Eastwards or Westwards and according to discretion set your Flower de luce as may best fitte the way of your course And therefore if it be most South or North let the longer sides of your Table stand in steade of those partes if it be East or West then name the sides accordingly For example if it be Eastwards Northerly set downe a pricke betokening your Radicall place vpon the West end of the South side if it be any other way set downe your pricke as may be answerable thereunto and placing your Ruler square vpon equal diuisions in the sides East West with the edge thereof touching the said Pricke drawe a line representing the Parallele of the Ships Radicall place and hard by the point or pricke of your Radicall place note the Latitude there of in degrees and minutes Then set the Center corner of your Quadrant vnto the Radicall point eleuating the limbe of the Quadrant aboue the Parallele according to the quantitie of that Angle whereon the Ship made her first way and reckoning in the edge of the Quadrant the leagues of the Ships way at the ende thereof make a pricke as close vnto the edge as may be Lastly fastening your Ruler directly vpon the pricke and square with the sides of East and West drawe a line which shal serue for the Parallele that the Ship at that instant is in And this order of working must from time to time be iterated till at length opportunitie be offered by your Instruments Mathematicall to make an obseruation of Latitude But if it so fall out that the Shippes way doe conteyne moe leagues then there are diuisions in the side of the Quadrant then applying either side of the Ruler close vnto the edge of the Quadrant by that meanes you may pricke downe the number Hauing vpon shift of windes as it happeneth made diuerse Trauerses if you desire to knowe howe the place your Ship is in beareth from your Radicall place which is called the Angle of position and likewise the distance from it as also the Latitude together with the Difference of Longitude when you haue made as yet no obseruation doe after this sort Set the one end of your Ruler where the numbers doe beginne to the Radicall point and directing the other end towards the pricke of your Ships last place cause the edge to lie iust euen vpon it Then reckon howe many diuisions you do finde betweene the two points and so many leagues distance there is If it fall not full vpon a diuision but vpō one of those pricks betweene they signifie English miles Looke howe many diuisions are conteyned betweene the two Paralleles the one of the ships Radicall place and the other of her last place euery twentie of those doe make a degree euery seuerall diuision 3. minutes and euery pricke one minute Moreouer as occasion serueth you may accompt 4. or 5. diuisions for a league or more or lesse yea euery pricke for a league if you finde it requisite as experience in diuers shiftes of windes will shewe you to be most conuenient To knowe howe much the Ships last place doeth differ from his Radicall place in Longitude also the Angle of Position SEt the Ruler square North and South so that the Radicall place may touche the side thereof marking what diuisions the Ruler doeth cut in the North and Southsides Againe set the Ruler in like maner square touching the point of the Ships last place the number of partes conteyned betweene those two places of the Ruler in either of the two sides North or South is the difference of Longitude If the ships last place from the Radicall be Easterly the Longitude is so much encreased if Westerly it is lessened Alwayes haue you respect to the Meridian from whence Longitudes doe beginne to be reckoned that you may expresse the number answerable thereunto Moreouer place your Ruler where the numbers begin at the Radicall point and the side thereof vpon the point of the Ships last place Then apply the Center corner of the Quadrant vnto the Radicall point the Ruler still keeping his place in such sort that the side of the Quadrant doe lie euen with the Ruler Looke howe much of the eleuated limbe aboue the Parallele the Parallele it selfe cutteth off that is the Angle of Position vpon which the last place of the Ship doeth beare from the Radicall places But whenso euer you haue opportunitie to obserue the Latitude drawe your Parallele vpon the Trauerse boorde according thereunto and where the line of the Ships course doeth crosse the Parallele you must conclude that to be the place which your ship was in at the time of your obseruation correcting by that meanes the other Parallele and distāce taken by the dead reckoning so farre forth as it doth differ from this For of those three helpes before specified the Latitude is only certaine The Angle of the Ships way is reasonable good but the dead reckoning is an vncertaine ghesse And if you please to call it a probable coniecture you shal grace it with the vttermost notwithstanding it is admitted into Art for want of better helpes In considering the Angle of the Ships way by all meanes you must haue carefull regard both vnto the Set and the Variation of your Compasse Otherwise assure your selfe you shall make but wide reckonings I haue knowen a very expert Nauigator that making his reckoning without regard of the Variation which for all that he obserued though he did not reckon by it ouershot the way of his Ship 70. leagues in a voyage not of so farre distance as hence to Cape Verde Whereas casting ouer his reckoning with due respect of his Variation he made a perfect good accompt of of the very same voyage Hauing found the place of your Ship in the Trauerse-boorde howe to pricke it in your Carde FOr the conclusions to be performed vpon your Carde it is requisite that you haue a Ruler of some fine wood made very thinne of an inche a halfe broad and of sufficient length also a Quadrant like vnto the former sauing that his two sides must haue their diuisions agreeable to the Scale of leagues expressed in your Carde and finally 2. paire of Compasses Being furnished with these seeke out your Radicall place from whence you did proceede Apply the Cēter-corner of your Quadrant vnto it his limbe respecting the way answerable to the Angle of position in your Trauerse-boorde Set one foote of your Compasse vpon any Parallele of conuenient distance from it on which side it skilleth not reaching the other precisely vnto it in the nearest distance Then remoue one foote vpon that Parallele the other keeping his scantling vntill the diuision of the Angle of Position in the limbe the point of the other foote doe meete exactly together the Center-corner stil abiding in his place but mouing the limbe to or fro and likewise the Compas as before I specified til they meete Last of
