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The General cried out . . . "Courage, my lads ! we are as near 
 to heaven by sea as by land. "—English Heroes, page 178. 
 
English Heroes 
 
 IN THE 
 
 REIGN OF ELIZABETH 
 
 BY 
 
 W. H. DAVENPORT ADAMS 
 
 AUTHOR or 
 
 "before the conquest" etc. 
 
 EDINBURGH 
 W. p. NIMMO, HAY, & MITCHELL 
 
<.^J 
 
 
 \ ■> s. 
 
 d 
 
^OLur-- 
 
 i\ 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 SIR WALTER RALEIGH . 
 SIR JOHN HAWKINS 
 SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT 
 THOMAS CAVENDISH 
 ^IR FRANCIS DRAKE 
 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY 
 
 PAGE 
 I 
 
 161 
 181 
 216 
 
 371 
 

 ^ir Multtx llal^ijj]^* 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 OPENING SCENES. 
 
 " In brave pursuit of honourable deed, 
 There is I know not what great differencfe 
 Between the vulgar and the noble seed, 
 Which unto things of valorous pretence 
 Seems to be borne by native influence." 
 
 Spenser. 
 
 OST great men come of noble mothers, and 
 Walter Raleigh — the grandest of the Eliza- 
 bethan heroes — was no exception to the 
 His mother was Catherine Champernoun, 
 who was sprung of one of the oldest Norman 
 families in the south-west of England, and could 
 boast of having in her veins the blood of the 
 Courtenays, at one time Emperors of the East* 
 When she married Raleigh's father — himself a 
 gentleman-farmer of good birth, and, probably, of 
 
 ♦ Rev. C. Kingsley, " Miscellanies" (vol. i.) : " Sir Walter Raleigh." 
 
 A 
 
 rule. 
 
SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 handsome personal appearance — she was a widow, 
 her first husband having been the illustrious knight, 
 Sir Otho Gilbert of Compton Castle, to whom she 
 had born three gallant sons, John, Humphrey, and 
 Adrian, each destined to win his spurs by truly 
 heroical actions. She gave birth to Walter Raleigh, 
 the younger of her two sons by her second marriage, 
 some time in the year 1552, at the quaint but plea- 
 sant farm-house of Hayes, on the south-west coast 
 of Devonshire. A noble woman, truly ! and the 
 mother of four sons of whose careers and characters 
 she had afterward good reason to be proud. 
 
 If the conditions under which the young mind is 
 trained, and the scenery among which it develops 
 its faculties, exercise upon its growth, as I believe, 
 an important influence, Walter Raleigh was happily 
 circumstanced. For a quick imagination, and a 
 romantic disposition, I know of no better school 
 than the bright apple orchards and leafy vales of 
 Devon ; its " bowery hollows ; " its long, winding 
 lanes, with high banks on either side, profusely 
 trellised with honeysuckle and ivy ; its wooded 
 gorges ; the grey, mysterious expanse of Dart- 
 moor ; the rippling trout-brooks, and the tree- 
 crowned hills; the rolling downs, and the deep, 
 narrow glens, that open on the blue waters of the 
 Channel. Raleigh must have drunk in a love of 
 poetry and the beautiful with his mother's milk. 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
OPENING SCENES. 
 
 These influences, however, could only have stimu- 
 lated the poetic side of his character, unless his 
 familiarity with the coast served to cherish a passion 
 for maritime enterprise ; but other circumstances 
 were around him which helped to ripen the man 
 of action, and prevented him from becoming simply 
 the thinker and the student. He lived within thirty 
 miles or so of his chivalrous half-brothers, men who 
 were infected to the full with what may be called 
 the EHzabethan fever of adventure; and it cannot 
 be doubted that they poured into his willing ears 
 their stories of gallant deeds and knightly achieve- 
 ments, their hatred of the Spaniard, their longings 
 after the golden isles of far southern seas, and, above 
 all, their masculine, earnest patriotism, which burned 
 to place their country foremost among the nations 
 of the world. 
 
 Raleigh was still a lad when his parents de- 
 spatched him to Oriel College, Oxford (A.D. 1566).* 
 He did not remain long in its " cloistered shades," 
 but long enough, nevertheless, to win the honour of 
 special commemoration by his great contemporary 
 Lord Bacon. His quick wit and plastic genius were 
 recognised with one consent ; as also his restless, 
 aspiring disposition, his yearning after the fame which 
 crowns an active life, and that abhorrence of the 
 Spaniard which coloured so much of his later conduct. 
 * Prince, * * Worthies of Devon, " p. 667. 
 
SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 In 1569, when but seventeen years old, Raleigh 
 went forth into the world. What a stage was then 
 open for the display of a young man's powers ! 
 Never had England known more stirring times, for 
 never had its destiny so hung upon the hazard of a 
 die. Now-a-days, when the foundations of our 
 empire are laid so broad and secure, we can hardly 
 realise to ourselves the prolonged agony of the first 
 twenty years of Elizabeth's reign, when every true 
 Englishman felt that at any moment he might be 
 called upon to fight to the death for his queen, his 
 country, his wife and children, his political liberties, 
 and the right to worship God according to his own 
 conscience. Now-a-days, when our geographers 
 have accurately laid down in their maps almost 
 every nook and corner of our globe, and the labours 
 of our ancestors have exhausted almost every channel 
 of enterprise, we can scarcely conceive the intense 
 enthusiasm, the fiery delight with which the young 
 heroes of Elizabethan England dwelt on the riches 
 of the New World, and the wild loveliness of far-off 
 lands, to be conquered by stout hearts and ready 
 swords. Now-a-days, when none dare disturb us 
 in the exercise of our religion, when our faith, for 
 very lack of persecution or outward impulse, has 
 grown somewhat cold and indifferent ; when we 
 dally, on the one hand, with a philosophical ra- 
 tionalism, and, on the other, with a cold, symbolical. 
 
OPENING SCENES. 
 
 ritualistic pageantry, we find it hard to understand 
 the passionate sincerity with which the men and 
 women of Elizabeth's reign believed in the over- 
 ruling providence of God, and hated both Pope and 
 Devil as the enemies, present and to come, of their 
 souls. Truly those were stirring times ! They were 
 manly, earnest, and heroic times, which, as by the 
 force of a Divine inspiration, raised up men to their 
 own level. No doctrine of non-intervention had then 
 risen as a barrier between England and the Con- 
 tinent. The Netherlands, Protestant like ourselves, 
 were struggling painfully to free themselves from 
 the iron yoke of Spain. France, while with one 
 hand she put down her own Huguenot subjects, 
 with the other helped the Dutch Protestants, from 
 a well-justified dread of the preponderance of 
 Spanish power. England, while ready to succour 
 Dutch Protestant and French Huguenot as best 
 she might, and as far as she dared, was bent on 
 disputing with Spain the possession of the golden 
 lands of America. At this epoch, her spirit, as it 
 were, grew too great for her body. She felt an 
 irresistible need of expansion. The energies of her 
 sons demanded a wider field than could be afforded 
 by their own sea-girt island.* But more : she was 
 actuated by nobler motives. She believed in her 
 
 * See Mr Froude's eloquent sketch of England and Englishmen at 
 this epoch, in his " History of England," vol. viii. 
 
6 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 Protestant creed, and she longed to deal a blow at 
 Popery through the Pope's most fanatical children, 
 the Spaniards. Cruel wrongs, too, she burned to 
 avenge : her seamen taken prisoners because they 
 ventured to trade in that vast southern ocean which 
 Spain, on the strength of a Papal edict, impiously 
 claimed as her own ; taken prisoners, thrown into 
 pestilential dungeons, racked and tortured, doomed 
 to the galleys and the stake. With all these motives 
 and memories, passions, fears, and hopes, English 
 hearts were then a-flame ; and therefore do I say it 
 was into a stirring world, in stirring times, that young 
 Raleigh threw himself at the age of seventeen. 
 
 A near kinsman of his, gallant Henry Champer- 
 noun, had raised a body of one hundred gentle- 
 men-volunteers to assist the Huguenots of France, — ■ 
 "a gallant company," says the French historian, 
 De Thou, "nobly mounted and accoutred, having 
 on their colours the motto, Finem det mihi Virtus^ 
 Walter Raleigh made one of them, and in this 
 expedition gained a considerable experience of 
 military life.* He seems to have been present at 
 the disastrous battle of Moncontour, and in the 
 retreat so ably conducted by Count Ludowick of 
 Nassau (October 3d, 1569); and afterwards, for 
 five years, to have shared in all the marchings and 
 
 * Champeraoun and his volunteers did not arrive in France until 
 after Raleigh, and were not present at Moncontour. 
 
OPENING SCENES. 
 
 counter-marchings of that wild civil war, which so 
 desolated the fairest provinces of France. How he 
 escaped the Bartholomew massacre, we know not, 
 unless he was sheltered, like Sir Philip Sidney, in 
 the house of the English ambassador, Walsingham. 
 But he passed uninjured through all his military 
 experiences, and in 1576, on the conclusion of peace, 
 returned to England, a skilled soldier and accom- 
 plished gentleman. 
 
 He remained at home but a few months, yet he 
 contrived to signalise himself in this brief interval 
 by a couple of characteristic incidents. To Gas- 
 coigne's satire of " The Steel Glass," he prefixed 
 some elaborate epigrammatic verses, which he sub- 
 scribes "Walter Rawely, of the Middle Temple;" 
 and he inflicted chastisement on a notorious braggart, 
 named Chester, the Carlo Buffone of Ben Jonson, by 
 beating him soundly, and then sealing up his mouth — 
 that is, his moustache and beard — with "hard wax." 
 
 In the following year we find him in the Nether- 
 lands, serving under the Prince of Orange (and Sir 
 John Norris), against the Spaniards. There can be 
 little doubt that he was present in the famous fight 
 at Reminant, when Don John of Austria, and the 
 Prince of Parma were completely defeated by the 
 Dutch forces. The victory was mainly owing to the 
 courage and steadiness of the English and Scotch 
 auxiliaries, who, fatigued by the extreme heat, of 
 
8 S/R WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 which "they were more sensible than of any cold 
 fear of death," flung off their armour and clothes, 
 and fought in their shirts and drawers.* 
 
 During his service in the Netherlands, he made 
 the acquaintance of Colonel Herbert Bingham, "a 
 man of a fancy high and wild, too desultory and 
 over-voluble," who had travelled over most parts of 
 the world, and had conceived a project for the plan- 
 tation (i.e., the colonisation) of America. The effect 
 of his conversation was seen on Raleigh's return to 
 England, in 1579, when he was induced to join his half- 
 brother, Humphrey Gilbert, in carrying out a patent 
 which the latter had obtained from Queen Elizabeth 
 for colonising Meta Incognita (" The unknown goal ") 
 an unexplored region of North America.t 
 
 Gilbert and Raleigh went on their hazardous voy- 
 age with a small and ill-equipped squadron ; nor did 
 they prosper. On their homeward route, after en- 
 during many lesser misfortunes, they fell in with a 
 Spanish fleet, lost " a tall ship," and many men, and 
 so back to Plymouth,t with a greater hatred than 
 ever of their Spanish enemies. Always on the alert 
 for new fields of adventure, Raleigh next repaired 
 to Ireland, where the Geraldines, assisted by French 
 and Spaniards, had raised the standard of revolt. 
 
 • This incident is told by De Thou, in his " Historia," vol. iii. p. 608. 
 t Oldys, "Lifeof Raleigh," pp. 27-29. 
 X J. A. St John, "Life of Raleigh," i. 33. 
 
OPENING SCENES. 9 
 
 Two years he served in Ireland, displaying all the 
 qualities of a good soldier, — prudence, when prudence 
 was needed, and reckless audacity when only by 
 such audacity could success be won. With a brilliant 
 reputation, he quitted Ireland on the suppression of 
 the rebellion, and entered upon the better known 
 portion of his career ; a career so strangely chequered 
 by sunshine and shadow, so mournfully closed in 
 the deepest of darkness, that it seems to belong to 
 romance rather than to history. 
 
 Tradition has ascribed Raleigh's personal intro- 
 duction to Elizabeth to an accident, which one would 
 rather expect to meet with in the legends of the 
 poets, and the atmosphere of fairy land, than among 
 the realities of everyday life. It is probably untrue ; 
 though, in Elizabeth's reign, men were inspired by a 
 spirit of exaltation which made them equal to deeds 
 of gallantry and refinement, of a kind unknown to 
 our utilitarian age. Raleigh's act of chivalrous 
 courtesy is thus described : 
 
 Elizabeth, in her progress from the royal barge to 
 the palace [at Greenwich], came to a spot where the 
 ground was so miry, that, for a moment, she hesitated 
 to advance. Immediately, Raleigh stepped forward, 
 and, with "an air of devoted gallantry," cast ofif and 
 spread upon the earth the richly-embroidered cloak 
 which decked his handsome person. Her Majesty, 
 after a minute's pause, and a not dissatisfied glance 
 
10 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 at the noble figure and stately bearing of her soldier- 
 courtier, placed her foot on the novel carpet, and 
 proceeded on her way. Soon afterwards, she sent 
 for Raleigh, and took him into her service * 
 
 That the story is not true, there is good reason to 
 suspect ; that it correctly describes Elizabeth's first 
 acquaintance with Raleigh, I wholly disbelieve. I 
 must ask the reader, as Mr Kingsley does,t to remem- 
 ber that our young Quixote was the near kinsman 
 of two illustrious public servants, Champernoun and 
 Carew ; that he was the friend of Sir Philip Sidney, 
 and the favourite of the Earl of Leicester ; that he 
 had served under Elizabeth's generals for twelve 
 j'-ears, and brought back from Ireland a distinguished 
 military reputation ; and that, therefore, he would 
 have required no such accidental introduction to his 
 sovereign's favour. 
 
 That favour he certainly enjoyed, and, in proof of 
 it, was despatched on a secret diplomatic mission to 
 the French court. Afterwards, he accompanied the 
 Duke of Anjou in his magnificent progress to Ant- 
 werp, where he was recognised by the Prince of 
 Orange, and entrusted with letters for Elizabeth 
 (1582). Once more in England, his active mind 
 again turned towards its old project of discovering 
 and colonising new territories in the western world. 
 
 • Tytler, "Life of Raleigh," p. 41. 
 
 + Kingsley, "Miscellanies," vol. i. art. "Sir Walter Raleigh." 
 
OPENING SCENES. 11 
 
 A fleet was fitted out by Sir Humphrey Gilbert ; a 
 fleet of five ships,— the "Delight/' "Raleigh," "Golden 
 Hind," " Swallow," and " Squirrel," — having on board 
 260 men; and it sailed on the 1st of June 1583. 
 The largest ship was equipped by Raleigh, and 
 bore, as we see, his own name. Fortunately for 
 him, she quickly returned into harbour, — a con- 
 tagious distemper having broken out among her 
 crew, — and thus escaped the melancholy fate of 
 the remainder of the expedition * 
 
 Raleigh, however, was not deterred from the pro- 
 secution of his favourite schemes by a stroke of ill 
 success. Much reading and reflection, and the in- 
 formation he had gained from frequent conversations 
 with experienced mariners, had led him to the con- 
 clusion that to the north of the Gulf of Florida 
 must lie a vast extent of rich and genial country, 
 and he resolved to attempt its discovery. Having 
 submitted his plans to the Queen and her council, 
 he obtained letters-patent, in 1584, which granted 
 all such countries as he should discover in property 
 to himself and his heirs, with a reservation to the 
 Crown of one-fifth of all the gold or silver ore which 
 might be found therein. Raleigh, at this time, held a 
 high place in the royal confidence, which he probably 
 
 * Sir Humphrey's little bark, the '' Squirrel," went down at sea, 
 under circumstances of tragical sublimity, well known to every English 
 reader. His last words were: **Be of good heart, my friends ! we 
 are as near to heaven on the ocean as at land." 
 
12 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 thought it imprudent to risk by any long absence 
 from court. The expedition, therefore, which he 
 fitted out he did not personally command, but 
 placed in charge of two trusty and experienced 
 officers, — Captains Philip Amadas and Arthur Bar- 
 low, — who received minute written instructions, and 
 sailed with two well-equipped ships, on the 27th of 
 April 1586. Into the details of this voyage it would 
 be foreign from our purpose to enter. Enough to 
 state that the adventurers discovered and explored 
 a portion of the coast of the country afterwards 
 designated Virginia, and returned with glowing 
 accounts of its amenity and beauty * 
 
 In the following year Raleigh received a distinc- 
 tion which Elizabeth never bestowed on unworthy 
 persons ; he was knighted. As a further mark of 
 royal favour, he obtained the grant of a patent to 
 license the vending of wines throughout the kingdom, 
 a monopoly which must have secured him a large 
 annual income. He had also an estate given him 
 in Ireland, which, with characteristic energy, he 
 colonised, tilled, and planted. He likewise sat in 
 the Parliament of 1586, and was appointed Seneschal 
 of the Duchies of Cornwall and Exeter, and Lord 
 Warden of the Stanneries. His rise was unpre- 
 cedentedly rapid, and his position, at this time, well- 
 calculated to gratify his ambition, and to encour- 
 
 * Hakluyt, " Voyages," vol. iii. pp. 245-250. 
 
((UN. Y 
 
 OPENING SCENES. 13 
 
 age him in the formation of the most sanguine 
 hopes. 
 
 It was about this date he joined Sir Adrian 
 Gilbert, and Sanderson, a wealthy London mer- 
 chant, in forming a company, under letters-patent 
 from the queen, denominated "The Colleagues of 
 the Fellowship for the Discovery of the North-West 
 Passage." Their enterprise led to the important 
 expeditions of Captain John Davis, who played so 
 great a part in the history of arctic exploration. 
 All these varied occupations did not prevent our 
 hero — surely one of the hardest workers that hard- 
 working England has ever produced — from fitting 
 out a new armada for his territory of Virginia, whose 
 command he entrusted to his kinsman, Sir Richard 
 Grenville.* 
 
 It consisted of seven vessels — the "Tiger," 140 
 tons burthen; the "Lion," 100; the "Elizabeth," 
 50; the "Roebuck," 140; the "Dorothy," a small 
 bark, and two small pinnaces ; the whole tonnage 
 being about one-half that of a modern East-India- 
 man. They reached Virginia in July, and disem- 
 barked 108 men, under Mr Ralph Lane, as chief 
 governor, and Philip Amadas as deputy. Then, 
 after collecting a valuable cargo of skins, furs, and 
 pearls, Grenville returned to England. 
 
 The infant colony did not prosper after his de- 
 
 • See a full account of this voyage in Hakluyt's Collection, vol. iii. 
 
14 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 parture. Lane appears to have been ill fitted for 
 his responsible post, and his imprudence involved 
 him in dangerous disputes with the Indians. He 
 was rescued from the consequences by the unex- 
 pected but opportune arrival of the fleet of Sir 
 Francis Drake, who had fortunately determined to 
 visit the settlement of his friend Raleigh, and carry 
 home news of its condition, on his return from an 
 expedition in the Spanish main. Drake offered the 
 disheartened colonists a supply of provisions, but all 
 they requested was a vessel and some small craft to 
 carry them home. Their demand was granted ; how- 
 ever, before they could get on board, a four days' 
 storm dashed their barks to fragments, and threatened 
 the safety of the whole fleet. Under these circum- 
 stances Drake received them in his own vessels, and 
 they arrived in England on the 27th of July 1586. 
 
 Scarcely had they sailed before a vessel reached 
 Roanoak, laden with all kinds of supplies, which 
 Raleigh intended for the use of his young colony. 
 Finding no traces of the fugitives, she, too, departed 
 for Europe. A fortnight later came Sir Richard 
 Grenville, with three well-appointed ships, and he, 
 being equally unsuccessful in obtaining intelligence 
 of the Virginian settlers, was also compelled to 
 return home, leaving behind him, however, fifteen 
 men, with provisions for two years, as the nucleus 
 of a future settlement. 
 
OPENING SCENES, 15 
 
 The fugitive colonists are said to have brought 
 home with them the valuable herb, tobacco, with 
 whose uses Raleigh had become familiar in France. 
 A well-known tradition runs, that Sir Walter first 
 began to smoke it privately in his study, and that a 
 servant who had carried him a tankard of ale, seeing 
 the smoke issue from his mouth, threw all the liquor 
 in his face to extinguish the supposed fire, thereafter 
 alarming the family with cries for help, or his master 
 would be burnt to ashes. 
 
 This, says quaint Oldys, has nothing in it more 
 surprising than the mistake of those Virginians 
 themselves, who, the first time they seized upon a 
 quantity of gunpowder belonging to the English 
 colony, sowed it for grain, with the full expectation 
 of reaping a plentiful crop of combustion by the 
 next harvest to scatter their enemies.* 
 
 Another story is to the effect that Raleigh, con- 
 versing with his royal mistress on the singular pro- 
 perties of the new herb, assured her he had so well 
 investigated its nature that he could tell the exact 
 weight of the smoke in any quantity he consumed. 
 Elizabeth immediately fixed her thoughts on the 
 most impracticable part of the experiment, that of 
 confining the smoke in a balance, and, suspecting 
 her courtier was amusing her with "a traveller's 
 tale," she laid a wager against his successful solution 
 • Oldys, "Lifeof Raleigh," pp. 74, 75. 
 
16 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 of the problem. Raleigh then selected a certain 
 quantity of tobacco, which he duly smoked, and 
 afterwards proceeded to weigh the residual ashes. 
 In conclusion, demonstrating to the Queen the diffe- 
 rence between their weight and that of the tobacco, 
 he forced her to admit that this difference must 
 necessarily represent the weight of what had evapo- 
 rated in smoke. Upon this, Elizabeth, paying down 
 the money, remarked, that she had heard of many 
 labourers in the fire who had turned their gold into 
 smoke, but that Raleigh was certainly the first who 
 had converted his smoke into gold. 
 
 Raleigh was one of those men whom no reverses 
 seem to discourage, whom no obstacles can divert 
 from the path they have marked out for themselves, 
 whose resolution has all the nobility of faith. The 
 failure of his first Virginian settlement might have 
 quenched the hopes of any man less strong of pur- 
 pose, but it only stimulated Raleigh to fresh exer- 
 tions. He contrived to secure a hundred and fifty 
 volunteers, whom he placed in charge of a Mr John 
 White, and twelve assistants, incorporating them by 
 the name of the Governor and Assistants of the 
 City of Raleigh, in Virginia. In three vessels, 
 mainly equipped at his own expense, they sailed 
 from Portsmouth on the 28th of April 1587, and 
 on the 22d of July anchored in Hatteras harbour. 
 To their dismay they found the place deserted, and 
 
OPENING SCENES, 17 
 
 no traces of the frightened colonists left by Sir 
 Richard Greville, except a heap of bones bleaching 
 on the silent strand. Nevertheless, they disembarked, 
 and proceeded to repair the buildings at Roanoke. 
 Dissensions in due time broke out amongst them, 
 until at length the want of stores compelled White, 
 the governor, to return to England, leaving at 
 Roanoke ^y men, 17 women, and 11 children.* He 
 arrived at Portsmouth on the 5 th of November, to 
 find all England arming in haste to meet the 
 threatened invasion of the Armada. It was not at 
 such a crisis he could expect to obtain a hearing 
 for his story; and the wants of the colony were 
 exposed to temporary neglect. 
 
 Convinced that the storm was about to break, 
 Elizabeth, after a too-long supineness, prepared to 
 meet it bravely. She collected around her those 
 of her counsellors and "men of war" who best 
 understood the- nature of the exigency, and the 
 resources of the kingdom, including among them 
 Sir Walter Raleigh, Lord Grey, Sir Francis Knolles, 
 Sir John Norris, Sir Richard Bingham, and Raleigh's 
 former lieutenant, Mr Ralph Lane. These, with 
 great energy, laboured to . organise a militia, to pro- 
 vide the peasantry with arms, and to fortify those 
 points of the coast which were most exposed to 
 attack. In all these proceedings Raleigh took a fore- 
 
 • Hakluyt's "Voyages," iii., p. 284-286. 
 
 B 
 
18 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 most part, and the success of the vigorous measures 
 which, in conjunction with the winds of heaven, baffled 
 Philip of Spain's designs, was mainly due to his 
 experience, military skill, and sagacity. The district 
 placed under his immediate superintendence was one 
 where his name, I doubt not, was already a "household 
 word"— the counties of Devonshire and Cornwall.* 
 
 He found a majority of the population eager to 
 do battle against the coming enemy, but he also 
 found a considerable number of Papal malcontents, 
 who rejoiced in the prospect of victory for their 
 religion. Many, too, there were who grumbled at 
 the demand made upon them by the Government 
 for pecuniary aid, who grudged to bear the expense 
 of defending their own homes and hearths, and 
 looked to the Queen's Treasury for assistance. He 
 triumphed over every obstacle, however, and suc- 
 ceeded in levying, as the militia of Devon, 1200 
 footmen, and 1 36 horsemen ; of Cornwall, 600 foot- 
 men, and 66 horsemen ; and of Exeter, 200 footmen. 
 All the superior officers, from t\)^ general to the 
 treasurer, served without pay ; the inferior officers 
 and their men received a liberal allowance ; as thus 
 — sergeant-major, 6s. per diem ; provost-marshal, 
 5 s. ; clerk of the checks, 2s. 6d. ; captain, 4s. ; lieu- 
 tenant, 2s. ; ensign, is. 6d. ; clerk and drummer 
 each IS. ; and common soldier, 8d. 
 
 • Sec Mr Edward Edwards's ** Life of Raleigh," vol. i., p. 3. 
 
OPENING SCENES. 19 
 
 The pay of the cavalry was still higher, the men 
 receiving each is. per diem.* 
 
 The levy was to be called out for sixteen days 
 only, during which time the men were allowed 
 each ten pounds of powder at a shilling a pound, 
 half a pound of matches per day at sixpence per 
 pound, and a pound of lead at one penny per 
 pound. 
 
 These forces were stationed at Plymouth, under the 
 command of Sir Walter, who seems to have provided 
 for their careful exercise in military manoeuvres. 
 Similar measures were adopted all along the coast, 
 so that in a short time the whole of England rose 
 simultaneously, and in arms. But none were better 
 aware than Raleigh that these hastily-levied troops 
 could not be expected to offer any serious resistance 
 in the open field to the veterans of Parma, who were 
 flushed with a hundred victories ; and he incessantly 
 urged upon the Queen and her ministers the neces- 
 sity of equipping a fleet strong enough to contend 
 with the- Spaniards at sea. He felt, as all our best 
 and wisest counsellors have ever felt, that England's 
 safety was in her outer line of defence — her ships 
 and sailors. "A strong army in a good fleet," as 
 
 * The whole charge, for salaries and munitions, was computed at 
 ;^2i63, 5s. od. See the " Estimate of Forces for the Defence of the 
 Western Counties," drawn up by Raleigh hiinself, in the State Paper 
 Office, reprinted by Mr Edwards, in his "Life of Sir Walter Raleigh," 
 vol. ii., p. 39. 
 
S/R WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 he afterwards wrote,* "could not possibly be pre- 
 vented from landing where it deemed best upon the 
 coast of England, unless hindered by a fleet of equal, 
 or at least answerable strength." 
 
