156 Arctic and Antarctic Exploration [part i 
lane by which the two oceans unite, for it could never 
be a passage. The discovery was completed in after 
years by Parry, Ross, Rae, and M'Clintoclc 
Foxe had found his master and mate to be nuisances 
and hindrances throughout the voyage, and the former 
was very pusillanimous. Now his difficulties were much 
increased by the spread of sickness among the crew. 
His decision to return without risking a winter was no 
doubt right. He took all possible means at his disposal 
for the good of the sick, and established a dietary of 
four beef days in the week. Passing Cape Chidley on 
the 15 th, the Charles arrived off the Downs on the 31st 
October, 1631, "not having lost one man nor boy, nor 
any manner of tackling." 
The account of his voyage published by Luke Foxe 
is a remarkable book in several respects. It is the first 
attempt to give a history of all the Arctic voyages which 
preceded his own, from the account of Othere's vo}^age 
given by King Alfred down to his own time. It contains 
the only narrative that has been preserved of the voyage 
of Button. His own story is that of a well-conducted 
and, on the whole, successful expedition. Above all, 
"North- West Foxe," as he calls himself, has given us the 
quaintest and most amusing narrative in the whole 
range of Polar literature, which is fairly voluminous. 
His too obvious self-conceit and very high estimation of 
the merits of North- West Foxe himself may well be 
forgiven for the sake of his quaint remarks and the 
amusing style of his writing. Foxe's book is an acquisi- 
tion to Arctic literature. 
One more rather unimportant expedition closes the 
first period of Arctic endeavour. John Wood was a 
Master's mate in the Sweepstakes under Sir John Narbo- 
rough when a voyage was undertaken through Magellan's 
Strait to Chile in 1669. He gave want of employment 
and aversion to an idle life as reasons for submitting 
a plan to Government for discovering the north-east 
passage. The plan met with the approval of Samuel 
Pepys, the Secretary to the Admiralty, and Wood received 
the command of the Speedwell, with the Prosperous pink 
as a tender. The Speedwell also had the eminent hy- 
drographer Grenville Collins on board. The expedition 
