last journey for the Westerne discoueries. And is owner and Captaine of the onelie Vessell which is yet returned from thence: 1

By him I did understande, that Sir Humfrey departed the coaste of Englande the eleuenth of Iune last past, with fiue sayle of Shippes from Caushenbay neere Plimmouth, whereof one of the best forsooke his companie, the thirtenth day of the same moneth, and returned into England.

The other foure (through the assistaunce of almightye GOD) did arrive at Saint Johns Hauen, in Newfounde Lande, the thyrd of August last.

Upon their arrival "all the Maisters and cheefe Mariners" of the English fishing fleet "repayred unto Sir Humfrey, whom he made acquainted with the effect of his commission," and "did all welcome him in the best sorte that they coulde." He then went to view the country and "on munday being the first of August, the Generall caused his tent to be set on the side of an hill in the viewe of all the Flete of Englishmen and Straungers, which were in number between thirty and fortie sayle," and caused "hys commission under the great seale of England to bee openlie and solempnlie reade unto them." He then

tooke possession of the sayd land in the right of the Crowne of England by digging of a Turfe and receiuing the same with an Hasell wande, deliuered unto him, after the manner of the lawe and custome of England.

He departed from thence the 20 of August with the other three, namelie, the Delight. . . the Golden Hynde, in which was Captaine and owner, Maister Edwarde Hay: and the little Frigat where the Generall himselfe did goe, seeming to him most fitt to discouer and approche the Shoare.

The loss of the Delight, owing to fog and storm, is described:

And the Delight in the presence of them all was lost, to theyr unspeakable greefe, with all theyr cheefe victuall, munition, and other necessary provisions, and other thinges of value not fitt heere to be named. Whereupon, by reason also that Winter was

1 Marginal note, "Maister Edward Hays."

come upon them, and fowle wether increased with Fogges and Mysts that so couered the Land, as without daunger of perishing they coulde not approche it: Sir Humfrey Gilbert and Maister Hays were compelled much against theyr wills to retyre homewardes. And being 300. Leagues on theyr way, were afterwarde by tempestious weather seperated the one from the other, the 9. of September last, since which time, Maister Hay with his Barke, is saflie arriued, but of Sir Humfrey as yet, we heare no certaine newes..

This is the exordium, which serves to introduce the treatise which follows. The writer continues :

Uppon this reporte (together with my former intent, to write some briefe discourse in the commendation of this so noble and woorthy an enterprise) I did call to remembraunce, the Historie of Themistocles the Grecian..

and there follow examples from antiquity, from which the writer concludes that the late voyage was honourable as well as profitable, and therefore "allowable by the opinion of Aristides if he were now alive."

In order therefore to rouse his countrymen "out of that drowsie dreame wherein we all have so long slumbered," he says he has taken it upon him "to write this simple shorte treatise ." "though my skill and knowledge be simple . . . to prooue" [as in extract at P. 319 above].

The discourse is divided into chapters, the subjects of which are, briefly, as follow:

Chapter II." We may justly trade and traffique with the Sauages, and lawfully plant and inhabite theyr countries." Examples at great length from the Old Testament, and from History: duty of extirpating idolatry and paganism, and planting the Christian faith.

Chapter III.-The Queen's lawful title: an ingenious but fantastic piece of historical analogy.

Chapter IV.-Advantages: Fish; Sale of Englishmade clothes to the Savages, which will result in the revival of decayed towns and villages; employment of idle persons at home, among them "our ydle women (which the Realme may well spare)."

Chapter V.-An advertisement of the "commodities" of the country: written from the aristocratic standpoint. Chapter VI. Planting of those countries very beneficial to the Savages themselves.

Chapter VII. The passage and planting there not a matter of such charge and difficulty as many would make it seem. The deeds of other countries cited to rouse emulation.

Appended are the "Articles of Assurance" between the "principall assigns of Sir Humfrey Gilbert knight, and the foure sortes of adventurers with them in the voyage for the Westerne Discoueries."

