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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 .A B( / ((J v^ I Boston MassdL/iiiSitfs ll'ith thi ll'ritn's Compliments The Cabot Celebrations 1497-1897 I" h\ / V The Cabot Quadri- Centenary Celebrations AT Bristol Halifax and St.- John's IN June I897 BY Rev. Edward G. Porter A.M. Reprinted from the Boston February J 898 J M ; I JOHN CAHOT AND HIS SON SKBASTIAN. Modellfd liy John ('iissldy of MiiiRhfstrr, KiiKlinul. Kxhildlod In London, 1897. THE i New England Magazine. Nkw Si- r IKS. KKURlAin. iS(>a. \i.i . \\ II No. r.. TIIH CAHOT Ci:i.KlikA riONS Ol' iSy;. A'f /u/iviii,/ (,'. Porttr. Arms of itiistul. _ ri'!R fimi lum Cjy^!^*'^ » JGr 11 llacc(lluual)lc IK'^,fk•^•t, the dis- covert r of tlir Xortli AimTioaii continent lias at last been liituself discovered a !i d crowned \v i t li soinetliiiif^ of the honor which is justly his due. Mow Mnj^daiid could ever have forgotten him is one of chose stranv;;e anotn- alies which are found sonietiines in the history <»f any country. The real value of an achievement is not always apparent to the j^eneration that wit- nesses '1. The element of time must be allowed to show what results it has accomplished, i'.ut this does not alto- g^ether e.xplain the treatment accorded to John Calxjt; for time lonj:;- aj^o re- vealed the vast indebtedness of T^n.tj- land to his services. ^'et no monu- ment, statue or tablet has ever been erected to his memory until :iow. There arc. {o be sure, some reasons to be pivcn for this neglect. The voy- ages of 1497 and I4t;8 failed to brin^ any pecuniary returns, and the V.n^f- land of that day. like its thrifty kin^. savv little worth in lands discovered if they promised nothing in spices, pems or trade. Even the cod-fisher- ies did not attract the Enjjlish as much as they did the Portuguese and French, whose hardv mariners re- sorted immediately, and in swarms, to the shores of Newfoundland. The fact is the spirit of commercial enterprise had not yet been aroused in lvn^,dand. The home nest had not been shaken, and the bird of freedom and of con(|uest knew not how to sj)read his winj;s. Richard h.den. in his Pccadcs of the \cw World, pub- lished in 1555. reproaches Knj.,dan'pulsed with ice in the month of July. Neverthclesr., the west and south parts of these refj^iotis have since l)een better searched by other." This apathy of I'.npfland was la- mented also by (leor^e Bcsle. who wrote in 1578 that the work was hindered by two causes: the lack of a penerons nobility and the want of fkill in cosmography and the art of navi- SHIP OF CABOT S TIME. j^ation. These causes were destined, however, to be soon removed and the "navigation which in the time of Henry \'II. was very raw," j^rew in the brilliant reij^n of I*".li/.al)etli to maj^nifieent ])n)portions. ibis remarkable chanpc was re- llected in the literature of the country. Xo notice of Cabot's ex])loit was taken at the time; and. incredible as it seems, there was no printed account of it in the English lanj^ntage for fifty-eight V \ears! And yet Peter Martyr pub- lished a narrative of it in Spain in 1516, and Kanuisio in Italy somewhat later. But when the great si-a-rovers started out from the west of l'".ngland ports and led the way to colonixation, h'nglish writers w^re no longer silent. ICntertaining descriptions of the voy ages followed in rapid succession from I "den and Gilbert and Churchyard and Stowe and llakluyt and Ilaies and Peckham. enlightening and stinui- lating the p.eople as to the wonders of the new land beyond the sea. The merchants now came to the front and seized the opportunity with a degree of energy and zeal never be- fore witnessed. They were too busy 1 i I Tiir. CI nor ciiLi.m wion. f>^5 the Iwith bc- husv JUlIN fAllUT AM> HIS THHKIO SONS. I'lilnti'd In ili« liiHt iM-ntury by tlie Abbe Kran- ci'.sto Orlmllnl for tho Sala di-Ilo Scudo In th« Ducal riilucc, \'t'iiicc. iTiiki'ii fnim a photoKraph of (lie (irlfTlnal, kindly loain'il liy l>i'. Mourliiot of Ottawa.) Tills hall l.s covcri'tl wlili larwe map.