hundred large vessels. The East India Company, too, which had received its first patent from Queen Elizabeth, in 1600, had now become an exceedingly powerful and influential corporation, and, with its capital of five hundred thousand pounds sterling, maintained a fleet of fine ships, all of which were well armed and many of great size, one in particular having a capacity of eleven hundred tons.

Inclined to peace as he was by nature, James had the good sense to see that he could only secure it by being prepared for war, and that a Navy was all important to the safety of England; and, as he was possessed of an inquiring mind which led him to pursue with avidity scientific investigation, he perceived, further, that the plans for the construction of vessels of war submitted to him by Phineas Pett, "gentleman, and some time Master of Arts at Emanuel College, Cambridge," were far in advance of those of the shipwrights of his kingdom. He therefore intrusted to him the building of "the greatest and goodliest vessel," according to Stone, "that had yet been builded in England." She was called the Prince Royal, and Charnock speaks of her as "the parent of the identical class of shipping which continued in use up to his day" (1802). “Were the absurd profusion of ornament", he goes on to remark," removed, the contour or general appearance of the ships would not so materially differ from the modern vessels of the same size, as to render it an uncommon sight, or a ship that a mariner would hesitate to put to sea in."

Besides the Royal Prince, Pett built a number of smaller vessels, by order of the king, who, during his reign, "augmented the Royal Navy one fourth part." Charles the First also added to it several fine ships, of which "the most goodly by far" was The Sovereign of the Seas, thus described by Thomas Heywood, in his tract entitled-A true Description of his Majesty's royal ship, built this year, 1637, at Woolwich, in Kent, to the Great Glory of the English nation, and not to be paralleled in the whole Christian world:

Upon the beak head sitteth royall King Edgar on horseback, trampling upon seven Kings; now what he was, and who they were, I shall briefly relate unto you, rendering withall a full satisfactory reason to any impartiall reader why they are there, and in that manner placed.

Upon the stemine head there is a Cupid, or a child resembling him, bestriding and bridling a lyon, which importeth that sufferance may curbe insolence, and innocence restraine violence, which alludeth to the great mercy of the King, whose type is a proper embleme of that

great majesty, whose mercy is above all his workes. On the bulkhead right forward stand six severall statues in sundry postures, their figures representing Consilium, that is Counsell; Cura, that is Care; Conamen, that is Industry; and unanimous endeavors in one compartement; Counsell holding in her hand a closed or folded scrole; Care a sea compasse, Conamen, or Industry, a luit stock fired. Upon the other, to correspond with the former; Vis, which implyeth Force, or Strength, handing a sword; Virtus, or virtue, a sphericalle globe; and Victoria, or Victory, a wreath of lawrell. The moral is, that in all high enterprizes there ought to be first, Counsell to undertake, then Care to manage, and Industry to performe: and, in the next place, where there is ability and strength to oppose, and vertue to direct, Victory consequently is alwayes at hand ready to crowne the undertaking. Upon the hances of the waste are foure figures, with their several properties; Jupiter riding upon his eagle, with his trisulk, from which hee darteth thunder, in his hand; Mars, with his sword and target, a fox being his embleme; Neptune, with his sea horse, dolphin, and trident; and, lastly, Eolus upon a camelion, a beast that liveth onely by the ayre, with the foure windes his ministers or agents; the East called Eurus, Subsolanus, and Apliotes; the North winde, Septemtrio, Aquilo, or Boreas; the West, Zephyrus, Favorinus, Lybs and Africus; the South, Auster, or Notus. I come now to the sterne, where you may perceive upon the upright of the upper counter standeth Victory, in the middle of a frontispiece, with this general motto, Validis incumbite remis. It is so plaine, that I shall not need to give it any English interpretation. Her wings are equally display'd; on one arme she weareth a crowne, on the other a laurell, which imply Riches and Honour; in her two hands she holdeth two mottoes, her right hand which pointeth to Jason, beares this inscription, Nava; which word howsoever by some, and those not the least opinionated of themselves, mistaken, was absolutely extermin'd and excommunicated from a grammatical construction, nay, jurisdiction, for they would not allow it to be verbe or adverbe, substantive nor adjective; and for this, I have not only behind my back bin challenged, but even viva voce taxed as one that had writ at randum, and that which I understood not. But to give the world a plenary satisfaction, and that it was rather their criticisme than my ignorance, I entreate the reader but to examine Rider's last edition of his dictionary, corrected and greatly augmented by Mr. Francis Holyoke, and he shall there read, navo, navas ; and therefore consequently nava in the imperative mood siguifies a

command to imploy all one's power to act, to ayde, to helpe, to endeavor with all diligence and industry, and therefore not unproperly may Victory point to Jason, being figured with his oare in his hand, as being the prime Argonaut, and say, nava, or more plainely, operam nava; for in those emblematical mottoes there is alwayes a part understood. Shee pointeth to Hercules on the sinister side, with his club in his hand, with this motto, Clava, as if she would say, O Hercules, be thou as valiant with club upon the land as Jason is industrious with his oare upon the water. Hercules againe pointing to Eolus, the god of windes, saith, Flato, who answereth him againe, Flo. Jason pointing to Neptune, the god of the seas, riding upon a sea-horse, saith, Faveto, to whom Neptune answereth No. These words Flo and No were also much excepted at, as if there had been no such Latine words, till some examining their grammar rules, found out Flo, Flas, Flari, proper to Eolus, and No, Nas, Nari, to Neptune,

etc.

