the said straunger beyng conditor of the said flete, whereyn diuers merchantes as well of London as Bristow adventured goodes and sleight merchandises, which departed from the west cuntrey in the begynning of somer, but to this present moneth came nevir knowledge of their exploit."-MS. Cott. Vitellius, A xiv., f. 173.

From the date of the sailing of the expedition down to the present time the fate of John Cabot and of his co-adventurers has been enshrouded in mystery. Even his name does not appear as the discoverer of North America until quite a late period. It is true that his name is found associated with that of his son, Sebastian, in connection with the discovery, but the accounts in the various historical works have merely served the purpose_of glorifying the memory of the son. To quote Dr. Dawson's expression: "John Cabot had a narrow escape from complete suppression.

It was the

fortunate preservation of the Spanish, Milanese, and Venetian correspondence which has given a firm basis to his reputation." Tarducci says as follows: “The American, Richard Biddle,2 the first to give to history a profoundly thought-out book on Sebastian Cabot, wished to blot out completely the rest of that

1 In another MS. chronicle the following words are used:'Fraught with sleight and grosse merchandises, as coarse cloth, caps, laces, prints, and other trifles." In the Corte Real voyages some evidences of the presence of John Cabot's expedition were met with. "A piece of a broken sword, gilded," and "a native boy had two silver rings in his ear, which, without doubt, seem to have been manufactured in Venice."

2 In justice to Biddle, it should be stated that he wrote in 1831, long before the documents which prove the position of John Cabot were known to be in existence.

figure which appeared in the background of the picture, and concentrates the spectator's whole attention on the figure of Sebastian, sparkling in the richness of the colouring and drawing. But his efforts were idle, for the more he laboured to persuade the beholder that the figure of Sebastian rose all alone by itself, and had no support from another figure, no relation with it, the more the eye felt drawn to the mysterious figure there in the background of the picture, and to the ear came more sensibly distinct his question, 'And I then?'"

"In these last years the truth has finally triumphed, and the documents discovered, though few in number, yet sufficient for the purpose, have restored to John the light that was due to him, and drawn his figure out of the shade and placed it in full view. If the love of my subject does not veil my judgment, it seems to me that one of the very first places in the history of discoveries belongs to John Cabot. For without any impulse or guidance from others, by the mere force of his will and strength of his enthusiasm, he raised himself above the common herd of navigators for commerce and wealth."

CHAPTER V

IN passing from the contemporary records, consisting of letters-patent, ambassadors' despatches, etc., in which it is clearly set forth that John Cabot was the moving spirit, the organiser, and equipper in connection with the two "Cabot voyages of 1497 and 1498-in passing from these to entries made by foreign, that is, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian historians and chroniclers, we must state here that nothing of importance is known about Sebastian Cabot, from the date of the entry of his name in the letters-patent of 1496 until the year 1512, beyond the fact that he was a maker of maps and charts. In the year 1512 we find that he made a map of Gascony and Guyenne for the English Government, for which he was paid twenty shillings. We shall presently see that in the same year (1512) Sebastian Cabot went to Spain, and subsequently settled at Seville, and accepted employment under the Spanish Government.

There are several accounts which ascribe the discovery of America to Sebastian Cabot. Harrisse says: The first is Peter Martyr's, written in 1515, in Spain, which, from his frequent intercourse and personal intimacy with Sebastian Cabot, we must

1

believe to have been derived from the latter's own lips." This appears to be the reasonable and almost the only conclusion we can arrive at; it should be borne in mind, however, that this view of the matter is not absolutely free from doubt, and therefore we should pause before arriving at an opinion hostile to Sebastian until we have had an opportunity of reviewing the whole of the evidence. Pietro Martire d'Anghiera, generally called Peter Martyr, who was born in 1455, belonged to a distinguished family in Milan. He went to Rome in 1477, and we find that while he remained in that city he was much esteemed as a literary student by some of the most distinguished men of that period. He went to Spain in 1487, as a member of the suite of the Spanish Ambassador, and subsequently obtained the situation of instructor of the royal pages, which, while giving him a competence, also enabled him to apply himself to literary pursuits. He was afterwards called to more active duties, being sent on missions to Venice and Egypt. On his return he was elected prior of the Cathedral Church of Granada, which, with other posts, he held until his death, which took place in 1526. He was the author of several important works (Biographie Universalle, Ancienne et Moderne, etc., tome deuxieme).

1 "Furthermore, it was published at Alecala, whilst Cabot was frequenting the Court." Martyr speaks of Sebastian as his "Concurialis," the correct interpretation of which, according to d'Avezac, is that Cabot "is here with me at Court" (Revue Critique d'Histoire et de Litterature, Premier Semestre, p. 265). Eden, in his translations, interpreted the word to mean that Sebastian Cabot was associated with Martyr as a member of the "Supreme Council of the Indies." Herrera has given a complete list of the members of the Council, but the name of Cabot is not found therein.

ACCOUNT given by Pietro Martire (Peter Martyr) of Anghiera.

"Scrutatus est eas glaciales oras Sebastianus quidam Cabotus genere Venetus, sed a parentibus in Britanniam insulam tendentibus (uti moris est Venetorum, qui commercii causa terrarum omnium sunt hospites) transportatus pene infans. Duo is sibi navigia propria pecunia in Britannia ipsa instruxit, et primo tendens cum hominibus tercentum ad septentrionem, donec etiam Julio mense vastas repererit glaciales moles pelago natantes, et lucem fere perpetuam, tellure tamen libera gelu liquefacto. Quare coactus fuit, uti ait, vela vertere et Occidentem sequi tetenditque tamen ad meridiem, littore sese incurvante, ut Herculei freti latitudinis fere gradus equarit ad Occidentemque profectus tantum est, ut Cubam insulam a leva, longitudine graduum pene parem, habuerit. Is ea littora percurrens, quæ Bacallaos appelavit, eosdem se reperisse aquarum, sed lenes, delapsus ad Occidentem, ait, quos Castellani, meridionales suas regiones ad navigantes, inveniunt, ergo non modo verisimilius, sed necessario concludendu est, vastos inter vtranque ignotam hactenus tellurem iacere hiatus, qui viam præbeant aquis ab Oriente cadentibus in Occidentem. Quas arbitror impulsu coelorum circulariter agi in gyrum circa terræ globum; non autem Demogorgone anhelante vomi, absorberiq, vt nonnulle senserunt: quod influxu & refluxu forsan assentire daretur. Bacallaos Cabottus ipse terras illas appellavit, eo quod in eorum pelago tantam repererit magnorum quorumdam piscium, tinnos æmulantium, sic vocatorum ab indignenis, multitudinem, ut etiam illi