-* reprosentliig remold cuuiilrlf.s dlsiovi-ri'd or visited by Venftlann. (irlsellnl Is .said to liuvc followed the design uf older maps which had become Injured by time. In the backKPounil Is dlnily seen the lower part of a map bearlnif tho names Ocennus Atlanth-us, Floriila, Oiiba, etc. The hat In leuend may be rendered as follows: Henry VU., Kiuk of lOiiKland, b.\ hetiers Patent In D'.iil. cornmissloiieil .lohn t'.iboi and Sebastian, his son, sea captains well a( i|i'alntii| with astronomy and navigation, to llnd a way which they advocateil bMullnff to the Kast Indies by a northern coursi-. Although In this hope they were disappointed, yet It was on that voyaj^e ih;it the New I.iand was dis- covered and Cape Florida. with their sohcnu's of adventnrf in 1597 to trouble tlieniselvcs about the men who had opened a fiath for theni across the Atlantic in the days of their grandfathers — if indeed there was anywhere in the world at that time such a thought as a centennial cele- bration of anything. Uoidi-. iIkti' wa> ai- v\a>.s itditUMon us to tilc l»er>on tiiiitlti! to the honor ol the great dis- I'oviry, .\o one >liM)d out ilear and foremost as ('olunihn> had done in the South. It \va> " The ( abots," or "Sebastian t abot and iiis latlur." who divided the honor>, and for a long titne luithei of them seemed of .■m\ aiioiii't. The father hrul died, no one knew \'lien. where or iiow; and son passed into oi)- s urily for fourteen years, when he emerged i.i .Spain M.iiler royal favor, ti' -t as naval captain and tl ■ II a'N pilot-majo.'. a po- .tion of distinciion and tinMJument. which In- en- i )yed throP'-h the greater part of his long liic. This gave him the opportunitv in the preiKiralion of I harts or in conveisation with ii' . friends, to state things as he chose in re- gard to the voyag'^s which he claimed to have made, cither alone or with his father, and his word was generally, though not always, accepted. The result has been that, with Sebastian as the only informant, the two voyriges became ho])elessly mixed in the imblic mind, and Sebas- tian has had all the glory. His portrait, too, has served to keep alive his assumptions, while his poor father rested in oblivion. All the writers until recently made obeisance to the son. It is rather surprising indeed that no monument has been erected anywhere in his lu)nor. We may congratulate ourselves in this country that the sug- gestion of William Doyle in 1770 to 656 THE CABOT CELEBRATION. |l«rt.— TWi ibtlik WM tfMt4, m4 r«4w«4 br p«Witb«4 IB in »l M*dr«l. br dloot Csmtm VftJIv* ud prof. TruMr wl(b > i«^ripU<» hy AniMtio Vmmm TW4oU«4 MtilM PMT tb* Ibir4 flag Mark* k kiil« (b T f ir •qi ¥1- r ^1 N^llli RltritNl clif»« WurT m CmT. « (; .1.- Ijmho 10. lui-niitre 30. S ifngor. II «ni«ir IL'. t<4lt<.. 13. rii> Imiga II. ilU He U iTMildjit lA. H Nln.lu. III ('«<'.il«!) Jnlui 17 unn. IN. ('^(^•tnnMlra. I'J Civii iltf ViiKUU'rrfc II. » Vrrji- THE CKLEBRATKD CHART OK J.A COSA, Of which this is a reduced section taken from Ur. Dawson's nion(jRrji|)h— was made on parchment In 1500 for Ferdinand and Isabella. It has had a rt-niarkalile history, and is to-day of the greatest value to all Cahotlan scholars. It Is the earliest map of American waters. Spanish tlags wave over Cuba and the adja- cent Islands. Turning the chart half way round to the left, we see live KuK-lisii flags with various interesting Inscriptions along the shore, from the "Sea discov- ered by the English" in the south to the "Cape of England" in the north. The names are variously Interpreted, but are believed to represent tlie places visited by Cabot in the two voyages. name North America "Sebaslia" did not take effect. If it had, we sliould have been saddled with a far greater historical inaccuracy than is now the case with "America," which in the judgment of many is not so far wrong after all; and the name is really an ideal one in itself. "Cabotia," which •was advocated at one time, would have been correct as applied to