 To a certain extent Raleigh's advice was followed. 
 A fleet was equipped and placed under the command- 
 in-chief of Lord Howard of Effingham; but the 
 Queen's temporising policy, her avarice, and her 
 strange delusion that war after all might be avoided, 
 seriously embarrassed her servants, and crippled their 
 energies. Fortunately, this lack of spirit or of sagacity 
 on the part of the great Queen — arising, perhaps, 
 from a consciousness of the dangers of her position, 
 and the terrible risk to be incurred by a collision 
 between her little island kingdom and the gigantic 
 Spanish Empire — was more than compensated by 
 the patriotic enthusiasm of her people, — an enthu- 
 siasm which increased in fervour as the danger drew 
 nearer. And when Elizabeth at last abandoned 
 all hope in diplomacy ; when she awoke from the 
 delusion in which she had been lulled by the in- 
 trigues of Spain ; when, recognising the impossibility 
 of averting the peril, she prepared to meet it with all 
 a Tudor's courage, the popular enthusiasm mounted 
 to fever heat. There went a thrill of joy, as Mr Motley 
 remarks,+ through the national heart, and all England 
 
 • In his *' History of the World," vol. v., c. i., sec. lo. 
 t Lodge, " Ilhistrations of British History," ii., 384-386. 
 
OPENING SCENES. 21 
 
 made one bound towards the enemy. Few more 
 magnificent spectacles, continues the historian, have 
 been seen in history than the enthusiasm which per- 
 vaded the country as the great danger, so long 
 deferred, was felt at last to be closely approaching. 
 The little nation of four millions, the merry England 
 of the sixteenth century, went forward to the death- 
 grapple with its gigantic antagonist as cheerfully as 
 to a long-expected holiday. Spain was a vast 
 empire, overshadowing the world ; England, in 
 comparison, but a province ; yet nothing could 
 surpass the steadiness with which the conflict was 
 awaited. 
 
 The details of that conflict, however — of England's 
 Salamis — will be told hereafter, and at present I have 
 to concern myself only with Raleigh's share in it. 
 
 When news arrived that the Armada had finally 
 quitted port, and had been sighted steering north- 
 wards along the shore of Portugal, Raleigh placed 
 the levies of Devonshire and Cornwall under the 
 command of his kinsmen, and, with a squadron 
 equipped at his own cost, stationed himself on the 
 Devonshire coast, that he might harass the flanks 
 of the Spaniards as they sailed up the Sleeve.* 
 Whether he actually took part in the series of 
 skirmishes and fights that followed, cannot be 
 
 * J. L. Motley, ** History of the United Netherlands," c, xviii,, 
 (vol. ii., pp. 423, 424). 
 
22 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 definitely asserted ; but that his services at this great 
 national crisis were worthy of himself and the' love 
 he bore his country, may be inferred from the 
 liberality with which Ehzabeth rewarded them. On 
 the 9th of August she bestowed on him a new source 
 of profit in a moiety of the benefit of " all penalties 
 and forfeitures for offences committed against the 
 statute of 7th Edward VI., for the sale and retailing 
 of wines, with power to compound with offenders." 
 
 The remarkable versatility of Raleigh's genius 
 was next exhibited by his project for establishing 
 " an office of address," which appears to have been 
 the germ of the literary associations since so common 
 all over Europe. Evelyn speaks of it as " that long- 
 dried fountain of communication which Montaigne 
 first proposed. Sir Walter Raleigh put in practice, 
 and Mr Hartlib endeavoured to revive ;" and Sir 
 William Petty describes it as a plan " by which the 
 wants and desires of all learned men might be made 
 known to each other, where they might know what 
 is already done in the business of learning, what is at 
 present in doing, and what is intended to be done."* 
 /^ He next volunteered to join the great expedition, 
 under Drake and Norris, intended to chastise the 
 coasts of Spain, and replace on the Portuguese 
 throne its deposed king, Don Antonio (April 1589). 
 Owing to the disputes which arose between the two 
 • Tytler's " Life of Sir Walter Raleigh," pp. 104, 105. 
 
OPENING SCENES. 23 
 
 commanders, little was effected by this formidable 
 armament, except the accumulation of a vast amount 
 of plunder. On their way home, moreover, Raleigh 
 and other adventurers made prize of sixty richly- 
 laden Easterlings ; and Elizabeth was sufficiently 
 well pleased with what had been, accomplished to 
 present Raleigh and the principal commanders each 
 with a chain of gold. 
 
 Hitherto our hero seems to have enjoyed the 
 Queen's favour without a rival or competitor. But 
 a new and brilliant star now rose above the horizon, 
 before whose shining fortunes Raleigh's for awhile 
 grew pale and dim. This was Robert Devereux, 
 Earl of Essex, a young noble, twenty-one years of 
 age, whose handsome person, agreeable manners, 
 and dashing gallantry concealed from the eyes of 
 superficial observers his moral and intellectual 
 deficiencies. He grew speedily in the Queen's 
 affections ; was entrusted with her confidence, and 
 distinguished by her liberality. Whether from 
 jealousy, or from some mysterious cause which 
 must always remain unknown, he appears early to 
 have conceived an enmity against Raleigh ; and a 
 difference which occurred between the latter and 
 Sir Roger Williams, a follower and partisan of the 
 young Earl's, did not tend to remove the ill-feeling 
 that subsisted between them. 
 
 It may have been motives of prudence that decided i 
 
24 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 Raleigh at this juncture to visit Ireland, and leave 
 his brilliant rival in apparent possession of the field. 
 After examining his Irish estates, he repaired to Kil- 
 colman, the residence of the poet Spenser, with whom 
 he had been on terms of friendship for many years. 
 His sojourn under the poet's roof is one of the 
 brightest episodes in Raleigh's restless career. The 
 two discoursed on the noble themes so congenial to 
 the minds of both ; they read to each other their 
 poetical compositions ; they exchanged criticisms ; 
 they forgot the turmoil and cares of Court for the 
 delights of the muses' garden. The visit so strongly 
 impressed the mind of Spenser, that he has glorified 
 it with all the resources of his genius in his beautiful 
 pastoral, " Colin Clout's come Home again : " 
 
 ** One day (quoth he) I sat, as was my trade, 
 
 Under the foot of Mole, that mountain hore, 
 Keeping my sheep amongst the cooly shade 
 
 Of the green alders by the Mulla's shore ; 
 There a strange shepherd chanced to find me out,— 
 
 "Whether allurdd with my pipe's delight, 
 Whose pleasing sound yshrilled far about, 
 
 Or thither led by chance, I knew not right, — 
 Whom, when I asked from what place he came, 
 
 And how he hight ? himself he did ycleep 
 The Shepherd of the Ocean* by name, 
 
 And said, he came far from the main sea deep. 
 He, sitting me beside in that same shade, 
 
 Provoked me to play some pleasant fit ; 
 
 • Pronounced as a trisyllable. 
 
OPENING SCENES. 25 
 
 And when he heard the musick which I made, 
 He found himself full greatly pleased at it.'' 
 
 The poet next informs us that Raleigh also dis- 
 played his poetic skill : 
 
 '• Yet, semuling my pipe, he took in hond 
 
 My pipe, before that aemuldd of many, 
 And played thereon (for well that skill he conn'd), 
 
 Himself as skilful in that art as any. 
 He piped, I sung ; and, when he sung, I piped ; 
 
 By change of turns, each making other merry ; 
 Neither envying other, nor envied : 
 
 So piped we, until we both were weary.* 
 
 We can find space but for one more quotation — a 
 description of the happy condition of England under 
 " Cynthia, the Lady of the Sea," as compared with 
 that of miserable Ireland : 
 
 " Both heaven and heavenly graces do much more 
 
 (Quoth he) abound in that same land than this j 
 For there all happy peace and plenteous store 
 
 Conspire in one to make contented bliss. 
 No wailing there — nor wretchedness is heard ; 
 
 No bloody issues — nor no.leprosies ; 
 No griesly famine — nor no raging sweard ; 
 
 No nightly bordrags f — nor no hue and cries. 
 The shepherds there abroad may safely lie 
 
 On hills and downs, withouten dread or danger ; 
 No ravenous wolves the good man's hope destroy ; 
 
 No outlaws fell affray the forest ranger ; 
 There learned arts do flourish in great honour ; 
 
 • Spenser, " Colin Clout's come Home again," lines 56-79. 
 + That is, bord-ragings, "incursions," "forays." 
 
26 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 And poets' wits are had in peerless price ; 
 Religion hath lay power to rest upon her, 
 
 Advancing virtue and suppressing vice. 
 For end, all good, all grace there freely grows, 
 
 Had people grace it gratefully to use ; 
 For God His gifts there plenteously bestows, 
 
 But gi-aceless men them greatly do abuse. " * 
 
 Another important circumstance which renders 
 this meeting of the two poets an epoch in the history 
 of English poetry, is the encouragement which 
 Spenser received from Raleigh to persevere in the 
 composition of his great work, " The Faery Queen." 
 But for the fine taste and excellent judgment of the 
 "Shepherd of the Ocean," it is probable that he 
 would have abandoned it, in deference to the frigid 
 criticism of Harvey and Dyer, for some work whose 
 versification would have been based on the rules of 
 Latin prosody, and which would, consequently, have 
 been wholly foreign to the spirit and genius of our 
 language. It is not one of our lightest debts to 
 Raleigh that we owe to his true poetic feeling so 
 noble a monument of fancy and imagination as 
 "The Faery Queen." 
 
 On his return to England he was accompanied by 
 the poet, whom he introduced to Elizabeth ; as a 
 consequence whereof, the first three books of our 
 great English allegory were soon afterwards pub- 
 
 • Spenser's Poetical Works, ** Colin Clout's come Home again," 
 lines 308-329. 
 
 i 
 
OPENING SCENES. 27 
 
 lished, with a dedication to that "Most High, 
 Mightie, and Magnificent Empresse." It was 
 worthily eulogised by Raleigh in a noble sonnet, 
 which we quote for the reader's benefit — partly as 
 a memorial of the friendship that existed between 
 these two fine spirits, and partly as a specimen of 
 Raleigh's minstrelsy : — 
 
 *' Methought I saw the grave where Laura lay,* 
 
 Within that temple where the vestal flame 
 Was wont to burn ; and passing by that way 
 
 To see that buried dust of living fame, 
 Whose tomb fair Love and fairer Virtue kept, 
 
 All suddenly I saw the Faery Queen, 
 At whose approach the soul of Petrarch wept, 
 
 And from thenceforth those Graces were not seen j 
 For they this Queen attended, in whose stead 
 
 Oblivion laid him down on Laura's hearse ; 
 Hereat the hardest stones were seen to bleed, 
 
 And groans of buried ghosts the heavens did pierce ; 
 Where Homer's spright did tremble all for griefe, 
 
 And curst the access of that celestial thiefe." 
 
 Raleigh's influence with the Queen was now as 
 great as ever, and he availed himself of it to perform 
 many nobly benevolent actions. He obtained the 
 pardon of one Mr John Udall, a pious minister, whose 
 anti-Episcopal leanings had offended the Queen ; 
 and he secured the payment of a large sum to a 
 brave officer, named Spring, which her parsimonious 
 
 * Laura was the heroine of Petrarch, whose fame was now out- 
 shone by the English bard. 
 
28 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 Government had long refused him. The story runs 
 that Elizabeth, in reference to these and similar 
 applications on behalf of the unfortunate, once im- 
 patiently exclaimed, " When, Sir Walter, will you 
 cease to be a beggar?" The reply was apt and 
 felicitous: "When your gracious Majesty ceases to 
 be a benefactor." * 
 
 It was about this time he published one of the 
 most interesting and eloquent of his prose works, his 
 " Report of the Truth of the Fight about the Isles 
 of the Azores." The expedition of six of the 
 Queen's' ships, six victuallers, and a few pinnaces, 
 under Lord Thomas Howard, as Admiral, and the 
 gallant Sir Richard Grenville, as Vice-Admiral, was 
 despatched from England in the spring of 1591, to 
 intercept the Americo-Spanish treasure fleet off the 
 Azores. Philip, obtaining intelligence of their object, 
 lost no time in fitting out a far superior force, number- 
 ing about fifty sail. These were " filled with com- 
 panies of soldiers — in some 200 — besides the marines ; 
 in some 500; in others (it is said) 800" — whereas in 
 the English ships " there were none beside the sea- 
 men, except the servants of the commanders, and 
 some few voluntary gentlemen only."t The English 
 vessels, moreover, were " all pestered and romaging ; 
 
 • Oldys, "Life of Raleigh," pp. 137, 142. 
 
 + Southey, " Lives of British Admirals," iii., 333. See also 
 Hakluyt, "Voyages," pp. 170-185. 
 
OPENING SCENES. 29 
 
 everything out of order; very light for want of 
 ballast ; and, what was most to their disadvantage, 
 half the men of every ship sick, and utterly unser- 
 viceable." On the appearance of the formidable 
 armada of Spain, they were taken by surprise. 
 Many of the crews loitered on shore, obtaining a 
 supply of water and other necessaries, and many 
 were disabled by sickness. Some of our English 
 ships had not time to weigh anchor, but were com- 
 pelled to slip their cables and set sail. Grenville 
 was the last that remained, choosing, says Sir 
 Richard Hawkins, rather to sacrifice his life, and to 
 pass all danger whatsoever, than to fail in his obliga- 
 tion, by gathering together those who were ashore, 
 though with the hazard of his ship and company.* 
 
 Owing to this noble resolution, he found it im- 
 possible to recover the wind, and there lay before 
 him only two desperate courses — either to cut his 
 mainsail, tack about, and fly with all speed, or con- 
 front the Spaniards single-handed. Elizabethan 
 Englishmen, however, were not apt at retreating 
 before their enemies. The warriors who had 
 harassed the shores of the Pacific with fire and 
 sword, and forced the invincible Armada to vail its 
 haughty standards, esteemed it a lasting shame to 
 
 * An excellent account of this remarkable sea-fight is given by 
 Southey, in his "Lives of British Admirals" (3d vol.), based on 
 Raleigh's Report, Sir William Monson, Linschoten, and others. 
 
30 SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 
 
 refuse the challenge of any antagonist, however 
 superior in strength. Grenville resolved to remain 
 and fight. From the greatness of his spirit, says 
 Raleigh, he utterly refused to turn from the enemy, 
 protesting he would rather die than be guilty of 
 such dishonour to himself, his country, and her 
 Majesty's ship. He declared that if any man laid 
 hand upon the mainsail he would have him hanged. 
 He would pass through the two squadrons of the 
 enemy's fleet in spite of them, and enforce that of 
 Seville to give him way. 
 
 And he delivered his charge with so much fury 
 that it seemed, at first, as if his desperate scheme 
 would be successful. Several of the Spaniards fell 
 under his lee, until a huge galleon of 1500 tons, the 
 " San Felipe," coming down upon his little ship, be- 
 calmed her sails in such sort that she could neither 
 make way nor feel the helm, and other vessels luffing 
 up, the "Revenge" was soon in the heart of a 
 tornado of fire. Then begun a terrible contest. The 
 Spaniards made several attempts at boarding, but 
 were again and again repulsed, and beaten back into 
 their own ships or into the sea. The deck of the 
 " Revenge " was swept with shot ; but her crew, in- 
 spired by the example of her great commander — 
 it is astonishing how, in such supreme moments, one 
 heroic soul raises all others to its own lofty level ! — 
 maintained a steady and murderous fire, sinking two 
 
OPENING SCENES. Si 
 
 of their huge opponents, and crippling two others in 
 such wise that they lay unmanageable hulks upon 
 the water. But nothing could save Sir Richard's 
 ship, except, indeed, it had been some such interpo- 
 sition of the gods as in the old Homeric poem so 
 often rescues Greek or Trojan hero. As fast as one 
 great Spaniard was beaten off, another took her place, 
 pouring in her heavy broadsides with irresistible fury. 
 
 All through the long summer afternoon and the 
 deep blue night this unequal struggle was pro- 
 tracted. When morning dawned, God's sun shone 
 out upon a melancholy spectacle. Nothing was to 
 be seen, says Raleigh, but the naked hull of a ship, 
 and that almost a skeleton, having received eight 
 hundred shot of great artillery, and some under 
 water ; her deck covered with the limbs and car- 
 casses of forty valiant men, the rest all wounded and 
 painted with their own blood ; her masts beat over- 
 board, all her tackle cut asunder, her upper works 
 rased and level with the water, and she herself in- 
 capable of receiving any direction or motion except 
 that given her by the billows. Grenville was mor- 
 tally wounded, and most of his men were dead or 
 dying. 
 
 In this strait,* being incapable of further re- 
 sistance, he commanded his master-gunner — a man 
 
 * Sir W. Raleigh's "Report," in Hakluyt's "Voyages" (1599), vol. 
 iL, part ii., pp. 169*?/ 199; also "Edinburgh Review," No. cxliii.,p. 17. 
 
32 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 of the same metal as himself — to blow up and sink 
 the ship. The gunner gladly consented ; but the 
 captain and master were of opinion that sufficient 
 had been done to vindicate their own and their 
 country's honour, and that they n^ight now without 
 disgrace surrender to the Spaniards. It is due to 
 the Spanish Admiral to say that he readily agreed 
 to spare the lives of the survivors, and to send them 
 as free men to England, the better sort paying such 
 reasonable ransom as their estate would bear ; and 
 their hero chief was received on board the Admiral's 
 ship, the St Paul, with all the courtesy due from one 
 brave man to another. His wounds were imme- 
 diately dressed. He survived, however, but for a 
 few hours, expiring with these memorable words on 
 his lips : " Here die I, Richard Grenville, with a 
 joyful and quiet mind, for that I have ended my 
 life as a good soldier ought to do, who has fought 
 for his country, queen, religion, and honour. Where- 
 fore my soul joyfully departeth out of this body, and 
 shall always leave behind it an everlasting fame of a 
 true soldier, who hath done his duty as he was 
 bound to do. But the others of my company have 
 done as traitors and dogs, for which they shall be 
 reproached all their lives, and bear a shameful name 
 for ever."* 
 
 * This last sentence is omitted by Hakluyt, but is given by Southey 
 from the original, in his " Lives of British Admirals," vol. iii, p. 337. 
 
OPENING SCENES, 33 
 
 To vindicate the memory of this gallant seaman 
 from some aspersions unjustly cast upon it, Raleigh 
 drew up an animated and picturesque narrative, full 
 of lofty patriotic sentiments, and remarkable for its 
 tone of bitter hostility to Spain. 
 
 " It would require," he said, " a particular volume 
 to set down how irreligiously they (the Spaniards) 
 cover their greedy and ambitious practices with a 
 veil of piety; for, sure I am, there is no kingdom or 
 commonwealth in all Europe, but, if reformed, they 
 invaded for religion's sake; if it be, as they term. 
 Catholic, they pretend title, as if the kings of Castile 
 were the natural heirs of all the world ; and so, be- 
 tween both, no kingdom is unsought. Where they 
 dare not with their own forces invade, they basely 
 entertain the traitors and vagabonds of all nations, 
 seeking by those and their renegade Jesuits to win 
 parts; and have by that means ruined many noble 
 houses and others in this land, and have extinguished 
 both their lives and families. What good, honour, 
 or fortune ever man yet by them achieved, is unheard 
 of and unwritten. ... To conclude, it hath ever 
 to this day pleased God to prosper and defend Her 
 Majesty, to break the purposes of malicious enemies, 
 of forsworne traitors, and of unjust practices and 
 invasions. She hath ever been honoured of the 
 worthiest kings, served by faithful subjects, and shall, 
 by the favour of God, resist, repel, and confound all 
 
 C 
 
U SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 whatsoever attempts against her sacred person oi 
 kingdom. In the meantime let the Spaniards and 
 traitors vaunt of their success ; and we, her true and 
 obedient vassals, guided by the shining light of her 
 virtues, shall always love her, serve her, and obey 
 her to the end of our lives." 
 
 It was perhaps in reward for this eloquent de- 
 nunciation of Elizabeth's most bitter and formidable 
 enemy, that she bestowed on Sir Walter the castle 
 and manor of Sherborne, in Dorsetshire.* In that 
 case, he probably spent the winter of 1591 on his 
 estate, where, with his customary energy, he rebuilt 
 the castle, erected a stately mansion, and laid out 
 the grounds in a succession of picturesque landscapes. 
 
 All the allurements of a naval life, however — dear 
 as they must have been to a man of Raleigh's poeti- 
 cal tastes — were insufficient to detain him long from 
 Court, whither he was now drawn by a new and 
 irresistible attraction. This was the beautiful Eliza- 
 beth Throgmorton an orphan of great personal 
 charms and mental accomplishments, whose virtue, 
 devotion, and misfortunes (as Mr St John remarks) 
 shed a lustre over the close of the sixteenth and the 
 
 ♦ J. A. St John, "Life of Raleigh,"!. 208. The gift, by some 
 authorities, is dated four years later ; but at that time Raleigh had 
 lost Elizabeth's favour, and could not have obtained a gracious word. 
 It is absurd to suppose that she would then bestow upon him a fair 
 estate. We may add, that after the failure of Babington's conspiracy h« 
 liad received from the Queen nearly all the estates forfeited by the traitor. 
 
OPEN-TNG SCENES. 35 
 
 early years of the seventeenth century. Their inter- 
 course was at first clandestine and illicit, but it could 
 not long be concealed from the busy eyes of Raleigh's 
 many enemies, who only waited a favourable oppor- 
 tunity to reveal it to the Queen, and effect his ruin. 
 Such an opportunity was afforded in the spring of 
 1592 by a new venture of Raleigh's. He obtained 
 Elizabeth's sanction to an expedition against Panama 
 — one of the richest cities in Spanish America — 
 combined with a second scheme for intercepting the 
 Plate fleet. In this enterprise he embarked his 
 whole fortune. He and his friends, with some grudg- 
 ing assistance from the government, equipped and 
 manned thirteen goodly vessels, to which the Queen 
 added two men-of-war, the "Garland" and the 
 " Foresight." Raleigh was appointed Admiral, and 
 Sir John Borough Vice-Admiral, and every precau- 
 tion was taken to ensure the success of a project 
 whose failure would assuredly have ruined its pro- 
 jectors. 
 
 But before they sailed some rumour of his intrigue 
 had got bruited abroad, and Raleigh, in an agony 
 of apprehension, addressed a letter to Sir Robert 
 Cecil, the Secretary of State, endeavouring to ward 
 off the royal wrath. " I mean not to come away," 
 he wrote, " as they say I will, for fear of a marriage, 
 and I know not what. If any such thing were, I 
 would have imparted it to yourself before any man 
 
36 S/R WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 living ; and therefore I pray you believe it not, and 
 I beseech you to suppress what you can any such 
 mahcious report. For, I protest before God, there 
 be none on the face of the earth that I would be 
 fastened unto." * 
 
 Some of Raleigh's biographers have sought to 
 explain away this closing phrase ; but, with all our 
 admiration of an heroic spirit, who did good service 
 to his country — with all our reverence for a man 
 who possessed one of the largest hearts and grandest 
 intellects of his age — we cannot but regard it as a 
 fatal blot upon Raleigh's fame. We cannot but 
 regret that he abandoned the woman who had 
 trusted him to the scoffs and contumely of an 
 envious Court, and the anger of a jealous and out- 
 raged sovereign, and that to the guilt of the deser- 
 tion he added the infamy of repudiating her devoted 
 love. It was a sin, and it was heavily punished. 
 To this one act of " selfish lust " may be traced all 
 the misfortunes of his later career. 
 
 It must have been with an aching heart, and a 
 bitter consciousness of imminent ruin, that Raleigh 
 sailed from England. On the very second day of 
 his voyage, the storm broke, and the bolt descended. 
 He was overtaken by Sir Martin Frobisher, in a 
 swift pinnace, with a peremptory order of recall. 
 
 * Edwards, "Life of Raleigh," ii. ; "Raleigh's Miscellaneous 
 Works, " vii. 659. 
 
OPENING SCENES. 37 
 
 As to gain time was everything, he ventured to 
 overlook it, until he obtained intelligence that Philip, 
 aware of the expedition, had countermanded the 
 departure of the treasure-fleet. Off Cape Finistere 
 he encountered a hurricane, which sunk several of 
 his boats and pinnaces. In melancholy mood he 
 here put about, leaving the fleet under the command 
 of Frobisher and Borough,* and quitting his admiral's 
 ship, embarked on board the swift pinnace for Eng- 
 land. He arrived about the middle of July, and on 
 the 2 1st was committed to the Tower. 
 
 From his prison he wrote numerous passionate 
 letters to Cecil, lamenting his cruel fate, and pour- 
 ing out eloquent panegyrics on the Queen's beauty 
 and noble virtues — panegyrics partly sincere and 
 partly exaggerated — all intended for the Queen's 
 eye, and sure to meet it.t " How wretched am I," 
 he exclaims, "now left behind in a dark prison all 
 alone." . . . "I that was wont to behold her 
 riding like Alexander, hunting like Diana, walking 
 like Venus, the gentle wind blowing her fair hair 
 about her pure cheeks like a nymph ; sometime 
 sitting in the shade like a goddess, sometime sing- 
 
 * The expedition eventually proved successful, captured some rich 
 Indian carracks — including the " Madre de Dios," of 1600 tons, the 
 largest prize ever brought to England — and returned home laden 
 with booty. 
 
 t J. A. St John, " Life of Raleigh," i. 214. 
 
38 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 ing like an angell, sometime playing like Orpheus." * 
 As Elizabeth was at this time sixty years old, it is 
 difficult to believe, despite of Mr Kingsley's ani- 
 mated pleading,^ that this outburst could be from 
 the heart, though we may admit that her servants 
 regarded her with an idolatry and a devotion, of 
 which we, in these days of " rational loyalty," are by 
 no means capable. Raleigh, however, did not trust 
 to words alone. He enacted a quarrel with Sir 
 George Carew, his keeper, under circumstances 
 which are amusingly described in a letter from his 
 friend, Sir Arthur Gorges, to Secretary Cecil : 
 
 " Honourable Sir, — I cannot choose but adver- 
 tise you of a strange tragedy that this day had like 
 to have fallen out between the Captain of the Guard, 
 Sir Walter Raleigh, and the Lieutenant of the Ord- 
 nance, if I had not by great chance come at the 
 very instant to have turned it into a comedy. For 
 upon report of her Majesty being at Sir George 
 Carey's, Sir Walter Raleigh, having gazed and 
 sighed a long time at his study-window, from 
 whence he might discern the barges and the boats 
 about the Blackfriars' Stairs, suddenly he brake into 
 a great distemper, and sware that his enemies had 
 on purpose brought her Majesty thither to break his 
 
 • Printed by Murdin (and Edwards) from the original, in the 
 Cecil Papers, at the Marquis of Salisbury's seat of Hatfield. The 
 date is July 1592. 
 
 t Kingsley, "Miscellanies," i. 34-3$. 
 
OPENING SCENES. 39 
 
 gall in sunder with Tantalus' torment, that when 
 she went away he might gaze his death before his 
 eyes — with many such like conceits. And as a man 
 transported with passion, he sware to Sir George 
 Carew that he would disguise himself and get into 
 a pair of oars, to ease his mind but with a sight of 
 the Queen, or else, he protested, his heart would 
 break. But the trusty jailer would none of that, for 
 displeasing the higher powers, as he said, which he 
 more respected than the feeding of his humour, 
 and so flatly refused to permit him. But in con- 
 clusion, upon this dispute they fell flat out to 
 outrageous choleric words, with straining and strug- 
 gling at the doors, that all lameness was forgotten, 
 and, in the fury of the conflict, the jailer had his 
 new periwig torn off" his crown ; and yet here the 
 battle ended not, for at last they had gotten out 
 their daggers, which, when I saw, I played the 
 stickler between them, and so purchased such a 
 rap on the knuckles, that I wished both their pates 
 broken ; and so with much ado they stayed their 
 brawl to see my bloody fingers. 
 
