Also, he wrote a very kind letter of
commendation for Columbus to take to her Majesty, a letter which is
still preserved; but even with this powerful backing Columbus got no
help, as we shall see.
The monarchs, having conquered most of the Moorish cities, were
preparing to lay siege to the last stronghold, Granada. Columbus craved
an answer from them before the siege began. They requested Bishop
Talavera to immediately obtain opinions from the wisest men he could
reach, and report their verdict. The majority of wise men, it is sad to
relate, again pronounced Columbus's enterprise vain and impossible; the
Atlantic Ocean could not be crossed; but the minority, headed by the
wise monk, Diego de Deza of Salamanca, who was now tutor to young Prince
John, upheld it vigorously, and told the queen that the plan was
perfectly feasible. The poor sovereigns, who were neither scientists nor
churchmen, but merely hard-working soldiers and governors, did not know
which view to take. Again they evaded a positive answer, making the war
their excuse; and again Columbus, indignant at their evasion, determined
to go to France.
Right here we come to one of the most picturesque incidents in this
checkered life,--an incident that takes us again to that hot, dusty,
southwestern corner where we saw him first enter Spain with the child
trudging by his side.
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