In the lower counter of the sterne, on either side of the helme, is this inscription:

Qui mare, qui fluctus, ventos navesque gubernat,

Sospitet hanc arcam Carole magne tuam.

Thus Englisht:

He who seas, windes, and navies doth protect,

Great Charles, thy great ship in her course direct.

There are other things in this vessel worthye remarke, at least, if not admiration; namely, that one tree or oake made foure of the principall beams of this great ship, which was forty foure foote of strong and serviceable timber in length, three foote diameter at the top, and ten foote diameter at the stubbe or bottome. Another as worthy of especiall observation is, that one peece of timber, which made the kelson, was so great and weighty, that twenty-eight oxen and foure horses with much difficulty drew it from the place where it grew, and from whence it was cut, downe unto the water side.

There is one thing above all these for the world to take especiall notice of, that shee is besides tunnage just so many tuns in burden as their have beene yeares since our blessed Saviour's incarnation, namely, 1637, and not one under or over. A most happy omen, which though it was not the first projected or intended, is now by true computation found so to happen. It would bee too tedious to insist upon every ornament belonging to this incomparable vessel, yet thus much

concerning her outward appearance. She hath two gallaries of a side, and all parts of the ship are carved also with trophies of artillery, and types of armour, as well belonging to land as sea, with symboles, emblemes, and impresses, appertaining to the art of navigation; as also, their two sacred Majesties' badges, of honour, armes, eschutcheons, etc, with severall angels holding their letters in compartements; all which workes are gilded quite over, and no other colour but gold and blacke to be seene about her; and thus much, in a succinct way, I have delivered unto you concerning her inward and outward decorements. I come now to describe her in her exact dimensions.

Her length by the keele is one hundred and twenty eight foote, or there-about, within some few inches. Her mayne breadth or widenesse from side to side forty eight foote. Her utmost length from the fore end of the sterne, a prora ad puppim, two hundred and thirty two foote. She is in height, from the bottome of her keele to the top of her lanthorne seventy-six foote. She beareth fire lanthornes, the biggest of which will hold ten persons to stand upright, and without shouldring or pressing one the other.

She hath three flush deckes and a fore-castle, an halfe deck, a quarter decke, and a round house. Her lower tyre hath thirty ports, which are to be furnished with demi-cannon and whole cannon throughout, being able to beare them. Her middle tyre hath also thirty ports. for demi-culverin, and whole culverin. Her third tyre hath twentie sixe ports for other ordnance. Her forecastle hath twelve ports, and her halfe decke hath fourteene ports. She hath thirteene or fourteene ports more within board for murdering peeces, besides a great many loope holes out of the cabins for musket shot. She carrieth moreover ten peeces of chase ordnance in her right forward, and ten right aff, that is, according to land service, in the front and reare. She carrieth eleven anchors, one of them weighing foure thousand foure hundred, etc, and according to these are her cables, mastes, sayles, cordage, which, considered together, seeing Majesty is at this infinite charge, both for the honour of this nation and the security of his Kingdome, it should bee a great spur and encouragement to all his faithful and loving subjects to bee liberall and willing contributaries towards the ship money.

I come now to give you a particular denomination of the prime workemen imployed in this inimitable fabricke; as first, captayne Phineas Pett, overseer of the worke, and one of the principal officers of his Majestie's navy, whose ancestors, as father, grandfather, and great great grandfather, for the space of two hundred yeares and up

wardes, have continued in the same name officers and architectures in the royall navy, of whose knowledge, experience, and judgement, I

cannot render a merited character.

The maister builder is young Mr. Peter Pett, the most ingenious sonne of so much improved a father, who, before he was full five and twenty years of age, made the model, and since hath perfected the worke which hath won not only the approbation but admiration of all men, of whom I may truly say as Horace did of Argus, that famous ship-master, who built the great Argo, in which the Grecian princesse rowed through the Hellespont, to fetch the golden fleece from Colchos:

Ad charum tritonia devolat Argum
Maliri hanc puppim imbet.

That is, Pallas herselfe flew into his bosome, and not only injoyn'd him to the undertaking, but inspired him in the managing of so exquisite and absolute an architecture.

Let me not here forget a prime officer, master Francis Skelton, clerke of the checke, whose industry and care in looking to the workmen imploy'd in this structure, hath beene a great furtherance to expedite the businesse.

The master carvers are John and Mathias Christmas, the sonnes of that excellent workeman, master Girard Christmas, some two yeares since deceased, who, as they succeed him in his place, so they have striv'd to exceed him in his art, the worke better commending them than my pen is any way able, and I make no question, but all true artists can, by the view of the worke, give a present nomination of the workemen.

The master painters, master joyner, master calker, master smith, &c., all of them in their severall faculties being knowne to bee the prime workemen of the kingdom, more selectedly imploy'd in this service."

Of the manner of collecting and transporting the timber necessary for the building of this "prodigious great ship," we are informed. by Mr. Pett himself in his diary.

"I, This day," (May 14th, 1635), he writes, "took leave of his Majesty at Greenwich, with his command to hasten into the north to provide and prepare the frame timber, plank and treenels, for the new ship to be built at Woolwich. I left my sons to see the moulds and other necessaries, shipped in a Newcastle ship, hired on purpose to transport our provisions and workmen to Newcastle. Attending the bishop of Durham, with my commissions and instructions, whom I