A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10: Arranged in systematic order: Forming a complete history of the origin and progress of navigation, discovery, and commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest ages to the present time.Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 10: Arranged in systematic order: Forming a complete history of the origin and progress of navigation, discovery, and commerce, by sea and land, from the earliest ages to the present time.
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
Having taken in all necessaries that this place produced, Candish set
sail for England on the 20th of June, standing N.W. by W. It is
observable, that the wind at St Helena is generally off the shore. On
Friday, the 23d of August, he steered E. and E. by S. for the
northernmost of the Azores; and on the 29th, after midnight, he got
sight of the islands of Flores and Corvo, in lat. 39° 30' N. whence he
shaped his course N.E. He met a Flemish vessel on the 3d September,
bound from Lisbon, from which he had the joyful news of the total defeat
of the Spanish Armada. On the 9th September, after receiving a farewell
from the wind in a violent storm, which carried away most of his sails,
Candish arrived at the long-desired haven of Plymouth.
There had not hitherto been any voyage of so much consequence, or
attended by such uninterrupted success as this: As plainly appears from
the length of time occupied by that of Magellan, which extended to three
years and a month; that of Sir Francis Drake extending to upwards of two
years and ten months; while this voyage by Candish was less than two
years and two months. We need not wonder, therefore, that a young
gentleman like Mr Candish, who was entirely devoted to a desire of
acquiring glory and renown, should contrive some extraordinary manner of
displaying his good fortune. Some accounts accordingly inform us, that
he brought his ship into Plymouth harbour under a suit of silken sails,
which, if true, may be thus explained. We have already mentioned, from
his own narrative, that he encountered a violent storm, just before his
arrival, which tore all his sails to pieces. In this distress, he would
probably use those he had taken in the South Sea, made of what is called
silk-grass, having a strong gloss and beautiful colour, which might
easily deceive the eyes of the vulgar, and pass upon them for sails made
of silk. This much is certain, however, that though he might be vain and
expensive in such matters, yet all came fairly out of his own pocket;
and those who had sailed with him, from the prospect of raising their
fortunes, had not the least reason to complain, as he made a fair and
full distribution of the prizes, by which he gained universal credit and
esteem.
To shew his duty and diligence, as well as to discharge respectfully the
obligations he owed his patron, Lord Hunsdon, the near relation of Queen
Elizabeth, and then lord-chamberlain, he wrote the following letter to
him on the very day of his arrival at Plymouth.
_To the Right Honourable the Lord Hunsdon, &c._
_Right Honourable_,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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