North America, with the understanding that it commemorates the father. All these errors might have been avoided if the papers, chart and globe of the elder Cabot had not mysteri- ously, and, as many believe, surrepti- tiously disappeared on his return from his first voyage. And we should have known much more of the truth if any proper attention had been paid to the letters patent which were published by Hakluyt in his Divers Voyages in 1582, showing clearly to whom the grant was made. Hakluyt also tells us that Sebastian's maps and discourses were then in the custodv of one of Cabot's old associates. William Worthington, who was willing to have them seen and pulilished. l>ut ap- ])arently they never were seen and published, and what became of them no one knows. William Worthington therefore becomes, like Sebastian liim- self and the Spanish ambassador, a suspicious character. And so it has come to pass that we have not a scrap of inlorniation about either of the Cabots in their own hand- writing: and in the general confusion, we are left with only what others have said and written about them — and that almost exclusively about Sebas- tian. Until lately no one has at- tempted to reconcile the glaring discrepan :ies in the various accounts. Each autlior has followed the errors of his predecessors, and transmitted an ever increasing bundle of unproven, contradictory and vexatious state- ments, and these have composed the materials of the Cabotian history. Happily, however, for the cause of ' THE CABOT CELEBRATIOX. '.V ap- and truth, after three oenturifs and a half of jj^ropinj;- in the dark, the modern critical demand fororijjinal documents has led to a thorouijh and costly search amonj^ the jj^reat archives of luirope. 'J'his effort has been rewarded Ity the discovery of certain writinj^s of ex- ceeding value. Those which bear di- rectly upon our sid)ject may be emnn- erated here for the conven- ience of the ^-eiieral reader, especially as they have formed the chief topic of discussion at the recent cel- ebrations. OUH51XAT., DOCl'MIONTS HKAUING OX Til 10 CAUOT VOVAOKS. 1. The naturalization pa- pers g-ranted to John Cabot by the X'enetian Senate. 147^). in consideration of a residence of fifteen years. 2. 'J'he Letters Patent is- sued by Henry \ II.. March 5. 1496. to John Cabot and his three sons. Lewis, Sebas- tian and Sanctus, with au- thority to visit imder the royal banners all coiuitries and seas of the east, of the west and of the north. The south was prudently omitted in this broad license. 3. The entry in the Privy Purse ex])enses. August 10. 1497, <^^ '^ gratuity of iio "to hym that founde the new- Isle." 4. A private letter from Lorenzo Pasqualigo to his brothers in \YMiice. dated London, August 23. 1497. 5. An official despatch written the very next day by Raimondo de Soncino. envoy of the Duke of Milan in England. 6. Another communica- tion from .Soncino to his government, dated the fol- lowing- December. jTlio last tlirtc documonts .ill n-for to the first voy.iKC and show that Xnrtli .XmiTica was (lisoovt-riMl by Jitiin Cahot in 1497. 'riiL'v (li> not nu'iitioii the nanu- of Sehas- tianj 7. .Memorandum of a pension of fjo i)er amuun. granted by Henry \1I. to Jolni Cabot, dated December 13, 14»)7. A charijfe ui)on the customs of tJH' Port of P.ristol. SEBASTIAN CABOT, With globe and tompa.sses, hour-slass and wiltinR miiti'i'lals, from tlie wcll-knowii portrait fornicrly attributed to llollit-in. In tlic early part of the XVll. cfntiiry a portrait bcarinK thi.K inscription was In the King's ortrait of Seba.stian Oabot Englishman the son of John Cabot Venetian Golden Knight the first dihcoverer of Newfoundland under Henry VII. King of England." This Inscription would seem to have emanated from Sebastian himself. It is both erroneous and ambiguous. 