me taught to read and write and to draw. I could support myself by my talent for this art, but I am more inclined to follow the sciences which relate to navigation. I was sent to the university of Pavia, where I applied myself particularly to geometry and astrology (the astronomy of those days), without at the same time neglecting grammar and Latin. At fourteen I embarked for the first time in a vessel of the Republic, since which time I have successfully navigated unknown seas, first in the Mediterranean, either as merchant or corsair, in the vessels of King René, in which I have undertaken some perilous expeditions, and for France, then allied to the Genoese. Since then I have passed the Strait of Hercules into the ocean. the time of my first shipwreck, in 1470, I was thirty-five years old, when I was established and married at Lisbon, without leaving the sea. In 1477 I sailed a hundred leagues beyond Thule, the southern part of which is in 73° from the equator, instead of 63°, as some assert it to be."

At

[Thule here is meant for Iceland, situated to the West of the Shetlands. (The Ultima Thule of the Ancients, as it is placed on the chart of Ptolemy.) The opinion of Columbus on the latitude is erroneous, but is fact in history, being found in a letter written by himself to his son Fernando.]

"Having become a subject of Portugal from my union with Donna Filipa de Palestrella, I was enabled to visit without obstruction the new establishments, in the midst of which I resided several years. It was there that my son Diego was born. During my stay in Lisbon I subsisted by the produce of the charts which I made, and sold to princes as well as seamen. My principal study was the form of the world. I have read all the ancient and modern authors on the subject, and I am convinced that by sailing West on the ocean one would meet first the Isle of Cipango, and 1,500 miles beyond it the coasts of Mangi and the empire of Cathay, visited by Marco Polo. I have determined to go and discover those magnificent countries, and this is why I have been so much in Portugal since Diego was born. King John himself has come round to my opinion, but the council of courtiers by whom he is surrounded, jealous of my views, secretly sent away a caravel in the direction which I pointed out. But the pilots had not the courage to follow up the enterprise, returned to Lisbon, and have thrown on me the blame of their own pusillanimous ill success."

Juan Perez at this showed by his look the indignation which he felt.

"Signor prior," continued Columbus, enthusiastically, "Heaven did not permit me to be robbed of my triumph. Your Queen is renowned for her wisdom, perhaps she may grant me what the King of Portugal has refused, and I may yet be the first to approach by sea the shores of Asia! King John desired to renew the subject of the voyage with me; but I refused, after such conduet, and left Lisbon, and am now looking for my scheme to be adopted by some other power. Genoa, my own country, has twice refused my offers.

Venice, her rival, has treated them with disdain. Henry VII, of England, has treated my brother, who went there for me, in the same way. Perhaps Queen Isabella will yet listen to me."

"I have been the confessor of our good sovereign," said Juan Perez, "I may be of service to you. But you must first convince me of the truth of your theories.'

"You shall be convinced," said Columbus.

"I hope so," said the prior. "Unfortunately my judgment and my attainments are far from being what they should be; but you will allow me to summon to our councils a medical friend of Palos, named Garcia Fernandez.”

While the prior sent some one to call his friend, Columbus knelt before a crucifix in the room and returned thanks to God for having befriended him by a succession of disasters, shipwreck, destitution, and begging bread and water at the hospitable gate of the convent of La Rabida.

Christopher Columbus.

Among the individuals who figured in history in all parts of Europe coeval with Columbus, no one equalled him. The study of his history excites a profound veneration for the man. Our researches into his character have increased our admiration of this pious hero, who combined prudence with enthusiasm, science with courage, and the most lively imagination with the most determined perseverance. His superior courage was displayed in all his actions; his generosity of disposition was no less than his zeal for his adopted cause. remarkable that this man in the decline of life never despaired, and that at an age when repose is looked for he undertook the most daring enterprise either of ancient or modern times.

It is

The story he has just related to Juan Perez shows the slender school in which he passed his youth, and how he followed his scientific studies in the midst of hazardous speculations of maritime commerce in peace and war.

