The loss of the _Delight_ was a serious blow to Sir Humphrey Gilbert; of the five ships with which he had started only the _Golden Hinde_ and the _Squirrel_ survived. The impenetrable fogs which at this juncture enveloped these ships were most disheartening to the crew, and already the provisions on board the _Squirrel_ were running low. Officers and men besought Sir Humphrey to return, but reluctantly, with no abatement in his enthusiasm for adventure, he only consented to alter his course, upon their promise to embark with him again the following spring. On August 31 they turned their bows toward home. On the 2d of September, having hurt his foot and wishing it dressed by the surgeon, Sir Humphrey Gilbert boarded the _Golden Hinde_, and later repeated the visit to take part in an entertainment with the captain and crew. He mentioned the sorrow at the loss of the _Delight_, and of certain papers and ore that the Saxon miner had procured in Newfoundland. He was advised to remain aboard the _Golden Hinde_, the _Squirrel_ being so encumbered with heavy artillery and other freight that she was not considered safe to face the storms so likely to occur in mid-ocean at that season of the year. After consideration, Sir Humphrey replied,— “I will not now desert my little vessel and crew, after we have encountered so many perils and storms together.” Being supplied from the _Hinde_ with some necessary provisions, Sir Humphrey returned to the _Squirrel_. On the 9th of September, in the latitude of England, the overburdened little craft of ten tons showed signs of foundering. Sir Humphrey was seen by the _Hinde_ sitting in the stern of his vessel with a book in his hand and was heard to call out,— “Courage, my lads! we are as near heaven on sea as on land!” At midnight she sank with all on board. Thus terminated the first attempt to colonize the inhospitable shores of Newfoundland. [Sidenote: _DAVIS_] Following closely upon the disastrous voyage of Sir Humphrey Gilbert came the three voyages of Davis between the years 1585 and 1588. He discovered the strait that bears his name, opened a way to Baffin Bay and the Polar Sea, and surveyed a considerable extent of the coast of Greenland. [Sidenote: _BARENTZ_]