658 THE CABOT CELEBRATION. \ 11 8. New Letters Patent issued Feb- ruary 3, 1498, to John Cabot. No mention is made of his sons. 9. Memorandum of loans from Henry VII. to some of Cabot's com- panions "going to the newe ile." 10. Despatches sent to Ferdinand and Isabella by De Puebla and De Ayala, Spanish ambassadors in Eng- land, referring to Cabot's map and de- scribing the departure of the second expedition. that these new materials could be given to the world and examined be- fore the completion of the fourth cen- tenary of the great discovery. Other- wise we should hardly have known what to celebrate, when to meet, whom to honor, or how to distinguish the two voyages. The main facts to be kept in mind are that John Cabot was a Genoese, and his wife a Venetian. They lived in X'^cnice many years, and had three PORTRAIT OP HENRY VII. After the engraving by J. K. Sherwin, 1788, from the original In the Royal Colleotdon, Kensington. 11. La Cosa's celebrated chart of 1500. 12. The mappcmoiide of 1544, at- tributed to Sebastian Cabot. These are substantially all the con- temporary documents thus far brought to light. They have cleared away many doubts and established a few very important facts which the writers of our time have eagerly im- proved. It was fortunate, indeed. sons. He made voyages to Mecca, Portugal and Spain. About 1490 he settled in England with his family, and was known as an experienced sea- man. For several years he enter- tained the idea of crossing the ocean. Under royal authority he commanded the Matthew, sailing from Bristol early in May, 1497, with a crew of eighteen men, nearly all of whom were Englishmen. THE CABOT CELEBRATION. 659 John Cabot landed on the North American shore in June, 1497, and planted there the banner of St. George and the winged Hon of St. Mark. He coasted for several days, finding "an excellent and temperate climate," and making no mention of ice. He saw no human beings on that voyage, hut found signs of occtipation in felled trees, snares for game and a bone needle for making nets, which he brought back for the king He was again in I^ondon on the tenth of August. \ V _c==^^^\!r^^^ft \^ f^S^ r\ r^V - \ \ J^ V^-^-^x""''^ \ \ ^ ^^^A^^ — ^"x^^ \ \% \ W 'a/ \ \ \ \_^ SECOND VOYAGE vi ' \ or JOHN CABOT. PROBABLE tXTENT OF DlSCOVERV 5HLWN -— — -- \ FIRST VOVA&E. or JOHN CABOT PROBABLE tXTCNt OF OlSCOVERV J This voyage Included Lab- rador "■<" "ore coaaUng to the Sou • Canadian authorities claim that this voyage did not include much o( Labrador. having accomplished the whole voyage in about three months. Some of the questions still unanswered may also be stated: (i). When the Cabot family became residents of Bristol, and where they lived. (2). As to the date of the landfall, whether June 24, as is commonly believed, or a week or two earlier, as suggested by Harrisse. (3). As to the place of the landfall, — a question of the greatest interest. This is warmly contested, there being no documentary evidence until 1843, when the so-called Cabot mappe- 66o THE CABOT CELEBRATION. 5 Ls"oard on his return. (6). When and where John Cabot died, and under what cir- cumstances. (7). The burial-place of either John or Sebastian. (8). Where and when Sebastian was born. (9). Whether Sebastian accom- panied his father on the first voy- age, or even on the second. (10). Wlien the second expedi- tion returned, and what was said of it. With this revived interest in the study of the Cabots it was inevit- able that so great an e\'ent in human history as the find- ing of this continent could not pass another centen- nial period without being noticed. Invents of far less importance are being com- memorated every year in all civilized countries. The echoes of the Columbian pageants in Spain and Chi- cago were still in the air; and although British sub- jects have never disjiuted the just claims of the great admiral, they have learned in these latter days to rec- ognize the debt they owe to that other Cenoese, who added more territory and more wealth to the crown of England and to the English-speaking race than any other man. It is interesting to notice that the first proposal for the observance of Cabot's {|uadri - centenary came from Newfoundland, — England's oldest colony. The Rev. Moses JTarvev, ^(f)^^\^■^^^^ \'^VYV^^^ ^^^^^^^^^Jp FROM THIS POKT JOMM CABOT. AMD HIS SON SEBASTIAM, (WHO WAS mm m ei^istol) SAILEU IM TME SHIP MATTHEW AHD DISCOVERED THE COMTIMENT OF AMERICA TABLET ON ST. AUGUSTINE'S BRIDGE. Erected In 1894. Some authorities ques- tion the statement that Sebastian participated in the voyage of 1497; and many believe that he was bom in Venice. THE CABOT CELEBRATION. 