 " At the first I was ready to break with laughing 
 to see them two scramble and brawl like madmen, 
 until I saw the iron walking, and then I did my best 
 to appease the fury. As yet I cannot reconcile them 
 by any persuasions, for Sir Walter swears that he shall 
 hate him, for so restraining him from the sight of his 
 
40 SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 
 
 mistress, while he lives, for that he knows not, as he 
 said, whether he shall ever see her again when she 
 has gone the progress. And Sir George on his side, 
 swears that he had rather he should lose his longing, 
 than he should draw on him Her Majesty's displea- 
 sure by such liberty. Thus they continue in malice 
 and snarling; but I am sure all the smart lighted on 
 me. I cannot tell whether I should more allow of 
 the passionate lover or the trusty jailer. But if 
 yourself had seen it as I did, you would have been 
 as heartily merry and sorry as ever you were in all 
 your life for so short a time. I pray you pardon my 
 hasty-written narration, which I acquaint you with, 
 hoping you will be the peace-maker. But, good sir, 
 let nobody know thereof, for I fear Sir Walter 
 Raleigh will shortly grow to be Orlando Furioso, 
 if the bright Angelica persevere against him a little 
 longer. — Your honour's," etc. 
 
 To this entertaining epistle, which the honest 
 knight evidently wrote with a sly smile on his coun- 
 tenance, he added the following postscript: 
 
 " If you let the Queen's Majesty know hereof, 
 as you think good be it. But otherwise, good sir, 
 keep it secret for their credit ; for they know not of 
 my discourse, which I could wish Her Majesty knew." 
 
 Who can doubt but that this scene was care- 
 fully rehearsed between gaoler and captive, and 
 that Sir Arthur was admitted as a spectator, with 
 
OPENING SCENES. 41 
 
 the understanding he should report it in the proper 
 quarter? 
 
 These extravagances were so far successful that 
 Raleigh obtained his release from the Tower, though 
 for some time longer he was treated as a state-crimi- 
 nal, and attended by a keeper. We find him visiting 
 Dartmouth to witness the return of his successful ex- 
 pedition, with the golden galley the Madre de Dios.* 
 Sir Robert Cecil has left on record an account of the 
 reception accorded to the disgraced knight. "As 
 soon," he says, " as I came on board the carrack on 
 Wednesday, at one of the clock, with the rest of Her 
 Majesty's Commissioners, within one hour Sir Walter 
 Raleigh arrived with his keeper Mr Blount. I assure 
 you, sir, his poor servants, to the number of a hun- 
 dred and forty goodly men, and all the mariners, 
 came to him with such shouts and joy as I never 
 saw a man more troubled to quiet them in my life. 
 But his heart is broken, for he is extremely pensive 
 longer than he is busied, in which he can toil terribly ; 
 but if you did hear him rage at the spoils, finding all 
 the best wares utterly devoured,^ you would laugh 
 
 * This would seem to have been on or about the 2ist of September. 
 He appears to have been released on the 1 8th, but to have stayed 
 in London to marry the lady he had wronged, before he posted west- 
 ward. 
 
 + The Madre de Dios had been terribly pillaged by her prize crew. 
 Her cargo had been valued at half-a-million, but by the time it reached 
 London was not worth much more than ;^ 200,000. 
 
42 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 as I do, which I cannot choose. The meeting be- 
 tween him and Sir John Gilbert was with tears on 
 Sir John's part ; and he belike finding that it is 
 known he had a keeper, whensoever he is saluted 
 with congratulation for liberty, he doth answer, 
 *No, I am still the Queen of England's poor cap- 
 tive.' I wished him to conceal it, because here it 
 diminishes his credit, which I do vow to you before 
 God is greater amongst the mariners than I thought 
 for."* 
 
 It was not long before he was fully set at liberty, 
 though not restored to the Queen's favour. His 
 popularity secured his return to the Parliament of 
 1593, in which he showed himself, by his thoughtful 
 and well-considered speeches, no less sagacious as 
 a statesman than he was brilliant as a courtier and a 
 soldier. He supported the Government in their ap- 
 plication for subsidies to prosecute the war against 
 Spain, advised a vigorous policy for the settlement 
 of Irish grievances, and eloquently espoused the 
 cause of religious tolerance. Mr St John justly re- 
 marks, that the sagacity of his views of public affairs 
 was almost unerring, as, after neglecting his counsel, 
 and wandering away in different directions, the 
 statesmen of the time generally found them- 
 selves constrained to retrace their steps, and adopt 
 
 * State Paper Office MSS., cited by Cayley; also by Mr J. A. St 
 John in his "Life of Raleigh," i. 227. 
 
OPENING SCENES, ' 43 
 
 the policy he had recommended to them from the 
 first. 
 
 At the close of the session he retired to Sherborne, 
 where, in the company of Lady Raleigh, he enjoyed 
 a brief interval of repose. His active spirit, however, 
 soon chafed at this enforced tranquillity. He had 
 tasted too long the fierce delights of battle to rest 
 contented with the sweets of peace. He who had 
 been admitted to his Queen's most secret confidence, 
 and had shared in her most important counsels, could 
 not satisfy his mind with bucolic pleasures, nor even 
 with the study of the writers he most esteemed. If 
 he looked out upon the busy, whirling, restless world, 
 it was not with the feeling of the poet that he was 
 happy in his remoteness from its maelstrom, but with 
 the impatient yearning of one who sees in the dis- 
 tance an object he loves and prizes, and would fain 
 secure. As the child yearns for its mother's bosom, 
 he yearned after the toil and excitement and peril of 
 a public career. 
 
 All his attempts to recover his forfeited position 
 failed, and, falling back upon his own measureless 
 resources, he resolved to carve out for himself a new 
 path of action ; or rather, he reverted to his old 
 ideas of colonisation; revived his early dream of 
 founding an English empire in America; and turn- 
 ing his eager gaze towards the western hemisphere, 
 began to meditate the great design of discovering 
 
44 SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 
 
 and conquering the Golden Land and the wonder- 
 ful city of Manoa — the fabled El Dorado of the 
 Spaniards* 
 
 To obtain more accurate information than his 
 books would furnish, he despatched, in 1596, a bark 
 under the command of Jacob Whiddon, an old and 
 experienced servant, to survey the southern islands 
 of the Caribbean Sea and the coast of Guiana. On 
 his return, Whiddon declared the approach to the 
 supposed Dorado almost impracticable, but he 
 brought back the most extravagant hearsay testi- 
 mony to its wealth and magnificence. In this Land 
 of Gold there were greater and richer cities than 
 Peru could boast of in its palmiest days, and Manoa, 
 the capital, in size and opulence and population, ex- 
 ceeded all the cities of the world. 
 
 It owed its well-known name of El Dorado to the 
 fictions of Juan Montiney, a Spanish adventurer, who 
 professed to have penetrated thither. " He lived," 
 says the too credulous Raleigh, "seven months in 
 Manoa, but was not suffered to wander into the 
 country; and the Indians who at first conducted him 
 to the capital took the precaution of blindfolding 
 him, not removing the veil from his eyes till he was 
 ready to enter the city. It was at noon that he 
 passed the gates, and it took him all that day and 
 the next, walking from sunrise to sunset, before he 
 
 ♦ Edwards, "Life of Raleigh," i. 159. 
 
 I 
 
OPENING SCENES, 45 
 
 arrived at the palace of Inga, where he resided for 
 seven months, till he had made himself master of 
 the language of the country . . . He found the 
 Guianians to be marvellous great drunkards, and at 
 the times of their solemn feasts, when the emperor 
 carouseth with his captains, tributaries, and gover- 
 nors, the manner is thus, — all those that pledge him 
 are first stript naked, and their bodies rubbed over 
 with a kind of white balsamum, by them called curcai. 
 When they are thus anointed, certain servants of 
 the emperor having prepared gold made into fine 
 powder, blow it through hollow canes upon their 
 naked bodies until they are all shining from the foot 
 to the head ; and in this sort they sit drinking by 
 twenties and hundreds, continuing in drunkenness 
 sometimes six or seven days together. Upon this 
 sight, and for the abundance of gold which he saw 
 in the city, the images of gold in their temples, the 
 plates, armours, and shields of gold which they use 
 in the wars, he called the city El Dorado." * 
 
 His warm imagination fired by these glowing pic- 
 tures, which suggested to him as possible the dis- 
 covery and conquest of an empire richer than that 
 of the Incas, Raleigh determined on equipping a 
 
 * Raleigh, " Discovery of Guiana," p. 398-403. The fable in the 
 text had its origin on the coast of Santa Martha and Carthagena, 
 whence it passed to Bogota. See Humboldt, "Personal Narrative," 
 V, 814; and Sir R. H. Schomburgk's Introduction to Raleigh's "Dis- 
 covery," (Hakluyt Society), p. i. 
 
46 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 suitable expedition. Assisted by his friend Cecil, 
 and Effingham the Lord-Admiral, who sent a vessel 
 of his own, named " The Lion's Whelp," he soon got 
 together a squadron of five vessels, with barges, 
 wherries, and tenders, and sailed from Plymouth on 
 the 9th of February 1595.* 
 
 * Edwards, "Life of Raleigh," i. 172. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF GUIANA. 
 
 *' Yet unspoiled 
 Guiana, whose great city Geryon's sons 
 Call El Dorado." MiLTON. 
 
 *' Guiana, whose rich feet are mines of gold, 
 Whose forehead knocks against the roof of stars, 
 Stands on her tiptoe at fair England looking, 
 Kissing her hand, bowing her mighty breast, 
 And every sign of all submission making, 
 To be her sister and the daughter both 
 Of our most sacred maid. " 
 
 George Chapman, 
 
 N the 2 2d of March Raleigh arrived at Trini- 
 dad. Here he found the governor, Antonio 
 de Berreo — who in the previous year had 
 treated Captain Whiddon with much cruelty — still 
 in command ; and he soon discovered that nothing 
 of his old hatred had died out, but that he was 
 secretly planning measures to surprise and slay the 
 English navigators. Before he had completed his 
 arrangements, Raleigh made a sudden descent on 
 his city of San Josef, set it on fire, liberated five 
 
4-8 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 Indian caciques whom he found there in chains, and 
 carried of Berreo and his Heutenant as prisoners. 
 
 He then called together "all the Captains of the 
 island that were enemies to the Spaniards;"* and 
 made them understand that he was "the servant of 
 a Queen who was the great Cacique of the north, 
 and a virgin, and had more Caciques under her than 
 there were trees in their island: that she was an 
 enemy to the Castellani in respect of their tyranny 
 and oppression, and that she delivered all such 
 nations about her as were by them oppressed, and 
 having freed all the coast of the northern vrorld 
 from their servitude, had sent me to free them also, 
 and withal to defend the country of Guiana fronr 
 their invasion and conquest. I showed them Her 
 Majesty's picture, which they so admired and 
 honoured, as it had been easy to have brought 
 them idolatrous thereof." 
 
 Raleigh now discovered that Guiana was distant 
 600 miles further from the coast than his information 
 had led him to believe. This fact he kept from his 
 followers, lest it should discourage them, and stead- 
 fastly went forward. Both he and they suffered much 
 on the voyage, on account of the " poor and weak 
 vessels" in which they were forced to accomplish it : 
 " for in the bottom of an old gallego v/hich I caused 
 
 * All my quotations are from the Hakluyt Society's excellent edi- 
 tion of Raleigh's "Discovery of Guiana." 
 
THE DISCO VER V OF GUIANA. 49 
 
 to be fashioned like a galley, and in one barge, two 
 wherries, and a ship-boat of the * Lion's Whelp,' we 
 carried one hundred persons and their victuals for a 
 month, being all driven to lie in the rain and weather, 
 in the open air, in the burning sun, and upon the hard 
 boards, and to dress our meat, and to carry all man- 
 ner of furniture in them, wherewith they were so 
 pestered and unsavoury, that what with victuals 
 being most fish, with the wet clothes of so many 
 men thrust together, and the heat of the sun, I will 
 undertake there w^as never any prison in England 
 that could be found more unsavoury and loathsome, 
 especially to myself, who had for many years before 
 been dieted and cared for in a sort far differing."* 
 
 The Orinoco, at w^hose ocean mouth the ships 
 were left at anchor, is one of the great rivers of the 
 world. It rolls its turbid flood over two thousand 
 miles of course, between banks clothed with luxuri- 
 ant forests that almost defy the intrusion of the tra- 
 veller. It is not difficult to imagine the effect which 
 scenery fashioned on so gigantic a scale must have 
 produced upon a mind so alive to romantic and 
 mystical influences as Raleigh's. Forward, and ever 
 forward, toiled the weary voyagers, and still the vast 
 forests hemmed them in on either hand, and bending 
 over them like an arch of foHage, made a dim twi- 
 light of the brightest noon. Forward, and ever for > 
 
 * Raleigh, "Discovery of Guiana," p. lO. 
 
50 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 ward, laboured the heavy boats, and still before the 
 wistful eye opened up the interminable avenue of 
 lofty trunks and spreading branches, woven into an 
 impervious shade by innumerable strange parasitical 
 plants and lianas, which glowed with blossoms like 
 drops of fire. Strange noises echoed through that 
 boundless silence ; the cry of a passing bird, the howl 
 of beasts of prey, the crackling of splintered boughs, 
 the heavy fall of some aged patriarch of the forest. 
 At times there came a break in the leafy wilderness, 
 and along the river bank spread a delightful expanse 
 of grassy plain, tenanted by herds of deer;* beyond 
 whose verdurous rim rose the lofty and richly wooded 
 summits of far mountains, — the spurs and promon- 
 tories of the great Andean chain, — and still beyond 
 them other and yet other mountains, some of them 
 crowned with eternal snow, and some keenly rising 
 into the deep blue heaven, like the shapely spires of 
 a cathedral built by no human hand. 
 
 Through a succession of these marvellous land- 
 scapes Raleigh still pressed forward, though, as he 
 advanced, the mirage of the Golden City, the mysti- 
 cal Manoa, receded before him. He did not abate, 
 however, one jot of heart or hope. What he did see 
 was so sublime, so wonderful, so novel, that it only 
 tended to make him more credulous of the wild 
 fables invented by the Indians, and related by the 
 
 * Raleigh, ** Discovery of Guiana," p. 57. 
 
THE DISCO VER Y OF GUIANA. 51 
 
 Spaniards with many an additional exaggeration; 
 and, therefore, he could write, in implicit sincerity : 
 Had we but entered the country some ten days 
 sooner, ere the rivers were overflown, we had adven- 
 tured either to have gone to the great city of Manoa, 
 or at least had taken so many of the other cities and 
 towns nearer at hand, as would have made a royal 
 return. But it pleased not God so much to favour 
 us at this time : if it shall be my lot to prosecute the 
 same, I shall willingly spend my life therein, and if 
 any else shall be enabled thereunto, and conquer the 
 same, I assure him this much, he shall perform more 
 than ever was done in Mexico by Cortez, or in Peru 
 by Pacaro,* whereof the one conquered the empire 
 of Montizuma, the other of Guasca and Atabalipa, 
 and whatsoever Prince shall possess it, that Prince 
 shall be lord of more gold, and of a more beautiful 
 empire, and of more cities and people, than either 
 the King of Spain or the Great Turk, t 
 
 Of the inhabitants of that " insular" or " broken 
 world," formed by the several branches of the Ori- 
 noco, Raleigh has left a minute account, which shows 
 how keen and accurate were his powers of observation. 
 
 In the summer, he tells us, they have houses on 
 the ground, but in winter they dwell upon the trees, 
 where they build very artificial towns and villages; 
 
 * Pizarro, the Spanish conqueror of Peru, 
 t Raleigh, " Discovery of Guiana," p. 59. 
 
52 SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 
 
 for between May and September the river of Ori- 
 noco riseth thirty foot upright, and then are those 
 islands overflown twenty foot high above the level 
 of the ground, saving some few raised grounds in tht 
 middle of them, and for this cause they are enforced 
 to live in this manner. They never eat of anything 
 that is set or sown, and as at home they neither use 
 planting nor other manurance, so when they come 
 abroad they refuse to feed of ought but of that which 
 nature without labour bringeth forth. They use the 
 tops of palmettos for bread, and kill deer, fish, and 
 porks, for the rest of their sustenance, having also 
 many sorts of fruits that grow in the woods, and 
 great variety of birds and fowl. They were wont to 
 make war upon all nations ; but of late they are at 
 peace with their neighbours, esteeming the Spaniards 
 their common enemy. When their commanders die 
 they use great lamentation, and when they think the 
 flesh of their bodies is putrified and fallen from their 
 bones, then they take up the carcass again, and hang 
 it in the cacique's house that died, decking his skull 
 with feathers of all colours, and hanging all his gold 
 plates about the bones of his arms, thighs, and legs. 
 
 Of a cascade in the province of Canari, and of 
 the surrounding scenery, we find the following ani- 
 mated picture: 
 
 When we ran to the tops, he says, of the first hills 
 of the plains adjoining to the river, we beheld that 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF GUIANA, 53 
 
 wonderful breach of waters which run down Caroli ; 
 and might from that mountain see the river how it 
 ran in three parts, above twenty miles off; and there 
 appeared some ten or twelve overfalls in sight, every 
 one as high over the other as a church tower, which 
 fell with that fury that the rebound of waters made 
 it seem as if it had been all covered over with a great 
 shower of rain ; and in some places we took it at the 
 first for a smoke that had risen over some great town. 
 For mine own part I was well persuaded from thence 
 to have returned, being a very ill footman, but 
 the rest were all so desirous to go near the said 
 strange thunder of waters, so they drew me on by 
 little and little, till we came into the next valley, 
 where we might better discern the same. I never 
 saw a more beautiful country, nor more lively pro- 
 spects, hills so raised here and there over the valleys, 
 the river winding into divers branches, the plains ad- 
 joining, without bush or stubble, all fair green grass, 
 the ground of hard sand easy to march on, either for 
 horse or foot, the deer crossing in every path, the 
 birds towards the evening singing on every tree with 
 a thousand several tunes, cranes and herons of white, 
 crimson, and carnation, perching on the river's side, 
 the air fresh with a gentle easterly wind, and every 
 stone that we stooped to take promised either gold 
 or silver by his complexion. 
 
 The adventurers proceeded some four hundred 
 
54 S/R WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 miles up the Orinoco. The river then rose with a 
 sudden and tremendous flood, which appalled the 
 stoutest soldiers. Hurricanes succeeded one another 
 with awful frequency, and storms of thunder and 
 lightning, of a fury only to be understood by those 
 who have visited tropical countries. It was, there- 
 fore, deemed advisable to return. Raleigh had 
 opened up a friendly intercourse with a cacique 
 named Tapiowari, who gave him much valuable in- 
 formation, and now brought him his son Cayworaco 
 to accompany him to England. The voyage down 
 the river was completed without accident, and, em- 
 barking once more on board their little ships, the 
 voyagers sailed for "home," which they reached about 
 the middle of July 1595. 
 
 The malice of Raleigh's enemies had not died out 
 during his absence, and now the successful results of 
 his voyage added fresh fuel to the flame. They criti- 
 cised his narration with more than judicial severity, 
 and some of them even ventured to assert that he had 
 never visited Guiana at all, but had concealed him- 
 self in the Cornish wilds, and there, with materials 
 previously existing, had worked up the romance 
 which he called the " Discovery of Guiana." By the 
 great body of the people, however, these calumnies 
 were contemptuously regarded, and the fame of the 
 great navigator daily assumed grander and loftier 
 proportions. On the minds of the poets his wonder- 
 
THE DISCOVERY OF GUIANA. 55 
 
 ful adventures necessarily produced a powerful im- 
 pression. George Chapman poured forth a flood of 
 elaborate verse in celebration of his enterprise: 
 
 * * And now a wind, as forward as their spirits, 
 Sets their glad feet on smooth Guiana's breast; 
 Where, as if each man were an Orpheus, 
 A world of savages fall tame before them, 
 And there doth plenty crown their wealthy fields." 
 
 The dramatists entwined their productions with 
 numerous references to the marvels of the Western 
 World, and the greatest of them, Shakspeare him- 
 self, was evidently fired by the stories which Raleigh 
 related with so much simple faith of 
 
 *' Antres vast and deserts idle. 
 Tough quarries, rocks, and hills whose heads touch heaven, 
 And of the cannibals that each other eat, 
 The anthropophagi, and men whose heads do grow beneath 
 their shoulder. " 
 
 In the " Merry Wives of Windsor," Falstaff bids 
 his page 
 
 *' Sail like my pinnace to those golden shores," 
 and. in the " Two Gentlemen of Verona," Panthino 
 speaks of the adventurous pursuits of the young men 
 of his time, and how their fathers 
 
 ** Put forth their sons to seek preferment out : 
 Some, to the wars, to try their fortune there. 
 Some to discover islands far away." 
 
 But there was still one black cloud on the horizon, 
 
56 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 which Raleigh regarded with anxiety. The Queei 
 as yet made no sign of returning graciousness; sh< 
 still withheld the light of her countenance, though, 
 perhaps, secretly relenting. It is impossible that 
 she can have done otherwise than admire the perse- 
 verance, the chivalrous energy, the heroic enterprise 
 of her whilom favourite, and however much she may 
 at first have resented the insult offered to her as queen 
 and woman by his ill-omened intrigue and clandes- 
 tine marriage, we can believe that her anger gradu- 
 ally declined as she marked his eager efforts to 
 recover her confidence. Though she still refused to 
 receive him at court, she was in all likelihood, as 
 Mr St John remarks, no less anxious than any of 
 her subjects to learn how he had fared, what he had 
 seen, and what new projects for the advancement of 
 her glory and power now inspired his ever active 
 intellect. If she determined to wait a little longer 
 before her trusty counsellor once more rode before 
 her at the head of her guard ; if she was resolute 
 like the ladies of the feudal times, to impose yet 
 another penance upon her erring knight; we can 
 well believe that the effort cost Elizabeth as much 
 mental pain to make as Raleigh to endure.* 
 
 • J. A. St John, *« Life of Raleigh," i. 245. / 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE GREAT FIGHT AT CADIZ. 
 
 *' What revels in combustion through our kingdom, 
 A frenzy of aspiring youth has danced." 
 
 John Ford. 
 
 " You are a soldier valiant and renowned ; 
 Your carriage tried by land, and proved at sea." 
 
 Thomas Heywood. 
 
 ALEIGH, on his return to England, found 
 much cause for grave alarm in the condition 
 of public affairs. Philip of Spain had by no 
 means abandoned his design of humbling his most 
 determined and dangerous foe, and in an interval of 
 eight years having repaired the losses inflicted by the 
 destruction of the great Armada, he now resolved on 
 another and a supreme effort to crown his life-long 
 policy. He pushed a large army into France, under 
 the Archduke Albert of Asturia, and having captured 
 Calais, his forces were encamped within twenty miles 
 of the coast of England, so that the roar of his guns 
 startled the echoes of quiet Kentish vales. Mean- 
 
SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 while, he fomented disorders in Ireland, and encour- 
 aged tlie anti-English party in Scotland ; drawing 
 his toils so closely round our little island-kingdom, 
 that Elizabeth's ministers perceived the absolute 
 necessity of dealing some heavy blow in the giant's 
 side, if they would avert the destruction of the 
 monarchy. 
 
 They resolved, therefore, on adopting the sage 
 counsel given by Drake and Raleigh in 1587, and 
 instead of waiting the enemy's attack, to seek him 
 out and confront him in his own harbours. They 
 saw that the true policy of England is always to act 
 on the offensive, and rely on the courage of her 
 children, rather than to trust to any so-called lines 
 of defence, whether Channel-fleets or granite forts. 
 They accordingly equipped, with a truly wonderful 
 celerity, a large and formidable expedition, consisting 
 of a hundred and fifty-six ships of war — seventeen of 
 which were first-rates, and the remainder tenders and 
 smaller craft — and having on board about fourteen 
 thousand soldiers and seamen, including one thou- 
 sand gentlemen volunteers. As yet, says Oldys, the 
 nobles and gentry had not learnt to live lazily and 
 loosely at home while their countrymen abroad were 
 fighting for the safety of the nation. The chief 
 command was entrusted to the Queen's favourite and 
 kinsman, the Earl of Essex and the Lord Howard of 
 Effingham, assisted by a council of five, Sir Walter 
 
r 
 
 THE GREA T FIGHT A T CADIZ. 59 
 
 Raleigh, Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Francis Vere, 
 Sir Conyers Clifford, and Sir George Carew. 
 
 The expedition sailed under happy auspices, quit- 
 ting Plymouth Sound on the ist of June. The run 
 to the Spanish coast was made in less than three 
 weeks, and without the enemy being able to obtain 
 any warning of its approach, so that the Spaniards 
 were overcome with surprise and dismay when the 
 great fleet, on the 20th, dropped anchor in St Sebas- 
 tian's Bay, within a league of Cadiz.* It is said that 
 the sentinels on shore first beheld the English Armada 
 about two o'clock on Sunday morning, and that, as the 
 day broke, it neared the shore under press of canvas, 
 every ship resplendent with colours and streamers. 
 
 On the previous day, Raleigh, in the " Warspite," 
 had been directed to advance before the fleet, and 
 intercept any vessel which might attempt to escape 
 from San Lucar or Cadiz. During his absence, the 
 Lord Admiral determined that an assault should, in 
 the first place, be made by the land army upon the 
 city, that its batteries might be silenced before the 
 attack on the Spanish fleet commenced. Essex un- 
 willingly complied with a plan whose impolicy he 
 perceived; and when Raleigh returned on Sunday 
 afternoon, he found the troops disembarking, though 
 the surge was so tremendous that the boats were 
 every moment in danger of being swamped. 
 
 ♦ Monson, in Hakluyt's "Voyages," i. i68, 169. 
 
60 S/R WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 He hastened immediately on board Essex's shi 
 the " Repulse," and argued strongly against the di 
 embarkation, pointing out that the lives of th 
 soldiers were being imperilled, and that, moreover, 
 during the assault on the town, the fleet might escape. 
 Essex replied that the plan was not his, but the Lord 
 Admiral's, and that he strongly disapproved of it. 
 Raleigh then repaired to the "Ark Royal," where 
 he pressed his reasons upon Effingham with so much 
 vigour, that the admiral agreed to postpone the 
 attack upon the city, and engage the ships. With 
 this joyful news Raleigh returned to Essex, calling 
 out "Entramos! Entramos!" and the young Earl, in 
 his enthusiasm, flung his cap into the sea, and, had 
 he not been dissuaded by cooler heads, would have 
 instantly weighed anchor. But the sun was now 
 setting, and nothing could safely be adventured under 
 the shades of night. Some hours were therefore 
 given to sage deliberation on the plan of attack pro- 
 posed by Raleigh, and it was decided that the fleet 
 should first run in, cannonading the enemy's ships 
 with their great guns, and that afterwards two fly- 
 boats should board each of the large galleons, to pre- 
 vent their crews from burning them. The honour of 
 leading the vanguard was accorded to Raleigh, who, 
 with the first streak of dawn in the eastern skies, 
 weighed anchor, and bore down upon the foe, with 
 all the celerity of a bridegroom hastening to the 
 
 I 
 
THE GREA T FIGHT A T CADIZ. 61 
 
 arms of his beloved. And well might he be proud 
 of the honour done him, for crowding in his rear came 
 the best and bravest of England's sons, not less eager 
 than himself to shed their blood for Queen and 
 country. The "Mary Rose" was commanded by 
 Sir George Carew, the " Lion" by Sir Robert South- 
 well, the " Rainbow" by Sir Francis Vere, the " Swift- 
 sure," by Captain Cross, the "Nonpareil" by Robert 
 Dudley, and the "Dreadnought" by Sir Conyers 
 Clifford.* 
 
 The disposition of the Spaniards, as Mr Tytlcr 
 remarks, made the attack both hazardous and diffi- 
 cult. Under the walls of the city seventeen galleys 
 were ranged with their prows to flank the entrance. 
 The harbour lay under the fire of Fort St Philip 
 and was also raked by heavy ordnance mounted on 
 the seaward ramparts. Although thus strongly 
 guarded, the great galleon "San Felipe" no sooner 
 descried the English fleet than she crowded on all sail, 
 followed by a train of heavy galleons, frigates, argosies, 
 and great ships bound for Mexico, and anchored under 
 the guns of the fort of Puntal. The four largest gal- 
 leons then placed the three frigates on their right, 
 with two other galleons and a couple of heavily-armed 
 argosies in their rear; seventeen galleys were reserved 
 to fill up the intervals by three and three as occasion 
 might require. The Spanish admiral, with the body 
 
 * Monson, "Narrative," 170, 171. 
 