marine trades should be ayding vnto those Faculties whereby the greatest part of their well gotten goodes doeth accrewe vnto them And especially that honorable Citie which is not onely made riche but by the meanes of Nauigation is growē famous also throughout the whole World As therefore I vnfainedly acknowledge that in diuers good respectes no one Citie of the whole Earth is comparable vnto it so doe I heartely wish an increase in all commendable actions among which this was none of the least and not a decrease The rather sith the augmentour of the publique benefite in that behalfe shall thereby highly commend his owne true loue towards his Citie and Countrey vnto all Posteritie and become more renowmed by such actions then by any painted glorious Tombe or the like kinde of monuments The onely good methode of teaching and learning Cosmography after a fewe principles of Geometry and Arithmetike first knowen is to beginne with the Celestiall Globe and to be perfect therein before you deale with the Terrestriall for this dependeth on that and the former being once reasonably vnderstoode the other is not two dayes worke After you haue thus receaued a sufficient impression of the Globe wherevnto all true Mappes and Cardes haue a necessarie reference then will the consideration of them become exceeding pleasant and easie vnto you but neuer before This I mention because I haue heard ere nowe of certaine Teachers that vndertaking men of good habilitie to be instructed by them haue beene a great while about a little spending the time about diuerse pretie particular toyes which full easely would haue beene knowen of themselues without any teaching if they had taken the course that I speake off But such imitate ill disposed Surgeons which loue to protract a cure of purpose to sucke the more gaine therefrom Mappes and Cardes of the Globe of the Earth are of three sortes most vsuall distinguished by their seuerall kindes of Meridians and Paralleles The first hath his Meridians and Paralleles described by Circular lines And among those I take that manner of Proiection which Rumoldus Mercator hath vsed proposed long before by Orontius in his Frenche Cosmography as I haue heard to be of all other the very best hauing the Meridians and Paralleles drawen according to the Mater of Gemma Frisius generall Astrolabe The reason that I so greatly like of this is for that the proiection is very Regular and therein the natiue Geographicall description may neerest of all others obteyne their due situation An other sort there is wherein the Globe of the Earth is diuided in two Hemispheres the Center in both of them being one of the Poles and the Circumference the Equator In this the Meridians are streight lines drawen from the Poles vnto the Equator and the Paralleles are Circles These Paralleles may be described after two wayes The one enlarging the landes described towardes the Equator the other towardes the Poles The former is thus delineated Set the one end of a Ruler vpon the ende of one of the Diameters or Meridians aforesaide and the other part of the Ruler 90. degrees from that And keeping the former ende fixed vpon his place remooue the other to euery one or fifth or tenth degree of the next Quadrant till your Ruler passing through the Pole becommeth all one with the same Diameter noting continually in the Semidiameter of 90. degrees distance whence you first beganne to moue your Ruler where it cutteth the saide Semidiameter Then placing one foote of the Compasse vpon the Center or Pole the other vpon any of those diuisions of the Semidiameter describe a Circle which shall be a Parallele answerable to that diuision And so may you drawe as many or fewe as you thinke conuenient The other is thus described Beginne at the ende of any Semidiameter where it toucheth the Equator and numbring still equall degrees on eache side thereof marke what intersections your Ruler applyed vnto them maketh in that Semidiameter Then may you drawe the Paralleles here also euen as before The former of these two is represented vnto you by the figure A. the later by the figure B. This kinde of Proiection serueth most aptly to expresse in a Carde the Spirall course of a Ship which some terme Paradoxall But whether of these names being both as yet strangers shall best deserue to bee freedenized I leaue to other mens iudgements Onely I say Paradoxall is beside the purpose and astonisheth with an emptie sound but Spirall apperteineth directly to the matter and declareth the true essence of the thing signified The third sort of Cardes haue both their Meridians and Paralleles of streight lines equidistant and these onely are in ordinarie vse with Saylers Of these I neede not write any thing they are so commonly knowen and their imperfections in long voyages so manifest though in short they may well serue the turnes And yet I cannot here conceale one great secrete concerning these Cardes namely that there is a certaine draught of them very Artificiall and regular which being well vnderstoode redresseth the errours of the other and as farre as I canne discerne will so satisfie the Nauigators expectation as no Carde hitherto inuented was euer comparable vnto it neither as I thinke any that shalbe hereafter wil in al respects surpasse