pjgafetta’s voyage round the world.

2 99

his companions in the fquadron; he was furthermore fo fortunate as never to havebeen out of condition to write ; for, while almoft the whole of the crew were groaningunder tedious maladies, he uninterruptedly enjoyed his health in fufficient degree tobe qualified to make his daily obfervations; hence, when on his return he reached theiflands of Cape Verd, and enquired the day of the week, he could not be perfuadedthat he had loft a day, owing to his having regularly kept his journal. Pigafetta isnot the only one who has felt furprize on making the tour of the globe, at havingloft a day; this lofs, which was undoubted, feemcd at that time fo inexplicable, faysAngera *, that it was rather believed that our navigators had not made the tour of thew orld, until the aftronomers and Cardinal Contaririi demonftrated that fuch a lofsw as a natural confequence which mult happen to all who Ihould circumnavigate theglobe, failing from eaft to weft.

XXI. At the clofe of three years, fays Angera f, of two hundred and thirty-fevenperfons, of whom the equipment confided at its outfit, and of the five veflfels of whichf he fquadron confifted, but eighteen men and but one vefiel, in a fhattered and leakycondition, returned to Seville , the place from which they failed ; of thefe eighteenwas Pigafetta . Every one on board the remaining fhip made a point of relating all thathad occurred, and this the more from the difpofition of the court of Spain to publifh

account of a voyage fo truly important; for before thefe no one had circumna-Vl gated the globe. Pietro Martyr IP Angera, whom we have recently quoted, antember of the council for India affairs, and who had already written an account ofthe Voyage of Colon J, was entrufted to colled! all that could be obtained from the"retched remains of the crews. Into his hands probably will have.-been delivered alljournals which had been preferved on board the vefiel that returned; but it feems,'gafetta retained that which he had kept, for he himfelf informs us that he went toValladolid, to prefent himfelf before the Emperor §; and prefumptively, on this oc-cafion, he tendered him a copy of his journal written by himfelf, referving the originaln °tes. To the orders given by the Emperor for D’Angera to write the hiftory ofthis expedition, were added the requeft of Pope Adrian VI . with whom D’AngeraWas on terms of clofe intimacy at the time, he having filled the ftation at court of pre-ceptor to Charles V. D’Angera therefore wrote this hiftory, and himfelf tells us, thatbe fent his manufeript to Rome to the Pope , who intended to have it printed in the^oft beautiful ftyle; but this event did not take place until after his death jj. Ra-adds *[[, that this manufeript was either confumedby fire, or perifhed on occafion° *be pillage of Rome in 1527.

XXII. The fame Ramufio, one of the earlieft and moft learned compilers ofVo yages, adds, on this occafion, that the memory of an enterprize fo great wouldpearly have been entirely loft, “ had not a fkilful Vicentine gentleman, M. Antonioil gafetta, given a curious and minute account of it:” of this, as we flaall prefently

‘Eplft. 770 . . f Eplft. 767.

I etri Maityris ob Angleria. De rebus Oceania et orbe novo.arc a, ten dome da Seviglia andat a Valladolit, eve aprefentai a la facra majcfla de D. Carlo, non oro tiede t* 1 // * 7 ° C °^ e ^ 11 e JH cre a JJ a ' 1 apreciall da un fund Signore. Fra le altre cofe li dclti uno libro feripto de mia mano,Vail* a v i°^ e ^ a d[f atc: de giorno in giorno net viaggio nojlro, pag.,230. On leaving Sevilla I proceeded top rt ? 0 1 "here I prefented to His Sacred Majefty Don Carlos, not indeed gold, or filver, but thingsprizin' 18 1-11 *^ e C ^ eS bich a b'fior. Among others, I gave to him a book written by myfelf, com-" t P 5journal of all that occurred in courfe of our voyage,kp'ft. 7Q7. ;

11 Ihfcoi fo fopra il Viaggio fatto dagli Spagnuoli intorno il mondo, tom. i. p. 34^-

Q Q 2

fee,