guardian of the convent listened with great interest; then he gave
him a letter to a friend who he thought would help him to lay his
plans before Ferdinand and Isabella,[11] the king and queen of Spain.

[Footnote 9: Palos (Pa'los); see map in paragraph 12.]

[Footnote 10: Convent: a house in which a number of people live who
devote themselves to a religious life.]

[Footnote 11: Isabella (Iz-ah-bel'ah).]


7. Columbus gets help for his great voyage.--Columbus left his son
at the convent, and set forward on his journey full of bright hopes.
But Ferdinand and Isabella could not then see him; and after waiting
a long time, the traveller was told that he might go before a number
of learned men and tell them about his proposed voyage across the
Atlantic.

After hearing what Columbus had to say, these men thought that it
would be foolish to spend money in trying to reach the other side
of the ocean.

People who heard what this captain from Lisbon wanted to do began
to think that he had lost his reason, and the boys in the streets
laughed at him and called him crazy. Columbus waited for help seven
years; he then made up his mind that he would wait no longer. Just
as he was about leaving Spain, Queen Isabella, who had always felt
interested in the brave sailor, resolved to aid him. Two rich
sea-captains who lived in Palos also decided to take part in the