by the eastern regions of Asia. A navigator, therefore, pursuing a
direct course from east to west, must arrive at Asia or discover
intervening land.

The work of Marco Polo is the key to many of the ideas of Columbus. The
territories of the Great Khan were the object of his search in all his
voyages. Much of the success of his enterprise rested on two happy
errors; the imaginary extent of Asia to the east, and the supposed
smallness of the earth. Without these errors he would hardly have
ventured into the immeasurable waste of waters of the Atlantic.

A deep religious sentiment mingled with his thoughts; he looked upon
himself as chosen from among men, and he read of his discovery as
foretold in Holy Writ. Navigation was still too imperfect for such an
undertaking; mariners rarely ventured far out of sight of land. But
knowledge was advancing, and the astrolabe, which has been modified into
the modern quadrant, was being applied to navigation. This was the one
thing wanting to free the mariner from his long bondage to the land.

Columbus now laid his great project before the King of Portugal, but
without success. Greatly disappointed, he sailed to Spain, hoping to
receive the patronage of Ferdinand and Isabella. It was many months
before he could even obtain a hearing; his means were exhausted, and he
had to contend against ridicule and scorn, but the royal audience was at
length obtained. Ferdinand assembled learned astronomers and
cosmographers to hold a conference with Columbus. They assailed him with
citations from the Bible. One objection advanced was, that should a ship
ever succeed in reaching India, she could never come back, for the
rotundity of the globe would present a mountain, up which it would be
impossible to sail. Finally, after five years, the junta condemned the