So ended the great voyage of Columbus. He had shown the way across
the Sea of Darkness; he had proved that all the stories of its
monsters and other dangers were false. But even he had no idea
of the greatness of his discovery. He never realised that he had
shown the way to a new world; he believed to the day of his death
that he had indeed found new islands, but that his greatest feat
was that of finding a new way to the Old World. Yet now being made
a noble, he took for his coat of arms a, group of golden islands
in an azure sea, and for motto the words, "To Castile and Leon,
Columbus gave a New World."
Now began a time of pomp and splendour for Columbus. He who had
gone forth a penniless sailor now rode abroad in gorgeous array;
often he might be seen with the Queen on one hand and John, the
young Prince of Spain, on the other. Sometimes even the King himself
would ride with him, and seeing him so high in royal favour all the
greatest and proudest nobles of the land were eager to make much
of him. So they feted him, flattered him, and spread banquets for
him. But some were jealous of the great fame of Columbus, and they
made light of his discoveries.
It is told how, one day at a banquet when every one talked of these
wonderful deeds, one of the guests spoke slightingly of them. "It
is all very well," he said to Columbus, "but in a great country like
Spain, where there are such numbers of daring sailors and learned
folk besides, many another man might have done the same as you.
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