Not content with sea dignities, he was also to be Viceroy and
Governor-General in all islands or mainlands that he might acquire; he
wanted a tenth part of the profits resulting from his discoveries, in
perpetuity; and he must have the permanent right of contributing an
eighth part of the cost of the equipment and have an additional eighth
part of the profits; and all his heirs and descendants for ever were to
have the same privileges. These conditions were on such a scale as no
sovereign could readily approve. Columbus's lack of pedigree, and the
fact also that he was a foreigner, made them seem the more preposterous;
for although he might receive kindness and even friendship from some of
the grand Spaniards with whom he associated, that friendship and
kindness were given condescendingly and with a smile. He was delightful
when he was merely proposing as a mariner to confer additional grandeur
and glory on the Crown; but when it came to demanding titles and
privileges which would make him rank with the highest grandees in, the
land, the matter took on quite a different colour. It was nonsense; it
could not be allowed; and many were the friendly hints that Columbus
doubtless received at this time to relinquish his wild demands and not
to overreach himself.

But to the surprise and dismay of his friends, who really wished him to
have a chance of distinguishing himself, and were shocked at the
impediments he was now putting in his own way, the man from Genoa stood
firm. What he proposed to do, he said, was worthy of the rewards that he
asked; they were due to the importance and grandeur of his scheme, and so
on. Nor did he fail to point out that the bestowal of them was a matter
altogether contingent on results; if there were no results, there would
be no rewards; if there were results, they would be worthy of the
rewards. This action of Columbus's deserves close study. He had come to
a turning-point in his life. He had been asking, asking, asking, for six