It seems that Mr. Stephens, the Secretary to the Admiralty, had much to
do with it. How Stephens had become acquainted with Cook history does not
relate, but doubtless his personal visits to the Admiralty in connection
with the completion of his charts of Newfoundland, from which he returned
every winter, had brought him into contact with the Secretary, who had
clearly formed a high opinion of him.

Cook, we may be sure, jumped at the chance, and his pride must have been
great when he found he was to receive a commission as Lieutenant.

This in itself was a most unusual step. The occasions on which a master
had been transferred to the executive line of the Royal Navy were very
rare, and many an admiral used his influence in favour of some deserving
officer in vain.

This was not without good reason, as the whole training of the Master of
those days was unfavourable to success in command of ships or men. The
exception was, however, in this case amply justified.

Cook was allowed to choose his vessel, and bearing in mind the dangers of
grounding in unknown seas, he pitched upon his old friends, the
stoutly-built, full-bottomed colliers of the North Sea trade.

His ship, the Endeavour, was a Whitby built vessel of three hundred and
seventy tons, and was known as H.M. Bark Endeavour, there being another
vessel, a cutter, of the same name in the Royal Navy. She was brought to
the dockyard at Deptford to fit out. Her appearance was, of course,
wholly different from that of a vessel built as a man-of-war, and we
shall see that this caused trouble at Rio Janeiro, where the combination