62 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 of the fleet, was stationed behind them, to guard the 
 narrow channel leading up to the city; a channel so 
 narrow that the line of ships stretched across it like 
 a bridge, offering an apparently irresistible barrier. 
 
 The Spaniards on this occasion fought with brilliant 
 courage, and maintained a hand-to-hand combat for 
 seven long hours. They could not resist, however, 
 the chivalry of the English, who went into the fight 
 as if it were some merry festival, and playfully con- 
 tended with one another who should achieve the 
 brightest deeds of daring. None were content to be 
 second in the fray, and it was with great difficulty 
 Raleigh maintained his advanced position. " My 
 Lord-General Essex," he writes,* " thinking his ship's 
 sides stronger than the rest, thrust the ' Dreadnought' 
 aside, and came next the ' Warspite' on the left hand 
 ahead of all that rank, but my Lord Thomas 
 (Howard). The marshal, while we had no leisure 
 to look behind us, secretly fastened a rope on my 
 ship's side towards him, to draw himself up equally 
 with me; but some of my company advertizing me 
 thereof, I caused it to be cut off, and so he fell back 
 into his place ; whom I guarded, all but his very prow, 
 from the sight of the enemy." 
 
 To men animated by such a spirit nothing was 
 impossible, and the Spaniards were compelled to 
 give way. Of the four great galleons, however, they 
 
 * Edwards, "Life of Raleigh," ii. 152. 
 
THE GREA T FIGHT A T CADIZ, 63 
 
 contrived to blow up two, the "San Felipe" and "San 
 Thomas;" a lamentable spectacle, says Raleigh; for 
 of the crews many drowned themselves, many half- 
 burnt leaped into the water, many were seen hanging 
 to the ships* sides by the ropes' ends up to the lips 
 in the water, and many swimming with grievous 
 wounds, stricken under water, and suddenly put out of 
 pain, and withal so huge a fire and such tearing of the 
 ordnance in the great "Philip" and the rest, when the 
 fire came to them, as if any man had a desire to see 
 hell itself it was there most lively figured.* 
 
 The enemy's fleet having surrendered, or been 
 destroyed, the English army landed, and, gallantly 
 led by the Earl of Essex, assaulted and carried the 
 city, though it was defended by 5CXD0 foot and 800 
 horse. In the sea-fight Raleigh had been wounded 
 by a splinter, but he would not be prevailed upon to 
 repose, and joined the victorious assailants, until the 
 intolerable agony of his wound forced him to return 
 tothe"Warspite." 
 
 Having destroyed the fortifications and city, the 
 army re-embarked on the 5th of July, and Essex's 
 proposition that they should cruise off the Azores to 
 intercept the West Indian treasure fleet having been 
 rejected by a majority of voices, the armada made 
 sail for England. They found time, however, on their 
 homeward voyage, to sack the Portuguese town of 
 
 • Edwards, "Life of Raleigh," ii. 153. 
 
64 
 
 S/R WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 Fero, whence they carried off the famous library of] 
 Bishop Osorius,* and thus laden with the plunder 
 of Cadiz and a cargo of literature, they entered 
 Plymouth Sound in triumph on the lOth of August. 
 
 * Sir W. Monson, "Naval Tracts," iii. 32. This library passed 
 into the hands of Sir Thomas Bodley, and became the foundation of 
 the celebrated Bodleian — one of the prime glories of the University of i 
 Oxford. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CLOSE OF ELIZABETH S REIGN. 
 
 *' Such greatness I cannot compare to ought : 
 But if I her like ought on earth might read, 
 I would her liken to a crown of lilies, 
 Upon a virgin bride's adorned head." 
 
 Spenser. 
 
 I 
 
 HORTLY after his return to England, 
 symptoms became apparent that Essex 
 was declining in the favour of his royal 
 mistress, as vvas to be expected from the Earl's 
 thoughtlessness, imprudence, and ungovernable am- 
 bition. He was himself his own worst enemy; but in 
 the subtle and aspiring Cecil he had also a dangerous 
 foe — all the more dangerous that he worked under 
 the mask of secrecy, and while openly professing a 
 friendship for the man he laboured to destroy. An 
 apparent understanding between them was main- 
 tained by the exertions of Raleigh, who reaped his 
 
 reward in his re-admission at Court, and, having 
 
 £ 
 
66 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 once crossed the long-interdicted threshold, soon 
 made such progress that his resumption of the office 
 of Captain of the Queen's Guard was daily expected. 
 This final act of reconciliation took place on the 2d 
 of June. On the evening of that day of grace he 
 once more rode abroad with his sovereign, and was 
 admitted to a private conference with her. The 
 cloud which had hung over him for so many weary 
 months thus passed away, and his mind was again 
 at liberty to dwell on lofty projects for the glory 
 and aggrandisement of his country. It must be 
 owned that Raleigh's ambition was of a noble 
 growth ; that it was mostly free from selfish taint 
 or personal feeling, and was principally concerned 
 with the elevation of England to an imperial rank, 
 which should make her the equal, or the superior, of 
 Spain. To attain this great end, he was ready to 
 endure all and dare all ; and when he failed in 
 accomplishing a task almost too great for any one 
 mind, however noble, he gave up his life like a true 
 hero, and paid, without an unmanly murmur, the 
 stake he had so greatly lost. 
 
 Another expedition against Spain was now con- 
 templated. Indignant at the disgrace of Cadiz, 
 Philip had concentrated an immense armament at 
 Lisbon for the invasion of England. But, as in 1588, 
 the stars in their courses fought against the Spanish 
 monarch. A terrible storm shattered his fleet, and 
 
 -I 
 
CLOSE OF ELIZABETH'S REIGN, 67 
 
 wrecked or destroyed six and thirty sail. With 
 that dogged perseverance which lends to Philip's 
 mediocre character a certain air of dignity, he col- 
 lected another armada, and before another year had 
 elapsed, the ports of Ferrol and the Groyne were 
 crowded with ships of all sizes, well manned and 
 well equipped.* 
 
 To avert the threatened blow, Elizabeth fitted 
 out the naval expedition historically celebrated as 
 the Island Voyage. It consisted of 120 sail, seven- 
 teen being her own ships of war, forty -three 
 smaller vessels, and the rest tenders and victuallers. 
 On board were one thousand veterans under Sir 
 Francis Vere. The post of Admiral-in-Chief was 
 entrusted to Essex ; Lord Thomas Howard was 
 appointed Vice-Admiral, and Sir Walter Raleigh 
 Rear-Admiral. They sailed from Plymouth on 
 Sunday evening, July the loth, with the main 
 object of capturing the Indian treasure -fleet, and 
 inflicting a heavy blow on the resources of the 
 Spanish monarch. Contrary winds separated the 
 ships, and drove them back into various ports of 
 Cornwall and Devon ; so that some weeks elapsed 
 before they could be re-assembled at Plymouth. A 
 second start proved somewhat more successful, and 
 eventually the whole armament arrived in safety at 
 the appointed rendezvous, the Isle of Flores. It 
 
 " Monson, "Narrative," 173, 174, 
 
68 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 was then determined to make a descent upon the 
 Azores ; the capture of Fayal was to be undertaken 
 by Essex and Raleigh ; that of Graciosa by Howard 
 and Vere ; that of San Miguel by Mountjoy and 
 Blount ; and that of Pico by the Netherland forces. 
 
 Matters being thus arranged, Essex set sail, leav- 
 ing Sir Walter with his squadron to take in supplies 
 of wood and water. But shortly afterwards arrived 
 Captain Champernoun, with instructions for Raleigh 
 to follow the Admiral, who had borne away for 
 Fayal. These instructions he immediately obeyed, 
 though on entering Fayal roads no sign of the Ad- 
 miral was to be seen. It was evident, moreover, that 
 no hostile visit was expected by the inhabitants, 
 who, on beholding the "tall ships" of the English, 
 hurriedly prepared, some for flight, some for de- 
 fence. While long trains of men, women, children, 
 nuns, and friars made towards the mountains, the 
 soldiers posted themselves at the various landing- 
 places, where they threw up earthworks and mounted 
 heavy ordnance. 
 
 A tempting prize lay before Raleigh, yet he for- 
 bore to grasp it. He knew the jealous and vindic- 
 tive humour of Essex, and had good reason to 
 believe he was still regarded by the Admiral with 
 dislike. Much did his crews and officers murmur 
 at the strange dilatoriness of a commander usually 
 supposed to be of a too rash and impetuous disposi- 
 
 I 
 
CLOSE OF ELIZABETH'S REIGN. 69 
 
 tion. Who can doubt that their gallant reproaches, 
 deep, if not loud, wounded sorely his fiery spirit ? 
 Two days he waited, and yet another two days 
 His patience could brook no more. At the head of 
 his gallant men, some four hundred and fifty in 
 number, he landed under a heavy fire, drove the 
 Spaniards pell-mell before him, dashed into Fayal 
 like some "over-bearing" flood, and planted on its 
 walls the banner of the Red Cross. 
 
 Throwing up barricades, posting sentinels, and 
 quartering his troops, Raleigh prepared to pass the 
 night in the captured town, though not without some 
 fear of a surprise. None, however, was attempted. 
 On the following morning, the horizon was heavy 
 with the swelling canvas of Essex's fleet. Raleigh 
 hastened on board his Admiral's flag-ship — to meet 
 with the reception he had apprehended. The pas- 
 sionate Earl overwhelmed him with reproaches, and 
 pointed out that, according to the Queen's instruc- 
 tions, it was death for an ofificer to land troops or 
 attack any place without the General's express 
 orders or in his presence. Raleigh calmly replied 
 tliat the Admiral was in error : " for," said he,* 
 " there is an article that no captain of any ship, nor 
 captain of any company, if he be severed from the 
 fleet, shall land anywhere without directions from 
 the General, or some other principal commander, 
 
 • Gorges, in "Purchas' Pilgrimes," ii., 1598, cited by St John. 
 
I 
 
 70 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 upon pain of death ; I take myself to be a principal 
 commander under your Lordship, and, therefore, not 
 subject to that article, nor under the power of the 
 law-martial, because a successive commander of the 
 whole fleet in Her Majesty's letters-patent, your 
 Lordship and my Lord Thomas Howard failing." 
 
 There were not wanting men about the Admiral 
 who instigated him to seize upon this favourable 
 opportunity of getting rid of a powerful rival. They 
 would have had Raleigh tried by court-martial, and 
 shot without delay. From so extreme a measure 
 Essex's prudence, and, perhaps, his generosity, 
 shrunk ; and Raleigh, to guard against any such 
 attempt, retired to his flag-ship, withdrew his squad- 
 ron from the main body of the fleet, and prepared 
 to defend himself, if need be, at any cost. Through 
 the interposition of Lord Thomas Howard, however, a 
 seeming reconciliation was effected, and Raleigh con- 
 sented to apologise for having performed his duty. 
 
 The remainder of the expedition was a series of 
 mistakes and mischances, arising from the incom- 
 petency of Essex for a post of so much importance. 
 He missed the treasure fleet, and delayed so long 
 in the neighbourhood of the Azores, that the Spanish 
 armada was able to sail from the Groyne and Ferrol ; 
 and, had it not been scattered by a terrible tempest, 
 would have fallen with fire and sword on the un- 
 defended coast of England. At length, in October, 
 
CLOSE OF ELIZABETH'S REIGN. 71 
 
 he returned to Plymouth, from whence he imme- 
 diately posted up to London, in the hope of ob- 
 taining the Queen's ear for his own narrative of 
 the abortive enterprise. But, says Mr St John, his 
 speed, however great, had been outstripped by fame. 
 Elizabeth was already in possession of the whole 
 truth, and, when her imprudent favourite appeared, 
 overwhelmed him with such keen reproaches that, 
 in extreme disgust, he retired from court, and shut 
 himself up in his house at Wanstead. 
 
 His wrath fired up all a-flame when he learned 
 that, during his absence, Elizabeth had made his 
 enemy, Cecil, Master of the Wards, and — a yet 
 greater insult and heavier blow ! — had raised Lord 
 Howard of Effingham to the Earldom of Not- 
 tingham for his services against the Armada, 
 and in the attack upon Cadiz. As on the latter 
 occasion Essex had been Commander-in-Chief, he 
 chose to consider Howard's promotion as a cen- 
 sure of himself, and a court-broil ensued, which 
 greatly troubled the mind of the aged Queen. 
 Essex demanded that Howard's patent should be 
 cancelled ; a preposterous proposal, which Howard 
 fiercely resented. Into these troubled waters Raleigh 
 plunged as peace-maker, and, assisted by Cecil, suc- 
 ceeded in reconciling (at all events, on the surface) 
 the two angry Earls. Nottingham kept his dignity, 
 and Essex, that he might have precedence over 
 
72 
 
 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 him, was made Earl-Marshal ; whereupon, say the 
 chroniclers, all men wondered to see the sudden 
 affection that sprang up between them and their 
 pacificators, Cecil and Raleigh. 
 
 The latter now retired to his country seat at Sher- 
 borne, where he gave himself up for awhile to the 
 pleasures of studious ease, and reverted to those fasci- 
 nating pursuits which had delighted his youthful mind. 
 His genius was not less remarkable for its versatility 
 than for its strength. He could turn himself, as one 
 of his biographers remarks,* from mathematics to 
 poetry, from profound cosmographical speculations 
 or metaphysical disquisitions to the charms of music, 
 from historical or antiquarian researches to painting 
 or gardening, and whatever branch he adopted, he 
 cultivated with equal thoroughness and success. He 
 was a remarkable proof of Milton's theory that ver- 
 satility is compatible with profound ness.+ Never, 
 surely, has the world produced a man of more flexible 
 intellect. Like the elephant's trunk, it could move 
 heavy masses or dally with trifles; and yet its lord 
 and owner was no solitary bookworm, no dreaming 
 student, but a man of incessant activity, a politician, 
 a courtier, a soldier, and a seaman. Shakspeare 
 
 * Tytler, "Life of Raleigh," 195; Oldys, 81. 
 
 + See Milton's ** Tractate on Education," in which he recommends 
 a course of study— to be accomplished before the student is twenty-one 
 —of the widest possible range and grasp. 
 
CLOSE OF ELIZABETH'S REIGN. 73 
 
 apart, he seems to me the brightest type we have 
 ever seen of the English genius, both in its graver 
 and lighter aspects: Shakspeare apart, he may justly 
 be considered the grandest representative of the 
 Elizabethan age. 
 
 Meanwhile, the political horizon was heavy with 
 storms. Spain, weary and spent with protracted 
 conflict, which had exhausted her blood and trea- 
 sure, had made overtures of negotiation to the 
 English Government, and both Cecil and the vener- 
 able Burleigh recommended the Queen to accept 
 them. Essex hotly opposed their advice, and their 
 disputes in council grew fierce and acrimonious. It 
 was on one of these occasions that Burleigh termi- 
 nated the discussion by pulling a prayer-book from 
 his pocket, opening it at the Psalms, and pointing 
 out to Essex the memorable text, which afterwards 
 seemed to have been prophetic in its application — 
 "Men of blood shall not live out half their days."* 
 
 The state of Ireland was another subject that 
 anxiously engaged the attention of Elizabeth and 
 her ministers, who solicited Raleigh's advice upon 
 the policy that should be adopted. What he recom- 
 mended is unknown, but it is supposed .that from 
 him, or from Cecil, came the hint that Essex should 
 be appointed to the government of the distracted 
 country. Essex himself regarded the appointment 
 
 • Birch, *' Memoirs of Queen Elizabeth," ii. 384. 
 
74 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 in the same light, doubtlessly, as those who had 
 pressed it upon him ; he exclaimed against, it as an 
 honourable exile, and departed with open reluctance 
 to a scene of confusion and turmoil, where the wisest 
 statesman could hardly hope to gain renown, and 
 where an impetuous and thoughtless young noble- 
 man was sure to incur disgrace. The events which 
 ensued are a portion of our English history, and do 
 not need to be recorded here. His career in Ireland 
 was a continued series of mistakes, errors, and disas- 
 ters, of which his enemies at Court availed themselves 
 to prejudice the Queen's mind against him. In these 
 intrigues, we fear, it must be admitted that Raleigh 
 co-operated with Nottingham and Cecil, He was 
 not, in truth, a man without sin — that faultless mon- 
 ster for whom the world has so long vainly waited ! 
 — but a man of strong ambition, proud temper, and 
 aspiring spirit, who had suffered much from his rival's 
 overbearing arrogance, and having no cause to love 
 him, was not indisposed to see him removed from 
 his path. Why will biographers persist in represent- 
 ing their heroes as miracles of purity and virtue.^ as 
 Israelites in whom there was no guile .^ and not as 
 men, subject, like ourselves, to all the disturbing in- 
 fluences of human passion.? 
 
 Suddenly, without the Queen's permission, and 
 without intimation to her Government, Essex re- 
 turned from Ireland. Accompanied by a troop of 
 
CLOSE OF ELIZABETirS REIGN. 75 
 
 unscrupulous partisans, he rode to Nonsuch, where 
 the Court was then sojourning ; forced an entrance 
 into the royal bedchamber, to discover " the Queen 
 newly up, with her hair about her face,"* and flung 
 himself at her feet. Surprised by his unexpected 
 appearance, and overwhelmed by his passionate pro- 
 testations of devotion, she allowed herself to let fall 
 some phrases of affection; which her lover gladly 
 understood to imply her forgiveness. And coming 
 from Her Majesty to go shift himself in his chamber, 
 he was very pleasant, and thanked God that though 
 he had suffered much trouble and storms abroad, he 
 found a sweet calm at home. 
 
 But the scene was soon changed. When Eliza- 
 beth had time to recover herself, she felt all the 
 audacity of her favourite's conduct, and it cannot be 
 doubted that the representations made by his rivals 
 were not such as would soothe her anger. The fate 
 of Essex was, in truth, determined. He was arraigned 
 before the Council, severely examined in reference 
 to his private machinations and intrigues with the 
 army in Ireland; was confined to his chamber; for- 
 bidden all intercourse with his family and friends ; 
 and treated in every respect as a State prisoner. 
 The most superficial reader of English history will 
 remember the events that followed; the plots and 
 counter-plots of the various factions, the mad attempt 
 
 ♦ Rowland Whyte, in "The Sydney Papers," 127-128. 
 
7C SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 of the unhappy nobleman to raise the populace of 
 London in his favour ; his trial, sentence, and im- 
 prisonment ; the Queen's vacillations ; and the last 
 scene of the tragedy, as it was pitifully enacted within 
 the high court of the Tower of London, in the cold 
 grey light of a February morning. It was on Shrove 
 Tuesday, 1601, that Essex closed, by a violent death, 
 his brief, turbulent, and disastrous career. Between 
 its end and its beginning how terrible was the con- 
 trast! Fair laughed the morn, and before the for- 
 tunate youth seemed to open up the brightest pro- 
 spects ever revealed to a gallant spirit ; and yet all 
 his hopes, and high dreams, and brilliant visions 
 were abruptly terminated by the headsman's axe 
 and a traitor's doom ! 
 
 It is said that, at the last moment, the Earl ex- 
 pressed a desire to be reconciled with Raleigh, who 
 had retired into the Armoury, whence, " in an agony 
 of tears," he could see without being seen ; but none 
 cared to convey to him his rival's last message, and 
 it was not until the moment of mutual forgiveness 
 had passed for ever that he learned the wish of Essex 
 to have died in peace with him. 
 
 During the closing months of Elizabeth's reign 
 Raleigh retained the royal favour. He displayed, 
 however, less than his usual sagacity in not opening 
 up, as Cecil did, confidential communications with 
 her prospective successor, the Scottish King. Be- 
 
I 
 
 CLOSE OF ELIZABETH'S REIGN. 77 
 
 tween him and the subtle Secretary a coldness arose 
 v/hich rapidly matured into ill-concealed hostility. 
 
 From the moment of Essex's death, says Mr Tytler,* 
 however open and amicable the world might think 
 them, there was a dangerous opposition between 
 Raleigh and Cecil. Both were too powerful to con- 
 tinue long together in the management of affairs, both 
 too proud and ambitious to give way. Circumstances 
 had driven them into confidential intercourse without 
 making them friends. Indeed, abundant reasons 
 existed why no genuine friendship could exist be- 
 tween them. They were too well aware of each 
 other's designs ; penetrated too clearly the secret 
 ambition by which both were actuated; and had 
 finally arrived at that critical point in the intimacy 
 of statesmen when each began to regard the other 
 as a rival to be dreaded, and, therefore, removed. 
 Raleigh, as Mr Tytler remarks, was infinitely inferior 
 to Cecil as a contriver of plots and stratagems ; and, 
 therefore, while the latter silently worked the subtly- 
 woven web in whose meshes his brilliant rival was 
 to be entangled unto death, he was content that he 
 should enjoy the "sunshine of the Court,'* and rise 
 daily in " the graces of his royal mistress." Let me 
 add, that in all his dark plottings he was zealously 
 aided by one whom we shall meet hereafter as an 
 important agent in Raleigh's destruction, the in- 
 
 ♦ Tytler, " Life of Raleigh," i. 223. 
 
78 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 famous Howard ; and that he carried his perfidy so 
 far as to leave in the charge and family of Raleigh, 
 his eldest son, a youth of more than ordinary promise. 
 At length, worn out with her seventy years, with 
 her labours, and her sorrows, and her apprehensions 
 of future evils for the country she had raised to 
 greatness, Elizabeth died. Died, as a contemporary 
 tells us, of "a settled and confirmed melancholy; in- 
 somuch that she could not be persuaded, neither by 
 the council, divines, physicians, nor the women about 
 her, once to taste or touch any physic, though ten 
 or a dozen that were continually about her did assure 
 her, with all manner of asseverations, of perfect and 
 easy recovery if she would follow their advice." I can 
 easily understand that she had no wish for longer 
 life. She had done her life-work, and done it nobly. 
 The drama was played out, and if she lingered longer 
 upon the stage, she could hope for no accession to 
 her glory. She died of grief; of grief for the death 
 of Essex I do not believe,* though the loss of that 
 gallant and brilliant nobleman might well awaken 
 in her lion-heart an emotion of pity; but certainly 
 of grief for the death of her long-trusted councillor, 
 the faithful Burleigh — of grief at the decline of the 
 national spirit, which she could not but choose to see 
 — of grief at the fresh revolt in ever-restless Ireland — 
 of grief, too, at the craven eagerness with which her 
 
 • R. Congreve, ** Elizabeth of England," p. 102. 
 
CLOSE OF ELIZABETH'S REIGN. 79 
 
 courtiers and ministers turned from the side of their 
 aged mistress to worship the rising sun, and carried 
 their treacherous adulation to that successor whom 
 she well knew to be unworthy of her glorious seat. 
 But there was no help for it, Elizabeth must die, and 
 the base, lying, cowardly James, must reign in her 
 stead (March 24, 1602). 
 
 I cannot refuse to copy from Sir Robert Carey's 
 pathetic narrative, his account of the great Queen's 
 end. It was worthy of her life — of the life of the 
 grandest ruler that, Cromwell and the first William 
 alone excepted, has ever swayed our English sceptre. 
 
 When questioned by the Lord-Admiral who should 
 succeed her, she had replied, with a flash of her an- 
 cient fire — " I told you that my seat had been the 
 seat of kings, and I will have no rascal to succeed 
 me! Trouble me no more. He who comes after 
 me must be a king. I will have none but our cousin 
 of Scotland." Shortly afterwards she became speech- 
 less, but made signs that her chaplains and the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury should pray with her. 
 
 I sat upon my knees, says the chronicler,* full of 
 tears to see that heavy sight. The bishop kneeled 
 down by her and examined her first of her faith, and 
 she so punctually answered all his several questions 
 by lifting up her eyes, and holding up her hand, as 
 
 * Sir Robert Carey, whose narration is reprinted (from the Cotton 
 MSS.) in the 2d voL of Nichol's " Progresses of Queen Elizabeth." 
 
80 SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 
 
 I 
 
 it was a comfort to all the beholders. Then the good 
 man told her plainly what she was and what she was 
 to come to, and though she had been long a great 
 queen here upon earth, yet shortly she was to yield 
 an account of her stewardship to the King of kings. 
 He then began to pray, and all who were present 
 joined in the responses; after which, his knees being 
 weary, he blessed her and prepared to depart, when 
 the Queen by signs requested him to continue in 
 prayer. Having done so for a considerable time, he 
 once more rose to take his leave ; but the dying 
 princess again laid her hand upon his, and mutely 
 besought him not to quit her, appearing to have 
 the greatest comfort in his fervent petitions. Soon 
 afterwards she became insensible, and about three 
 o'clock on the morning of Thursday, the 24th of 
 March, she expired. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH. 
 
 "Ingenia gravia ac sollemnia, et mutare nescia, plus plerumque 
 habent dignitatis quam felicitatis." — Lord Bacon. 
 
 Y my soul, I have heard rawly of thee, 
 mon." 
 
 It was with these ominous words Ra- 
 leigh was received by James the First, when he 
 repaired to do homage to Elizabeth's successor. 
 
 We know that Cecil and Howard had foully 
 slandered their rival to the Scottish monarch, and 
 effectually prejudiced his narrow mind and narrower 
 heart against the finest intellect in his dominions; 
 but I hold it to be certain, that even without their 
 malignant intervention, no good understanding could 
 ever have long prevailed between James and Raleigh. 
 The King was wholly incapable of appreciating his 
 brilliant, daring, versatile, and chivalrous subject. 
 The one was a profound and accomplished scholar ; 
 the other, a dull and elaborate pedant. The one 
 
82 ' SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 was, in brain, heart, and soul, a poet, and able to 
 rise to the loftiest height of a poet's aspirations ; the 
 other grovelled in the dust, and lived pent up in a 
 narrow circle of loathsome vices. The one was 
 prone to deeds of gallant enterprise and splendid 
 daring ; the other shrank, like a timid child, from 
 the sight of a drawn sword. The one yearned to 
 found for his country a colonial empire, which 
 should divide with Spain the golden regions of the 
 New World ; the other, throughout his reign, truckled 
 to the Spanish Court, and shrank from any policy 
 which was noble in conception or daring in execu- 
 tion. It was impossible that between such opposite 
 characters any cordial sympathy should exist. 
 
 The full extent of the change which had come 
 over his fortunes was soon felt by Raleigh. He 
 was deprived of his captaincy of the Guard, and of 
 other lucrative offices. Nay, more, in less than three 
 months after James' accession, he was sent to the 
 Tower on a charge — the most absurdly-infamous 
 ever trumped up against any statesman — of plotting 
 with Spain ; with Spain, the object of his Hfe-long 
 detestation, the one European power which he hadB 
 ever regarded with suspicion, and against which he 
 had ever urged an uncompromisingly-hostile policy ! 
 
