beginning of August, of which our generall had a
present acceptable for the rarenesse, being the first fruits coming up
by art and industrie, in that desolate and dishabited land.

"We could not observe the hundredth part of these creatures in those
unhabited lands: but these mentioned may induce us to glorifie the
magnificent God, who hath superabundantly replenished the earth with
creatures serving for the use of man, though man hath not used the
fift part of the same, which the more doth aggravate the fault and
foolish slouth in many of our nation, chusing rather to live
indirectly, and very miserably to live and die within this realme
pestered with inhabitants, then to adventure as becommeth men, to
obtaine an habitation in those remote lands, in which Nature very
prodigally doth minister unto mens endeavours, and for art to worke
upon."

The story of Gilbert's disastrous expedition and voyage home is well
known; how some of his men sailed off in a stolen vessel, some ran
away into the woods, and others falling sick were sent home in the
_Swallow_; how he set sail on August 20th (that is, after a stay on
the island of only a fortnight) with his three remaining vessels,
overloaded and under-manned as they were; how his vessels, after the
wreck of the _Delight_ off Sabre Island, were reduced to the _Golden
Hind_ and the _Squirrel_; how in a prodigious hurricane he refused to
transfer himself from the tiny _Squirrel_ to the larger vessel; and
how he died encouraging his ill-fated company--"We are as near heaven
by sea as by land." Though the expedition ended in disaster, and the
intention to found a settlement failed utterly, the bold enterprise
could not but exert a salutary influence on the hearts and souls of
other adventurers and promotors of colonization. As has been well
said:[22] "a halo of real enthusiasm illumines this foolish founder of
the greatest colonial empire in the world, and where a hero leads,
even though it be to ruin, others are apt to follow with enthusiasm,
for tragedies such as these attract by their dignity more than they
deter." More particularly, Gilbert's voyage is of great interest,
because we may reasonably associate him with the colonial ideas of his
greater half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh. The slow and difficult
process was beginning which was to make Newfoundland a permanent
settlement instead of the occasional resort of migratory fishermen.

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