man in whose house Columbus resided for two years would have caught some
portion of his enthusiasm, and have been ready to take up his project. It
may be conjectured, however, that none of the nobles of the Spanish court
would have been likely to undertake the matter without some sanction from
the king or queen.


LETTER TO QUEEN ISABELLA.

To the queen, accordingly, the Duke of Medina Celi addressed a letter, of
which Columbus was himself the bearer, commending his enterprise to the
royal favour. But the juncture was singularly inopportune for the
consideration of any peaceful project. The war with the Moors was raging
more and more furiously, as they were driven back, contesting every inch
of ground, farther and farther from the heart of the kingdom. The court
was now at Cordova, actively preparing for the campaign which was to
result in that subjugation of the crescent to the cross, throughout the
Peninsula, which was completed by the conquest of Granada some six years
later. Amid the clang of arms and the bustle of warlike preparation,
Columbus was not likely to obtain more than a slight and superficial
attention to a matter which must have seemed remote and uncertain. Indeed,
when it is considered that the most pressing internal affairs of kingdoms
are neglected by the wisest rulers in times of war, it is wonderful that
he succeeded in obtaining any audience at all.


COLUMBUS AT COURT; JUNTA OF COSMOGRAPHERS; DECISION OF THE JUNTA.

However, he was fortunate enough to find at once a friend in the Treasurer
of the Household, Alonso de Quintanilla, a man who, like himself, "took