it Although for the Geographicall descriptions they may and must alter from time to time as newer discoueries by light of trueth shall make them better knowen vnto vs. This manner of Carde hath beene publiquely extant in print these thirtie yeeres at least but a cloude as it were and thicke myste of ignorance doth keepe it hitherto concealed And so much the more because some who were reckoned for men of good knowledge haue by glauncing speaches but neuer by any one reason of moment gone about what they coulde to disgrace it The Carde which I meane is the same that was set foorth by the excellent Cosmograpber Gerardus Mercator in shewe resembling ordinarie Sea Cardes saue that the degrees of the Meridians in it doe proportionally encrease from the Equator toward eache Pole vpon good reason and firme Demonstration thereby shewing the true Position of any one place in respect of an other which the vsuall Cardes in a farre distance cannot doe being yet the very principall point that the Nauigator desireth For the better vnderstanding and making of Sea Cardes of that sort I haue here immediatly ensewing set downe a Demonstration which I obteined of a friende of mine of like profession vnto my selfe euidently shewing the proportionall encreasing of those degrees wherein consisteth the excellencie of that Carde First determine the degree of the Equator in respect whereof you woulde frame the Meridian of your Carde for example the little line a. Next describe the Quadrant of a Circle so large that it may perfectly and distinctly receaue euery of the vsuall 90. degrees into which it must be diuided Then from the Centre A. towarde B. take in the Semidiameter
A B. from whence the degrees of the Quadrant beginne a line precisely equall vnto a namely D F. And from the points D and F. to the Semidiameter A C. raise two Paralleles D E. and F G. Againe from F. toward B. at a distance conuenient take the second line K H. equall vnto a. And from the points H K. rayse other Paralleles H I. and K L. equidistant to the former Afterwards applying the one ende of your Ruler to the Center A. and the other to euery the degrees of the Quadrant B C. drawe lines athwart betweene the Paralleles aforesaid so shall all the lines thus drawen cōteyned betweene the Paralleles be the degrees of the Meridian sought for taking their several Denominations of their correspondent degrees in the Quadrant as by the figure here ensuing is manifest Of what sort soeuer your Cardes be you must alwayes remember that the knowledge of the vse of the Globe must be a moderator vnto them and that thereby you shall still become master ouer your Card to espie and amend his faults whereas otherwise you shall be mastered by your Cards blindly embracing their errors By meanes hereof it was that the famous Nauigators of the World performed their discoueries renowmed voyages hauing no maner of Cardes to sayle by And an easie matter it is for a man that already hath ordinary skill and practise in sayling by vsuall Cardes to learne in one fourthnight so much of the vse of the Globe that vpon his obseruations he may either keepe or change his Points for his best aduantage And of any places whose Longitudes or Latitudes are knowen may tell without any Carde vpon what point they lie and howe farre they are distant from you Also vpon what Point they lie each from other the distance betweene them with diuerse other things that are necessarie and helde for rareties in that facultie For in very many of them Enuie doth so reigne that almost euery one keepeth his owne knowledge to himselfe without imparting it vnto others whereas they should all profite a great deale more if they would communicate their knowledges one with an other for the publique benefite But in so much as eache one affecteth to be singular disdayning the knowledge of others they haue farre lesse knowledge amōg them all then otherwise they might haue for of necessitie many mens practises must cōcurre to make experimental knowledge exact It were greatly to be wished that many of them might be founde so well minded towardes their owne trade as was that notable Pilot Steuen Burrowes who for his skill industrie and performance may iustly be reckoned among the chiefe of our Nation and of the world also if we respect that only in stead of al which he worthily atchieued in the first Moscouian discouerie by the Scythian Sea who if he had bin employed one Sommer more againe towardes the Riuer of Obbe I doubt not but proceeding with his former successe he would haue performed more in that Sommer for trial of a Passage any or none that way vnto Catthay then for the space of these 40. yeeres all Christendome hath done besides not hauing asitseemeth added vnto his 40. leagues of good discouerie euer since The good mind he bare towards his profession he testified herein that by his very earnest meanes he procured that learned and easie Treatise of Martine Curteise concerning the Arte of Nauigation to be translated into our English tongue The which doubtles hath giuen great light vnto all of skil in that faculty that euer were since of our Nation And is more almost then all our Nauigators haue holpen the Arte of Nauigation withall besides A great helpe also would it be for the furtherance of skill if those that are practisers in that Arte and such as are Students of the Mathematikes might often conferre together For except there be a vniting of knowledge with practise there can be nothing excellent Idle knowledge without practise ignorant practise without knowledge serue vnto small purpose But certaine it is that all the good partes which may be wished for or aymed at shall neuer absolutely concurre in one man And therefore if there be but some conuenient mixture of them in any that party is to be esteemed For although many things appertayning to Nauigatiō may be learned taught by rules of Arte yet some necessarie points without which all the rest is nothing are beyond the compasse of Arte As