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An English, compiler of books of travel and exploration, born at Thaxted, in Essex, 1577; died 1626-in poverty, and, it is believed, in a debtor's prison. His works are: "Purchas his Pilgrimage, or Relations of the World and the Religions Observed in all Ages" (1613; much enlarged in the 4th ed. 1626); "Purchas his Pilgrim or Microcosmus, or the Historie of Man: Relating the Wonders of his Generation, Varieties in his Degeneration, and Necessity of his Regeneration" (1619); "Purchas his Pilgrimes: or Relation of the World in Sea Voyages and Land Travels, by Englishmen and Others" (4 vols., 1625),-a continuation of Hakluyt, and partly founded on papers left by him.