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] preëminence of which cannot be denied. His nephew, Don Fernando, whose great modesty always disposed him to lessen the merits of his family, while saying that he was not highly educated, is obliged to acknowledge his superior judgment, and his art in the construction of spheres.

While waiting for better things, Bartholomew Columbus made his talent for geography sufficiently lucrative. It was with the greatest happiness that he opened his house to his shipwrecked brother. He felt great tenderness and respect for him as his eldest brother. He endeavored to keep him always by him. Nevertheless, this hospitality did not become onerous to him. Christopher wrote a beautiful hand; and he used the crayon and the pencil with no less ability than he did the pen. He also drew charts and plans, occupied himself with copying manuscripts and transcribing rare books, because, though the invention of printing was then known in Portugal, typography was at that time in its infancy; good printers could not be easily found, and therefore books commanded high prices. And as his love for geography and inclination for study had made him familiar with the works that were most esteemed by the reading community of Lisbon, he bought them up to re-sell again, as occasion might require, and thus carried on a small traffic in books. By these means he not only provided for his own needs, but by economy, and the self-denial his filial tenderness imposed on him, he was enabled to sweeten the old age of his father, to whom fortune had not been favorable. The historian Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo, his enemy, bears testimony that at Lisbon, and wherever else he was, "he always took care to provide for the wants of his father," notwithstanding the embarrassments of his own situation. The engaging manners of Christopher easily introduced him to seafaring men, and caused him to be warmly welcomed by many Genoese merchants who had settled in Lisbon. He never forgot the kindness of his countrymen, Antonio Vazo and Luigi Centurio Escoto. He remembered the good offices of Paulo de Negro, as well as