50 



tkinidad: then and now. 



Queen Isabella, recommending it strongly to her 

 attention. The Queen received the proposition 

 favourably and requested that Columbus might be 

 sent to her. He accordingly set out for the court of 

 Spain ; but the Spanish sovereigns, Ferdinand and 

 Isabella, were at that time too busy with other mat- 

 ters of state to attend to Columbus, so he had to wait 

 While thus lingering in idle suspense, he became 

 attached to a lady named Beatrix Enriquez, of a 

 noble family, though in reduced circumstances, but 

 still able to command some influence at court. 

 Their connection was not sanctioned by marriage, 

 yet he cherished sentiments of respect and tender- 

 ness for her to his dying day. She became the 

 mother of his second son, Fernando, born in 1487 

 — whom he always treated on terms of perfect 

 equality with his legitimate son Diego — who after 

 his death became his historian. 



The court of Spain removed to Salamanca. 

 Columbus followed it there and succeeded in obtain- 

 ing the patronage and influence of the celebrated 

 Pedro Gonzales de Mendoza, Archbishop of Toledo 

 and Grand Cardinal of Spain, a man of such in- 

 fluence as to be facetiously called by Peter Martyr, 

 u the third King of Spain.' 9 Through his represen- 

 tations Columbus at length obtained admission to 

 the royal presence, but there is no record of the 

 particulars of this audience nor is it certain whether 

 Queen Isabella was present on the occasion ; the 

 contrary seems to be most probable. 



