men in every thing relating to trade, extremely ingenious in all kinds of mechanical contrivances, and the most expert embroiderers on silk and satin of any in the world.  They will execute any form of beast, fowl, or fish, in gold, silver, or silk, having all the just proportions and colours in every part, and giving all the life and beauty to their work, as if done by the best painter, or even as nature has bestowed on the originals.  The trade of these men with Manilla must be very profitable, as they bring great quantities of gold there, and exchange it against silver, weight for weight.[56]

[Footnote 55:  The latitude of Cape Espiritu Santo, as given in the test, is grossly erroneous, being only 12 deg. 35’ N. and its long. 125 deg. 30’ E. from Greenwich.  The difference of longitude from Guam, Guaham, or Guaci, the most southerly of the Ladrones, is 17 deg. 45’ nearly east, and consequently 355 marine leagues.  This island is divided from Luzon, or Luconia, the principal island of the Philippines, by the narrow straits of San Bernardino; and Cape Espiritu Santo is about 100 leagues, in a straight line, from the city of Manilla, which lies to the N.W.  Cape Espiritu Santo is at the N.W. extremity of the island of Samar.—­E.]

[Footnote 56:  This surely is an egregious error, as such acute merchants as the Chinese are here represented, and actually are, could never be so foolish as to give gold for silver, weight for weight.  Before the present scarcity of bullion, the ordinary European price of exchange, was fourteen for one; and perhaps the then price in China might be lower, as twelve, eleven, or ten; but equality is quite inconceivable.—­E.]

The same day on which he fell in with Cape Espiritu Santo, 14th of January, 1588, Candish entered in the evening into the straits of San Bernardino, between Samar or Cambaia, and the island of Luzon.  The 15th he fell in with the island of Capul, passing a very narrow strait between that island and another, in which the current of the tide was considerable.  In this passage, a ledge of rocks lay off the point of Capul, but was passed without danger.  Within the point was a fair bay, with a good harbour, having anchorage in four fathoms, within a cable’s length of the shore.  Coming to anchor here about ten in the morning, the Desire was immediately boarded by a canoe, in which was one of the seven chiefs of the island.  Passing themselves for Spaniards, the English traded with these people for cocoa-nuts and potatoes, giving a yard of linen for four cocoa-nuts, and as much for about a quart of potatoes, which they found sweet and excellent food, either boiled or roasted.