Great was the excitement in Bristol when the tiny ship came to anchor
there once more, little more than three months after it had sailed
away. And so strange were the tales Master Cabot had to tell that
the folk of Bristol would hardly have believed him (for he was a
poor man and a foreigner) had not his crew of honest Bristol men
vouched for the truth of all he said. Every one was delighted. Even
thrifty King Henry was so much pleased that he gave Cabot ?10. It
seems a small enough sum for one who had found "a new isle." But
we must remember that it was worth more than ?100 would be worth
today.
Cabot at any rate found it enough with which to buy a suit of
silk. And dressed in this new splendour he walked about the streets
of Bristol followed by gaping crowds. He was now called the Great
Admiral, and much honour was paid to him. Every one was eager to
talk with him, eager to go with him on his next voyage: and that
even although they knew that many of the crew would be thieves and
evil-doers. For the King had promised to give Cabot for sailors
all prisoners except those who were confined for high treason.
We know little more of John Cabot. Later King Henry gave him a
pension of ?20 a year. It seems likely that the following year he
set out again across the broad Atlantic, taking his sons with him.
"The rest is silence.
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