left to oblivion as a slight accident, and not to the point. Nor are the examples, described in the Hakluyt works, of a more active manhood and hardiness of virtue developed by the dangers and sufferings of Arctic exploration, few. Some Englishmen, whose adventures on the coast of Greenland form part of a later volume, though in danger of perishing from want of fuel, would only appropriate such timber from buildings and old vessels belonging to the company by which they had been sent out, "as mighte well be spared without damnifying of the voyage of next yeare," which year they seemed to have extremely little chance of surviving to see. "We got together," says their spokesman, "all the firing that we possibly could make, except we would make spoyle of the shallops and coolers that were there, which might easily have overthrown the next yeare's voyage, to the great hindrance of the worshipfull company, whose servants we being, were every way carefull of their profite." And so these poor creatures condemned themselves to the scantiest fires and badly cooked food for eight months of a winter, the prospective horrors of which caused them to stand "with eyes of pitie beholding one another." The Voyage of Master Henry Hudson has a tragical ending, by no means unique as regards the catastrophe of death by cold and starvation, but happily so in the means by which such sufferings were brought about. Hudson had met with an unmitigated scoundrel named Henry Greene, and, from some kind impulse, after rescuing him from destruction, had taken him to his own house, and allowed him to join the crew of the Northern Voyage. This man got up and headed a mutiny, and, with some difficulty, prevailed upon the mutineers to rid themselves of the captain, his son, and such of the mates as were rendered useless by sickness, by casting them adrift in the icy seas in a small shallop, thus condemning them to a lingering but certain death. In the presence of so notable a disgrace to humanity, it is startling to find such a contrast as that of John King, the ship's carpenter, whose conduct was as noble as Greene's was demoniacal. When all the condemned party were in the shallop, this man, who was "hale and hearty," declared his determination to share their fate rather than even passively countenance the brutality of the mutineers by remaining in their company. His companions, who had been able unmoved to consign the condemned party to their horrible fate, were touched by King's courage, and begged him to have pity on himself; but his resolution was not to be shaken, and he descended to his place in the shallop, which was then sent adrift, and was never heard of more. The ringleaders of this mutiny soon met with retribution at the hands of a party of savages, by whom they were surprised and massacred. The Historie of Travaile into Virginia Britannia is one of the most entertaining volumes of the series. It was printed by the Hakluyt Society from a manuscript which was before almost unknown. The editor, Mr. Major, has prefaced the history by an excellent account of the disasters which befell the colony planted in Virginia by Sir Walter Raleigh, and has thus given to the volume the form of a complete sketch of Virginian history up to the time of the Mayflower. William Strachey, the writer of this "Historie," gives a long and amusing description of the chief, Powhatan, who is known to others than the subscribers to the Hakluyt Society for little besides his ill-treatment of the English colonists. "He is a goodly old man, not yet shrinking, though well beaten with many cold and stormy winters, in which he hath been patient of many necessities and attempts of his fortune to make his name and his family great. He is supposed to be little lesse than eighty yeares old, I dare not saye how much more." This old gentleman maintained a hundred wives, who were summoned from "their severall places" at the chief's pleasure. The Virginians appear to be quite clear from the reproach, that attaches to the North Americans generally, of insensibility to female charms. Their chief happiness consisted in the number of their wives, who were considered to be of far more value than wealth or any other earthly good. Some Virginians, seeking help from the English against enemies who had devastated a town, on being questioned as to what plan they wished to pursue, declared that their only wish was to recover their wives, and they made a free offer of resigning all other spoils to the English. The Virginian wives are described as strictly virtuous, according to the rules of their country, which admitted of the loan of a wife by the husband. The following description of a Virginian woman of distinction, who had been stolen away by one Pipisco, reads like a bit of Hiawatha translated into old prose: Yet is Pipisco suffered to retain in this his countrie a little small kaasun, or village, upon the rivadge of the streame, with some few people about him, keeping the said woman still, whome he makes his best beloved, and she travells with him upon any remove, in hunting tyme, or in his visitacion of us, by which meanes, twice or thrice in a sommer, she hath come into our towne; nor is she so handsome a savadge woman as I have seene amongst them, yet with a kinde of pride, can take upon her a shewe of greatnesse; for we have seene her forbeare to come out of her quintan or boat through the water, as the other, both mayds and married women usually doe, unles she were carryed forth betweene two of her servants. I was once early at her howse (yt being sommer tyme), when she was layed without dores, under the shadowe of a broad-leaved tree, upon a pallett of osiers, spred over with four or five fyne grey matts, herself covered with a faire white drest deare skynne or two; and when she rose, she had a mayd who fetcht her a frontall of white coral, and pendants of great but imperfect coloured and worse drilled pearles, which she put into her eares, . . . and when thus attired, with some variety of feathers and flowers stuck in their haires they seeme as debonnaire, quaynt, and well-pleased as, I wis, a daughter of the howse of Austria." The Divers Voyages touching the Discovery of America, published by Richard Hakluyt, may be regarded as a sort of supplement to the Voyages towards the North-west. They are short accounts of various enterprises undertaken by different persons. Nearly half the volume is occupied by the editor's Introduction, which, as usual, equals the text in interest, and has the advantage of being in readable English. The Memorials of Japan are divided into four parts. Mr. Rundall's Preface contains a short and seasonable history of European intercourse with Japan,—a subject clothed with fresh interest by discussions and events now going on. This now most exclusive and mysterious of nations was once open to all the world. Christian missionaries numbered their Japanese converts by millions. In course of time, religious excitement became political rebellion; and, after much expostulation and forbearance on the part of the Japanese rulers, Christianity was no longer a tolerated sect, the missionaries were banished, and, as