The women wear great plates ofgold covering their bodies, and chains of great pearls in the manner ofcurvettes; and the men wear manilions or bracelets on each arm and eachleg, some of gold and some of silver.""Whence come they, these gauds?""There are great rivers where one may find pieces of gold as big as thefist; and there are great rocks of crystal, sufficient to load many ships."This was all which was said on that day, but never was explorer moreeager than Gilbert. He wrote a "Discourse of a Discoverie for a NewPassage to Cathaia and the East Indies"--published without his knowledgeby George Gascoigne. In 1578 he had from Queen Elizabeth a patent ofexploration, allowing him to take possession of any uncolonized lands inNorth America, paying for these a fifth of all gold and silver found. Thenext year he sailed with Raleigh for Newfoundland, but one vessel was lostand the others returned to England. In 1583, he sailed again, taking withhim the narrative of Ingram, which he reprinted. He also took with him alearned Hungarian from Buda, named Parmenius, who went for the expresspurpose of singing the praise of Norumbega in Latin verse, but was drownedin Sir Humphrey's great flag-ship, the _Delight_. This wreck tookplace near Sable Island, and as most of the supplies for the expeditionwent down in the flag-ship, the men in the remaining vessels grew soimpatient as to compel a return.
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