TRINIDAD I THEN AND NOW. 



53 



I am beginning to fear that I am making thds 

 part of the narrative of Columbus' life rather long, 

 but just at this point it becomes so fascinating that I 

 am loth to shorten it, for there is no part of his in- 

 teresting life more romantic than that which follows 

 on his determination to turn his back upon the 

 Spanish court. 



About half a league from a little sea-port in 

 Andalusia there stood, and continues to the present 

 day, an ancient convent of Fransciscan Friars. One 

 day Columbus on foot and in humble guise, accom- 

 panied by his son, stopped at the gate of this convent 

 and asked the porter for a piece of bread and some 

 water for his little boy. While receiving this 

 humble refreshment the prior of the convent, who 

 passed at that time, being struck by the appearance 

 of the stranger, and, observing that he was a 

 foreigner, entered into conversation with him when 

 he soon learned the particulars of his story, and that 

 he was on his way to seek the aid of the king of 

 France. 



The prior was a man of extensive information 

 and greatly interested in the grandeur of Columbus' 

 conception, and when he found that he was on his way 

 to France and abandoning Spain the patriotism of 

 the good prior took alarm. Several conferences took 

 place at the convent at which many famous mari- 

 ners were present. Among these was Martin Alonzo 

 Pinzon, the head of a family of wealthy and experi- 

 enced navigators of the port, celebrated for their 

 adventurous expeditions. Facts were related by 



