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He had found in the mountains of books stored away by his father, a volume that related in double columns, with abundant wood cuts, the navigations of Columbus, the wars of Hernando Cortez, and the exploits of Pizarro. This book cast a glamor over the rest of his existence. Many times afterwards, when a man, he found this image latent in the background of his likes and desires.
The success of the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal had awakened the attention of the landowners throughout England, but more especially in the districts immediately adjacent to the scene of the Duke's operations, as they saw with their own eyes the extraordinary benefits which had followed the opening up of the navigations.
At this period he was attracted to Lisbon by the fame which Prince Henry had acquired, on account of the encouragement he afforded to maritime discovery. In this city he married the daughter of a person who had been employed in the earlier navigations of the prince; and from his father-in-law he is said to have obtained possession of a number of journals, sea charts, and other valuable papers.
In Hakluyt's great work on "English Voyages and Navigations," he gives in his second volume a list, written out by an Aleppo merchant, William Barrett, in 1584, of the places whence the chief staples of the Eastern trade came, and it will be interesting to give a selection from his long account. Cloves from Maluco, Tarenate, Amboyna, by way of Java. Nutmegs from Banda.
There were Findlay's five directories of the world all broken-backed, as is usual with Findlay, and all marked and scribbled over with corrections and additions several books of navigations, a signal-code, and an Admiralty book of a sort of orange hue, called "Islands of the Eastern Pacific Ocean," vol. iii., which appeared from its imprint to be the latest authority, and showed marks of frequent consultation in the passages about the French Frigate Shoals, the Harman, Cure, Pearl, and Hermes Reefs, Lisiansky Island, Ocean Island, and the place where we then lay Brooks or Midway.
The rowers were enabled to pull all at once, or to keep time, by a person who sung and played to them while they were employed. During the night, or in difficult navigations, the charge of the sounding lead, or of the long poles, which were used either for the same purpose, or to push the ship off, when she got a-ground, was committed to a particular officer.
These letters by the celebrated De Brosses, author of L'Histoire des Navigations aux Terres Australes, and other works, hardly are equal to the literary reputation of the author; they paint with considerable force, though sometimes in too strong colours, the imperfections, follies, and vices of the Italians; and display good taste and judgment respecting the fine arts. Voyage en Italie.
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