Cabot's Discovery of North America. By E E. Weans. (John
Macqueen.)—The writer of this eminently seasonable volume gives in his preface very full references to the books and pam- phlets he has consulted during the process of preparation. The fault of the work, indeed, is that it is overlaid with quotations. One never seems to get at Mr. Weare and his own opinions for petitions to King Henry VII., and Papal Bulls, and discoveries in the Spanish archives, and quotations from such authorities as Mr. Henry Harrisse. Yet after all his undoubtedly painstaking, investigations the utmost that Mr. Weare can say is that "after the lapse of centuries, in the year 1897, the quater-centenary of John Cabot's great achievement, the men of England on the one side of the Atlantic will join with their kith and kin on the other to celebrate duly this important historical episode. And, as a matter of yet greater satisfaction, we must recognise the fact that by almost unanimous consent the name of John Cabot will for evermore be allowed a niche in a prominent position in the Temple of Fame." Readers, however, who are not averse to historical minutim, and are not likely to be crushed beneath the weight of allusions, as Tarpeia was crushed beneath the weight of shields, will follow closely, and be deeply interested in Mr. Weare's unquestionably painstaking investigations,—such, for example, as those made with a view to settling the vexed question whether Sebastian Cabot was with his father in the celebrated expedition of 1497.
Previous page