The Mediterranean in those days was the theatre of incessant war. It was overrun by fast sailing vessels, equipped by kings and princes on its shores, and even by nobles, who delighted in bloody contests. The discord of republics and Christian kingdoms, their rivalries, their hatred, their battles, their expeditions against Mahometans, the reprisals of these, and the piratical forays of both, made this sea one of blood, strewed with spoils, and the resort of adventurers. Columbus lived in the midst of its heated atmosphere, but he did not permit himself to yield to its attractions, to be disturbed by its bustle, to be led away by brilliant deeds of arms,—his ambition was of another

kind.

Columbus meditated the discovery and the conversion of an empire which could only be reached by land with incredible difficulty. The two Polos had been there and returned. Two hundred years before, the sovereign of those countries had demanded from the Pope missionaries to instruct them in Christianity, but the wars which deso

lated the interior of Asia prevented them from reaching those countries. Since then only one traveller of repute had gone there. "Another road to it must be found," said Columbus, who had solved that problem in his mind.

From that time he became known to, and entered into correspondence with, Paulo Toscanelli, of Florence, one of the first savans of Europe, who had drawn, according to the ideas of Ptolemy and Marco Polo, the Venetian, a chart, which showed the extreme of Asia in connection with the western shores of Africa and Europe. Columbus had no further doubt. The invention of the astrolabe and the application of this instrument to navigation, at the same time facilitated the execution of his design, and he commenced his fruitless labours at the court of John the Second, of Portugal.

Columbus was poor, fortune had not favoured him, he was compelled to live with the most rigid economy, and yet he fulfilled his duty to his children with scrupulous care. He did not neglect his family in the whole course of his checquered life. He devoted a portion of his limited means to the support of his aged father at Genoa, and assisted him to defray the expense of educating his brothers. He conducted himself in a similar manner to his mothercountry, having first tendered his services there before he placed them at the disposal of any other.

Such were the views of the old mariner whom the chances of war had thrown on the coasts of Algarvia, and whom Juan Perez found at the gate of his convent.

Night had spread her sable mantle over the waters of the Odiel and Tinto, the summits of the mountain frontiers of Portugal were visible in the faint moonlight, which was reflected by the sea from the southern horizon, and the promontory of La Rabida lay wrapt in silent darkness, and nothing was heard but the convent bell.

"At last," said the prior, "here is our friend Garcia Fernandez." The doctor of Palos was unable to attend immediately to the invitation of Perez. He threw off his long cloak and entered the room where Columbus was impatiently awaiting him. His exterior was one of extreme simplicity: he wore a large white frilled collar, he was immersed up to the middle, according to the fashion of the day, in large travelling boots and spurs, for his profession obliged him occasionally to repair on horseback to the neighbouring villages. Although he might not be an hidalgo, he carried by his side, for similar reasons, a long rapier in his belt; a weapon which was no idle ornament, for on many an occasion he had used it in the gorges of the Atbalegra Hills, which were infested by troops of robbers and vagabonds. The physiognomy of Garcia Fernandez was severe like his costume, but benevolence beamed in his features and his face, without whisker or beard, bespoke a superior cast of mind. Columbus had observed him, and after the first exchange of civilities opened the conversation.

"Heaven will bear witness to my sincerity," he said, "condescend but to give me your attention and judge impartially of the result of

my cosmographic labours. I will first show you the chart of the land such as I believe it is, and such as the learned Paulo Toscanelli, my friend at Florence, represents it."

With these words the old mariner spread out on a massive table of oak a planisphere, over which he had passed many a sleepless night. The prior and his friend drew near to examine it, while Columbus went into an explanation of it.

"The earth," he said, "is, I have no doubt, a sphere, on which it is possible to go round it from East to West by navigating from hence to the extremity of India, where Tartary is situated, and by following the same route which the Polos of Venice took, in 1269, to return to Europe. This opinion has been adopted by the most learned of the ancients. I conclude by adopting it. I shall prove it, please God, by sailing West until meeting with a continent."