66 1 the esteemed historian of tliat islantl, published a communication in the Maritime Monthly Magazine, as far back as 1874. advocating such a cele- bration; and the Royal Society of Can- ada nnist be credited with being the first organization to take the matter up energetically, guided by the en- thusiastic efforts of Dr. I'ourinot. A deputation of well-known Canadians went to England in June, i8 I 11 I The |)rc'si(k'nt of the Royal Society, Archbishop ()'I?rien, read an elabo- rate ati>l iiij^ciiious paper, illustrated by diapranis, slu)win};f \n>\\\ the mappemondc that the landfall inif^ht have been southwest of Cape North, within the Gulf, and that the island of St. John would then have been Prince Edward Island. Taking up the La Cosa chart, he j^jave an explanation of CAPE RACK, NEWFOUNDLAND. 18U6. tablet to the memory of John Cabot. The ceremony took place on the J4th of June, in the |)resence t>f a lar^'e as- sembly, including the Governor-( ien- eral of Canada and Lady Aberdeen. Lieutenant-^ iovernor Daly of Nova .Scotia, ofticers of the army and navy, U. S. Consul-( ieneral IiiKraham, the Consul-(ieneral of Italy, and represen- tatives from various parts of tlie Do- minion and the ' "'""-■' ^' • I'nited States. The Va\v\ of Ab- irdeen unveiled the tablet with charac- teristic felicity of m a n n e r and of speech. He paid appropriate homaj^e to the grand old sailor and said it was only after the labor of all these centuries that we have been able to understand the importance of his dis- covery. A picturesque incident occurred at the close of the ceremony. A group of Micmac Indians, men and women, From Dr. DawHon's Summary the meaning of Tanais in Suncino's despatch which confirmed his position. He then sought to discover the scale of Cabot's shore line on Cosa's map, and by a skilful process of reasoning he obtained three-eighths of an inch to appeared upon the scene, dressed in a degree. Thus equipped, the presi- the brilliant gala costumes of their dent felt authorized to claim that tribe, and came forward to present Cavo d' Yn^latcrra is Cape Chidley gifts of their own handiwork to the and Cavo dc Jorge, Cape Race. Other countess, who received them in a very points are identified, and the chart, he spirited and gracious manner. Tlie thinks, extends from Cape Henry to thought that tlicse children of the for- Hudson Straits. est were descended from the people A poem on Cabot was read by Mr. whom Cabot found on these shores W. Wilfred Campbell. Among the guests of the Royal Society the place of honor was justly given to the dele- gates from Bristol, William Robert Barker, J. P., and William Howell Davies, J. P., both being ex-Mayors of that city. These gentlemen were warmly applauded whenever they spoke, and by their presence and their enthusiastic addresses they added made their appearance the occasion of a spontaneous and long-continued outburst of applause. It will be noticed that the inscrip- tion on the Halifax tablet does not commit the Royal Society of Canada to any particular theory of the landfall. Most if not all of its members now accept Cape Breton island, though un- able as yet to agree upon the exact much to the dignity and significance spot; but in common with all other of the occasion. scholars they allow that, wherever The chief object of the meeting at Cabot may have first sighted land, he Halifax was to erect in the Province certainly visited Newfoundland and building a large and elegant bronze explored much of its coast. The res- ;m. THE CABOT CliLliBRATION. 