for a man to be of a ready and valiant mind to handle and order those things that are within the reache of his knowledge with dexteritie vpon euery present occasion These and such like are iustly termed the giftes of God For although all things tearmed by Arte are the giftes of God sith euen Arte it selfe is giuen by God who is the Authour and fountaine of all knowledge yet these are tearmed his giftes more peculiarly because the other are giuen by meanes and these without meanes Suppose that a man haue all the knowledge that may be wished for be notwithstanding faint hearted his wits as they say to seeke whē he hath most neede of them his knowledge will ayde him very little Againe if he be of neuer so bolda courage want discretion knowledge iudgement he is very vnfit for the gouernement of a Ship But if such a one be also as most cōmonly they are wilfull taking it for a glorie to be foolehardie this is as great a mischiefe as all other dangers of the Sea if they were all set together Where therefore boldnes of courage directed moderated by discretion iudgement also a body enhabled to brooke the Seas are matched with a willing mind vnto Marine affaires endued with the feare of God wheresoeuer I say these speciall giftes of God are to be found there the ornaments of Arte as necessary additaments will alwayes most effectually take place are most easily attained vnto But where those former at the least in some comperent measure are not al the rest is vanitie It is euen a most irkesome and wofull sight to behold a company of courageous yong Gentlemen to be led on blindfolded as it were in marine actions by such as haue no feare of God before their eyes and many times by those that are very ignorant of almost any thing that good is if any thing might be accompted good where the feare of God is not but onely can tell of their owne experience howe they haue dissimboched from Terra Stolida making their voyage toward the Isle of Pickery gracing themselues as they suppose with swearing and staring and wishly lookes A few such monsters hauing the chiefe gouernement in Ships and voyages are a great deale more dangerous then all the monsters in the Sea And for euery one that is bereft of life by these a hundred at the least are destroyed by the other The serious consideration of these things haue occasioned me of a friendly mind and entire good will wherein toward your profession I wil giue place vnto no man liuing to admonish you of these points which I haue thought necessary Beseeching Almighty God who is the Lord both of Sea dry Land by his holy Spirit of true wisedome to gouerne direct you in all your actions that employing your diligent endeuour in your Arte in his feare and calling vpon him in the time of trouble he may heare and deliuer you from all your distresses And that being deliuered you may accordingly glorifie him yeelding praise and thankes for his mercies before the sonnes of men Let Staffe Carde Compasse Ship and Skill Depend vpon Gods blessed will * * * Cap. 1. Cap. ◠Cap. 3. Cap. 4. Cap. 5. Cap. 6. Cap. 7. Cap. 8. Cap. 1. Cap. 2. Cap. 3. Cap. 4. Cap. 5. Cap. 6. Cap. 7. Cap. 8. Cap. 9. Cap. 10. Cap. 11. Cap. 12. Cap. 13. Cap. 14. Cap. 15. Cap. 16. Cap. 17. Cap. 1. Cap. 2 Cap. 3. Cap. 4. Cap. 5. Cap. 6. Cap. 7.
of Miaco in Iapan I questioned with them concerning their shipping and maner of sayling They described all things farre different from ours and shewed that in steade of our Compas they vse a Magneticall Needle of sixe ynches long and longer vpon a pinne in a dish of white China earth filled with water In the bottome whereof they haue two crosse lines for the foure principall windes the rest of the diuisions being reserued to the skill of their Pilots Vpon which report of theirs I made present triall howe a Magneticall Needle would stand in water and found it to proue excellently well not doubting but that many conclusions of importance in Marine affaires will thereby more readily be performed I finde that as the Portugals traueiled in their very first discoueries for the East Indies they got a Pilote of Melinde that brought them from thence in 33. dayes within the sight of Calecute and had euen then in vse the Compas the Carde and the sownding line Ludouicus Vartomannus testifieth that in his voyage from Bornco vnto Giaua the Pilots of those Countreys had the vse of both Compas and Carde and had skill to take direction from the South Pole as ours doe from the North euen in those dayes when it was a very daintie matter for any of our Pilots to haue performed the like being as then possessed with an opinion that the Compas would turne round assoone as euer they came vnder the Equator as some doe yet surmise it would doe vnder the Pole or neere the fantasticall Rocke of the purest Magnes Philander in his annotations vpon Vitruuius sheweth that some men deemed it not a newe but an olde inuention and tooke it to be that Nauticall instrument which is called by Plautus in Trinummo and Mercatore by the name of Vorsoria But this Adrianus Turnebus in no case will allowe affirming it rather to bee a kinde of tackle wherewith they turned their Sayle If of olde time they had not this Instrument it seemeth impossible that euer they could haue performed such voyages as they did And if euer they had it then were it as strange that all memorie thereof should be vtterly suppressed and that Ptolomey had not found some mention thereof made in Marinus Tyrius or other Cosmographers whose workes were extant in his time Experience testifieth that this began to be in common vse about the time that Printing was inuented and the making of Gunnes Both which although they are of very excellent vse and great wonderments to the world yet doeth this farre excell and exceede For all things performed by them are marshalled within the limittes and bounds of humane reason and therefore their causes being knowen their wonder ceaseth But this being incomprehensible vnto humane reason carieth it away captiue