l899-'oO TRANSACTIONS 27 



But the 70 dead bodies all silent gave no welcoming cheer to the 

 Laps. They had died at their posts like Englishmen. 



Chancellor explored the White Sea to the mouth of the 

 " Dwina, " left his vessels and travelled overland to Moscow, 

 tried the journey a second time and was drowned when returning 

 to England in 1556. 



Interest attaches to the expedition of Willoughby and 

 Chancellor because of Sebastian Cabot's connection with it. 

 Cabot drew up the instructions for the conduct of the expedition 

 being too old and infirm to take personal command. He did 

 not confine himself to the scientific part. One clause in his in- 

 structions directs that " no blaspheming of God, or detestable 

 swearing be used in any ship, nor communication of ribaldry, 

 filthy tales or ungodly talk be suffered in the company of any 

 ship ; neither dicing, tabling, carding or other devilish games to be 

 frequented whereby ensueth not only poverty to the players, but 

 also strife, variance, brawling, fighting and oftentimes murder, to 

 the destruction of the parties and provoking of God's wrath and 

 sword of vengeance." 



In the same year that witnessed the drowning of Chancellor 

 we catch a glimpse of the first navigator to look upon the shores 

 of the Arctic fringe of Canada from an English ship. In that 

 year Stephen Burroughs, who had sailed with Chancellor, was 

 sent to the north in a small pinnace called Searchthrift. Previous 

 to sailing from Gravesend, the right worshipful Sebastian Cabot 

 and a large party of ladies and gentlemen paid a visit to the 

 vessel and afterwards, says the chronicler, "the good old gentle- 

 man. Master Cabot, gave a banquet, at which for very joy that 

 he had seen the towardness of their discovery, he entered into 

 the dance himself among the rest of the young and lusty com- 

 pany." The "good old gentleman" was then over eighty years 

 old. 



I have dealt thus lengthily with Sebastian Cabot, ist, in order 

 to bring all the relevant events of his life together for the pur- 

 pose of showing that in the discoverer of the eastern side of the 

 country now called the Dominion of Canada, we have a hero of 

 whom we may be proud and justly so, and, 2nd, To show that 

 his discovery first at its south-east corner and then at its north- 



