as was then to be had.

[Illustration: Autograph of Christopher Columbus.]

It is interesting to speculate how and when Columbus first conceived an
idea of such stupendous importance. It was doubtless not until he was a
mature and experienced man, who had become not only a skilled sailor,
but one familiar with what other sailors had done. The Madeiras and the
Azores had been discovered more than a century. Prince Henry, the
Navigator (that great patron of early exploration), was sending his
crews down the west coast of Africa,--for at that time it was not even
known what the lower half of Africa was. These expeditions were a great
help to Columbus as well as to the world's knowledge. It is almost
certain, too, that when he was in Iceland he must have heard something
of the legends of the Norse rovers who had been to America. Everywhere
he went his alert mind caught some new encouragement, direct or
indirect, to the great resolve which was half unconsciously forming in
his mind.

About 1473 Columbus wandered to Portugal; and there formed associations
which had an influence on his future. In time he found a wife, Felipa
Moniz, the mother of his son and chronicler Diego. As to his married
life there is much uncertainty, and whether it was creditable to him or
the reverse. It is known from his own letters that he ha