 A plot had been hatched by some discontented 
 nobles, and by some Puritan malcontents, with 
 the object of deposing James from the throne he- 
 
 
THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH. 83 
 
 so unworthily occupied.* It was supported by the 
 Catholics, who thought the moment had arrived 
 for overthrowing the Protestant heresy, and restor- 
 ing their faith to its old position of power and 
 honour. It was managed by a far abler and subtler 
 spirit than its ostensible leaders — Count Aremberg, 
 the Spanish Ambassador. Between Aremberg and 
 a weak, silly, and credulous nobleman, Lord Cob- 
 ham, communications of a mysterious character were 
 opened up. Their exact purport is not known, and 
 never will be known. How far Cobham had become 
 the tool of Aremberg we cannot guess ; but he was 
 one of the discontented, and was probably willing 
 to avail himself of Spanish gold to carry out the 
 schemes which he and other conspirators meditated. 
 Cobham and Raleigh resided in mansions on the 
 river bank; and it was the custom of the former, 
 after supping with Raleigh, to proceed in his wherry 
 to the Count's palace, which also overlooked the 
 Thames. This was the only circumstance that con- 
 nected Raleigh with the plot ; and it is surely an 
 insufficient proof of treason when advanced against 
 a man who, whatever his faults, was, above all 
 things, and before all things, our highest patriot. 
 
 Into the details of the mysterious enigma known 
 in history as the " Cobham Plot," my limited space 
 
 * For details of this plot, most carefully and lucidly elaborated, 
 ti£ Mr Edward Edwards' "Life of Raleigh," vol. i. pp. 354-439. 
 
84 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 forbids me to enter. It is confessedly a puzzle t< 
 our ablest historians ; a labyrinth so cunningly con* 
 trived by Cecil — for none can doubt that he watche( 
 over it from the beginning — that it is now impossible 
 to find a clue to it. All the light that can be throwi 
 upon the matter has been accumulated by Mi 
 Edwards with great care and discrimination ; an( 
 impartial inquiry irresistibly leads to the conclusior 
 that Raleigh was wholly innocent of any share ii 
 the conspiracy. I hold it to be certain that Cecil 
 and James, and the men who tried and sentenced 
 him, knew that he was innocent. 
 
 With Mr Kingsley, I must confess that I have no 
 wish to involve myself in the tracasseries of a dark 
 and miserable intrigue.* They are known to every 
 student ; but not the most accomplished interpreter 
 of mysteries can unravel them. Let us consider, 
 however, — if only for a moment, — the moral and 
 spiritual significance of Raleigh's downfall, and en- 
 deavour to take to heart the pregnant lesson which 
 it reads to the thoughtful. It is, as Kingsley observes, 
 the bi'oad aspect of the thing which is so wonderful 
 and so suggestive ; to see how 
 
 "The eagle, towering in his pride of place, 
 Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed," 
 
 This is the man who, some few months ago, thought, 
 perhaps, that he and Cecil were to rule England to- 
 
 • C. Kingsley, 
 
THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH. 85 
 
 gether, while all else were the puppets whose wires 
 they pulled. "The Lord hath taken him up, and 
 dropped him down ;" and by such means, too ! and 
 on the absurd, the incredible charge that he, of all 
 men living, had betrayed his country to Spain! One 
 can imagine the calm contempt with which Raleigh 
 would fain have waived aside so preposterous an 
 accusation ; but it was put forth by men whose 
 enmity would not be denied, who had hunted their 
 victim until he was fairly in the toils, and were resolute 
 that he should not escape. The blow had fallen, 
 and it well-nigh crushed his proud and haughty 
 spirit. At first, he could not endure it. He was 
 maddened by it ; maddened by the infamy of the 
 charge ; maddened by the utter ruin of his ambitious 
 hopes ; maddened too, by the scorn, the taunts, the 
 loss of honour, the cruel words of cruel foes. It is 
 said that his mind was so overwrought, under these 
 appalling circumstances, that he attempted suicide, 
 and some of his biographers reprint a letter which 
 he wrote to his wife, after the attempt, and when 
 expecting it to prove fatal. I cannot but think, with 
 Mr St John, that there is a suspicious air of impro- 
 bability about the story. It was thus : At dinner one 
 day, with many other guests, at the Lieutenant's table, 
 Raleigh seized a knife, and sought to plunge it into his 
 heart. At this time he was in the enjoyment of full 
 physical vigour, and yet the point of the knife, strik- 
 
86 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 ing against one of his ribs, turned, after inflicting 
 slight wound, and Raleigh, flinging it aside, exclaimedj 
 " There is an end ! " But why, if he wished to commit 
 suicide, did he choose on the governor's dinner-tabh 
 where there was every chance of his design beinj 
 prevented ? And how was it that a strong man's 
 arm, impelled by the frenzy of a fevered spirit, dealt 
 so insignificant a blow that in four or five days th< 
 wound was healed ? I believe the story to be 
 fiction, and Raleigh's letter to his wife a forgery. 
 It is not improbable, as Mr St John suggests,! that 
 some intention had dawned on the minds of James 
 and Cecil of ridding themselves of their enemy by 
 secret death ; and that the fiction of the suicide was 
 circulated to prepare the pubHc mind for Raleigh* 
 end. The reader of French history will remembei 
 certain enemies of the first Napoleon, who, imprisonec 
 in the Conciergerie, removed themselves from his 
 path, as it was announced, by suicide. 
 
 Raleigh was tried at Winchester in the month oi 
 November. The principal witness against him was! 
 his old friend Cobham, whom a base fear of death^ 
 had induced to perjure himself, and who so wavered 
 and faltered and prevaricated, that no impartial 
 man would have accepted his evidence. All that 
 could really be proved against Raleigh was, that 
 
 * The letter is given in Edwards' ** Life of Raleigh," vol. ii. 
 tj. A. St John, " Life of Raleigh," ii, 104. 
 
I 
 
 THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH. 87 
 
 Cobham had acquainted him of his interviews with 
 Aremberg, and that he, either out of a misplaced 
 consideration for his friend, or a disinclination to 
 betray the confidence reposed in him, had not 
 denounced the plotter to the Government. He 
 defended himself in a speech of masterly eloquence, 
 which drew tears from many of his hearers, and 
 extorted the admiration even of his opponents ; but, 
 as had been arranged, the jury immediately brought 
 him in guilty. And guilty, not of misprison of 
 treason, the sole offence with which Coke had 
 charged him, but of treason. The day was then 
 fixed for his execution, and the court broke up. 
 Cecil and his sovereign had triumphed, and Raleigh 
 was at their mercy. 
 
 Meantime, the conduct of their victim throughout 
 the struggle had been marked with singular pro- 
 priety and dignity. The virulence of Coke, the 
 treachery of Howard, the cowardly perjuries of 
 Cobham were unable to ruffle his temper, or pro- 
 voke him to a hasty word. A contemporary writer 
 declares that he "behaved himself so worthily, so 
 wisely, and so temperately, that in half a day 
 the mind of all the company was changed from 
 the extremest hate to the extremest pity." And 
 another remarks, that in his carriage to the lords 
 he was humble, but not prostrate ; to the jury 
 affable, but not fawning ; to the King's counsel 
 
88 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 \ 
 
 patient, but not yielding to the imputations laid upon i 
 him, or neglecting to repel them with the spirit which 
 becomes an injured and honourable man. 
 
 Raleigh made an attempt to placate the king by 
 a letter full of submissiveness and humility. It 
 failed in its object, and after nearly a month's 
 detention at Winchester, in daily expectation of 
 death, he was carried back to the grim old fortress 
 of London, which still frowns darkly on the waters 
 of the Thames, and confined in the Bloody Tower. 
 Here he beguiled himself of his bitter woes by the 
 studies which had ever been so dear to him. Here 
 he conceived his great idea of writing the History of 
 the World. Here his imprisonment was occasion- 
 ally cheered by the society of the Earl of Nor- 
 thumberland, a prisoner like himself, and a man 
 of fine scientific tastes ; and by the visits of Ben 
 Jonson, the Earl of Southampton, Thomas Hariot, 
 and others. Here, too, and at this epoch, he pro- 
 bably wrote that exquisite little poem, " The Pilgrim- 
 age," which I cannot refrain from quoting:* 
 
 THE PILGRIMAGE. 
 *' Give me my scallop-shell of quiet, 
 My staff of faith to walk upon, 
 My scrip of joy, immortal diet, 
 My bottle of salvation, 
 
 My gown of glory (hope's true gage) ; 
 And thus I '11 take my Pilgrimage. 
 
 • From Dr Birch's edition of Raleigh's work*. 
 
THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH. 89 
 
 ** Blood must be my body's balmer, — 
 No other balm will here be given ; 
 Whilst my soul, like quiet palmer, 
 Travels to the land of heaven, 
 Over all the silver mountains, 
 Where do spring those nectar fountains : 
 
 " And I there will sweetly kiss 
 The happy bowl of peaceful bliss, 
 Drinking mine eternal fill, 
 Flowing on each milky hill. 
 My soul will be a-dry before ; 
 But after, it will thirst no more. 
 "In that happy, blissful day. 
 
 More peaceful pilgrims I shall see, 
 That have doft their rags of clay. 
 And walk apparell'd fresh like me. 
 
 I '11 take them first 
 
 To slake their thirst, 
 And then taste of nectar suckets, 
 
 At those clear wells 
 
 Where sweetness dwells. 
 Drawn up by saints in crystal buckets, 
 
 "And when our bottles, and all we 
 Are filled with immortality, 
 Then those holy paths we'll travel, 
 Strewed with rubies thick as gravel. 
 Diamond ceilings, sapphire floors. 
 High walls of coral, and pearly bowers. 
 From thence to heaven's bribeless hall, 
 Where no corrupted voices brawl j 
 No conscience molten into gold ; 
 No forged armour bought or sold ; 
 No cause deferred, no vain spent journey. 
 For there Christ is the King's attorney. 
 
90 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 Who pleads for all without degrees, — 
 
 And he hath angels, but no fees. 
 
 And when the grand twelve-million jury 
 
 Of our sins, with direful fury, 
 
 'Gainst our souls black verdicts give, 
 
 Christ pleads His death ; and then we live. 
 
 Be thou my speaker, taintless pleader, 
 
 Unblotted lawyer, true proceeder ! . 
 
 Thou giv'st salvation even for alms, 
 
 Not with a bribed lawyer's palms. 
 
 Then this is mine eternal plea 
 
 To Him that made earth, heaven, and sea — 
 
 Seeing my flesh must die so soon, 
 
 And want a head to dine next noon. 
 
 Just at the stroke of death, my arms being spread, 
 
 Set on my soul an everlasting head ; 
 
 So shall I ready, like a palmer fit, 
 
 Tread those blessed paths shown in Thy Holy Writ." 
 
 An extraordinary incident in Raleigh's prison- 
 history was the tragi-comic scene got up by James L, 
 at Winchester, prior to the prisoner's removal to 
 London. It was the pageant, or rehearsal, of an exe- 
 cution, in which the actors were Lord Cobham — who 
 alone knew that the seeming tragedy would turn out a 
 farce — and his accomplices, Lord Grey and Sir Griffin 
 Markham. It is thus described by a recent writer.* 
 
 Kept sedulously in the dark, Raleigh, who, from 
 a window in the donjon keep, beheld a scaffold 
 erected in the court below, and saw the prisoners 
 led towards it between their own coffins, gave a 
 
 • J. A. St John, "Life of Raleigh," ii., 136-138. 
 
THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH, 91 
 
 serious interpretation to what he witnessed, espe- 
 cially when he discovered the scaffold to be strewn 
 with straw, the block set up, and the executioner 
 standing beside it with his axe. Markham first 
 mounted the steps, which he did with manly firm- 
 ness, refusing the napkin offered by a friend to 
 cover his face, saying he could look on death with- 
 out blushing. When Raleigh saw him removed, 
 and Grey ascend, he may have thought that the 
 inferior offender had been reprieved from the penalty 
 which would yet be inflicted on the superior. Grey, 
 who supposed Markham to have been executed, 
 spurned the straw aside with his foot as he walked 
 towards the block, to discover if there were any 
 traces of blood. When time had been allowed him 
 for his devotions, he also was led away, upon which 
 the spectator in the Tower must have begun to sus- 
 pect the real nature of the exhibition. Cobham 
 was brought out last, and prayed so loudly, and 
 with so much apparent fervour, that he excited the 
 jests and laughter of those who stood around in the 
 rain, and were probably in the secret. Then fol- 
 lowed one of the tricks of the stage — the three 
 offenders were brought together on the scaffold, 
 the King's pardon was announced, the spectators 
 shouted, the apparatus of death was swept away, 
 and Raleigh, who must have been sorely perplexed 
 by the aspect of the whole proceeding, was left to 
 
92 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 I 
 
 ponder, in what frame of mind may be conjectured, 
 on the fate which the scene he had witnessed boded 
 to him. 
 
 Over the details of the hero's long captivity my 
 space will prevent me from lingering. His enemies 
 availed themselves of it to plunder him of his estates 
 and revenues, notwithstanding the noble exertions 
 of Lady Raleigh, who in vain appealed to James 
 and Cecil for some small show of compassion in her 
 hour of need. She did, indeed, obtain one great 
 boon — permission to share her husband's confine- 
 ment, and their youngest child, Carew, was born 
 within the walls of the Tower. As he was allowed 
 proper attendance and the visits of his friends, his 
 condition was not without its mitigating circum- 
 stances ; but to a man of such restless energy and 
 untiring ambition, then in the plenitude of his 
 physical strength and mental power, captivity was 
 necessarily a punishment peculiarly severe. Nor can 
 he have witnessed without indignation the gradual 
 diminution of his resources, and especially the loss of 
 his fair house and estate at Sherborne, which were 
 bestowed upon James's abandoned favourite, Carr, 
 Earl of Somerset. Happily for him, if poor in 
 worldly goods, he was still rich in the resources of 
 an inexhaustible intellect ; if debarred the pursuit 
 of an active career, he could not be prevented from 
 making new acquisitions in the rich domains of 
 
THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH. 93 
 
 knowledge. He was not a man, when all hope 
 of liberation was lost, to sit down in the chimney 
 corner and fold his arms, and dream vain dreams of 
 the past that could never be restored. All the 
 latent energies of his character now came to the 
 surface. Now was seen the real strength and 
 genuine heroism of the man. He devoted himself 
 to steady and earnest work, and especially to his 
 noble " History of the World," every page of which 
 has a rhythm and a stately music in it like the roll 
 of the battle charge, or the grand harmony of the 
 irresistible ocean tide. His counsel, too, was sought 
 by the glorious son of an unworthy father, by Harry, 
 Prince of Wales, the hope of the nation, the English 
 Marcellus, who, had he lived, would probably have 
 changed the destinies of England ; his counsel, I 
 say, was sought, and thankfully received by the 
 noble youth, who was heard to exclaim, " No king 
 but my father would keep such a bird in a cage ! "' 
 Unhappily for Raleigh, the Prince fell mortally 
 sick in November 1612. His mother sent to the 
 prisoner in the Tower for a cordial which he had 
 formerly concocted — Raleigh was cunning in drugs 
 and simples — for her own behoof, and which had 
 restored her to health ; but Harry was too far gone, 
 and the cordial, whatever its real virtue, could not 
 arrest the blight of death. The Prince died, and 
 with him the last hope of the Stuart dynasty. 
 
94 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 Raleigh still continued imprisoned in his cage, but 
 as caged nightingales are said to sing the sweetest, 
 so some of his finest strains were " meditated" in the 
 Bloody Tower. We present the reader with one 
 more specimen, a noble hymn, not less remarkable 
 for its lofty language than for its spirit of earnest 
 devotion : 
 
 ** Rise, O my soul, with tliy desires to heaven. 
 And with divinest contemplation use 
 Thy time, where time's eternity is given, 
 
 And let vain thoughts no more thy mind abuse, 
 But down in darkness let them lie ; 
 So live thy better, let thy worst thoughts die. 
 
 ** And thou, my soul, inspired with holy flame. 
 View and review, with most regardful eye, 
 That holy cross whence thy salvation came, 
 
 On which thy Saviour and thy sin did die ; 
 For in that sacred object is much pleasure. 
 And in that Saviour is my life, my treasure. 
 
 *• To Thee, O Jesu, I direct my eye, 
 
 To Thee my hands, to Thee my humble knees. 
 
 To Thee my heart shall offer sacrifice, 
 
 To Thee my thoughts who my thoughts only sees j 
 
 To Thee myself, myself and all I give. 
 
 To Thee I die, to Thee I only live."* 
 
 He also devoted himself to chemical researches, 
 having converted a small housie in the Tower garden 
 into a laboratory; and a portion of his time was Hke- 
 
 • See the criticism on this admirable hymn in George Macdonald's 
 ** England's Antiphon." 
 
THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH. 95 
 
 wise set apart for philosophical studies. His magnum 
 opus, the " History of the World," was published in 
 1614. Never, perhaps, have prison-hours produced 
 so extraordinary a monument of learning, reflection, 
 breadth of view, solidity of thought, and what has 
 been called the " passionate patience of genius." 
 
 After eight years of captivity, Raleigh's fine con- 
 stitution began to show marked symptoms of decay. 
 His breathing was short and difficult; the whole of 
 his left side was seized with paralysis, and his speech 
 became perceptibly affected. Under these circum- 
 stances his physician, Dr Turner, urged his removal 
 to warmer and more commodious apartments, but 
 it does not appear that a favour so necessary to his 
 life was granted, and it is probable he would have 
 been allowed to die in prison but for the removal 
 from the scene of his great and unrelenting enemy, 
 Cecil. In the rise of a new favourite, George Villiers, 
 Duke of Buckingham, there was also hope for Ra- 
 leigh. He now addressed a petition to the Queen, 
 who had always been favourably inclined towards 
 him, renewing his proposal for the colonisation of 
 Guiana, and the working of a gold mine, whose 
 existence he had ascertained in his former voyages. 
 The cost was to be defrayed by Raleigh and his 
 friends, while the King was promised a fifth part of 
 all the bullion imported. This was a tempting con- 
 sideration for James the First, but the urgent remon- 
 
96 
 
 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 strances of the Spanish ambassador, Gondomar, 
 would probably have prevailed against Raleigh, had 
 he not secured the countenance of Buckingham's,, 
 uncles by a bribe to each of £7^0.* Ill 
 
 Early in March 161 5 Raleigh, after twelve years 
 of captivity, was once more a free man. With an 
 energy which age could not damp, he commenced 
 his preparations for the Guiana voyage. He sunk 
 in it the remainder of his private property, and with 
 the assistance of friends and numerous volunteers, 
 speedily equipped a fleet of fourteen sail, of which 
 the largest was his own flag-ship, carrying 36 guns, 
 two hundred men, and cpmmanded by his son Walter. 
 In a twelvemonth he was ready, though he had been 
 greatly thwarted by the unresting opposition of Gon- 
 domar, and the ill-concealed enmity of the King. 
 There were spies and traitors, too, on board his own 
 ships. Of all this Raleigh cannot have been ignor- 
 ant; nor that on his success or failure depended life 
 or death; but he had pledged everything to the 
 hazard of the die. It was his last throw for fame 
 and fortune. Therefore he would not be discouraged 
 by the clouds which thickened around him, nor the 
 obstacles which lay before him, but dropped down 
 the Thames on the 28th of March 161 7. Stress of 
 weather forced his squadron into Cork, where he 
 refitted his fleet, and took on board additional sup- 
 
 • Oldys, " Life of Raleigh," pp. 467-468, 
 
THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH, 97 
 
 plies. Then, late in the month of August, he stood 
 across the Western Ocean, and about the beginning 
 of November, made the continent of South America. 
 
 Let me here observe that a great deal of good hot 
 indignation has been expended on the alleged im- 
 morality of this expedition. It is said that Guiana 
 was already colonised and held by Spain — a nation 
 with whom England was then at peace — and with 
 the daughter of whose sovereign the heir of the 
 English crown was meditating an alliance. If there 
 be any crime in this, it is evident that Raleigh was 
 not the only sinner ; but all England, which warmly 
 approved the enterprise, and the King himself, who 
 had sanctioned it, were equally guilty. But, in 
 truth, the political morality of those days was not 
 the morality of our own time, when the principles of 
 international policy are better understood; and it 
 was quite possible for two European countries to 
 keep the peace towards each other in Europe, while 
 flying at each other's throat in the New World. 
 
 On reaching the Triangle Islands, Raleigh de- 
 spatched five small vessels, and four hundred men, 
 under Captain Keymis, assisted by young Walter 
 Raleigh, for the Orinoco.* Keymis was ordered to 
 ascend the river, discover the mine, and open it; 
 repelling force by force, if necessary, but, so far as 
 might be, avoiding all encounter with the Spaniards. 
 
 * Edwards, "Life of Raleigh," i., 617, 
 
98 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 Unhappily, the Englishmen had been betrayed by 
 their King, who had furnished the Spanish Court 
 with full particulars of the strength of Raleigh's ar- 
 mament ; and, on landing, they found the Spaniards 
 posted in readiness to receive them. The advanced 
 posts, however, were soon driven in, retiring upon 
 the town of Santo Thom^, which, during the night 
 of 1st of January, was hotly attacked by Keymis 
 and his followers. After a fierce conflict, in which 
 young Raleigh was slain, the English were successful, 
 and captured San Thome, but were disappointed in 
 their expectations of plunder. They continued to 
 hold the town, however, for twenty-six days, when 
 the arrival of a strong Spanish force from Santa F^ 
 compelled them to retreat to the coast and re-embark 
 on board their ships. They soon afterwards rejoined 
 Raleigh, and the remainder of the expedition, at 
 Trinidad. 
 
 Keymis was received by his commander with in- 
 dignant reproaches. He endeavoured to justify 
 himself by saying that his force was insufficient to 
 defend his position against the Spanish attack ; 
 that he had no men to work the mine ; and that, 
 before all, as young Raleigh was dead, and Sir 
 Walter not only unpardoned by the King, but, as 
 he believed, sore stricken with disease and like to 
 die, he had no inducement to open the mine, which, 
 under such circumstances, could only have bene- 
 
 I 
 
THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH. 99 
 
 fitcd the Spaniards or the King. Such a defence 
 was, to Raleigh, mere words. He had undertaken 
 to carry back to England such a quantity of ore as 
 should abundantly prove the good faith of his ex- 
 pedition ; and to return empty-handed was, he knew, 
 to return to an ignominious scaffold. 
 
 What followed is a painful episode in Raleigh's 
 history. Key mis had been for years his faithful and 
 trusty follower, and we cannot but regret that our 
 hero's passionate mood rendered him unmindful of 
 his loyal service. The mortified lieutenant, after 
 some days, had an interview with his commander, 
 and requested him to approve a letter he had ad- 
 dressed to the Earl of Arundel, containing an elabo- 
 rate vindication of his conduct. Sir Walter refused ; 
 whereupon Keymis withdrew, and shot himself. " I 
 was no sooner come from him into my cabin, but I 
 heard a pistol go off over my head," writes Raleigh,* 
 "and sending up to know who shot it, word was 
 brought me that Keymis had shot it out of his cabin 
 window to cleanse it. His boy, going into the cabin, 
 found him lying on his bed with much blood by 
 him, and, looking on his face, saw he was dead. 
 The pistol being but little, the bullet did but crack 
 his rib ; but he, turning him over, found a long 
 knife in his body, all but the handle." 
 
 * Letter to Wen wood, given in his works (viii. 612) ; and in 
 Edwards, ''Life of Raleigh," ii. 357, 358. 
 
100 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 Raleigh now determined to proceed to Newfound- 
 land to refit his ships and recruit his crews, who had 
 suffered much from illness. Here a mutiny broke 
 out, which was quelled with difificulty, and Raleigh, 
 broken-hearted, made all sail for England. On the 
 voyage the expedition seems to have broken up 
 completely ; and when he reached Kinsale in May, 
 only one ship remained with him, which was seized 
 by the Lord-Deputy. The " Destiny " continued her 
 route, and arrived in Plymouth Sound early in June. 
 Ill news travels apace, and the failure of the enter- 
 prise was already the theme of public report. It is 
 said that when Gondomar, the Spanish Ambassador, 
 obtained the intelligence, which to him and his mas- 
 ter was so welcome, he demanded an audience of 
 the King, promising that all he had to say should 
 be included in one word. Admitted into the royal 
 presence, he accordingly exclaimed, in a loud voice 
 and with angry gestures, "Piratas! piratas! piratasl" 
 and abruptly retired. 
 
 When Raleigh was reprieved, it was only con- 
 ditionally ; he was not pardoned, and, consequently, 
 was at any time liable to be re-arrested. His friends, 
 being conscious of his dangerous position, now made 
 every effort to obtain a full pardon for him ; but 
 James, actuated by his desire for an alliance between 
 Prince Charles and the Infanta, determined to sacri- 
 fice him as a blood-offering to the offended dignity 
 
THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH. 101 
 
 of Spain. On the nth of June he therefore issued 
 a proclamation in which he strongly denounced the 
 attack upon San Thom^; and Sir Walter, as he 
 passed through Devonshire on his way to London, 
 was arrested at Ashburton by his own kinsman, Sir 
 Lewis — thenceforward branded by all honest men 
 as Sir Judas — Stukely. At first a considerable 
 amount of liberty was accorded (perhaps inten- 
 tionally) to his prisoner, and Raleigh availed him- 
 self of it to attempt his escape. With his friend, 
 Captain King, he hired a bark bound for Rochelle, 
 and directed it to lie to in the offing until he should 
 come on board. Late one night he and King re- 
 paired to the beach, and, in a small boat, pushed off 
 for the Rochellois ; but when within a quarter of a 
 mile, some unexplained motive induced him to put 
 about and return to land. His conduct may be 
 condemned by many, but, for my part, I am unable 
 to persuade myself altogether to regret it. It was 
 better for us, and better for himself, that he should 
 die a hero's death, than linger out a weary old age 
 as a fugitive in a foreign land, and with a clouded 
 reputation. The minds of men would then have been 
 prone to dwell on his failures, and to have lost sight 
 of all the great and noble aspects of his career. 
 The life of Raleigh would have wanted the moral 
 which makes it so precious to us, and missed the 
 blaze of glory in which it set 
 
102 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 Returning to Plymouth, Raleigh made the ac- 
 quaintance of one Manourie, a French quack and 
 an arrant rogue, who, I suspect, was an agent of 
 Raleigh's enemies. He seems to have suggested to 
 the ruined and broken-hearted man the silly strata- 
 gem of feigning sickness in order to gain time for 
 pacifying the King ; and when he had thus secured 
 his confidence he persuaded him to adopt a second 
 project of escape. The details, as soon as they 
 were arranged, he made known to Stukely, who 
 affected to connive at the project, and for a bribe of 
 £^o and a rich jewel, to lend his assistance in carry- 
 ing it out* 
 
 Manourie then pushed forward to London, fol- 
 lowed slowly by Sir Walter and Stukely. On 
 reaching the capital, Raleigh was joined by his 
 friend Captain King, and by two other confederates 
 — Cotterel, an old servant of Stukely's, and Hart, 
 a seaman, whose fidelity was not suspected. On 
 the following Sunday, Sir Walter, disguised with a 
 false beard, and attended by his page and Stukely, 
 repaired to the Tower Dock, where two wherries were 
 in waiting, in one of which Raleigh, Stukely, and the 
 page embarked, in the other King and Hart. At 
 this juncture Stukely demanded of King whether 
 he had not so far proved himself an honest man, to 
 which the latter replied that he hoped he would con- 
 
 • Edwards, "Life of Raleigh," i., 663. 
 
