has a cold
and cannot sing, and King Ferdinand is coming, and oh, messire, what",
said the lady, "shall I do?"

"Why now, truly", said Colombo, "in Genoa it was the judgment of all the
really musically intelligent ladies, except perhaps my wife, that I sang
not an unpleasing baritone, and while I do not know the song to which
you refer, yet I have devoted most of my life to the composition of a
poem concerning the land of my imagining which might well be sung and
besides that", said Colombo, "I can do a most remarkable egg trick."

So it was that Colombo became for a short time not undeservedly the life
of the Progress Literary Club party. And the tale tells how, after a
paper by Donna Violet Balboa on "Spanish Architecture--Then and Now",
Colombo sang to them the song of the land of Colombo's imagining. And
poignantly beautiful was the song, for in it was the beauty of a poet's
dream, and the eternal loveliness of that vision which men have glimpsed
in all ages if ever so faintly. And when he had finished, the eyes of
Colombo were wet with tears, for into this poem had he woven the
dreams of his disillusionment. And somewhat ironical to Colombo was the
applause of those fine ladies who did not at all understand.

"Now that is a pretty song", said King Ferdinand, "and do you tell us,
Colombo, how one may get to this land, so that I may extend the borders
of my most Catholic Kingdom and spread the teachings of the true faith,
for to bring the world under the blessed influence of my religion is my
only purpose, and really now", said King Ferdinand, "is there as much
gold there as you describe?"

"Ah, King Ferdinand", replied Colombo, "there is more gold than ever I
can tell, and I see only too plainly how grievously you suffer to think
that perhaps these people are living in ignorance of the true faith.
And I could ask nothing better than that King Ferdinand give me ships
in which I may sail to the westward and come at last to the land of my
imagining. This I would do in order that the blessed soldiers of
King Ferdinand who will follow me may show to the inhabitants of my
discovered land the grievous errors of their ways and bring them at last
to a realization of the true faith which has been so helpful to our own
dear Spain, and", added Colombo, "our gracious sovereign Ferdinand."

And droll it was to Colombo to think what might possibly happen were
King Ferdinand to take his dream seriously or were the King perhaps