And at last he got it.
He was made Viceroy over the Indies; he went across the seas to Hayti, and in his palace in the city of Santo Domingo he ruled the lands his father had found, and which for centuries were known as the Spanish Main; he was called Don Diego; he married a high-born lady of Spain, the niece of King Ferdinand; he received the large share of "the riches of the Indies" that his father had worked for, but never received.

And the family of Christopher Columbus, the Genoese adventurer--under the title of the Dukes of Veragua--have, ever since Don Diego's day, been of what is called "the best blood of Spain." If you have read this story of Christopher Columbus aright, you must have come to the conclusion that the life of this Italian sea captain who discovered a new world was not a happy one.

From first to last it was full of disappointment.

Only once, in all his life, did he know what happiness and success meant, and that was on his return from his first voyage, when he landed amid cheers of welcome at Palos, and marched into Barcelona in procession like a conqueror to be received as an equal by his king and queen.
Except for that little taste of glory, how full of trouble was his life! He set out to find Cathay and bring back its riches and its treasures.
He did not get within five thousand miles of Cathay.

He returned from his second voyage a penitent, bringing only tidings of disaster.