After having quoted all the authorities in his favour, mentioning those who were known to be the most learned, and the reports of different travellers who had visited Asia, and particularly Sir John Mandeville, who visited it in 1365, and, having explained his views of geography-a marvellous conception for the time in which he lived,Columbus was silent, and waited the remarks of his auditors.

Garcia Fernandez with a pair of compasses measured the space assigned to the ocean in the planisphere, and the prior awaited his judgment.

"Yours are grand ideas, Señor Columbus," said the doctor at length; "but this ocean, is it navigable?"

"I shall ascertain," replied the seaman.

"But the storms, will they not be too much for you to brave?" "I shall see. He who has inspired my design will protect me." "And if there should be no land where you place it,-if the coasts of India are further off?"

"I shall go on till I find them."

(To be continued.)

JAPAN GOVERNMENT.

Emperors at the

But it is a mis

Japan presents the singular feature of having two same time, the one secular, the other ecclesiastical. take to suppose that this duplicate sovereignty was established from the beginning as one of the elements of her civil polity; it has resulted from historical events that occurred long after Japan had a system of Government. The Japanese, like many other people, claim for their nation an immense antiquity; but the authentic history of the kingdom commences with Lin-muten-woo (whose name signifies "the divine conqueror"), about the year 660 B.C. proth thinks he was a Chinese warrior Limoadin. Be this, however, as it may, he conquered Nipon and built a temple-palace dedicated NO. 2.-VOL. XXVIII.

K

Kla

to the sun-goddess, and properly called a dairi. His own appropriate title was Mikado, though the two terms are frequently confounded by European writers. He was the founder of the sovereignty of the Mikados, and from him, even to this day, the Mikados descend.

He was sole sovereign, both secular and spiritual, and claiming to rule by divine right, added to it that of inheritance also, and their government was a despotism. By degrees these monarchs ceased to lead their own armies, and entrusted the military command to sons and kinsmen, though the supreme power still was theirs. This power, however, appears gradually to have been weakened by a custom which prevailed of abdication by the Mikados at so early an age that the sovereignty descended upon their sons while they were yet children, the abdicating monarch frequently governing for the young king. The cause of these abdications was the desire to escape from the grievous burden of monotonous ceremonies and complete isolation from without, which made the occupant of the throne little better than a royal prisoner.

At length it happened that the reigning Mikado, who had married the daughter of a powerful prince, abdicated in favour of his son, a child three years old, while the regency passed into the hands of the grandfather of the infant monarch. The regent placed the abdicated monarch in confinement, and this produced a civil war. Yoritomo, one of the most distinguished characters in Japanese history, espoused the cause of the imprisoned king, and, after a war of several years, was triumphant, when he released the captive and made him regent. But his regency conferred a nominal authority only: the real power resided in the hands of Yoritomo, who was created Sio i dai Tiogoon, or "Generalissimo fighting against the Barbarians." Upon the death of the ex-Mikado, Yoritomo, as lieutenant of the sovereign, virtually ruled for twenty years, and when he died his title and authority devolved upon his son. This was the commencement of the power of the Tiogoons, or Temporal Sovereigns.

Time contributed to strengthen it under the successive reigns of infant Mikados, until it became recognized as hereditary. But, though a very important and, indeed, dangerous power, was thus vested in the Tiogoons, yet the Mikado was looked on as possessing the royal authority, and to him it belonged to appoint the Tiogoon; who was, in truth, the vice-regent, but did not openly aspire to coequal rights of sovereignty.

This condition of things remained until the latter half of the sixteenth century. The Emperor (Mikado) was an autocrat who had a Sovereign-Deputy (Tiogoon), the efficient and active ruler. During this long period, however, the power of the Tiogoons was silently and imperceptibly increasing, until at last that happened which it requires but little sagacity to perceive could not but be, in the end, the unavoidable result. Men invested with power are more apt to encourage its growth than to keep it stationary or diminish it, more especially when those whose interest it is to check their ambition are known to be imbecile.