On his return to England Brooke wearied of continued leisure, and although he yachted about the Southern Coast and the Channel Islands, he longed for some sphere of action which could bring his great abilities into play. The death of his father, in December 1835, gave him complete independence. The fortune left was sufficient to provide for his wife, and to give to each of his children £30,000. Brooke now decided to carry out the plan he had formed since his first voyage to China, which was to buy a small vessel and start on a voyage of discovery. But this time there were to be no partners and no trade; he intended to be complete master in his own ship. He ultimately fixed his choice on the _Royalist_, a schooner yacht of about 142 tons burden. He was delighted with his purchase, and soon tried her qualifications by starting in the autumn of 1836 for a cruise in the Mediterranean. There he visited most of the principal cities, including Constantinople, which in after years afforded him a constant subject of conversation with the Malays, who interested themselves in every detail of his visit. ‘Roum’ to them is still the great city where dwells the head of the Mohammedan religion.[2] Among those who accompanied him on this cruise was his nephew, John Brooke Johnson, afterwards known as Captain Brooke, and also John Templer, who was then and for many years afterwards one of his warm friends and enthusiastic admirers. Though determined to make a voyage of discovery in the Eastern Archipelago, Brooke was not able to leave England till December 1838. He employed all his spare time in studying the subject, finding out what was already known, and drawing attention to his plans by a memoir he wrote on Borneo and the neighbouring islands, summaries of which were published in the _Athenæum_ and in the _Journal_ of the Geographical Society. He felt a great admiration for Sir Stamford Raffles, and ardently desired to carry out his views in dealing with the peoples of the Further East. How well Brooke sums up the feelings which prompted him to undertake what was in every respect a perilous enterprise! ‘Could I carry my vessel to places where the keel of European ship never before ploughed the waters; could I plant my foot where white man’s foot had never before been; could I gaze upon scenes which educated eyes had never looked on, see man in the rudest state of nature, I should be content without looking to further rewards.’