Note 499 — THE THIRD VOYAGE NORTH-WARD TO THE KINGDOMES OF CATHAIA and China, in Anno 1596.

The 21 of March it was faire weather, but still very cold, the wind north. The same day the sunne entred into Aries in the equinoxciall lyne, and at noone we tooke the hight of the sunne and found it to be eleuated 14 degrees aboue the horizon, but for that the sun was in the middle lyne and of the like distance from both the tropiks, there was no declination, neither on the south nor north side; and so the 14 degrees aforesaid being substracted from ninty degrees, there rested 76 degrees for the hight of the Pole.499 The same day we made shooes of felt or rudg,500 which we drew vpon our feet,501 for we could not goe in our shooes by reason of the great cold, for the shooes on our feet were as hard as hornes; and then we fetcht a slead-ful of wood home to our house, with sore and extreame labour and with great extremity of cold, which we endured as if March502 went to bid vs fare-well. But503 our hope and comfort was that the cold could not still continue in that force,504 but that at length the strength thereof505 would be broken.