' But,
even with this stimulus, several years passed before a
London expedition was sent out. At last, in 1527, two
little ships called the Samson and the Mary of Guildford
set out from London with instructions to find their way
to Cathay and the Indies by means of the passage to the
north. The two ships left London on May 10, put into
Plymouth, and finally sailed therefrom on June 10, 1527.
They followed Cabot's track, striking westward from the
coast of Ireland. For three weeks they kept together,
making good progress across the Atlantic. Then in a great
storm that arose the Samson was lost with all on board.
The Mary of Guildford pursued her way alone, and her crew
had adventures strange even for those days. Her course,
set well to the north, brought her into the drift ice
and the giant icebergs which are carried down the coast
of America at this season (for the month was July) from
the polar seas. In fear of the moving ice, she turned to
the south, the sailors watching eagerly for the land,
and sounding as they went. Four days brought them to the
coast of Labrador. They followed it southward for some
days.
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