667 idents of that oldest of Knglaiid's colonics are justified in making inucli of their inheritance in the name and fame of the great discoverer of the North. Some of their writers, like Dr. Harvey, accept the Cape Breton hypothesis. Others, hke Judge Prowsc and Bishop Howley, hold tenaciously to Bona Vista or Cape St. John. The debate is likely to be continued, if for no other reason, out of local pride. But no one will grudge the plucky Newfoundlanders their right to appropriate as much of Cabot as they please. If the latest learning does not sustain their cher- ished traditions, they may say in reply that they are still prepared t» argue the case. They may affirm that they do not accept the Mappcmonde be- cause it rudely disturbs the belief of ages; and as for the Cosa chart, it is a mere crude sketch and may be made to prove anything. It is based, they claim, on very imperfect information, obtained perhaps from some sailor carrying lish from Bristol to Malaga. Meanwhile Newfoundland makes no mistake when it celebrates the arrival of the good ship Matthexv, that noble forerunner of the fleets that have since sought her harbors and drawn untold wealth from her Banks. It was a brilliant scene, witnessed last June in the enterprising city of St. John's, when the gathering proces- sions of official dignitaries, military and naval officers, clergy, merchants, civic bodies, industrial clubs, temper- ance and Masonic orders, school chil- dren, fire brigades, united fishermen and other organizations were wending their way, with music and banners, through the decorated streets to the broad carriage-road leading to Signal Hill. This is the summit of a moun- tain ridge twice as high as Brandon Hill at Bristol. It rises sharply on the northern side of the entrance to St. John's harbor, and is said to be the most conspicuous landmark in any dty in America. Here in the presence of thousands of citizens was laid with dae formali- ties the corner-stone of the Cabot Sig- nal Tower, a massive structure to be built of ruck (|uarried on the spot. There are two veins, purple and blue, which will be used alternately. The square, two-story central . hall is flanked by square, castellated towers, one for a signal station and the other for an observatory. The lower story is to have thick battering walls, the roof will be battlemented, and the flanking towers armed with bastion lookouts. 'Hie pedestal tower sug- gests the Palazzo Vecchio at Flor- ence. Signal Hill was fonnerly imperial property and was occupied by a garrison. The old block-house may still be seen. The time is still given to the city by the firing of a gun here at noonday — the only specimen left of the many saucy muzzles with which the hill once bristled. The presence of several warships in the harbor bearing the British, French and United States flags, and decked in the fullest holiday bunting, added much to the gala character of the day. Tlie following dedicatory inscrip- tioji was placed in the foundation stone: Ad Duorum insignium facinonim Famam Postcris in .'cvum tradendam Quod Hodie eximia Nostra Regina Victoria Duodecim Regni lustra expleverit Singulorum descessorum in solio annas an- tecellens Rerumque publicarum sapientissimam moderatricem Et mundo jam coduco Virtutum omnium muliebrum Exemplar se prsebuerit Quodque Quadringintis abhinc annis Inclytus ille Nauta Johannes Cabotua Fragili rate perfida rumpens freta Et post ancipites dubiosque per aquora cursus Hisce nostris oris primum applicuit Novumque dedit Britanniae Mundum Futurs Imperii amplitudinis copiaeque fontem Nos Incolae hujus Terrse Novae Insulae Monumentum hoc Quod una vel patriae amorem vel fideli- tatem Nostram in Reginam exploratissimam decUrabit 668 IHIi CABOT CEJ.P.BR AVION. vJ^vw- ^tf-N,;:;^ ^^u^ V)'Hi^;n •^rt^^^^^*^^/^ Awe %< kr-tSo»H im-Kpriiiu>nt | par le (tuiil)U- i/re Iwaupere J entend de \os/Te bonne uinoy [mnor] et concorde | de qiioy veritabltMnc//t suys tresioreulx | et me stMnl)li' t\/n' \(>'. ami/, vse dc tresj^rande prudence Mt / apparc oi/ bien i\in- led/V/ traictie est ^randcment a v^'.ur 'viiineur et louenge ] esperant i\iti' beau , cop dc .leillt'urs choses sen ensuyueront en lad/r7ueuir | V.