354 LIFE OP COLUMBUS. 



and favor in that city in case of need, for from thence I 

 came, and there I was born. 1 Furthermore, a little brevia- 

 ry was found in the Corsini library at Rome, in the year 

 1785, bequeathed ' to his beloved country, the Republic 

 of Genoa,' by an informal codicil executed at Valladolid, 

 May 4th, 1506, sixteen days before his death. It is well 

 observed by an historian, as accurate as he is elegant, that 

 the ' sentiments which are manifest in these passages 

 would be without all object, if not directed to the native 

 place of Columbus. He was at this time elevated above 

 petty pride on the subject. His renown, he well knew, 

 would have shed lustre on any hamlet ; and the strong 

 love of country here exhibited, would never have felt it- 

 self satisfied, until it had singled out the spot and nestled 

 down in the very cradle of his infancy.' 



There has been another dispute concerning the lineage 

 of the illustrious discoverer, several noble and ancient 

 families of the same name (in Italian, Colombo) having 

 advanced various theories upon the subject. It is suffi- 

 cient, however, to say of these, that they were all more or 

 'less nearly connected with each other, and with a com- 

 mon though distant origin : and that the great subject of 

 the controversy was probably connected with them all. 

 It is well ascertained that his immediate ancestors were a 

 line of humble, but worthy citizens, living in Genoa, 

 even from the time of Giacomo Colombo, ' the wool card- 

 er,' in 1311 ; and that the navigator's father was a man 

 of this same trade. Beyond this, it certainly is not ne- 

 cessary to pry into the rolls of his genealogy. Whether 

 his remote ancestors were or were not noble, and wheth- 

 er they did or did not keep hawk or hound, it will be 

 glory enough for his descendants, in all countries and in 

 all times, that he transmitted a brilliant and unsullied 

 name which he is known not to have inherited. 



It need only be farther observed of his family, that he 

 was the eldest of four children ; the history of two of 

 whom, the brothers Bartholemew and Diego, is somewhat 

 connected with his own. His opportunities of education 

 were not remarkable. He was taught to read and write 

 while yet a child, arid his writing is said to have been 

 so elegant that he might at any time have earned his 



