"The earth is a sphere," he said; "those foolish stories of its being flat and supported on a turtle's back cannot be true."
But those persons to whom he talked only laughed the more.
"Is there anything more foolish," they asked, "than to believe that there are people who walk with their heels up and with their heads hanging down?" "Think of a place where the trees grow with their branches down, and where it snows, hails, and rains upward!"
Everybody thought him an idle dreamer.
Columbus tried to persuade King John to furnish him with ships and allow him to test his belief. But King John cruelly deceived Columbus; for, after obtaining his maps and charts, he sent off an expedition of his own. He hoped in this way to gain the glory of the discovery. The sailors whom he sent, however, were not brave enough to continue the voyage, and returned, frightened by a severe storm.
Columbus was so disgusted by the treachery of King John that he made up his mind to leave Portugal and go to Spain. So, taking his little son, Diego, with him, he started on his journey. He traveled from place to place, trying to find some person who would help him make his ideas known to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He thought that if he could talk with them he could persuade them to furnish him with ships.
| Convent of La Rábida. |
One day he came to a convent called La Rábida. Here Diego, who was weary and thirsty, begged his father to stop and ask for a drink of water. Columbus knocked at the big iron gate, and while he was conversing with the attendant a priest approached.
This priest was attracted by the noble bearing and refined speech of Columbus, and saw at once that he was not a beggar. He asked him what he wished, and Columbus related his story.
The good priest believed in him and said he would try to influence the king and queen to furnish him with ships. The priest brought the matter before the king; but at this time Spain was at war with the Moors, and King Ferdinand had no time to attend to anything else. Columbus was patient and waited. But as year after year passed and brought no prospect of obtaining the ships he wished, his hopes fell. After seven long, weary years of waiting, he was about to leave Spain in despair.