\. Jf suys tres grandeme/zt console de > ' veoir ip/f \uir \ostxt scetir et l)onne dissperer | et de bien en (\uoy niyeul.x contynuer | ce i\i/f dc ma part je de sire singulie/emewt || Je vo//s ay adv^rtez i)ar auit/*« nies l)re/s de la reg/st/e i\in ma fait naymes v^^Vre lieucten(////generall i)owr vox. affaires depardeza * et les choses q//^' luy ay offert faire en Vf;j7re absence '• po//r VO//S complaire et faire plaisir | come a mon bon et cordial filz | Kt a tant vo//s diz adieu i\i/e mon bon lilz vous domt ce (\nt' vos/xt cueur desire A Richemont | le xxiii \oiir de Juliet de la main de sosixQ bon frere cousin et bon pere HENRY REX. TRANSr..\TION. My gootl son. With a good heart I recommend myself to you. I have received your letter* written in your hand at Renavctite of the last of June hy which they explain to me in double alwut the last treaty made between you and the kiuR your father-in-law. I hear of your good feeling and concord for which I am very happy, and it seems to me that your friends use ereat prudence and I also perceive that the said treaty is greatly to your honor and praise hoping that many lietter things will follow in the same direction. And 1 am very greatly consoled to see that by your sure and Kood discretion you have put your affairs there in good peace to the satis- faction and contentment of the king, your said father-in-law aiid o( all the great princes and otliers your subjects there and in treating; them well that wdl K've you always occasion lon^ to prosper and what is lietter c(mtinu(iusly which for my part I desire singularly. I have advised you by others of my briefs from the registrar who has named me your lieutenant general for your affairs here, and ine things that may offer themselves to be done in your absence to oblige you and give you pleasure as to my good and cordial son. And now adieu. May my good son j^ive you what your heart desires. At Richmond the 23d day of July by the hand of your good brother cousin and good father. HENRY REX. 6yo THE CABOT CELEBRATION. ^^ Intrepidis nostris piscatnnbus in maris fluctibus periclitantibus in perpetunm exstabit Magna civium sodalitatum, procerumque comitante caterva plaudentes exstruximus Hie primarius ejusdem lapis solide firmi- terque posuit Illustrissimu'S vir Dominus Michael Franciscus Howley t Episcopus Sancti Johannis Civis Terrae Novae Generosus Hac Die XXII Junii anno saluti'S MP CCCX CVII Doniine salvam fac Reginam The principal addreioses made on this occasion were by His Excellency the Governor, Bishop M. F. Howley and the Rev. Moses Harvey, LL. D. One of the best poems of the Cabot centen- ary was written by Sir Robert Thor- burn of St. John's. The Newfound- land government issued a series of beautiful postage stamps illustrating Cabot, the Queen's Jubilee and the re- sources and sports of the island, such as fishing, sealing, mining, logging, caribou and ptarmigan hunting and views of scenery. If the Eskimos, of whom Lieuten- ant Peary has been telling us so much lately, had only attained a higher degree of civilization, they would no doubt be on hand in these days rfeady to prove their claims, and to set up a memorial to Cabot on their rock-bound coast, somewhere near latitude 60 degrees. They have not yet been heard from in connection with the celebrations of last summer. But their cause is not left without a champion, and that, too, one of knightly plume in the contest — even the foremost scholar in Cabotian research, to whom all other writers are confessedly indebted, whether they accept all his conclusions or not. The name of Harrisse carries great weight, but as his Labrador theory is drawn from statements which arc capable of other interpretations without violat- ing the local conditions of the prob- lem he is not generally followed by our western writers, who find his po- sition in this matter . ntenable. It should be said that the Maine