THE SORROWS OF RALEIGH. 103 
 
 tinue so. Raleigh's confidence remained unshaken 
 until the boatmen remarked that a Mr Herbert, who 
 was known to be an enemy of his, had taken boat 
 and followed them down the river. Shortly after- 
 wards another wherry shot across their path. Ra- 
 leigh declared it to be a spy, and hesitated to 
 proceed, but on Stukely's urgent protestations, 
 consented to continue his course, and so arrived at 
 a reach of the river near Plumstead, where Hart's 
 vessel was to have been stationed. 
 
 Here three ketches were seen at anchor, not one of 
 which, exclaimed Hart, with well-simulated alarm,was 
 his. Raleigh at once declared they were betrayed, 
 and ordered the boatmen to put about and row back, 
 in the hope he might regain his own house. On their 
 return they met the strange wherry, manned by 
 Herbert's servants. To avoid falling into their 
 hands, Sir Walter made a last attempt to bribe 
 Stukely's assistance. The treble villain made a 
 show of consent, but, Herbert's wherry coming up, 
 he threw off the mask, arrested King, and carried 
 the whole party to a tavern, where he made pre- 
 parations for conducting them to the Tower next 
 morning. On discovering the utter baseness of this 
 mean tool of a profligate Court, Raleigh simply 
 remarked, "Sir Lewis, these actions will not turn 
 out to your credit." 
 
 Early on Monday the ill-fated hero was once 
 
104 
 
 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 more conveyed to London's gloomy fortress. As 
 he passed on "through that gate misnamed" the 
 Traitor's, to his last dwelling-place, he remarked to 
 King, " Stukely and Cotterel have betrayed me. For 
 your part you need be in fear of no danger ; it is I 
 am the mark that is shot at." Then his old friend 
 and follower took leave of him, recommending 
 him to the care of that Power, with whom, at the 
 conclusion of his narrative, he says, " I doubt not 
 his soul resteth." 
 
 Thus was the victim irrevocably entangled in the 
 toils. He had fallen into the snares so cunningly 
 laid for him, and nothing now remained but to carry 
 out the infamous plot to its sanguinary consumma- 
 tion.* 
 
 * I have been constrained to hurry over the details of Raleigh's 
 attempted escape, but the reader, for fuller information, may refer to 
 King's narrative, as given by Oldys, pp. 533-537 ; to Mr Edwards 
 in his " Life of Raleigh," vol. i., pp. 667-670 ; and Mr St John, vol. 
 ii., pp. 268-281. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 LAST SCENE OF ALL. 
 
 " As the foolish idolaters were wont to sacrifice the choicest of their 
 children to the devil, so our King gave up his incomparable jewel to 
 the will of this monster of ambition (the Spaniard), under the pre- 
 tence of a superannuated transgression, contrary to the opinion of 
 the more honest sort of gownmen, who maintained that His Majesty's 
 pardon lay exclusively in the commission he gave him on his setting 
 out to sea ; it being incongruous that he who remained under the 
 notion of one dead in the law, should, as a general, dispose of the 
 lives of others, not being himself master of his own." — Francis 
 Osborne, "Historical Memoirs on the Reign of Elizabeth and 
 James" (Ed. 1658). 
 
 T was now determined that Raleigh should 
 die. With nothing less than the blood- 
 forfeit would the vengeance of Spain be 
 satisfied. Gondomar plainly declared that the 
 negotiations for the match with the Infanta would 
 be broken off unless Spain's great enemy was re- 
 moved out of the way. How this end was to be 
 compassed proved, nevertheless, a puzzle to James 
 and his Government. After the most dih'gent inquiry 
 
106 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 they found nothing in his conduct of the Guiani 
 expedition on which to found a capital charg* 
 To discover excuses for his murder, a commis-' 
 sion was then appointed of some members of the 
 Privy Council — men notoriously ill-disposed towards 
 Raleigh, and including Abbot, Archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, Lord Chancellor Bacon, and Sir Edward 
 Coke — who subjected the aged and dispirited 
 prisoner to a series of close examinations, but with 
 no other result than to convict him of what he did 
 not deny, the pretence of madness to excite the 
 Royal compassion, and the attempt to escape. As 
 this was insufficient to justify his execution, a system 
 of espionage was adopted, in the hope he might be 
 detected plotting with the French agents ; and one 
 Sir Thomas Wilson was appointed his keeper. He 
 played the part of spy with ingenious cruelty. He 
 opened his prisoner's cell in the morning with his 
 own hand, and remained in persevering attendance 
 upon him until he locked him up in the evening. 
 Professing to be his friend, he endeavoured to worm 
 himself into his confidence, and in his unguarded 
 moments to draw from him admissions of which the 
 Government might make use. But Wilson dis- 
 covered nothing, simply because there was nothing 
 to discover. The Court, therefore, were compelled 
 to fall back on the old sentence, passed some fifteen 
 years before, and obviously nullified by the com- 
 
LAST SCENE OF ALL. 107 
 
 mission which the King had granted to Raleigh 
 under his own hand, as Commander-in-Chief of his 
 last fatal expedition to Guiana. He addressed some 
 eloquent letters of apology and expostulation to the 
 King ; his ever-faithful wife moved heaven and earth 
 to obtain his pardon ; the Queen herself earnestly 
 interceded for him ; but all in vain. Spain must be 
 satisfied* and Raleigh must die. It is a pitiful 
 story, and makes one blush for the baseness of 
 which an English King and English statesmen 
 could be guilty. 
 
 At eight o'clock on the morning of the 28th of 
 October, he was brought up before the Court of 
 King's Bench, at Westminster, to receive sentence 
 of execution on the judgment delivered against 
 him fifteen years before. From thence he was con- 
 veyed to the Gatehouse, where he was informed that 
 he must prepare to die next morning at nine o'clock; 
 an indecent haste, says Tytler, which we are scarcely 
 prepared to expect, even from so heartless a prince 
 as James. In the evening his wife was admitted to 
 take her last farewell. The interview was deeply 
 affecting, but of what passed between them nothing 
 is recorded, except that on her informing him she 
 had obtained the favour of disposing of his body, 
 
 * Of the relentless malignity with which the Spanish Court hunted 
 down their noble victim, ample proof is brought forward by Mr 
 Edwards, in his recent "Life of Raleigh," vol. il, pp. 680-693. 
 
108 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 he replied, with a smile, "It is well, Bess, thou 
 shouldst have the disposal of that dead thou hadst 
 not always the disposing of when alive." Aboul 
 midnight they parted. 
 
 When left alone, Raleigh sat down and drew u] 
 some memorandum, chiefly referring to the ground^ 
 less charges brought against him, and afterward* 
 taking his Bible, he wrote upon a blank leaf th( 
 following lines : 
 
 ** E'en such is time ! that takes on trust 
 Our youth, our joys, and all we have, 
 
 And pays us but with age and dust : 
 Who, in the dark and silent grave, 
 
 "When we have wander'd all our ways, 
 
 Shuts up the story of our days ! 
 
 But from this earth, this grave, this dust, 
 
 The Lord shall raise me up, I trust."* 
 
 At four o'clock, Charles Thynne, one of Raleigh's 
 cousins, was admitted to see him, and noticing his 
 unusual cheerfulness, — the cheerfulness of a man 
 who feels that he is nigh the end of a long and 
 wearisome journey, — he expressed some fear lest his 
 foes should charge him with affectation. "Good 
 Charles," he replied, " let me be merry for this once ; 
 it is the last merriment I shall enjoy in this world ; 
 
 * I adopt the version of these lines given in the Oxford edition of 
 Raleigh's works, vol. viii. p. 729. They were transcribed from lite 
 original by Archbishop Sancroft. 
 
LAST SCENE OF ALL. 109 
 
 but when I come to the sad part thou shalt see I 
 will look on it like a man." 
 
 At five he was attended by Dr Tounson, the 
 Dean of Westminster, in whose ministrations he 
 joined devoutly, and from whose hands he received 
 the holy communion with signal fervour. He ex- 
 pressed his hearty forgiveness of all his enemies, and 
 hoped for the forgiveness of all whom he himself 
 had injured. Of death he spoke with the fearless- 
 ness of one who had been accustomed to confront it, 
 remarking that he would rather end his days by the 
 axe, than by a burning fever. The Dean warned 
 him against being too hardy, and reminded him 
 that some of the faithfuUest servants of God had 
 trembled a little when on the threshold of another 
 world. This he readily acknowledged, while giving 
 thanks, nevertheless, to the Almighty who had 
 endowed him with the strength of mind never to 
 fear death. It was evident that he enjoyed in his 
 soul that peace of God which passeth understanding ; 
 and, supported by faith and hope, eyed the dread 
 Hereafter with unshrinking gaze. His mind was free 
 from all worldly thoughts, from all ungenerous feel- 
 ings. The king who had so basely treated him, the 
 pretended friends who had so shamefully betrayed 
 him, the malignant enemies who had so relentlessly 
 persecuted him, — he forgave them all. He indulged 
 in no useless recriminations ; in no reflections on the 
 
110 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 k 
 
 law or Government ; though he steadfastly asserted 
 his innocence. "By the course of the law," he said 
 "I must die; yet leave must be given me to stan 
 upon my innocency of the fact." 
 
 Having partaken of a hearty breakfast, he smoked, 
 as was his wont, a pipe of tobacco, and took a cup 
 of sack. On being asked whether it pleased him, 
 " Ay," he replied, " as the fellow, that drinking of St 
 Giles' bowl as he went to Tyburn said, that *'tis 
 good drink, if a man might tarry by it." He then 
 retired for a short time to arrange his dress. He 
 was naturally a man of splendid tastes, and indulged 
 in much bravery of attire ; but on this solemn occa- 
 sion he discarded all show and glitter: he wore a 
 plain mourning suit of black satin, a hat, a richly 
 laced nightcap, and a black wrought-velvet night- 
 gown. 
 
 It was now near nine, and having announced his 
 readiness, he was conducted to the place of execution, 
 in the old Palace Yard, by the Sheriffs of London, 
 and the Dean of Westminster. A sympathising 
 multitude had assembled to see the last of one whom 
 most, if not all, remembered as the Captain of Eliza- 
 beth's Guard, the great Queen's favourite and coun- 
 
 * D'Israeli, '* Curiosities of Literature," p. 425. The particulars of 
 Raleigh's last hours are taken from two MS. letters in the Sloane 
 Collection, dated Nov. 3, 1618 (Larkin to Pickering) ; and Oct. 31, 
 1618 (Chamberlain's Letters.) 
 
LAST SCENE OF ALL. Ill 
 
 cillor, and the observed of all observers. Remarking 
 that an aged man, whose head was bald, pressed 
 eagerly forward, he enquired if he wanted aught of 
 him ; and when the latter answered, that he only 
 desired to see him, and pray God to have mercy 
 upon his soul, — "I thank thee," said Sir Walter, 
 " and I am sorry I have no better thing to return 
 thee for thy good will. But take this nightcap," 
 removing the rich laced head gear which he wore 
 beneath his hat, " for thou hast more need of it now 
 than I." He observed that his friend. Sir Hugh 
 Barton, whom on the previous day he had invited to 
 be present, was unable to approach for the throng. 
 He therefore bade him farewell, adding, " I know not 
 how it may be with you^ but / shall be sure to find a 
 place." 
 
 On ascending the scaffold, he bowed gracefully to 
 the nobles and gentlemen who surrounded it, and 
 proclamation having been made for silence, he pro- 
 ceeded to address them in a speech declaratory of 
 his innocence, and justificatory of his career. He 
 then embraced the lords, and those of his friends 
 who were near him ; and the Dean of Westminster 
 asking him in what faith or religion he meant to 
 die, — "In the faith," said he, "professed by the 
 Church of England," adding, " that he hoped to be 
 saved, and to have his sins washed away by the 
 precious blood and merits of our Saviour Christ." It 
 
112 SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 
 
 was a cold keen morning, and one of the sheriffs 
 invited him to leave the scaffold and warm himself 
 before he should say his prayers : " No, good Mr 
 Sheriff," he replied, "let us despatch, for within this 
 quarter of an hour my ague will come upon me, and 
 if I be not dead before that, mine enemies will say 
 I quake for fear/' He then made "a most divine 
 and admirable prayer;" after which he arose, and 
 clasping his hands together, exclaimed, " Now I am 
 going to God ! " 
 
 The scaffold being cleared of spectators, he threw 
 off his gown and doublet, and requested to look at 
 the axe. The executioner not immediately comply- 
 ing, he again urged his request: "I prithee let me 
 see it. Dost thou think I am afraid of it?" Taking 
 it in his hand he kissed the deadly steel, and, feeling 
 the edge lightly with his finger, observed to the 
 Sheriff, " 'Tis a sharp medicine, but a sound cure for 
 all diseases." Walking to the corner of the scaffold he 
 knelt down, and requested the people to pray for him. 
 After some minutes of silent devotion, he again rose, 
 examined the block, and laid himself down, so as to fit 
 it to his neck, and choose the easiest and most decent 
 attitude. Having made these arrangements, he de- 
 clared he was ready. The headsman came forward, 
 and, kneeling, solicited his forgiveness; on which 
 Raleigh, with a gentle smile, laid his hand upon his 
 shoulder, and bade him rest contented, for he cheer- 
 
LAST SCENE OP ALL. 113 
 
 fully forgave him. He further entreated him not to 
 strike until he himself gave the signal, and then to 
 fear nothing and strike home. With these words 
 he lay down on the block. He was desired to place 
 himself so that his face should look to the east. " It 
 matters not," said he, "how the head lies, provided 
 the heart be right." A minute or two of silent 
 prayer, and he gave the signal ; but from agitation, or 
 some other cause, the executioner delayed the blow. 
 Partially raising his head, he said aloud, " What dost 
 thou fear.? Strike, man!" The bright axe flashed 
 through the air, and at two strokes the head was 
 severed from the body. After being held up to the 
 view of the multitude, according to custom, it was 
 placed in a red leathern bag, carried to a mourning 
 coach which was in attendance, and conveyed to 
 Lady Raleigh. She preserved it with loving care 
 during her twenty-nine years of widowhood; after 
 which it descended as a precious heir-loom to his son 
 Carew, and, according to some accounts, was buried 
 with him at West Horsley, in Surrey. The hero's 
 body was interred in St Margaret's Churchyard, 
 Westminster.* 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh was in his sixty-sixth year 
 
 • According to some writers, at Beddiiigton. See Oldys, " Life of 
 Raleigh," pp. 560-565 ; Tytler, "Life of Raleigh," pp. 410-427 ; J. A. 
 St John, ** Life of Raleigh," ii. 342-350; and Edward Edwards, ** Life 
 of Raleigh," i. in loco. 
 
 H 
 
iU Sir WALTEk kALEIGII. 
 
 when he thus fell a victim to foreign hatred and do- 
 mestic treachery.* 
 
 His death was the noble ending of a life which, 
 with some dark stains, was also noble. The last 
 scene of the chequered drama was the most impres- 
 sive. And, truly, in the records of heroes or martyrs, 
 in modern times or antiquity, I know of no passage 
 more affecting or sublime. A great patriot, inferior 
 to Raleigh in originality and versatility of genius, 
 but not in devotion to his country, in courage, or 
 heroic intrepidity — I mean Sir John Eliot — spoke in 
 eloquent terms of his closing hours : " Matchless was 
 his fortitude. It was a wonder and example, which, 
 if the ancient philosophers could have witnessed, they 
 had acknowledged as the equal of their virtue. . . 
 His mind became the charm, as if already it had 
 been freed from the cloud and oppression of the body, 
 and such was his unmoved courage and placid temper, 
 that while it changed the affection of the enemies 
 who had come to witness it, and turned their joy 
 into sorrow, it filled all men else with admiration 
 and emotion."t 
 
 It is difficult, in the compass of a few sentences, 
 to sum up the character of a man so original, so ver- 
 
 * *' The nation could not help seeing in his death the sacrifice of 
 the bravest and most renowned of Englishmen to the vengeance of 
 Spain."— Hal lam, " Const. History of England." i. 355. See the 
 " Somers' Tracts," ii. 437. 
 
 t Forster, " Life of Sir John Eliot, 1. 34, 35. 
 
LAST SCENE OF ALL, 115 
 
 satile, so many-sided. A just estimate of him would 
 require us to consider him as poet, historian, 
 courtier, soldier, seaman, politician, and statesman. 
 In either of these capacities he excelled not only- 
 ordinary men, but men who had devoted themselves 
 to, and obtained reputation in, their respective occu- 
 pations. As a soldier he was surely equal to Vere; 
 as a navigator he had all the boldness, if not the 
 success, of Drake; he lacked Cecil's subtlety, and 
 Burleigh's discretion as a statesman, but could form 
 far loftier schemes of policy than either, and on many 
 political subjects of the highest importance antici- 
 pated the judgment of a later age. His renown as 
 a courtier is well deserved, for he long enjoyed Eliza- 
 beth's confidence, winning and retaining it by his 
 sagacity, his wit, and his fine breeding. As an his- 
 torian his breadth of view, his profundity of reflection, 
 and dignity of manner entitle him to a foremost 
 place ; while his poetry has in every line the ring of 
 the true gold, and is sweet and grave, lofty and 
 tender, by turns, according to the master's pleasure. 
 So extraordinary an instance of versatility is seldom 
 presented in the annals of great men. Raleigh 
 touched nothing which he did not adorn and make 
 his own. He was equally eminent as a thinker and 
 a man of action. His erudition was that of a scholar 
 who was constantly immured among dusty volumes; 
 yet his graceful address and gallant bearing outshone 
 
116 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 the Leicesters, Essexes, and Hattons, of a chivalrous 
 Court. 
 
 His marked superiority to his contemporaries is 
 shown by the larger space he fills in the history of 
 his time. We instinctively point to him as the 
 representative man of the Elizabethan age ; as the 
 grandest type of those colonising, navigating, ad- 
 venturous, persevering, fighting Englishmen, who 
 ripened into full perfection under the last Tudor 
 sovereign. We may judge, too, of the power there 
 was in this not altogether perfect but very admirable 
 and heroic spirit, by the fear in which he was held by 
 James and his ministers, by the King and politicians 
 of Spain. The destruction of a solitary individual 
 was as eagerly meditated by them as if he had been 
 a host. It is certain that they regarded him with a 
 panic fear, nor felt free from danger until his head 
 had fallen on the block. 
 
 I am no blind eulogist of the hero, nor do I paint 
 him as without a fault. There were flaws in his 
 character, or he would never have formed a true ideal 
 of noble manhood ; and errors in his career, or he 
 would have contradicted the usual fortune of hu- 
 manity. His ambition was too restless, too greedy, 
 too overreaching ; he was insatiable of power ; and 
 when he had set before him a great and worthy end 
 to be gained, he was not over scrupulous in the use of | 
 means by which to gain it. He was haughty in his, 
 
LAST SCENE OF ALL. 117 
 
 bearing towards the common people, and seems to 
 have cared little for their love; though by his own 
 seamen, and the rough manly miners and mariners 
 of Devonshire and Cornwall, he was adored. It may 
 be that his hatred of Spain was carried to an excess, 
 and that his intolerance of Papacy degenerated into 
 bigotry ; but it is not easy for us of the nineteenth 
 century to understand the passionate patriotism with 
 which all England, in Elizabeth's time, stood at bay 
 before the preponderant Spanish power, or the bitter 
 memories cherished in many a quiet English home 
 of the fires of Smithfield, — of rack, and stake, and 
 gibbet. 
 
 In conclusion, I would say, with one of my hero's 
 most impartial biographers,* that Raleigh's fortunes 
 were alike remarkable for brilliant successes and 
 astounding reverses. Elevated to lofty station 
 through the favour and discernment of -England's 
 greatest female sovereign, he perished on the scaf- 
 fold through the hatred, and mean, cowardly policy 
 of the weakest of her kings. To crown all, if his 
 achievements " by land and sea " have associated his 
 name with those of Drake and Hawkins and Gren- 
 ville ; if his success as a courtier has placed it in 
 juxtaposition with those of Essex and Leicester ; if 
 his wisdom as a statesman has ranked him with 
 Burleigh and Cecil ; if, by his death, he has earned 
 
 • Macvey Napier, Edinburgh Review ^ April 1840. 
 
118 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 a renown like that of Sidney and Russell, — it has 
 been also his wondrous fortune to raise himself to 
 the level of Bacon and Hooker by right of the 
 memorable work with which "his prison hours 
 enriched the world."* 
 
 * I may here direct the student's attention to Mr Macvey Napier's 
 very admirable article on the life of Raleigh, embodied in a review of 
 Mr Tytler's biography, to which, however, I think, he hardly does 
 justice. In the preceding pages I have generally indicated my autho- 
 rities, but in addition to those already named, I ought to acknowledge 
 the occasional use I have made of the works of Fuller, Antony k 
 Wood, and Aubrey. Of Raleigh's career as a navigator, an excellent 
 sketch is given in Southey's "Lives of the British Admirals." Of 
 recent memoirs Mr J. A. St John's is the more readable, lucid, and 
 philosophical ; Mr Edwards's the more critical, laborious, and exhaus- 
 tive. His collection of Raleigh's letters (in his second volume) is 
 especially valuable. An able estimate of Raleigh appeared in TTie 
 Times of January 8, 1869; and in The Spectator^ Januaiy 9 and 
 January 16, 1869. 
 
 [We subjoin a few specimens of Raleigh's genius as a poet and a 
 prose writer. The prose quotations are from his ^^ magnum o/us,"] 
 
 THE VALUE OF HISTORY. 
 
 It hath triumphed over time, which, besides it, nothing but eternity 
 hath triumphed over ; for it hath carried our knowledge over the vast 
 and devouring space for so many thousands of years, and given to 
 our mind such fair and piercing eyes, that we plainly behold living 
 now, as if we had lived then, that great \rorld, Magni Dei sapii 
 
 1 
 
HIS WORKS, 119 
 
 opus, — the wise work, says Hermes, of a great God, as it was then 
 when but new in itself. By it, it is, I say, that we live in the very 
 time when it was created. We behold how it was governed ; how it 
 was covered with waters and again re-peopled ; how kings and king- 
 doms have flourished and fallen ; and for what virtue and piety God 
 made prosperous, and for what vice and deformity He made wretched, 
 both the one and the other. And it is not the least debt which we 
 owe unto history, that it hath made us acquainted with our dead 
 ancestors, and out of the depth and darkness of the earth delivered us 
 their memory and fame. In a word, we may gather out of history a 
 policy no less wise than eternal, by the comparison and application of 
 other men's forepast miseries with our own lite errors and ill-deserv- 
 ings. — Preface to the " History of the World." 
 
 THE STARS. 
 
 And if we cannot deny but that God hath given virtues to springs 
 and fountains, to cold earth, to plants, stones, minerals, and to the 
 vilest part of the basest living creatures, why should we rob the beau- 
 tiful stars of their working powers? for seeing they are many in 
 number, and of eminent brightness and magnitude, we may not 
 think that, in the treasury of His wisdom who is infinite, there can be 
 wanting (even for every star) a peculiar virtue and operation, as every 
 herb, plant, fruit, and flower, adorning the face of the earth, hath the 
 same. For as these were not created to beautify the earth alone, and 
 to cover and shadow her dusty face, but otherwise for the use of man 
 and beast to feed them and cure them, so were not these mysterious 
 and glorious bodies set in the firmament to no other end than to adorn 
 it, but for instruments and organs of his Divine Providence, so far as 
 it lias pleased His just will to determine. Origen, upon this place of 
 Genesis, " Let there be light in the firmament," affirmeth that the stars 
 are not causes, but are as open books, wherein are contained and set 
 down all things whatsoever to come, but not to be read by the eyes of 
 
120 SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 
 
 human wisdom .... And though for the capacity of men we 
 know somewhat, yet in the true and uttermost virtues of plants and 
 herbs, which ourselves sow and set, and which grow under our feet, 
 we are in effect ignorant, much more in the powers and working of the 
 celestial bodies. ** For hardly," saith Solomon, "can we discern the 
 things which are before us; who then can investigate the things which 
 are in heaven ? " But in this question of fate, the middle course is to be 
 followed, that, as with the heathen, we do not bind God to his crea- 
 tures in this supposed necessity of destiny ; so, on the contrary, we do 
 not rob these beautiful creatures of their powers and offices. — "Histoiy 
 of the World," vol. ii. p. 29. 
 
 ON MAN. 
 
 " Man," says Gregory Nanzianzen, **is the bond or chdn which 
 tieth together both natures ;" and because in the little frame of man's 
 body there is a representation of the universal, therefore man was 
 called Microcosmos, or the little world ; ... for out of the earth 
 and dust was formed the flesh of man, and therefore heavy and lumpish ; 
 the bones of his body we may compare to the hard rocks and stones, 
 and therefore strong and durable; his blood, which dispenseth itself 
 by the branches of veins through all the body, may be resembled to 
 those waters which are carried by brooks and rivers over all the 
 earth ; his breath to the air ; his natural heat to the enclosed warmth 
 which the earth hath in itself, which, stirred up by the heat of the sun, 
 assisteth nature in the speedier production of those varieties which the 
 earth bringeth forth ; our radical moisture is resembled to the fat or 
 fertility of the earth ; the hairs of man's body, which adorn or over- 
 shadow it, to the grass which covereth the upper face or skin of the 
 earth; .... our determinations to the light, wandering, and 
 unstable clouds carried everywhere with uncertain winds ; our eyes to 
 the light of the sun and moon, and the beauty of our youth to the 
 flowers of the rpring, which either in a very short time, or with the 
 
 I 
 
HIS WORKS. 121 
 
 sun's heat, dry up and wither away, or the fierce puffs of wind blow 
 them from their stalks ; the thoughts of our mind to the motions of 
 angels, and our pure understanding, which always looketh upwards, to 
 those intellectual natures which are always present with God; and, 
 lastly, our immortal souls, while they are righteous, are by God him- 
 self beautified with the title of His own image and similitude ; and 
 although in respect of God there is no man just, or good, or righteous, 
 *' for behold He findeth folly in His angels," saith Job; yet with such a 
 kind of difference as there is between the substance and the shadow, 
 there may be found a goodness in man. 
 
 THE SOUL'S ERRAND. 
 
 Go, soul, the body's guest, 
 Upon a thankless errand ; 
 
 Fear not to touch the best ; 
 The truth shall be thy warrant 
 
 Go, since I needs must die, 
 
 And give the world the lie. 
 
 Say to the Court it glows 
 And shines like rotten wood j 
 
 Say to the Church it shows 
 
 What's good, and doth no good. 
 
 If Church and Court reply, 
 
 Ihen give them both the lie. 
 
 Tell potentates they live 
 Acting by others' action ; 
 
 Not loved unless they give ; 
 Not strong but by affection. 
 
 If potentates reply, 
 
 Give potentates the lie. 
 
122 SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 
 
 Tell men of high condition 
 That manage the estate. 
 
 Their purpose is ambition, 
 Their practice only hate. 
 
 And if they once reply, 
 
 Then give them both the lie. 
 
 Tell them that brave it most, 
 They beg for more by spending, 
 
 Who in their greatest cost 
 
 tike nothing but commending : 
 
 And if they make reply, 
 
 Then tell them all they lie. 
 
 Tell Zeal it wants devotion j 
 Tell Love it is but lust ; 
 
 Tell Time it is but motion ; 
 Tell Flesh it is but dust. 
 
 And wish them not reply, 
 
 For thou must give the lie. 
 