a further measure of security, the empire was closed to the outer world. The Kingdom of Japonia follows Mr. Rundall's Preface, and is a short account of Japan written in the reign of Elizabeth. Then comes a curious collection of letters written by an Englishman, William Adams, who in the early part of the seventeenth century contrived to raise himself to a post of distinction under the Japanese government. Lastly, we have various notes collected by the editor from every available source: the whole making up a tolerably complete epitome of what is known upon the subject of this empire. From the document entitled The Kingdom of Japonia, which is an extract from the Firste Booke of Relations of Moderne States, Harleian Ms. 6249, we take the following characteristics of a people in whom we are likely to become more and more interested: "The inhabitantes shewe a noble witte, and an incredible pacience in sufferinge, labour, and sorrowes. They take great and diligent care lest, either in worde or deede, they should shewe either feare, or dulnesse of mynde, and lest they should make any man (whosoever he be) partaker of their trowbles and wantes. They covet exceedinglye honour and prayse; and povertie with them bringeth no dammage to the nobilitie of bloude. They suffer not the least injurie in the worlde to pass unrevenged. For gravitie and courtesie they gyve not place to the Spainardes. They are generally affable and full of compliments. They are very punctuall in the entertayning of strangers. . . . They will as soone lose a limbe as omit one ceremonie in welcoming a friend. ... They are far from all avarice. The marchantes, althoughe very riche and wealthye, are yet nothing accompted of there; those that are of nobilitie are greately esteemed althoughe they be never so poore. . . Every one may change his name three times when he is a childe; when he is a young man; and when he is ould. . . . They have the use of writing and printing, and have had the space of many years; no man knowes certeinely how long. . . . The lawes are very strict and full of severitie, affordinge no other kinde of punishment but either death or banishment." ... The editor's notes, at the conclusion of the volume, are perhaps the most instructive portion of it. In one of them we find a very striking and characteristic story. A Japanese lady of high rank, having been forcibly dishonoured by one of her husband's friends during his absence, met her husband on his return with all kindness, but refused to see him alone, until after an appointed time. She assembled her relations and friends, and among them the man who had wronged her; then, leaning on her husband's shoulder and shedding torrents of tears, she declared her misfortune, and begged to be punished with death for her forced crime. Her husband declared his perfect conviction of her purity. All the guests joined him in endeavouring to convince the injured lady of her own innocence; but in the midst of their arguments, she broke from the caresses of her husband, and rushing to the edge of the terrace on which the party was assembled, flung herself over. The author of her misery left the assembly unnoticed, and was found by the husband and relations weltering in his blood by the side of his victim, having committed the usual Japanese form of suicide by two transverse gashes across the abdomen.-Here is another story, equally bloody, but not such "pure tragedy:" two officers once met on the palace stairs, and accidentally hustled each other. The elder man apologised, but was unable to appease the irritation of his companion, who was resolved that death should follow the offence. Finding himself unable to provoke his opponent to combat, he raised his robes and inflicted upon himself the approved suicidal gashes, knowing that custom would compel his adversary to follow his example; and the irascible young fellow had the satisfaction of beholding with his dying eyes his adversary in the same predicament. Whenever a Japanese noble commits a crime worthy of death, he receives a royal order to inflict it upon himself in the above style. All the offender's friends and relatives are invited to the ceremony. The Discovery and Conquest of Terra Florida was translated from the Portuguese by Richard Hakluyt, and is now reprinted from the edition of 1611. Its author was a gentleman of Elvas, who accompanied Don Ferdinand de Soto and his six hundred followers, of whose exploits he tells, in all their adventures. Hakluyt seems to have undertaken the translation of this book chiefly with the view of benefiting the unfortunate Virginian colony, being himself one of the patentees under the charter of King James. He hoped, by spreading the fame of the wealth of an adjoining country, to induce fresh adventurers to join those already stationed in those parts. The work was originally called Virginia richly Valued; but Hakluyt himself afterwards adopted the more appropriate title it now bears. Mr. Rye prefaces this work with a sketch of preceding travellers to Florida. Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon, described by Peter Martyr as "a grave man, and of authority," visited the country in 1520, and from him we have the following "yarns." First, concerning the Indians of Dubarhe: "These people have a king of giant-like stature and height, called Datha, and they say that the queen his wife is not much shorter than himself. This lord, being demanded why he alone and his wife should attain to that tallness and height of body says, that it proceedeth from violent art, after this manner. While the infants are in the cradle, and under the breasts of the nurses, the masters of that art are sent for, who annoint the several members of the infant for certayne dayes with medicines of certayne herbs, which mollifie the tender bones, so that the bones being presently converted to the softnesse of lukewarme waxe, they so stretch them out in length oftentimes, that they leave the poor miserable infant halfe dead; and after that they feed the nurse with certaine meats of powerful virtue," &c. The second story relates to a country called by Ayllon Inzignanin: "The inhabitants, by report of their ancestors, say that a people as tall as the length of a man's arm, with tayles of a spanne long, sometime arrived there, brought thither by the sea, which tayle was not moveable or wavering, as in four-footed beastes, but solide, broad above, and sharpe beneath, as we see in fishes and crocodiles, and extended into a bony hardness. Wherefore, when they desired to sit, they used seats with holes through them, or, wanting them, digged up the earth a spanne deep or little more: they must convay their tayle into the hole when they rest them." Of the three contemporary accounts of Soto's expedition, Mr. Jared Sparks, in his American Biography, gives the preference to the "gentleman of Elvas," the author of the work before us. "Yet," says Mr. Sparks, "whoever follows him closely will be likely to run into ten errors in arriving at a single truth, with the additional uncertainty of being able to distinguish the former from the latter. The narrative is, moreover, disfigured with de |