vnto the astonishment thereof and leadeth it to the admiration of him whose wisedome comprehendeth all things and distributeth knowledge and vnderstanding among men according to such measure times and meanes as seemeth best vnto himselfe opening the eyes of the blind and giuing vnderstanding to the simple destroying the wisedome of the wise and making the vnderstanding of the prudent for to hide it selfe Considering the fowle abuses and errors that dayly are committed in the making and framing of this worthie Instrument I haue thought good heere briefely to note the faults and therewithall to shew the way how they may bee amended Let no man mistake me I speake not saue onely of ordinarie Compasses being the most that euer I sawe such as are in common vse and are sale-ware for Masters and Pilots What some discreete skilfull men carefully doe prouide for themselues I speake not of First therefore for the most part the Carde of the Flie is negligently diuided not only in the Compas which they ordinarily saile by hauing the 32. common partes but as great negligence may be found in the double Flie for their Compasse of Variation where the vttermost Ring which they make moueable about the ordinary Flie is diuided into degrees and there a degree or two oddes breaketh no square with them The wyers of the Flie are as rudely set together hauing their ends not sitted euen and close as were meete but starting a side eache from other not somuch as filed smoothe but rough euen as they were broken whereby they are also disabled from taking so strong a touch as they would if they were made smoothe For remedie hereof it were good to drawe the ouale lines vpon the Carde of the Flie in such sort that the endes being euen with the circumference of the Flie both the middles and the endes may haue an equall distance from the Center Then according to those lines bow and cut the wyers fitting their endes smoothe and so closely ioyning them that they may both seeme to be but one After that holding them together dippe the endes in a little moulten Tinne or if at the first they be welded together it is the better and with the edge of a dull knife scrape off the Tinne againe asmuch as you can come by which will be all in a maner sauing onely a very little that keepeth the endes together and that will hold them so fast that you may conueniently handle them at your pleasure and fasten them on their place according to your desire But before they be set on let them be touched as abouesaid and being set on their touchings at the ends must be refreshed Thus shall your Flie stand and turne equally vpon his pinne if not in stead of the ordinary dawhing with waxe two or three drops at the most will counterpoyse any swaruing and many times you shall not neede any at all which is most commendable The Capitall is commonly wide from the Center of the Flie and likewise the pinne whereon the Flie standeth from the Center in the bottome of the Boxe both grosse and absurd faultes and yet easie to bee auoyded The glasse that couereth the Boxe is commonly crackeled and snarled by the sides and diuerse times also too little These faults they couer with their thicke border of Rosen but better were it to amend them with a little heede taking The Glasse ought therefore to be somewhat thinne smoothe and of euen thickenesse hauing the edges smoothed on a grinding stone or by some other meanes and made very fitte to the Boxe So shall you neede but little quantitie of Simmond onely to keepe out the ayre which is the better both for the clearer view of the Flie and that your Boxe may hang the steaddier and that will it not doe if your Glasse be much thicker on the one side then on the other or els being too little bee thrust neerer the one side then the other and the voide place filled vp with Rosen according to ordinary custome The Boxe is hanged in two Circles the one within the other hauing the pinnes that they turne on a quarter of a Circle in the one distant from the other But these Circles
are commonly so vnhandsomely made and ill fauouredly hanged vpon their pinnes that you should offer a Tincker discredit to compare his worke with this Adde hereunto the riuetting of the Circles with yron and hanging the bigger of them vpon yron nayles which although they be but little yet you must esteeme a litle in this case to bee a great deale too much And if they had any care of that they haue in hand they would not commit such a needelesse grosse absurditie onely as it were in despite of Arte to make expense of wit without gaine or profite The piece of Lead that is fastened to the bottome ought to be round and of equall thicknesse the pinne passing through the Center thereof If you haue it otherwise then marke the Boxe and the bottome when it hangeth aright and whensoeuer hauing taken off the bottome you will set it on againe see that you make your markes in the Boxe and bottome agree or else it can neuer with any certeintie hang as it should Although it be exceeding lothsome vnto me to deale in these mechanicall base practises yet the necessitie is such that one must needes deale therein For of all the Instruments that the Nauigator vseth this is farre the most excellent and yet of all others this is most negligently and vnartificially made Their Staues and Sea Cardes made in England are neate and fine Their Astrolabes are tolerable but these are euen such as I haue shewed vnto you which I could not so well haue shewed but by this anatomizing of them that the blame may bee apparant either in those that make them or in such as buy them that will not goe to the price of better wherein folly would shewe it selfe very eminent if when a shippe with her lading may bee woorth many thousands of poundes besides the inestimable value of the mens liues that are in her halfe a pound should be thought much to be bestowed on a perfect Compasse vpon the goodnesse whereof many times both shippe and goods and liues of men doe take their triall yea all