 Tell Age it daily wasteth ; 
 
 Tell Honour how it alters ; 
 Tell Beauty how she blasteth j 
 
 Tell Favour how she falters- 
 And as they shall reply, 
 Give every one the lie. 
 
 Tell Wit how much it wrangles 
 In tickle points of niceness ; 
 
 Tell Wisdom she entangles 
 Herself in over-wiseness. 
 
 And when they do reply, 
 
 Straight give them both the lie 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 HIS WORKS. 123 
 
 Tell Physic of her boldness ; 
 
 Tell Skill it is pretension ; 
 Tell Charity of coldness ; 
 
 Tell Law it is contention. 
 And as they do reply, 
 So give them all the lie. 
 
 Tell Fortune of her blindness ; 
 
 Tell Nature of decay ; 
 Tell Friendship of unkindness ; 
 
 Tell Justice of delay. 
 And if they will reply, 
 Thfcn give them all the lie. 
 
 Tell Arts they have no soundness, 
 
 But vary by esteeming ; 
 Tell Schools they want profoundnes.-, 
 
 And stand too much on seeming. 
 If Arts and Schools reply, 
 Give Arts and Schools the lie. 
 
 Tell Faith it's fled the city j 
 
 Tell how the country errethj 
 Tell Manhood shakes off pity ; 
 
 Tell Virtue least preferreth. 
 And if they do reply, 
 Spare not to give the lie. 
 
 So when thou hast, as I 
 
 Commanded thee, done blabbing. 
 Because, to give the lie, 
 
 Deserves no !es5 than stabbing ; 
 Stab at thee who will, 
 No stab the soul can kill. 
 
124 
 
 SIR WALiER RALEIGH, 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 Rise, oh ! my soul, with my desires to heaven; 
 
 And with Divinest contemplation use 
 Thy time, where time's eternity is given ; 
 And let vain thoughts no more thy thoughts abuse, 
 But down in darkness let them lie : 
 So live thy better, let thy worse thoughts die ! 
 
 And thou, my soul, inspired with holy flame, 
 
 View and review, with most regardful eye, 
 
 That holy Cross, whence thy salvation came. 
 
 On which thy Saviour and thy sin did die I 
 
 For in that sacred object is much pleasure. 
 
 And in that Saviour is my life, my treasure. 
 
 To Thee, O Jesus, I direct my eyes ; 
 
 To Thee my hands, to Thee my humble knees ; 
 To Thee my heart shall offer sacrifice ; 
 
 To Thee my thoughts, who my thoughts only sees- 
 To Thee myself, — myself and all I give ; 
 To Thee I die; to Thee I only live I 
 
 I 
 
^h |0ljtt Hafiryns. 
 
 "WESTWARD HOI" 
 
 "Westward Ho! with a rumbelow, 
 And hurrah for the Spanish Main, ho ! " 
 
 Old Ballad. 
 
 O the present generation of Englishmen, the 
 name of JOHN HAWKINS is, I fear, almost 
 unknown. Mr Froude might have included 
 him among those " Forgotten Worthies " of whom he 
 has written so admirably. Yet he did good service 
 in his time for his Queen and country; was, indeed, 
 one of the representative men of the Elizabethan 
 Age; inferior in practical ability to Drake; in ambi- 
 tion, chivalry, breadth of view, and mental range, 
 to Raleigh ; with altogether a coarser and rougher 
 nature ; yet a capable man, of signal daring and 
 intrepidity, and not without a touch of true heroism 
 in him. 
 
126 SIR JOHN HA WKINS, 
 
 In judging the character of Hawkins and his con- 
 temporaries, however, we ought to be sedulously 
 careful not to form our judgment from a nineteenth 
 century stand-point. There was a real and living 
 earnestness in the spirit of the EHzabethan time of 
 which our own knows nothing, and which, perhaps, 
 is less necessary now than then. We can attain to 
 no real understanding of the motives and actions of 
 these men, if we do not realise to ourselves the 
 conditions which surrounded them ; if we do not 
 remember that they were actors in England's 
 desperate struggle for existence against a Power 
 which swayed half the world ; that their minds were 
 roused to fever-heat by the cruelties which had dis- 
 honoured the Spanish name in the fair regions of 
 the West ; that they hated Popery with an intense 
 and burning hatred, as the great enemy of their 
 liberties, and the evil influence of the earth. At a 
 later period, our ancestors were accustomed to com- 
 bine in a trio of antipathies the Pope, the Pretender, 
 and the Devil. The Elizabethans, in like manner, 
 recognised the existence of three absolute and 
 unrelenting foes, with whom there could be no 
 truce, — the Spaniard, the Pope, and the Devil. 
 And it was this ever-present, and ever-active con- 
 viction which roused them to do such deeds of daring 
 as the world has never since seen equalled. 
 
 "An earnest faith in the supernatural," says Mr 
 
WESTWARD BO! 127 
 
 Fronde,* " an intensely real belief in the Divine and 
 devilish forces by which the universe was guided 
 and misguided, was the inheritance of the Eliza- 
 bethan age from Catholic Christianity. The fiercest 
 and most lawless men did then really and truly 
 believe in the actual personal presence of God or 
 the devil in every accident, or scene, or action. 
 They brought to the contemplation of the new 
 heaven and the new earth an imagination saturated 
 with the spiritual convictions of the old era, which 
 were not lost, but only infinitely expanded. The 
 planets, whose vastness they now learnt to recognise, 
 were, therefore, only the more powerful for evil or 
 for good ; the tides were the breathing of Demo- 
 gorgon ; and the idolatrous American tribes were 
 real worshippers of the real devil, and were assisted 
 with the full power of his evil array." 
 
 We should bear these facts in mind when we 
 apply our cold canons of criticism to the heroes 
 of an heroic age. But it is our mistake that we 
 too often seek to fashion them according to our 
 nineteenth century standard ; that, Procrustes-like, 
 we lengthen here, and lop off there, to reduce facts 
 and characters and events to what we deem a 
 satisfactory system ; and utterly disregard the true 
 spirit of an epoch when Enthusiasm had broken up 
 the stillness of the great deep, as the pool of 
 
 • J. A. Froude, " Short Studies on Great Subjects," 275. 
 
128 SIR JOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 Siloara was troubled by the descent of the angei 
 of the Lord. 
 
 John Hawkins, the second son of Captain 
 William Hawkins, and of Joan Trelawny, his wife^ 
 — evidently, by her name, of Cornish descent, — first 
 saw the light at Plymouth about 1520. By right of 
 the paternal blood, he was born to a sea career. 
 His father was highly esteemed by Henry VHI. for 
 nautical ability, and deserves to be commemorated 
 as the first Englishman who traded to Brazil, having 
 made two voyages thither in a vessel of his own, 
 the "Paul, of Plymouth," in the years 1530 and 
 1532.* By virtue of his birthplace, moreover, and 
 the influences under which his youth was passed, 
 John Hawkins was destined to maritime renown. 
 Plymouth was the principal seaport of a county 
 which, under the Tudors, had become the nursery 
 of brave and skilful seamen. It presented, as Prince 
 quaintly says,+ " a kind of invitation to maritime 
 noble actions from its very commodiousness." Im- 
 possible, too, was it then, as it is now, for any bold- 
 spirited lad to live on that beautiful coast, where 
 the bright waters wash the feet of romantic cliiifs, 
 and wind inland under the shade of venerable trees, 
 with an infinite beauty in the calm summer days 
 and nights, and an appalling sublimity in the season 
 
 • Hakluyt, "Collection of Voyages and Discoveries," iii. 700. 
 i" Prince, * * Worthies of Devon. " 
 
 I 
 
WESTWARD HO! 129 
 
 of the tempest, without drinking in the inspiration 
 of the sea. 
 
 From his earliest youth, therefore, John Hawkins 
 was a sailor. As a boy, he gained experience by 
 voyages to Spain, Portugal, and the Canaries, which 
 were in those days, " extraordinary adventures," and 
 may well be so considered, when we remember the 
 cockle-shells of ten or twenty tons that composed 
 our fathers' commercial flotillas. His fair dealing 
 with the Canarians earned their favour, and they 
 rewarded him with much information concerning 
 the condition of the Spanish West Indies ; assuring 
 him that negroes were very good merchandise in 
 Hispaniola, and that store of them might easily be 
 had upon the coast of Guinea. 
 
 This intelligence opened up to him a prospect of 
 advancement which his enterprising spirit could not 
 disregard. He resolved upon an expedition to the 
 African coast, and with the help of some worshipful 
 friends in London — one of whom was Sir Thomas 
 Rodger, his father-in-law — he fitted out three "good 
 ships," the "Solomon," of 120 tons, the "Swallow," 
 of 100, and the "Jonas," of 70, — "in which small 
 fleet he took with him not above an hundred men, 
 for fear of sickness and other inconveniences, where- 
 unto men in long voyages are commonly subject." 
 He sailed in October 1562, for Sierra Leone, where 
 he got into his possession, partly by the sword, and 
 
I 
 
 130 SIR JOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 partly by other means, to the number of 300 negroes 
 at the least, besides other merchandise which that 
 country yieldeth. This strange cargo he carried to 
 Hispaniola, and disposed of profitably; receiving in 
 exchange some quantity of pearls, and hides, ginger, 
 sugar, and other commodities in such abundance as 
 not only to load his own vessels, but also two hulks, 
 which he hired ; and so, with much success, and 
 great gain to himself and his friends, he sailed 
 merrily homeward, arriving in September 1563.* 
 
 A vast amount of indignation has been expended 
 upon Hawkins as the first Englishman who engaged 
 in the slave trade. The fact is doubtful ; but, as- 
 sum.ing its correctness, we are bound to remember, 
 that none of Hawkins's contemporaries saw any- 
 thing to condemn in a traffic which our purer 
 morality and better comprehension of the rights of 
 humanity have taught us to regard as so iniquitous. 
 They saw no harm in capturing and selling the 
 African negroes, though they were loud and earnest 
 in their condemnation of the Spaniards for enslaving 
 the Indians of America. We must not expect from 
 Hawkins a higher morality than was common to all 
 his fellows. Even Las Casas, the gentle and bene- 
 volent apostle of the Indians, who devoted his noble 
 life to ameliorating the condition of the American 
 tribes, and who, in their behalf, confronted the 
 
 • llakluyt, " Collection of Voyages and Discoveries, " iii. 500. 
 
\l 
 
 WESTWARD HO! 131 
 
 Spanish Court, and dared the anger of grandees and 
 adventurers — discovered no injustice in the negro 
 slave trade, nor perceived the folly and wickedness 
 of rescuing one race from bondage at the expense 
 of another.* The gallant Englishmen who risked 
 life and fortune on the shores of the New World, 
 as the " armed soldiers of the Reformation, and as 
 the avengers of humanity," looked with no unfavour- 
 able eyes on negro slavery. Some of them, it is 
 true, held themselves aloof from it, but not, I fear, 
 because they were wiser or better than Hawkins. 
 It was simply that they found gold-hunting a more 
 lucrative and attractive pursuit. 
 
 Nevertheless, the slave trade was then, as it always 
 has been, a bad, black, accursed business ; and we 
 cannot but regret that our Elizabethan worthies 
 did not rise above it.+ Let us own, too, that Haw- 
 kins was not one of the most scrupulous in its con- 
 duct. He was less gentle than Drake, and altogether 
 of a coarser, ruder nature than Gilbert or Grenville. 
 
 In 1564, he sailed upon a second expedition. He 
 
 * See Mr Helps's thoughtful and able chapters on Slavery in his 
 ** History of the Spanish Conquest of America." See, too, his "Life 
 of LasCasas" (ed. 1868). 
 
 + *' Hawkins," says Southey, " is not individually to be condemned 
 if he looked upon dealing in negroes to be as lawful as any other trade, 
 and thought that force or artifice might be employed for taking them, 
 with as little compunction as in hunting, fishing, or fowling ; this wa? 
 the common opinion of his age, and not a solitary voice had been 
 raised against it." — *' Live* of the British Admirals," iii. 69, 70, 
 
132 SIR JOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 had already gained so much fame as a navigator, 
 that many of the Devonshire gentlemen placed their 
 sons under his charge, to learn the " mysterie of 
 seamanship ;" and the Queen lent him one of her 
 large vessels, the " Jesus of Lubeck," of 700 tons 
 burden, to swell his small armada. His other ships 
 were the " Solomon," of 140 tons, the " Tiger," of 50, 
 and the ** Swallow," of 30. They were well provided 
 with stores, and carried, in all, 170 men. 
 
 On their way out they joined company with 
 another Queen's ship, the " Minion," — afterwards 
 blown up, with some small loss of life, — and the 
 '' St John Baptist," of London, bound to Guinea. 
 The directions which the Admiral issued for the 
 guidance of this fleet were much commended by 
 contemporary seamen, and are not unworthy of 
 being presented to our readers :* 
 
 " The small ships to be always a-head and 
 a- weather of the Jesus/ and to speak twice a-day 
 with the 'Jesus' at least. If in the day the ensign 
 be over the poop of the ' Jesus,' or in the night two 
 lights, then shall all the ships speak with her. If 
 there be three lights aboard the ' Jesus,' then doth 
 she cast about. If the weather be extreme, that the 
 small ships cannot keep company with the * Jesus,' 
 then all to keep company with the * Solomon,* and 
 forthwith repair to Teneriffe, to the northward of 
 • Hakluyt, •'CoUectionof Early Voyages and Discoveries," lii. 503. 
 
WESTWARD HO! 133 
 
 the road of Sirrves. If any happen to any misfor- 
 tune, then to show two lights, and to shoot off a 
 piece of ordnance. If any loose company, and 
 come in sight again, to make three yaws, and strike 
 the mizen three times. Serve God daily ; love one 
 another ; preserve your victuals ; beware of fire ; 
 and keep good company." 
 
 After touching at the Canaries, they made the 
 Cape de Verde, where the natives are described as 
 being more civil than any other, because of their 
 daily traffic with the Frenchmen. Their courtesy 
 was requited by Hawkins with an attempt to kidnap 
 some of them for slaves, which, fortunately, proved 
 unsuccessful. 
 
 Unable to enter the Rio Grande, Hawkins pro- 
 ceeded to one of the islands called Sambula, where 
 he stayed awhile, landing daily to capture the in- 
 habitants, and burn and spoil their towns. "We 
 took many in that place, and as much of their fruits 
 as we could well carry." It was a war of the giants 
 against the pigmies, however, and Hawkins lost 
 but one of his men in all his forays. He, having 
 rashly delayed behind his retiring shipmates to 
 gather pompions, was surprised, and slain by the 
 negroes.* 
 
 In an attack upon a negro town, which Hawkins 
 calls Bymeba, he was, however, less successful. 
 
 • Hakluyt, " Collection of Voyages and Discoveries," iii. 505. 
 
134 SIR JOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 Of the forty men whom he despatched against it 
 seven were killed, and twenty severely wounded ; a 
 misfortune due to their carelessness in leaving their 
 ranks, and their avidity in each searching for what 
 gold he could secure. To prevent his followers 
 from growing despondent, Hawkins carried himself 
 in a singularly wise manner, with countenance very 
 cheerful outwardly, as though he did little weigh 
 the death of his men, nor yet the great hurt of 
 the rest ; although his heart inwardly was broken 
 to pieces for it. 
 
 The expedition next sailed for the Spanish Main, 
 but in crossing the Atlantic were becalmed for 
 eighteen days — having now and then contrary 
 winds and some tornadoes, which proved a grievous 
 misfortune from their small supply of fresh water 
 for so great a company of negroes and Europeans. 
 " This," says the old chronicler, " pinched us all ; 
 and, that which was worst, put us in such fear, that 
 many never thought to have reached the Indies 
 without great death of negroes and of themselves ; 
 but the Almighty God, which never suffereth His 
 elect to perish, sent us the ordinary breeze." It 
 seems strange to us to read of these slave-hunters 
 as among "the elect oi God;" yet it is certain 
 that, however imperfect their conceptions of mora- ■ 
 lity, however one-sided their notions of justice, 
 they cherished a very real and earnest faith in the 
 
 J 
 
WESTWARD HO! 135 
 
 Supreme, and sought, with more or less sincerity, to 
 do His will. 
 
 Having arrived at Dominica, they received hos- 
 pitable entertainment from the Spanish authorities, 
 who, however, would not permit them to trade, nor 
 to take on board a pilot. The Government of Spain 
 had already grown apprehensive of the results that 
 might follow the intrusion of the English into the 
 Western seas, and were determined to allow them 
 no share in the wealth of the New World. At 
 Barburata, his ships were allowed to enter the har- 
 bour, and obtain supplies of provisions. After some 
 delay, and a considerable interchange of missives, the 
 Governor licensed him to dispose of his living cargo, 
 but entirely refused to abate anything of the King's 
 royalty, which was thirty ducats upon every slave.* 
 
 Hawkins was of opinion, however, that so con- 
 siderable a tax would leave him but little profit upon 
 his negroes; and as he could not obtain his price by 
 fair means, he did not hesitate to resort to force. 
 Landing one hundred resolute men, armed to the 
 teeth with bows and arrows, arquebuses and pikes, 
 he marched towards the town, whose inhabitants 
 were unable to resist such potent arguments, and, 
 complying against their will, bought Hawkins's 
 negroes on his own terms, and with little regard 
 to the King's royalty. 
 
 * Hakluyt, '* Collection of Voyages," 506. 
 
136 SIR JOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 Flushed with success, he now proceeded to the 
 island of Cura9oa, where he and his men found a 
 great traffic for hides, and great refreshing both of 
 beef, mutton, and lambs ; whereof there was such 
 plenty that, saving for skins, they had the flesh 
 given them for nothing ; and the worst in the ship 
 thought sore, not only of mutton, but also of sodden 
 lamb, which they disdained to eat unroasted. After 
 experiencing some heavy gales, they made Rio de la 
 Hacha, where they were encountered with the same 
 unreasonable prejudices on the part of the Spanish 
 authorities, and were refused permission to traffic. 
 Hawkins repeated the excuse he had given at Bar- 
 burata, that contrary winds had driven him into 
 those parts, and such being the case, he was deter- 
 mined not to lose his right of trade. Therefore he 
 would use force if need be, and he left it to them 
 either to give him license or else stand to their own 
 defence. 
 
 They granted the license, but for the slaves 
 offered a price less by one half than he had 
 obtained at Barburata. Whereupon Hawkins ad- 
 dressed to them an indignant letter, saying that 
 they dealt too rigorously with him, to go about to 
 cut his throat in the price of his commodities, which 
 were so reasonably rated as they could not, by a 
 great deal, have the like at any other man's hands ; 
 but seeing they had sent him this to his supper, he 
 
WESTWARD HOI 137 
 
 would in the morning bring them as good a break- 
 fast.* 
 
 Accordingly, at daybreak, he fired a culverin by 
 way of prelude, and landing with one hundred men 
 and two small brass guns, speedily obtained com- 
 pliance with his demands. His bill of fare was one 
 which the Spaniards did not care to refuse, and he 
 disposed of his negroes on terms which he considered 
 satisfactory. He then parted with them very civilly, 
 and sailed for Jamaica, but, going astray, and being 
 in great want of water, he made for the coast of 
 Florida. Here he fell in with a small Huguenot 
 colony on the river May, and most generously 
 relieved their necessities. Afterwards he sailed for 
 England. Contrary winds sorely delayed his course, 
 and he suffered much from scarcity of provisions, 
 but, in the month of September, duly arrived at 
 the port of Padstow, in Cornwall, *' with the loss 
 of twenty persons in all the voyage, and with great 
 profit to the venturers, as well as to the whole 
 realm, in bringing home both gold, silver, pearls, 
 and other jewels great store. His name, therefore, 
 be praised for evermore. Amen." 
 
 Instead of censuring Hawkins for kidnapping and 
 piracy, Elizabeth's Government rewarded him for 
 opening up new channels to the unresting enterprise 
 and gathering commerce of England. By way of 
 
 • Hakluyt, ** Collection of Voyages," 512. 
 
138 SIR JOHN HA WKINS, 
 
 increase and augmentation of honour, a coat of arms 
 and crest were settled upon him and his posterity, by a 
 patent thus worded : " He bears sable on a point waver, 
 a lion passant gold, in chief three bezants. Upon his 
 helm a wreath argent and azure, a demi-Moor, in his 
 proper colour^ bound and captive, with annulets on his 
 arms and ears," a not unfitting symbol of the inju- 
 rious traffic in which he had unfortunately engaged. 
 
 Restless and ever-stirring, like all the Elizabethan 
 seamen, I find him next engaged in an expedition 
 designed to assist the Huguenots of Rochelle in 
 their struggle^ against the Catholic forces. On his 
 return home, he was invited by the London mer- 
 chants to undertake another voyage to Guinea and 
 the Spanish main, and accordingly he set sail from 
 Plymouth in October 1567, in the "Jesus of Lubeck," 
 accompanied by the "Minion;" the "Judith," with 
 Captain Francis Drake as vice-admiral ; the " Wil- 
 liam and John," and a couple of pinnaces.* 
 
 At Cape de Verd he landed 150 men to capture 
 negroes ; but they were met with a stout resist- 
 ance, secured a few victims only, and these with 
 great hurt and danger to themselves, chiefly, it was 
 thought, proceeding from poisoned arrows ; " for al- 
 though, in the beginning, the hurts seemed to be 
 but small, there hardly escaped any that had blood 
 drawn of them, but died in strange sort, with their 
 • Hakluyt, "Collection of Voyages," 521. 
 
WESTWARD HO! 139 
 
 mouths shut some ten days before they died, and 
 after their wounds were whole." Thence they pro- 
 ceeded on their voyage, searching with all diligence 
 the rivers from Rio Grande to Sierra Leone, yet 
 getting together not more than 150 slaves. Sick- 
 ness and the lateness of the season then compelled 
 Hawkins to sail for the West Indies. But, previous 
 to weighing anchor, he consented to assist a negro 
 chief at war with his neighbour, on condition that 
 he should be rewarded with all the prisoners cap- 
 tured. With 120 men and his negro allies he 
 asaulted a town, containing 8000 inhabitants, and 
 strongly fenced and palisaded, and after a fierce 
 struggle, in which he lost six killed and forty 
 wounded, took it by storm, set it on fire, and car- 
 ried off 250 prisoners, men, women, and children. 
 
 Having thus collected upwards of 400 negroes, he 
 made for the island of Dominica, disposing of his 
 booty at various places along the coast, unknown to 
 the Spanish authorities. At Rio de la Hacha, how- 
 ever, he found himself, according to his rude notions, 
 discourteously treated, and resorted to his customary 
 forcible arguments to impress on the Spaniards the 
 value and importance of civility. He stormed and 
 took the town, spite of garrison and bulwarks, and 
 thereafter opened up a secret trade, by which he 
 got rid of two hundred negroes.* 
 
 • llakluyt, "Collection of Voyages," 522. 
 
140 SIR JOHN HA WKINS, 
 
 On their way to Florida, the EngHsh ships were 
 overtaken in a storm which raged for four days, and 
 were so severely shattered that it became indispen- 
 sable to put into some harbour and refit On Florida 
 coast they found no suitable port Accordingly they 
 sailed southward to St Juan de Luz. In seeking of 
 which port, says Hawkins, we took on our way three 
 ships, which carried passengers to the number of one 
 hundred ; which passengers we hoped should be a 
 means to us the better to obtain victuals for our 
 money, and a quiet place for the repairing of our 
 fleet 
 
 Hawkins arrived at St Juan de Luz on the 1 6th of 
 September. Twelve Spanish vessels * were lying 
 there, which had on board, it was said, two hundred 
 thousand pounds in gold and silver, and Hawkins, in 
 his narrative, boasts of his generosity in setting them 
 at liberty, as well as the passengers he had taken, 
 without helping himself to the weight of a groat. 
 He acted from prudence, however, rather than from 
 any more liberal motive. 
 
 Having demanded and received a couple of hos- 
 tages, Sir John despatched a carefully-worded missive 
 to the Viceroy of Mexico, in which he represented 
 that he had been driven into the Spanish port by 
 bad weather, want of provisions, and the shattered 
 condition of his vessels; wherefore he requested per- 
 
 • Herrera, the Spanish historian, says six. 
 
WESTWARD HO! 141 
 
 mission to purchase the necessary supplies, and also, 
 that such instructions might be given as would pre- 
 vent any collision arising between him and the 
 Spanish fleet, when the latter should arrive.* 
 
 It arrived on the very next morning; but Hawkins 
 proved equal to the emergency. No sooner were the 
 great Spanish ships seen in the offing than he sent 
 to " advertise their general" of his presence, and to 
 give him to understand that, before he would suffer 
 him to enter the port, some "order of condition" 
 must be settled between them for their safe-being 
 and the maintenance of peace. 
 
 Now it is to be understood, says Hawkins, that 
 this port is made by a little island of stones, not 
 three feet above the water in the highest place, and 
 but a bowshot of length any way; this island standeth 
 from the mainland two bowshots or more. In all 
 that part of the coast there is no other harbour in 
 which ships can anchor safely, because it is so 
 furiously visited by the north wind, that unless they 
 are moored with great security, and "their anchors 
 fastened upon this island," there is no remedy for 
 them but death. The place of the haven, moreover, 
 is so little, that of necessity the ships must ride 
 aboard one another, or that we could not give place 
 to them, nor they to us. And here, continues our 
 adventurous mariner, I began to bewail that which 
 
 • Hakluyt, "Voyages, "p. 522. 
 
142 SIR JOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 afterward followed ; for I found myself in two 
 dangers, and forced to receive the one of them, — 
 that was, either he must keep out the fleet, which 
 he felt himself well able to do; or else he must 
 suffer them to enter "with their accustomed treason," 
 which they never fail to execute, when they may 
 have opportunity to compass it by any means. 
 
 But if Hawkins kept them out, he reasoned that 
 the Spanish fleet could not possibly escape shipwreck, . 
 and as the value of its cargo was not less than 
 ;6^i,8oo,ooo in English money, he justly concluded 
 that he would be unable to answer for its loss to the 
 Queen's Majesty. Now if the old sea-kings feared 
 anything in this world, it was the righteous wrath of 
 "the Queen's Majesty," and Hawkins accordingly 
 resolved to abide the uncertainty rather than the cer- 
 tainty ; to trust to the dubious faith of the Spaniards 
 rather than confront the anger of Elizabeth. 
 
 On board the Spanish fleet was a new Viceroy of 
 Mexico, one Don Martin Henriquez, with v/hom 
 Hawkins now proceeded to conclude a formal treaty^ 
 of peace. 
 
 It was argued between these "high contracting 
 parties" that the English should be permitted to bu] 
 what provisions they needed, and to sell "as mucl 
 ware" as might furnish their wants ; that each part] 
 should give up ten gentlemen as hostages; and that 
 the island, which served as a breakwater to th< 
 
WESTWARD HO! 143 
 
 harbour, should be placed in the possession of the 
 English during their stay, as well as the eleven brass 
 guns then planted on the island ; and, finally, that 
 no Spaniards, armed, should be suffered to land 
 upon it * 
 
 The Viceroy gave a writing signed with his hand, 
 and sealed with his seal, confirming all these condi- 
 tions; and, immediately after, commandment was 
 made, by sound of trumpet, that whoever violated 
 the peace should suffer death. The two generals 
 met, and pledged their faith to each other; and 
 all things, apparently, being concluded to their 
 mutual satisfaction, the Spaniards sailed into port, 
 exchanging salutes with the English, as " the manner 
 of the sea" requires. Thus, says Hawkins :t Thurs- 
 day we entered the port, Friday we saw the Spanish 
 fleet, and on Monday at night they entered. Then 
 we laboured for two days to moor the English ships 
 apart from the Spanish, the captains as well as the 
 inferior men on both sides, making warm protes- 
 tations of amity; which, adds Hawkins, even as 
 with all fidelity it was meant on our parts, so the 
 Spaniards meant nothing less on theirs.l 
 
 In the present day, when the principles of inter- 
 
 • A somewhat different account is given by the Spanish historian, 
 HeiTera. 
 
