The Story of Columbus (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Story of Columbus<br><br>Columbus and His Little Son Diego.<br><br>A way-worn man in Spanish lands,<br>He wanders by the sea; -<br>And by his side a little lad:<br>"O Father! why are we so sad<br>Why don't you speak to me<br><br>"All day the silent ships go by,<br>The long waves wash the shore.<br>I'm weary of the silent ships!<br>The salt waves mock my thirsty lips; -<br>I'm weary of their roar!<br><br>"Along the sky the ships go by,<br>But never one comes near.<br>So soft and slow, like ghosts they go!<br>They must be ghosts, or else I know<br>They would not leave us here!<br><br>"I think the ships would pity us,<br>If ships could understand! -<br>Why did we leave our quiet home,<br>In the grand old pleasant town, to roam<br>Like beggars through the land<br><br>"O, Lisbon was a pleasant town!<br>Till now I never knew<br>How cool and sweet was our fair street,<br>And the window, shaded from the heat,<br>Where the fresh sea-breezes blew! -<br><br>"The window of your little room,<br>Where many a day I stood<br>For hours, and watched you, while you drew<br>The charts which every captain knew,<br>The maps we sold for food.<br><br>"Was it those wondrous maps that put<br>Such dreams into your mind,<br>Of some strange country, far away,<br>Beyond the ocean, which some day<br>You mean to sail and find<br><br>"Those dreams have made us sad and poor;<br>Your hair has turned to gray;<br>And, sometimes, when you look at me,<br>Your eyes are strange - they seem to see<br>That strange world far away!<br><br>"O Father! I'm so tired to-night,"<br>The little wanderer said,<br>"That world, and all the things that live<br>Or grow upon it. I would give<br>Just for a little bread!"<br><br>A tear was in the father's eye,<br>But his heart was strong and great:<br>"For thy dear sake, my child, I yearn<br>To be at rest, but we must learn<br>To suffer and to wait."<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.