HISTORY OF STAFFORDSHIRE. [177 



uncertainty of his own profession as a naval officer, he was unable 

 to bestow that uninterrupted attention to this infant establishment, 

 which would have insured its permanence. In his public em- 

 ployment he behaved with that firmness and discretion which were 

 among his most conspicuous characteristics : when ordered home 

 in the spring of 1735, he left South Carolina for the last time, and 

 on his return to England his ship was put out of commission. 



Our hero now enjoyed the calm pleasures of retirement at his 

 birth-place for some time,, but like all active and aspiring men, he 

 was still emulous of distinction. His former services were not 

 forgotten, and on the 9th of December 1737, he was appointed 

 Captain of the Centurion, a ship in which he afterwards added new 

 lustre to the naval glory of his country, and signalized himself by 

 his fortitude and achievements during his celebrated voyage round 

 the Globe. 



In February 1738, Captain Anson was ordered in his ship to 

 the coast of Guinea, to prevent the French cruisers from annoying 

 our merchantmen in their trade to the Gold Coast ; and during a 

 cruise of eighteen months, he effectually protected the British 

 traders without the necessity of coming to actual hostilities with 

 our ambitious rival. His vigilance and prudence wer& highly ap- 

 proved by Government. 



But the era now approached which was to eternize Captain 

 Anson's fame as an enterprising and skilful navigator. At the 

 commencement of the war with Spain in 1739, it was determined 

 by the British Government to attack the Spanish American Set- 

 tlements in the Pacific Ocean, and our hero was appointed Com- 

 modore of the fleet designed for that purpose. 



The expedition, however, was delayed till September 1740. 

 Commodore Anson in the Centurion doubled Cape Horn in March 

 1741, and arrived at the island of Juan Fernandez in June, with 

 only two ships of his squadron, and 335 men. During this disas- 

 trous voyage, the seamen on board the Centurion were afflicted 

 with the scurvy, which proved fatal to many ; on their arrival at 

 Juan Fernandez, Commodore Anson by exemplary humanity and 

 attention to the sick excited the emulation of his officers, who ac- 

 tually lent their aid in carrying the infirm sailors ashore in their 

 hammocks to the temporary infirmary erected for their comfort 

 and accommodation. During the three months that he remained 

 in Juan Fernandez, he sowed the seeds of several culinary herbs 

 and roots, and a variety of plum, apricot, and peach stones, for 