these doe they ieopard as it were vpon a wager that their Compasse is true and perfect To conclude I would wish in any wise that Artificers of these Instruments shoulde make euen great conscience of that they haue in hand and not sleightly to passe them ouer after the order of dozen ware Also that such as exactly make them should be rewarded and esteemed accordingly And finally that they which are to vse them doe well examine their goodnesse before they buy them Moreouer it many times falleth out that the hollowe side of the Capitall is made too narrowe in the bottome and then will the Flie neuer play well except the pinne be exceeding small sharpe which assoone as by vse it is a little dulled the Flie will neuer shewe his pointes truely though hee were touched with the best stone in the world And very oftentimes the ouersight herein is imputed wrongfully to the weaknesse of the Touch. And therefore take care that the greater Boxe being square be not set together with yron nayles But if it be round then see that it be handsomely turned And in any wise that the lesser Boxe wherein the Flie standeth be well exactly turned of seasoned wood and hauing the inside coloured with some white glistering colour and not according to the common custome rubbed about with a piece of Chalke or a little white lime Furthermore because it is very necessarie that whosoeuer sayleth by any Carde ought diligently to foresee that the Set of his Compasse be answerable to his Card of the like Set I meane vnto that his Card was made by And for that the wyers being once glewed on may not well be altered or remoued And the double Flie by reasō of his vnwildie corpulēcie is nothing nimble I haue framed one after this sort a briefe description whereof I thought not impertinent here to insert The endes of the wyers must bee welded together The wyers themselues are halfe round with the otherside flatte to be placed vpon the bottome of the Flie. The Capitell hath two thinne narrowe Stayes of Latten reaching to the wyers on each side and fast soldered vnto them The toppe of the Capitell must bee skrewed on the outside and a little square piece of Latten with a small hollowe bent fitted for to skrewe vpon him vnto this ende that the Capitell being put through the bottome of the Flie in the Centre and the skrewe on the vpper side being turned on the top of the Capitell the Flie and wyers both may by this meanes bee closely combined together without any paste or glewe and bee left bare throughout to the most aduantage at any time for receauing the touche of the Stone and more easily be kept from rust being the greatest enemie that the touche of the Stone can haue vnto which all your pasted or glewed wyers are necessarily subiect insomuch as you shall very seldome and as I thinke neuer in the whole many of your vsuall Flies see any one that is not infected herewith being farre more noisome then Garlike or Oile and all the rest of those fondly surmised conceites If the skrewe come not close ynough vpon the Flie a little piece of pastboorde put on before the skrew will be a remedie sufficient therein When the wyers are thus fastened vnto the Flie you may at al times remoue them to any point or part of a point at your pleasure without anoyance vnto any thing In such as I haue caused to be made for this purpose I haue vsed a narrowe forme of a loope the distance betweene the wyers in the middle being little more then the fifth part of their length and haue abated also the mettall of the wyars about the middle of them and allowed somewhat the more towards their ends The Compasse of Variation THe Compasse of Variation is made in all respects like vnto the ordinary sayling Compasse is the very same in deede excepting these two Additions The one is that on the inside of the lesser Boxe round about iust with the height of the Flie either vpon the Boxe it selfe or else vpon Paper or Pastboorde fastened to the side thereof there be a Circle diuided into 360. partes And at euery 90. let a line be produced both vpward to the top and by the space of halfe an ynche downeward At any one of which lines make a Flower de luce representing the North and there begin your numbers on both sides thereof from 1 vnto 90. doe the like also from the opposite part betokening the South The other is that a thwart the vpper face of the Glasse there be placed a Ruler of Latten in length answerable to the Diameter of the Boxe bearing in breadth the third part of an ynche or halfe an ynche if you thinke good for a very great Compasse In the middle of which Ruler there must a line bee drawen according to the length
omitting now and then of but one poore little figure which may soone fall out somewhat doubtfull and hazardous In regardwherof the Globe hath euer not without due desert beene admired as a principall necessarie Instrument for the readinesse certainetie and eminent perspicuitie of demonstration In which very respects present triall shall prooue this Instrument the Hemisphere to be nothing inferiour to the Globe it selfe But to come to the purpose because that vpon the Globe of the Earth the true distance of one place from an other must bee measured by the shortest line that may be drawen from this vnto that and the shortest of all other that there possibly can be described is alwayes the portion of a great Circle Therefore by it and by none other all exact Geographicall mensuration ought to be made Againe sithe the Hemisphere consisteth of nothing else but great Circles being diuided all of them into their degrees and moueable in such sort that any maner situation may precisely by them be represented no doubt can remaine of the sufficiencie of this Instrument for the perfect perfourming of this Proposition The diuersities of situation of one place in respect of an other are three in generall For either haue they one and the same Meridian though not one Parallele and these are from the West and East of equall distance but vnequall from the