LOUGHBY. (After a portrait in the
Great Picture Hall, Greenwich.) ]

Sir HUGH WILLOUOUGHBY's in 1553 was thus the first maritime
expedition undertaken on a large scale, which was sent from England
to far distant seas. The equipment of the vessels was carried out
with great care under the superintendence of the famous navigator,
Sebastian Cabot, then an old man, who also gave the commander
precise instructions how he should behave in the different incidents
of the voyage. Some of these instructions now indeed appear rather
childish,[41] but others might still be used as rules for every
well-ordered exploratory expedition. Sir Hugh besides obtained from
Edward VI. an open letter written, in Latin, Greek, and several
other languages, in which it was stated that discoveries and the
making of commercial treaties were the sole objects of the
expedition; and the people, with whom the expedition might come in
contact, were requested to treat Sir Hugh Willoughby as they
themselves would wish to be treated in case they should come to
England. So sanguine were the promoters of the voyage of its success
in reaching the Indian seas by this route, that they caused the
ships that were placed at Sir Hugh Willoughby's disposal to be
sheathed with lead in order to protect them from the attacks of the
teredo and other worms.[43] These vessels were:--

[Illustration: SEBASTIAN CABOT. After a portrait in E. Vale
Blake's Arctic Experiences, London. 1874.[42] ]

1. The _Bona Esperanza_, admiral of the fleet, of 120 tons burden,
on board of which was Sir Hugh Willoughby, himself, as captain
general of the fleet. The number of persons in this ship, including
Willoughby, the master of the vessel, William Gefferson, and six
merchants, was thirty-five.

2. The _Edward Bonaventure_, of 160 tons burden, the command of
which was given to Richard Chancelor, captain and pilot major of the
fleet. There were on board this vessel fifty men, including two
merchants. Among the crew whose names are given in Hakluyt we find
the name of Stephen Burrough, afterwards renowned in the history of
the north-east passage, and that of Arthur Pet.

3. The _Bona Confidentia_, of ninety tons, under command of
Cornelius Durfoorth, with twenty-eight men, including three
merchants.

The expense of fitting out the vessels amounted to a sum of 6,000
pounds, divided into shares of 25 pounds. Sir Hugh Willoughby was
chosen commander "both by reason of his goodly person