In the last chapter is a passage in the style of religious exhortation (designed, no doubt, to appeal to the classes who were indifferent to examples from classical literature), interspersed (from force of habit, as I suppose) with a little "euphuism":

Beholde heere, good Countreimen, the manifolde benefites, commodities and pleasures heretofore unknowne, by Gods especiall blessing not onelie reuealed unto us, but also as it were infused into our bosomes, who though hitherto like Dormice haue slumbered in ignoraunce thereof, being like the Cattes that are loth for theyr praye to wette their feete, yet if now therefore at the last we would awake, and with willing mindes (setting friuolous imaginations aside) become industrious instruments to our selvues, Questionles we shoulde not onely heereby set foorth the glorie of our heauenlie Father, but also easily attaine the ende of all good purposes, that may be wished or desired.

The book from beginning to end is in the nature of an "advertisement," and an effort to rescue the project of Gilbert and the other adventurers from abandonment.1

1 The last chapter opens thus: "Now therfore for proofe that Planting in these parts is a thing that may be doone without the aide of the Princes power and purse, contrarye to the allegations of many malicious persons, who will neither be actors in any good action themselues, nor so much as afoord a good word to the setting forward thereof: and that wurse is they will take upon them to make Molehylles seeme Mountaines, and flies Elephants, to the end they may discourage others, that be very well or indifferently affected to the matter, being like unto Esoppes Dogge which neither would eate haie himself, nor suffer the poore hungry asse to feede thereon." Camden, however, was with the pessimists. Referring to the death of Gilbert, he says that he was "constrained to give over his enterprise,

The treatise, or the movement of which it probably formed a part, would explain the allusion in a letter by Sir Philip Sidney written (according to the date given) the year after Gilbert's death:

Her Majesti seemes affected to deal in the Low Country matters, but I think nothing will com of it. We are haulf perswaded to enter into the Journey of Sir Humphry Gilbert very eagerli; whereunto your Mr. Hackluit hath served for a very good Trumpet.-To Sir Edward Stafford, Ambassador in France. From the Court, 21st July 1584.1

learning too late himself, and teaching others, that it is a more difficult thing to carry over colonies into remote countries upon private mens purses, than he and others in an erroneous credulity had persuaded themselves, to their own cost and detriment."

1 Collins, Letters and Memorials of State, i. 298. Hakluyt was at that time in Paris as Chaplain to Sir E. Stafford. He states that he returned to England in the winter of 1588, having been there five years. Letter to Walsingham, Principall Navigations, etc., 1589.

CHAPTER XIII

SPENSER'S MINOR POEMS (continued)

I PROPOSE now to continue my survey of the remaining works of Edmund Spenser so far as they furnish evidence in support of the argument for Baconian authorship. Before doing so, I had intended to discuss a document in the British Museum, the MS. of the so-called "Letterbook" of Gabriel Harvey, which contains, among other things, the drafts of certain letters supposed to have been written to Spenser (under the names of "Immerito" and "Benevolo") by Harvey. The writings relate to two periods, 1573 and 1579-80, and not only the handwriting, but the style and the vocabulary of the documents of these respective periods are entirely different. No explanation for this has so far been offered, the editor of the reprint in the Camden series being content, while noting the difference in the handwriting, to say that they are all in Harvey's hand, though in different styles. I found that this opened up the subject of the HarveyNashe controversy, which I believe to have been a putup" affair, designed by Bacon, writing in character (partly as regards Harvey, and wholly as regards "Nashe ”), for giving expression to certain ideas, and, at the same time, providing amusing and instructive reading under the conditions of the censorship. I do not believe that Harvey had the means or influence to publish independently. I had prepared extracts to illustrate this view, but the subject is too large for this book, and I am obliged to put it aside. Turning to the remaining works of Spenser, and following the order in the "Globe" edition, we come to

But