combe.

Roger set to work with the zeal which was one of his characteristics to
master the details of the work he had undertaken, and soon won the
approval and confidence of his employers.

Bristol, though covering a much less extent of ground than at the
present time, was then looked upon as a large city, but its beautiful
churches were surrounded by a labyrinth of narrow lanes, through which a
coach or cart could with difficulty pass along; goods were therefore
conveyed about the town almost exclusively in trucks drawn by dogs. As
even the chief merchants could not use carriages when they went abroad,
they walked on foot, attended by servants in rich liveries. They were
renowned also for their luxurious entertainments, when their guests were
supplied with a beverage composed of the richest Spanish wines, known as
"Bristol milk." The merchants traded chiefly to the West Indies and the
American plantations, as also to the coast of Africa and the Levant. It
was in one of these princely firms that Stephen Battiscombe and Roger
Willoughby were so fortunate as to find employment, and, thanks to the
strong recommendation of Mr Handscombe, they were both placed in posts
of trust.

CHAPTER THREE.

Several months had passed away, during which Stephen Battiscombe and
Roger Willoughby had performed their duties in the counting-house at
Bristol much to the satisfaction of their employers. Roger had not
abandoned his wish of going to sea, though he was too wise to give up
his present situation till a good opportunity should offer. He had,
while passing along the quay, observed a house with a large wooden
quadrant over the door, and on inquiry he found that a certain
master-mariner, Captain Trickett, who gave lessons in astronomy and
navigation, resided there. He made bold to enter, and explaining his
wish to master the subjects the captain taught, soon entered into an
arrangement to attend three evenings a week.

"I promise you, lad, before the winter is over, to turn you out as good
a navigator as Sir Francis Drake, Master John Hawkins, or any other
sea-captain you may be pleased to name," said the old captain. "Give
your mind to it, that is the first requisite; it is of little use for an
instructor to put information in one ear which pops out at the other as
soon as it is received."

Captain Trickett was an enthusiast in his art, had been pilot in his
youth to several expeditions which had gone forth from Engla