ible of the misconduct of the people whom he
had sent in the caravel already mentioned, the king was desirous to
restore the admiral to favour, and to renew the conferences respecting the
proposed discovery. But as he did not use as much diligence in executing
this new resolution as the admiral did in withdrawing himself, he lost the
opportunity, and the admiral got into Castile, where better fortune
awaited him. Leaving therefore his son James in the monastery of La Rabida
at Palos, he went to the court of their Catholic majesties at Cordova.
Being of affable manners and pleasant conversation, he soon acquired the
intimacy of such persons as he found best inclined to favour his views,
and fittest to persuade the king to embrace his proposed undertaking.
Among these was Lewis de Santangel an Arragonese gentleman, who was clerk
of the allowances in the royal household, a man of great prudence and
reputation. But, as a matter of such importance required to be learnedly
investigated, and not merely by empty words and the favourable reports of
courtiers, their majesties referred it to the consideration of the prior
of Prado, afterwards archbishop of Granada; ordering him to take the
assistance of some cosmographers, and after a full investigation of the
whole affair, to make a report of their opinion on its practicability.
There were few cosmographers then in Spain, and those who were convened on
this occasion were far from skilful: And besides, warned by the trick
which had been attempted in Portugal, the admiral did not explain himself
so fully as he might, lest he should lose his reward. On these accounts,
the report which they gave to their Catholic majesties was as various as
their several judgments and opinions, and by no means favourable to the
projected enterprize.

Some alleged, that since so many skilful sailors, during the many thousand
years which had elapsed from the creation of the world, had not acquired
any knowledge whatever of these countries, it was not at all probable that
he should know more of the matter than all who had gone before or who now
existed. Others, pretending to ground their opinion upon cosmographical
arguments, said that the world was of such prodigious size that they
questioned if it were possible to sail in three years to the eastern
extremity of India, whither he proposed to go; and they endeavoured to
confirm this opinion by the authority of Seneca, who says in one of his
works, "That