. It was a period rife with maritime adventure
and enterprise. Men began to perceive that there were other
achievements more glorious than those which the sword could accomplish,
more calculated, at all events, to bring wealth into their coffers.

It was now that the ardent, bold, and sagacious spirit of Columbus
devised the scheme for reaching India by the west, which resulted in the
discovery of a new world. In 1485, having fully instructed his brother
Bartholomew in his intended project, he sent him to England in order
that he might apply to Henry, under the belief that the king would at
once embrace his proposals. Unfortunately, he fell, it is said, into
the hands of pirates, who stripped him of all he had; and on his
reaching England in poverty he was attacked with a fever, which caused a
still further delay. When he recovered he had to raise funds for his
purpose by making and selling maps, and thus it was not till 1488 that
he was in a condition to present himself before the king. He was,
however, then well received, and an arrangement was made by which
Christopher Columbus was to proceed on a voyage of discovery under the
flag of England. Circumstances occurred to prevent the accomplishment
of this plan, and Henry lost the glory he would have gained as the
supporter of one of the greatest and truest heroes who has ever figured
on the page of history. This honour was reserved for Ferdinand and
Isabella of Spain, who, on the 17th of April, 1492, signed the articles
of agreement with the Genoese navigator at the little town of Santa Fe,
in the kingdom of Grenada.

The squadron prepared for this expedition, which was to prove of such
mighty importance to the world in general, consisted but of three
vessels, carrying in all but 120 men. I will describe them, as they
give us some idea of the vessels of that period, and which were
considered fit, by the mariners of those days, to contend with the
stormy winds and waves they would in all probability have to encounter
on so long a voyage. There was, first, the admiral's ship, called by
him the _Santa Maria_, a carrack, or a ship with a deck. The second was
the _Pinta_, commanded by Martin Alonso Pincon; and the third the
_Minna_ of which Viconte Yannes Pincon was master. These two were
carvels, which are described as open vessels without decks. I suspect,
however, that they must have been nearly, if not entirely, decked over--
in fact, that they were what a