East India Company's Records. Vol. I., 1602 - 1613. With Introduction by
Frederic Charles Danvers. (Sampson Low, Marston, and Co.)—The early days of the East India Company were indeed golden. The profits of the first two voyages very nearly equalled the whole capital subscribed ; in the third they more than doubled it-231 per cent. But there were drawbacks. In the first voyage there were five vessels with a total tonnage of one thousand five hundred and thirty tons, and these lost one hundred and five men in the seven months which the voyage from England to Saldanha occupied. We are not told the number of the crews and supernumeraries, but it could hardly have been more, we should think, than six hundred. Mr. Danvers's introduction is all that could be wished. Some readers will probably be satisfied with it, and it certainly gives the cream of the volume. Nevertheless, a more diligent perusal will not be without its reward. The correspondence, for instance, which gives in detail the story of the falling out of Sir Henry Middleton and the authorities at Mocha is well worth reading. Sir Henry held his own in a way that makes one proud of him. The last two letters are from William Adams, whose name is connected with Japan. — Together with this may be mentioned Letters from J. Eliot and Others to the New England Company, 1657-1712 (Spottiswoode and Co.)
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