332 COLUMBUS. 



lie thought he was fit for in words too vigorous to be 

 translated. This same king, John the Second, was a 

 vigorous-minded man, and in him the ambition of 

 Prince Henry was revived. He found in a chest belong- 

 ing to the late king a series of letters from a Venetian 

 gentleman giving much information about the India 

 trade, and earnestly advising him to prosecute his ex- 

 plorations along the coast. The librarians of St Mark had 

 also sent maps in which the termination of the con- 

 tinent was marked. The king sent out new expeditions 

 and fostered the science of nautical astronomy. A Jew 

 named Zacu to and the celebrated Martin Behem improved 

 the mariner's compass and modified the old Alexandrian 

 astrolabe, so that it might be used at sea. Wandering 

 knights from distant lands volunteered for these expe- 

 ditions, desiring to witness the tropical storms and the 

 strange manners of the New World, as it was called. 

 Many skilful mariners and pilots visited Lisbon, were 

 encouraged to remain, and became naturalized Portu- 

 guese. Among these was the glorious Christopher Colum- 

 bus, who made more than one voyage to the Gold Coast, 

 married a Portuguese lady, and lived for some time in 

 the Azores. It was his conviction that the eastern coast 

 of Asia could be reached by sailing due west across the 

 ocean. It was his object not to discover a new land, 

 but to reach by sea the country which Marco Polo had 

 visited by land. He eventually sailed with letters to 

 the Emperor of China in his pocket, and came back 

 from the West India islands thinking that he had been 

 to Japan. He made his proposals in the first place to 

 the king, who referred it to a council of learned men. 

 There were now two plans for sailing to India before 

 the court : the one by following the African coast, the 

 other by sailing west across the ocean. But expedi- 