Historical Society observed the Cabot festival, at its meeting in Brunswick, by a series of valuable papers, cover- ing the main aspects of the subject, read by the president, Hon. J. P. Bax- ter, and several other members of the society. This paper would not be complete without a reference to the fine Cabot group exhibited last summer at the New Gallery, London, by John Cas- sidy, of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts. This young Irish artist has received many proofs of his talent in the shape of prizes and medals and high commendation from the critics. His orders for statues have followed in rapid succession, and he has just executed one of the Queen in colossal size for the city of Belfast. This group of the Cabots will bear close inspection, and it is sure to increase the fame of the artist. So far as is known, this is the first attempt to rep- resent either of the Cabots in the plastic art. One could wish that it might find its way to this country. It would be a great acquisition for any of our museums, libraries or clubs. The festive celebrations of last sum- mer were not expected to add original materials to Cabotian literature. Such materials were brought to light a few }'ears ago, and have been already de- scribed in this article. But the cele- bro.tions have done much in calling attention to the results of the latest scholarship, and in restating both the facts and the theories. The occasion has also brought out a few new books, like those of Weare and Peazley. The year has indeed given us one ancient record relating to Cabot from a contemporary roll hitherto unknown. It was found early in 1897 by Mr. Scott of the British Museum, whose researches in the Westminster Chap- ter House muniments were rewarded by the discovery of the following item referring to the pension money col- lected for John Cabot: (No. 12,243) endorsed, "Brystolle, the Accompts of the Custymers." En- THE LA HOT CELEBRATION. 671 try No. 2. "Iiristollf Artliurus Kcniys and Ricarilus A. Mcryk Colkciors Custuniaruni et Siibsidiorum Regis ibidem a festo Saiicti Micliaclis Arch- angcli anno ircdecinuj Regis nunc usque idem festum Saiicti Micliaelis tunc proximo sequens reddum com- putum de £1,126 7s. lod. liiiam in thcsauro in una tallia pro Jolianne Caboot £20." The name of Cabot has had a variety of speHings. The writer has encountered no less than sixteen dif- ferent ways, some of which would hardly suggest the great navigator at all. There is no known connection between these Italian Cabots and the Huguenot Cabots of the Channel Islands. The representatives of the name in this country are descended from the latter. in conclusion, a caveat must be en- tered against the error contained in the mal'pctnonik which gives 1494 as the dale of Cabot's discovery. Hie origin of this blunder has been suffi- ciently explained; but respectable aiii.ho'-'; like Tarducci, H. D. Traill in Social England, vol. 11., and Sir Wal- ter Besant in The Rise of the Empire, 189/, pay no regard to it. The simple explanation is that some copyist in transcribing MCCCCXCVII. did not properly join the lines of the letter V, making them api)ear to be II. This would give XCilll. lUit the date of the Letters Patent shouM put the mat- ter beyond dispute. Sir Robert Thorburn, in his tribute to Cabot, pays the following conii)li- ment to his neighbors of the United States : "Adown the iniglity ages as we scan The list of England's heroes, in the van Of honored names, Cabot will hold a place Among the benefactors of tlie race Whose tlag l( day o'er.-hadows every sea, Teaching the world the 'birth-rigiit ol the free.' ^ 9)C ]|C itc jfC lie 4t And did Columbia, our fair sister, too Her virgin beauty spread before his view, She wlio, what time her starry banners wave, Leads forth the sons of 'Pilgrim Fathers' brave, O Cabot! own their common ancestry, Sons of our England! brothers of our race! God bless and prosper ye with every grace, Be ye the monument to Cabot's name And write hi> record on a scroll of fame."