Equator and differ therefore onely in Latitude or els haue one Parallele and a diuerse Meridian and these are of vnequall distance from West and East but equall from the Equator differing only in Longitude or finally haue a diuerse both Meridian Parallele and therefore differ accordingly both in Longitude and Latitude Places of the first situation are most easily measured without any Instrument at all For the two seuerall Latitudes of either being giuen whereof alwayes the one must needes be greater the other lesse subtrahe this from that and the remainder shall be the distance betweene both places in the degrees of a great Circle which according to the common supposition of 60. miles English answerable to one degree may soone be conuerted into myles Distances of the second sort such I meane as are vnder any Parallele without the Equator for there the operation is all one with the former because it is a great Circle like the Meridian are not altogether of the readiest to be found by other wayes but most easie and ready with helpe of the Hemisphere For the doing whereof you are to suppose the fixed Meridian of the Instrument to be the Meridian also of either of the two places whose distance you seeke Likewise the Zenith of the Instrument to be the Zenith of the same place or rather that very place in deede Then bring the Equator of the Instrument and set it at such a distance from the Zenith aforesaide as doth exactly agree with the Latitude of your first place So shall the Pole haue his true situation in respect of the sa de former place And the Moueable Meridian issuing from it shalbe in power any Meridian that can be drawen from the one Pole of the world to the other according to any Longitude in the Equator assigned Number therefore from the fixed Meridian in the Semi-equator remaining as before it was placed immoueable the difference of Longitude betweene both places and at the end thereof fasten the Moueable Meridian This then shall be the Meridian of the second place In which reckoning from the Equator toward the Pole the Latitude knowē you shall take the extreame point thereof for the true Zenith of the second place Last of all moue the semicircle of Altitudes nowe it may be called of Mensurations being in power any great Circle that may bee drawen from Zenith to Zenith till in the Moueable Meridian it precisely lighteth vpon the Zenith of the second place The degrees of this portion of that semicircle conteyned betweene the two Zenithes is the exact distance sought for Here it is to be obserued that if the places be separated one frō an other not by the segment of a Parallele but by the one halfe thereof then are both their Zenithes in one Meridian and the Pole in the middle so that the space betweene both zenithes and the Pole being doubled shall yeelde the distance demanded And this is the greatest direct distance that can be of places vnder one Parallele It remaineth that we speake of the third sort of places differing both in Longitude Latitude The finding of whose distance is a matter intricate and laborious otherwise and yet often yea most cōmonly occurring which if by the Hemisphere with all demōstratiue certaintie it shalbe no more hard to finde nor lesse ready to followe then the wide beaten high way my good hope is that the better opinion wilbe conceaued of so faithfull a guide To be plaine therefore and short He that knoweth the former kind of operation cannot be ignorant of this being both one in effect For setting the Semi-equator so farre frō the zenith of the Instrumēt vpon the fixed Meridian as is the Latitude of one of the places And fastening the Moueable Meridian so farre likewise from the fixed vpon the Equator as is the Difference of Longitude betweene both places which is soone knowen by abating the lesse Longitude out of the greater Afterward when in the Moueable Meridian aboue beneath or iust in the Equator if it so happen the zenith of the other place is truely noted according to the Latitude thereof apply thereunto the Semi-circle of Altitudes or Mensurations And his portion comprehended betweene both zenithes shall in the partes of a great Circle make manifest the exact distance required Moreouer if you desire to knowe howe the one of those places beareth from the other The Semicircle of Mensurations still remaining as before it was situated for finding the distance obserue in the Horison vpon what point of the Compasse it falleth for that sheweth the true bearing of the places proposed the one from the other The Longitude and Latitude of any two Starres being knowen without any other Obseruation to finde the Distance of the one from the other in the Heauens THat which hitherto hath beene spoken for the finding of Distances betweene place place vpon the out-face of the Globe of the Earth beneath may serue aswell for obseruing of them betweene Starre and Starre in the Sphere of the Heauens aboue with the Longitude and Latitude here to be giuen in respect of the zodiake like as there it was and is alwayes to be considered in regard of the Equator And albeit I knowe it would haue beene more agreeable with the suite of our discourse to haue handled this matter before yet considering the neere affinitie or rather identitie and selfesamenes of these two operations I thought it best to ioyne them close together Suppose therefore the Equator of the Hemisphere to be the zodiake then shall the Pole thereof be the Pole of the zodiake
