o seek his daughter Truth,"[16] a very respectable
performance. Indeed, poetry is by no means incompatible with
ship-building--the late Chief Constructor of the Navy being, perhaps,
as proud of his poetry as of his ships. Pett's poem was dedicated to
the Lord High Admiral, Howard, Earl of Nottingham; and this may
possibly have been the reason of the singular interest which he
afterwards took in Phineas Pett, the poet shipwright's son.

Phineas Pett was the second son of his father. He was born at
Deptford, or "Deptford Strond," as the place used to be called, on the
1st of November, 1570. At nine years old, he was sent to the
free-school at Rochester, and remained there for four years. Not
profiting much by his education there, his father removed him to a
private school at Greenwich, kept by a Mr. Adams. Here he made so much
progress, that in three years time he was ready for Cambridge. He was
accordingly sent to that University at Shrovetide, 1586, and was
entered at Emmanuel College, under charge of Mr. Charles Chadwick, the
president. His father allowed him 20L. per annum, besides books,
apparel, and other necessaries.

Phineas remained at Cambridge for three years. He was obliged to quit
the University by the death of his "reverend, ever-loving father,"
whose loss, he says, "proved afterwards my utter undoing almost, had
not God been more merciful to me." His mother married again, "a most
wicked husband," says Pett in his autobiography,[17] "one, Mr. Thomas
Nunn, a minister," but of what denomination he does not state. His
mother's imprudence wholly deprived him of his maintenance, and having
no hopes of preferment from his friends, he necessarily abandoned his
University career, "presently after Christmas, 1590."

Early in the following year, he was persuaded by his mother to
apprentice himself to Mr. Richard Chapman, of Deptford Strond, one of
the Queen's Master shipwrights, whom his late father had "bred up from
a child to that profession." He was allowed 2L. 6s. 8d. per annum,
with which he had to provide himself with tools and apparel. Pett
spent two years in this man's service to very little purpose; Chapman
then died, and the apprentice was dismissed. Pett applied to his elder
brother Joseph, who would not help him, although he had succeeded to
his father's post in the Royal Dockyard. He was accordingly
"constrained to ship himself to sea upon a desperate voyage in a
man-of-war." He accepted