Page:The life of Christopher Columbus.djvu/82

58 After a whole day of fighting, strength naturally became exhausted. How able soever a swimmer Christopher may have been, he would inevitably have perished had not Providence aided him. The waves pushed near his hand one of those large oars, at that time still used to supply the want of sails during calms. By means of this support he was somewhat able to rest himself, maintain himself on the surface, and thus reach the shore. After having thanked God for his safety, he succeeded, with the aid of public charity, in reaching Lisbon, where he knew he should find many of his countrymen. Among these, he had the sweet satisfaction of finding his brother Bartholomew.