of the Ruler And toward eache end of equall distance therefrom fitte two Sights of three ynches or longer as your Compasis and about a quarter of an ynche broade at the toppe waxing broader toward the foote where they are to be ioynted in such sort that they may for handsomenesse sake be folded the one close vpon the other and stand erected at right angles In the one of these along the middle thereof cut out the mettall beginning a little beneath the top downe to the foote of conuenient breadth that a Lute string hauing a small pearle or bugle on it to slide vp and downe may be fastened precisely in the middle throughout from the toppe to the foote The other Sight being made after the same proportion and forme that the former was hath onely a fine small slit pearced from within very little off the toppe downe to the foote and must in his thickenesse be abated that he weigh no more then the other The Ruler thus furnished with his Sights in the space betweene the sights and the brimme of the Boxe ought to haue two loopes cut out in decent maner to looke downe through them vpon the Flie. And this Ruler must be diuided into many equall small partes as 20 to an ynche or such like the numbers beginning from the Lute string sight vnto the other and from the foote of that other to the toppe When the Ruler is finished as before I haue specified it must a little be let into the brimme of the Boxe that it may stand fast hauing the middle of it right ouer the line of North and South in the Boxe and the Sight with the Lute string ouer the South But let it in such sort be fastened that you may conueniently either take it off or set it on as occasion shall serue So that the Ruler being taken off it is a Sayling Compasse being set on it serueth for the Variation in maner following The Flie of the Compas hauing at opposite partes directly ouer the points of the wyers some markes on the vpper side easie to be discerned if it be a Meridionall Flie it needeth not in as much as the Flower de luce and the South point serue the purpose turne the Boxe toward the East in the foorenoone with the Ruler on it till the Lute string doe cast his shadowe right vpon the middle line of the Ruler or on the slit of the other Sight Then marke immediatly where the shadowe of the pearle doth light vpon what diuision if the lines be diuided otherwise marke it with a penne And also what part the Southend of the wyers or which is all one the Northend doth point vnto in the side of the Boxe In the afternoone doe the like toward the West with the pearle still vnremooued turning the Boxe till the shadowe of the pearle falleth full vpon the place that it did in the forenoone And note then also what part the endes of the wyers doe point vnto Then if the number of partes obserued in the forenoone be alone with those in the afternoone there is no Variation at all for the ends of the wyers doe shewe the true Meridian But if the one exceede the other subtrahe the lesser from the greater And halfe the remainder is the Variation of the Compasse toward that side which had the greater number in his obseruation This Compasse serueth farre better to set the land withall and to describe any Harbour Coaste Hauen Towne or Countrey then any before in common vse by looking through the slitte and bringing the thing that you would note and the Lute string both in one withall marking what partes the wyers doe shewe at that instant Likewise for taking of distances All this may also bee performed with a Circle of Latten about one quarter of an ynche broade hauing a stay going athwart perced through with loope holes that it be no hindrance to viewe the Flie and a Ruler mouing vpon it in forme like to the former Which Circle must be diuided as that within the Boxe was frō the Flower de luce which is to be placed a quarter of a Circle distant frō the line passing along the middle of the stay haue his numbers reckoned towards the endes of the same line And so must the other halfe of the Circle be diuided from the South point Being thus diuided it must be placed euen fast and very fitte close aboue the Glasse And when you will vse it turne the Boxe about till the flower de luce of the Circle stand right ouer the Northerly endes of the wyers And the Boxe so standing set the Ruler according to the forenoone and afternoones obseruation doing all things els as before And you shall finde the selfe same effect I haue tryed at land the Crosse-needle in steade of the Flie and do like it exceeding well Whether is the better at Sea I doe referre it vnto their iudgements that shall make due triall of both The Crosse-needle I call two needles the one of Steele and the other of Latten ioyned together in the Capitell where they crosse each other at right angles and so made that they be of one length very straight and equally standing vpon the pinne no end ouerweyghing the other This Needle well made and fitted as it ought to bee will besides his proper vse supply the vse also of a Perpendicle a matter of great importance to shewe the vpright standing of your Instrument which the single Needle cannot doe neither yet the Flie any whit comparable vnto this But you are diligently to note that in continuance of time as the force of the Touch of the Stone doeth decay so will the North ende of either Needle or Flie rise somewhat higher and the South end sincke lower For this is one of the wonderful properties that the touch of the Magnete hath that a needle as yet not touched standing equally vpō his pinne being once touched with whether ende of the Stone you list the one end thereof shalbe reared higher and the other fall lower The difference whereof as the goodnes of the Stone is greater will accordingly the more appeare And in processe of time as his force stil decaieth so returneth hee more and more to his euen standing againe By reason of which propertie the Artificer is constrained that he may make the Needle lie euen to abate somewhat of the falling end that the other by vertue of the touch raised vp may through this abatement be brought downe to an equalitie of situation with his fellowe When therefore you perceaue the rising of the North end as aforesaid assure your selfe the Flie or Needle is weakened in strength and hath neede to be refreshed with the Stone Otherwise if it were at the first well touched be not too busie with it but let it alone except you bee well assured of the goodnesse of the Stone and of the right maner of touching If the Northend riseth not any thing at all and