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by means of drawings of many scenes, it was stated that the discovery had been by the persevering industry of Christopher Columbus, a Genoese, contrary to the expectations of all those whom he had consulted on the subject. As Columbus was a man of intelligence, and endowed with great genius and spirit, the King and Queen of Castile, before his departure, directed his portrait to be painted by a skilful artist, that they might have a memorial of him in case he should not return from his expedition. Of this portrait I have had the good fortune to obtain a copy, since finishing the fourth book of this work, through a friend who had received it from the artist himself; and it has been my desire, kind reader, to share this pleasure with you; for which purpose I have caused it to be engraved, in a reduced form, on copper, by my son, with as much care as possible, and now offer it for your inspection in this book. And, in truth, the portrait of one possessing such excellence deserves to be seen by all good men; for he was upright and courteous, pure and noble-minded, and an earnest friend of peace and justice." *

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The portrait engraved on steel as a frontispiece for this volume, is copied from a picture now in the Bibliothèque du Roi, Paris; a lithograph of which was sent to Mr. Irving by the librarian, who had great confidence in its authenticity. This, however, may be reasonably doubted. Both engravings are given for what they are worth: that from De Bry is evidently the most characteristic, and the most likely to be the true one.

The undersigned takes this opportunity to say, that for all pictorial illustrations in Mr. Irving's Works, the publisher only is responsible, Sept. 1860. G. P. PUTNAM.

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CHAP. VI.-Reception of Columbus by the Spanish Court at Bar-
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CHAP. I.-Departure of Columbus on his Second Voyage.-Discov-
ery of the Caribbee Islands,

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