expressing their grief at all that he had suffered, and inviting him to
court. They ordered, at the same time, that two thousand ducats should be
advanced to defray his expenses. [92]

The loyal heart of Columbus was again cheered by this declaration of his
sovereigns. He felt conscious of his integrity, and anticipated an
immediate restitution of all his rights and dignities. He appeared at
court in Granada on the 17th of December, not as a man ruined and
disgraced, but richly dressed, and attended by an honorable retinue. He
was received by the sovereigns with unqualified favor and distinction.
When the queen beheld this venerable man approach, and thought on all he
had deserved and all he had suffered, she was moved to tears. Columbus had
borne up firmly against the rude conflicts of the world,-he had endured
with lofty scorn the injuries and insults of ignoble men; but he possessed
strong and quick sensibility. When he found himself thus kindly received
by his sovereigns, and beheld tears in the benign eyes of Isabella, his
long-suppressed feelings burst forth: he threw himself on his knees, and
for some time could not utter a word for the violence of his tears and
sobbings. [93]

Ferdinand and Isabella raised him from the ground, and endeavored to
encourage him by the most gracious expressions. As soon as he regained
self-possession, he entered into an eloquent and high-minded vindication
of his loyalty, and the zeal he had ever felt for the glory and advantage
of the Spanish crown, declaring that if at any time he had erred, it had
been through inexperience in government, and the extraordinary
difficulties by which he had been surrounded.

There needed no vindication on his part. The intemperance of his enemies
had been his best advocate. He stood in presence of his sovereigns a