old the natives that if they would not help them,
the God of the Spaniards would for ever deprive them of the light of the
moon. And when the shadow of the earth began to move over the moon's
disc, the natives were terrified, fell at the feet of Columbus, and
promised him everything. He pretended to consider the matter, but at
last allowed himself to be persuaded and promised that they should keep
their moon. And then the shadow moved off quietly into space, leaving
the moon as bright as a silver shield.

At last he received assistance, and in 1504 was back in Spain. No one
now paid any attention to him. His property was confiscated, his titles
were not restored to him, and even the outstanding pay of his followers
was kept back. Ill with gout and vexation, he stayed at first in
Seville. His former friends did not know him. Lonely and crushed down by
grief and disappointment, he died in 1506 at Valladolid. No one took any
notice of his decease, and not a chronicle of the time contains a word
about his death. Even in the grave he seemed to find no rest. He was
first interred quietly in Valladolid; then his remains were transferred
to a monastery church in Seville; half a lifetime later his body was
carried to San Domingo in Haiti, where it rested for 250 years until it
was deposited in the cathedral of Havana in Cuba; and finally, when Cuba
was lost to the United States, the remains of the great discoverer were
again brought back to Spain.

Columbus was a tall, powerfully built man, with an aquiline nose, a pink
and freckled complexion, light-blue eyes and red hair, which early
became white in consequence of much thought and great sorrows. During
four centuries of admiration and detraction his life and character have
been dissected and torn to bits. Some have seen in him a saint, a
prophet; others have called him a crafty adventurer, who stole
Toscanelli's plan in order to gain power, honour, and wealth for
himself. But when, about twenty years ago, the fourth century since his
discovery was completed, full amends were made to his memory and his
achievements were celebrated throughout the world. He opened new fields
for unborn generations, he extended the bounds of the earth, and guided
the world's history into new channels.

Four years before the death of Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci of Florence,
who made four voyages across the ocean, suggested that the new lands had
nothing to do with Asia, but were a "New World" in d