 + Hakluyt, "Voyages," p. 523. 
 
 X Hakluyt, "Vovages," pp. 523, 524. 
 
144 SIR JOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 national policy are more strictly defined and better 
 understood — when the laws of morality, I may add, 
 receive a loftier and broader interpretation — there 
 seems something perfectly amazing in this audacious 
 achievement of the Elizabethan seaman. He forces 
 an entrance into the port of a friendly power — a 
 power, at all events, between whom and England 
 no open hostilities prevail ; he seeks to carry on a 
 commerce which that power has expressly forbidden ; 
 he endeavours to force the Spanish authorities into 
 acts of disobedience to their own sovereign; the 
 treasure-ships of the Spanish King arrive, but he 
 debars them from entering their own harbour until 
 they assent to the conditions which he imposes upon 
 them ; and, finally, he only refrains from exposing 
 them to certain shipwreck, on the reflection that 
 he is not able very conveniently to excuse such an 
 action — not to the Spanish sovereign, but to his own 
 Queen! We should certainly be inclined to regard,, 
 in these modern days, such conduct as the license of] 
 an unscrupulous buccaneer, or the recklessness of aj 
 wretched pirate; yet, as Mr Froude remarks, it would i 
 be to misread history and to forget the change of] 
 times, if we looked upon Hawkins, and the men like 
 him, his contemporaries and successors, as mere 
 commonplace buccaneers. We must consider this: 
 affair of St Juan de Luz, and the general course 
 of action of the Elizabethan seaman, from a very 
 
WESTWARD HO! 145 
 
 different point of view. We must be just enough 
 and wise enough to refrain from measuring their 
 conduct by the moral standard which has only of 
 late years been set up. We must remember that 
 they considered themselves as "the elect" to whom 
 God had given the heathen for an inheritance; that 
 they were men of stern intellect and fanatical faith, 
 who, believing themselves the favourites of Providence, 
 imitated the example and assumed the privileges of 
 the chosen people; and for their worst and wildest 
 acts considered themselves entitled to claim Divine 
 approval. In seizing negroes or in pillaging galleons 
 they were but entering into possession of the heritage 
 of the saints; and England had to outgrow the 
 theology of the Elizabethan Calvinists, before it 
 could understand that the Father of Heaven re- 
 spected neither person nor colour, and that this 
 arbitrary power — if more than a dream of divines — 
 was confined to spiritual privileges.* 
 
 Hawkins soon had reason to suspect that the 
 Spaniards did not consider themselves bound by the 
 treaty they had signed. Suspicious movements took 
 place daily; shifting of weapons from ship to ship; 
 planting and landing of ordnance from the ships to the 
 island; and reinforcements of troops from the shore to 
 the ships. To the inquiries he thereupon addressed 
 
 * J. A. Fioude, "Historyof England under the reign of Elizabeth" 
 (voL ii.). 
 
 K 
 
146 SIR JOHN HA WKINS, 
 
 to the Viceroy he received only an evasive reply, and 
 having discovered that three hundred men had been 
 secretly conveyed on board a ship of 900 tons, which 
 lay dangerously near the " Minion," his suspicions 
 grew into certainties, and his certainties aroused his 
 alarms. The master of the " Jesus" spoke Spanish. 
 Hawkins, therefore, sent him to remonstrate with 
 the Viceroy, who, perceiving that further disguise 
 was impossible, threw the master into chains, sounded 
 his trumpets, and directed an immediate attack. 
 And here I may observe that if Hawkins was not 
 justified in forcing an entrance into a friendly port, 
 the treachery of the Spanish authorities, after so- 
 lemnly signing conditions of agreement with him, 
 was equally inexcusable. 
 
 The moment chosen for the assault was most 
 unfavourable to the English, from the number of 
 their men then ashore; few of whom effected their 
 escape to the ships. In the harbour the battle ragedj 
 most furiously. The largest Spanish galleon imme- 
 diately fell aboard the " Minion," but — says the 
 chronicler, with pious unction — by God's appoint- 
 ment, in the time of the suspension we had, whicl 
 was only one half-hour, the " Minion" was mad< 
 ready to avoid ; and so, loosing her head-fasts, anc 
 hauling away by the stern-fasts, she was gotten out; 
 thus, with God's help, she defended the violence of 
 the first brunt of these three hundred men. Th< 
 
WESTWARD HO! 147 
 
 " Minion" having forced a passage, the enemy fell 
 aboard the "Jesus," whose seamen, encouraged by 
 their heroic commander, fought most desperately. 
 Attacked by three ships, she bravely resisted them 
 all, and contrived to get clear of the fleet ; the fight 
 being so hot, that, within one hour, the admiral of 
 the Spaniards was supposed to be sunk, their vice- 
 admiral burnt, and one other of their principal vessels 
 destroyed. 
 
 Our general, writes the chronicler, courageously 
 cheered up his soldiers and gunners, and called to 
 Samuel, his page, for a cup of beer; who brought it 
 in a silver cup; and he, drinking to all his men, 
 willed his gunners to stand by their ordnance lustily. 
 He had no sooner set the cup out of his hand but a 
 demi-culverin shot stroke away the cup and a 
 cooper's plane that stood by the mainmast, and ran 
 out on the other side of the ship ; which nothing dis- 
 mayed our general, for he ceased not to encourage 
 us, saying, " Fear nothing, for God, who hath pre- 
 served me from this shot, will also deliver us from 
 these traitors and villaines." 
 
 But though clear of the fleet, Hawkins and his 
 men suffered severely from the artillery on the 
 island, of which he had imprudently omitted to take 
 possession. 
 
 It did us, says Hawkins,* so great annoyance, that 
 * Hakluyt, "Voyages," pp. 523, 524. 
 
148 SIR JOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 it cut all the masts and yards of the " Jesus," in such 
 sort that there was no hope to carry her away. Also 
 it sunk our small ships (with the exception of the 
 "Judith," a small bark of 50 tons) ; and, accordingly, 
 we resolved to place the "Jesus," on the leeward side 
 of the " Minion," so that she might serve as a protec- 
 tion against the battery; and then to take out of her 
 the provisions and stores, prior to abandoning her. 
 While they were thus resolving, and had placed the 
 " Minion" out of range, the Spaniards suddenly fired 
 two great ships which were coming directly with 
 them; and as the English had no means of avoiding 
 the fire, they were seized, as is not unusual with the 
 bravest under such circumstances, with a panic; so 
 that some cried, " Let us depart with the * Minion,' " 
 others, " Let us see whether the wind will carry the 
 fire from us." 
 
 In this strait, the men of the " Minion " showed 
 a strange lack of loyalty. Their sails being all in 
 readiness, they thought to extricate themselves from 
 the danger by a rapid flight, and it was with diffi- 
 culty they received Hawkins himself on board. 
 Most of the men left alive in the " Jesus " contrived 
 to follow the "Minion" in their boat, but those 
 whom the boat could not hold were forced to abide 
 the mercy of the Spaniards, who treated them, in 
 truth, with an infamous cruelty, hanging them up 
 by the arms upon high posts until the blood burst 
 
 II 
 
WESTWARD HO! 149 
 
 out of their finger ends, flogging others, condemn- 
 ing them to the prisons and galleys, and burning 
 not a few as heretics. Two, Miles Philips, and Job 
 Hartop, afterwards effected their escape,* and pub- 
 lished a narrative of their sufferings, which contri- 
 buted to nourish the abhorrence of the Spanish 
 name so long entertained by Enghshmen. 
 
 Thus, then, only two ships came out of the fatal 
 harbour of St Juan de Luz,t and during the fol- 
 
 * Their narratives are included by Hakluyt in his "Voyages," pp. 
 472-491. 
 
 t I subjoin Mr Froude's account of this remarkable action, for the 
 benefit of younger readers : 
 
 "The halcyon weather was about to close in a tornado. The 
 small harbour of Juan de Luz is fonned by a natural breakwater, 
 which lies across the mouth of the bay. The day after the English 
 ships entered, a Spanish fleet appeared outside, consisting of thirteen 
 men-of-war, the smallest of them larger than the 'Jesus,' a force 
 from which, in the open sea, escape might have been possible, but 
 with which, under the fairest conditions, it would have been madness 
 to have sought an engagement. If Hawkins could have made up his 
 mind to dispute the entrance of a Spanish admiral into one of his 
 own harbours, he believed that he could have saved himself, for the 
 channel was narrow, and the enemy's numbers would give him no 
 advantage. But neither his own nor Elizabeth's ingenuity could have 
 invented a pretext for an act of such desperate insolence. At best he 
 would be blockaded, and sooner or later would have to run. The 
 Spaniards passed in and anchored close on board the Englishmen. 
 For three days there was an interchange of ambiguous courtesies. On 
 the fourth Philip's admiral had satisfied himself of Hawkins' identity. 
 He had been especially sent upon this coast to look for him ; and by 
 the laws of nations he was unquestionably justified in treating the 
 English commander as a pirate. The form of calling on him to sur- 
 render was dispensed with. The name of Hawkins was so terrible 
 
150 SIR JOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 lowing night the "Judith " parted company, leaving 
 Hawkins and his men alone upon the ocean in a 
 shattered bark of 200 tons. They wandered to and 
 fro for fourteen days, until hunger compelled them 
 to land on the coast of Tabasco. Here a numbei 
 of his people requested to be set ashore, willing to 
 throw themselves upon the dangerous compassion 
 of savages rather than perish at sea by drowning 
 
 that the Spaniavds dared not give him warning that he was to be 
 attacked. They took possession of the mole in the dark, and mounted 
 batteries upon it ; and then from shore and sea every gun which could 
 be brought to bear opened upon the 'Jesus' and her commander. 
 Taken by surprise, for many of their boats' crews were in the town, 
 the English fought so desperately that two of the largest of the 
 Spanish ships were sunk, and another set on fire. The men on shore 
 forced their way on board to their companions ; and, notwithstanding 
 the tremendous odds, the result of the action still seemed uncertain ; 
 when the Spaniards sent down two fireships, and then Hawkins saw 
 that all was over, and that vessels and treasures were lost. The only 
 hope now was to save. The survivors of them were crowded on 
 board two small tenders, one of fifty tons, the other rather larger ; and 
 leaving the 'Jesus' and the other ships, the gold and silver bars, 
 the negroes, and their other spoils to bum or sink, they crawled out 
 under the fire of the mole and gained the open sea. Here their posi- 
 tion scarcely seemed less desperate. They were short of food and 
 water. Their vessels had suffered heavily under the fire ; they were 
 choked up with men, and there was not a harbour west of the Atlantic 
 where they could venture to run. A hundred seamen volunteered to 
 take their chance on shore some leagues distant down the coast, and 
 after wandering miserably through the woods for a {^^^ days, they 
 were taken and carried as prisoners to Mexico. Hawkins and Drake 
 and the rest made sail for the English Channel, which, in due time, 
 in torn and wretched plight, they contrived to reach." — Froude, 
 ** History of England in the reign of Elizabeth," iii. pp. 360-362. 
 
WESTWARD HO! 151 
 
 or famine. Thirty-six of them came to this resolu- 
 tion, which, desperate as it was, Hawkins could not 
 reasonably oppose. If they remained on board 
 they must perish of starvation or resort to the most 
 terrible means of satisfying hunger. He therefore 
 gave each of them liberty to depart, with six yards 
 of roan cloth, and money to them that demanded 
 it. And after they had landed, he paid them a 
 farewell visit, embracing them, shedding many tears, 
 and greatly grieving over the hard fate that sepa- 
 rated them ; counselling them, moreover,— like a true- 
 hearted man as he was, despite of his rough, fierce 
 Viking nature, and hazy notions of international 
 morality, — to serve God and love one another. Then 
 he spake the last sad parting words, promising that 
 if God sent him safe home he would do what he 
 could, that so many of them as survived should by 
 some means be brought into England — a promise 
 he did not fail to perform. 
 
 After incurring great peril in a storm, which raged 
 for three days, Hawkins got clear at length of that 
 fatal coast, and of the Gulf of Bahama. But so 
 many of his men died of want and exhaustion, and 
 so many of the survivors were incapable of toil, that 
 he had scarcely hands enough to sail his vessel. 
 The wind being unfavourable for his course to Eng- 
 land, he made for the coast of Galicia, and on the 
 last day of the year put into Pontevedra. His mis- 
 
152 SIR JOHN HAWKINS. 
 
 fortunes were not ended. Through an excess of 
 fresh meat he lost more of his scanty crew ; and 
 perceiving that the Spaniards, in spite of his attempts 
 to conceal it, had discovered his weakness, and were 
 plotting to seize his vessel, he suddenly set sail and 
 removed to Vigo. There, from some English ships 
 lying in the harbour, he obtained assistance ; and 
 his crew being strengthened by twelve volunteers, 
 he contrived to reach England, after enduring a 
 series of misfortunes to which those of Ulysses were 
 as nothing, and whose unusual severity fully justified 
 the assertion with which his narrative concludes : 
 
 " If all the miseries and troublesome affairs of this 
 sorrowful voyage should be perfectly and thoroughly 
 written, there should need a painful man with his 
 pen, and as great a time as he had that wrote the 
 lives and deaths of the martyrs." * 
 
 When we next meet with Sir John Hawkins it is 
 on a very different field, and under a very different 
 character. In July 1571 the political "situation" in 
 England was one of no slight peril and perplexity. 
 The Catholic party were restlessly plotting against 
 the Queen's government, abetted and encouraged 
 by the Papal Nuncio and the Spanish Ambassador. 
 Philip prepared for a second invasion of England, 
 but with a secrecy which baffled all the efforts of 
 Elizabeth's minister, the astute Cecil, to discover the 
 
 * Hakluyt, "Voyages," iii. p. 526. 
 
WESTWARD HO! " 153 
 
 full extent and direct object of his preparations. 
 Yet to know where the blow would fall was to be 
 half armed against it, and Cecil anxiously waited 
 for some opportunity of plucking out the heart of 
 the mystery which boded so ill for England. 
 
 Just at this time Hawkins was endeavouring to 
 obtain the release of the survivors of his unfortunate 
 expedition, who had fallen into the hands of the 
 Spaniards. Unable to succeed by force, he pro- 
 ceeded to eke out the lion's skin with the fox's 
 subtlety. With Cecil's secret permission he re- 
 paired to Don Gueran, the Spanish Ambassador, 
 complaining bitterly of the ill usage he had re- 
 ceived from his government, and inquiring whether 
 nothing could be done for the relief of his followers. 
 This interview was followed by others, in which Sir 
 John gave the Ambassador reason to believe that 
 he was dealing with an angry and disappointed man, 
 who, for a proper bribe, would enter the Spanish 
 service, and carry over with him the finest ships and 
 bravest seamen in the Queen's navy.* Don Gueran 
 was as completely beguiled as Sir John meant him 
 to be ; and he wrote to Philip's secretary, Cazas, an 
 account of the offer which seemed to fit in so felici- 
 tously with the project of the intended invasion. 
 
 Meanwhile Hawkins, encouraged by his success, 
 but clearly perceiving that he had not yet reached 
 
 * J. A. Froude, "History of England," iv. 261. 
 
154 SIR JOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 further than the threshold of the secret, decided on 
 the bold step of applying immediately to Philip, 
 and for this purpose despatched one of his confi- 
 dential officers to Spain. Over the details of the 
 ingenious operations which followed I cannot linger; 
 nor is it necessary, since they have been traced out 
 by Mr Froude with his wonted lucidity, and de- 
 scribed with his characteristic vigour. The Queen 
 of Scots became involved in the embroglio, and 
 Cecil found himself at length on the right track for 
 discovering matter of the highest importance to the 
 State. With some additional deception the whole 
 truth came out : that England was to be invaded, 
 and at the end of the summer; and Cecil learned 
 every detail which could be of service in enabling 
 him to avert the threatened danger. 
 
 The nice morality of the present day will, per- 
 haps, censure our two Englishmen, Cecil and 
 Hawkins, for the stratagem they employed, and 
 look upon such craft as derogatory to the character 
 of a great statesman and an eminent commander. 
 But w^e must remember how difficult a game Eliza- 
 beth's minister was playing — foes without and foes 
 within — and that the stake was the liberty and 
 security of Protestant England. In an age of force 
 and fraud surely not even the purest can fight with 
 stainless weapons. Cunning must be met by cun- 
 ning ; the traitor must be fought with treachery 
 
WESTWARD HO! 155 
 
 We may, perhaps, regret such a necessity, but we 
 can hardly condemn those who, in the defence of 
 their dearest rights and most precious privileges, 
 seek to outwit oppression and to baffle tyranny.* 
 
 However, I gladly turn from these strokes of 
 policy to more straightforward warfare. In 1573, 
 Hawkins was appointed treasurer of the navy, an 
 office of great responsibility and considerable labour, 
 which he filled much to the advantage of the ser- 
 vice. In 1588 he was promoted to a Vice-Admiral- 
 ship, and appointed to the command of one of the 
 four divisions of the fleet which encountered and 
 defeated the Armada. His zeal and gallantry were 
 then rewarded with the well-deserved honour of 
 knighthood, an honour never bestowed by Elizabeth 
 on any unworthy individual. It would seem that at 
 this period he enjoyed a position of great credit and 
 worldly happiness. He had accumulated a consider- 
 able fortune, so that he and his brother were owners 
 of thirty ships ; he was esteemed in his own profes- 
 sion as an able and upright seaman, and trusted by 
 the Queen as a faithful and experienced servant. 
 
 In 1590 he was associated with Sir Martin Fro- 
 bisher in the command of a squadron of ten vessels, 
 despatched to intercept the Indian treasure-ships, 
 and to harass and alarm the coast of Spain, In 
 this, however, they were unsuccessful, the Spaniards 
 
 * Froude, "History of England," iv, 271. 
 
156 SIR JOHN- HAWKINS. 
 
 having obtained secret information of their design ; 
 and though they cruised about for several months, 
 they were compelled to return home empty-handed. 
 Hawkins felt so much annoyance at the failure of 
 the expedition, that he considered it desirable to 
 publish an apologetic narrative, which he concluded 
 with the Scriptural phrase : " Paul planteth and 
 Apollos watereth, but it is God who giveth the 
 increase." The allusion provoked from Elizabeth 
 the characteristic exclamation : " God's death ! this 
 fool went out a soldier, and is come home a divine!"* 
 
 I presume, however, that the great Queen was 
 satisfied with his soldierly qualities when she gave 
 him, in 1593, the joint command of a West Indian 
 expedition, projected by the illustrious Drake, as 
 a counter-move against a second Armada scheme 
 meditated by Philip of Spain. Their force con- 
 sisted of six Queen's ships, and twenty-one private 
 vessels, having on board about 2500 seamen and 
 soldiers. The latter were under the command of 
 Sir Thomas Baskerville. Drake hoisted his flag in 
 the " Defiance," and Hawkins in the " Garland." 
 
 After a considerable delay, caused by reports that 
 a Spanish fleet had sailed for the invasion of Eng- 
 land, the two admirals sailed from Plymouth 
 Sound on the 20th of August 1595. Favourable 
 
 * Lediard, "History of the English Navy," p. 274. The anecdote 
 is also told by Mouson. 
 
 I 
 
WESTWARD HO! 157 
 
 winds carried them in four weeks to the island of 
 the Great Canary, whose conquest they resolved to 
 attempt ; but the Spanish Government, fully in- 
 formed of the strength and object of the expedition, 
 had had time to warn their colonial settlements and 
 put them in a state of defence, and after an empty 
 demonstration, Drake and Hawkins were compelled 
 to abandon an enterprise which could only have 
 resulted in lamentable failure. 
 
 Somewhat discomposed, I fancy, they continued 
 their course for the West Indies, and arriving at 
 Guadaloupe, landed their men to refresh them- 
 selves, took on board much needed supplies of fuel 
 and water, and refitted their ships. Their object 
 now was to capture a Spanish galleon which was 
 supposed to be lying at Puerto Rico, but all hopes 
 of a successful issue to their enterprise were destroyed 
 by a peculiarly unfortunate mishap. 
 
 The day after the arrival of the English at Guada- 
 loupe, five Spanish zabras — ships of about 200 tons 
 — were sighted on the track from Dominica to 
 Puerto Rico, evidently intended for the convoy of 
 the great treasure-ship.* They were part of a 
 squadron of eight vessels, under Don Pedro Tello, 
 which had been despatched for that purpose. One 
 of Hawkins's small vessels fell in with them, and 
 was captured in sight of a caraval that escaped, 
 
 * Furchas, "Pilgrims," vol. iv., p. 1171. 
 
158 SIR yOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 and bore the ill news to the English commanders 
 Hawkins immediately foresaw that their designs 
 would be discovered by the Spanish admiral, andj 
 that such precautions would be taken as to rendei 
 the cutting out of the galleon an impossibility. Itj 
 is said that thereupon he fell sick with chagrin. 
 Instead, however, of making all sail for Puerto Rico, 
 and possibly anticipating the arrival of the Spanish J 
 convoy, the English commanders, for some unknown 
 reason, lingered three days longer at Guadaloupe. 
 
 They hoisted sail once more on the 4th of Novem- 
 ber, and on the 8th were off the Virgin Islands. 
 Here they could obtain no fresh water, but fish was 
 abundant, and the men also went ashore in pursuit 
 of game. Another delay occurred ; a delay arising, 
 it is said, from a difference of opinion between the 
 two admirals ; and we are told that this difference 
 aggravated Hawkins's illness, which, on the 12th of 
 November, when the fleet was passing the easter- 
 most point of Puerto Rico, terminated fatally.* 
 But as the fine old sea-king, at the time of his death, 
 numbered three and seventy years, we may reason- 
 ably suppose that a frame, weakened by age, hard- 
 ships, and long service, succumbed to one of those 
 diseases incidental to a hot climate. 
 
 Hawkins had spent eight and forty years in the 
 service of his country, and was justly reputed one 
 
 • Hakluyt, "Voyages," p. 584. 
 
WESTWARD HO! 159 
 
 of the ablest seamen of an age fruitful in good sea- 
 men. His courage was unquestionable ; his integrity 
 never suspected ; his geniality endeared him to his 
 followers ; his faithfulness commended him to his 
 sovereign. He seems to have stood wholly aloof 
 from the intrigues that disturbed the quiet of Eliza- 
 beth's court, and to have devoted himself, with equal 
 zeal and success, to the improvement of England's 
 infant navy. As to his person, we are told by one 
 of his biographers that he was esteemed graceful in 
 his youth, and of a very grave and reverend aspect 
 when advanced in years. He was well versed in 
 mathematical learning ; every branch of maritime 
 affairs he understood " thoroughly, and to the 
 bottom." He was not only of an intrepid resolu- 
 tion — in which virtue, indeed, we find none of the 
 EHzabethan seamen deficient — but of a remarkable 
 promptitude of mind, so that no sudden accident or 
 difficulty ever found him unprepared. The one 
 great stain on his character is his connection with 
 the nefarious slave-trade, but I have shown some 
 good reasons, I believe, why his conduct in this 
 matter should be leniently judged by those who 
 estimate his character from a nineteenth century 
 point of view. It is certain that he was esteemed 
 by his contemporaries as a man of honour, pru- 
 dence, generosity, and unblemished integrity. That 
 he was foremost among the navigators of Eliza- 
 
160 SIR JOHN HA WKINS. 
 
 beth's reign may be concluded from his various 
 enterprises, no less than from the eulogium pro- 
 nounced upon him by so competent an authority 
 as Sir Walter Raleigh, " For his experience and d 
 valour," said that noble spirit, " Hawkins was as 
 eminent as England ever had." Like other of his 
 fellow adventurers — of that company of stern, God- 
 fearing men whom we find in the courts of China 
 and Japan ; fighting Spaniards in the Pacific, or in 
 chains among the Algerines ; founding colonies 
 destined hereafter to develop into vast transatlantic 
 commonwealths ; or exploring in crazy pinnaces the 
 fierce latitudes of the polar seas ;* his fame has been 
 too much overshadowed by the surpassing renown 
 of Drake ; or surely England would keep his 
 memory green as that of one of her bravest and 
 most deserving sons. 
 
 * J. A. Froude, "Short Studies on Great Subjects," p. 317. 
 
 I 
 
^'n Hitmgl/reg Cillr^rt. 
 
 •* Eastward from Campobello 
 
 wSir Humphrey Gilbert sailed ; 
 Three days or more seaward he bore, 
 Then, alas ! the land-wind failed. 
 
 *' Alas! the land-wind failed, 
 
 And ice-cold grew the night; 
 And never more, on sea or shore, 
 Should Sir Humphrey see the light. 
 
 ** He sat upon the deck, 
 
 The Book was in his hand ; 
 
 * Do not fear ! Heaven is as near,' 
 He said, * by water as by land I* 
 
 In the first watch of the night, 
 Without a signal's sound, 
 
 Out of the sea, mysteriously, 
 
 The fleet of Death rose all around. 
 
162 SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 
 
 *' The moon and the evening star 
 Were hanging in the shrouds ; 
 Every mast, as it passed, 
 
 Seemed to rake the passing clouds. 
 
 " They grappled with their prize, 
 At midnight black and cold ! 
 As of a rock was the shock ; 
 Heavily the ground-swell rolled.** 
 
 Longfellow. 
 
 PEAKING of Sir Humphrey Gilbert— 
 who has always seemed to me the very 
 Paladin of the Elizabethan navigators, and 
 the Bayard of the sea — Mr Froude is led to deplore 
 the degeneracy of the English race. He was one, 
 says the great historian, of a race which has ceased 
 to be. We look round for them, and can hardly 
 believe that the same blood is flowing in our veins. 
 Brave we are, and strong perhaps as they, but the 
 high moral grace which made bravery and strength 
 so beautiful is departed from us for ever.* 
 
 And yet without that high moral grace, — without a 
 certain chivalrousness of spirit and loftiness of aspira- 
 tion, — the bravest and strongest nation will undergo 
 a lamentable change in spirit, temper, and conduct. 
 To a great people these qualities are as needful as 
 purity to a beautiful woman, or melody of verse to a 
 robust poet. It is the bloom of the flower, the ex- 
 quisite verdure of the meadow, the brightness of the 
 • J. A. Froude, "Short Studies on Great Subjects," p. 324. 
 
SIR HUMPHREY GH.BERT. 163 
 
 stream. When I remember the brave deeds of en- 
 durance done in the trenches before Sebastopol, and 
 the noble unselfishness and enthusiasm displayed in 
 the face of the revolted hordes of India, and the 
 splendid self-devotion of the heroes who, with arms 
 presented, and serried ranks, went down with the 
 sinking " Birkenhead " into the depths of ocean — I 
 am inclined to think that Mr Froude's complaint is 
 the exaggeration of an over-sensitive mind ; but 
 were it justified by facts, I know not how we can 
 better redeem the reproach than by studying the 
 character and emulating the career of Sir Humphrey 
 Gilbert. 
 
 Some two miles above the port of Dartmouth, — to 
 quote again from Mr Froude, — on a projecting angle 
 of land which runs out into the river at the head of 
 one of its most beautiful reaches, has stood for some 
 centuries the Manor House of Greenaway. The 
 water runs deep all the way to it from the sea, and 
 the largest vessels may ride with safety within a 
 stone's throw of the windows. It is embosomed 
 among fresh green woods ; looks inland over a far 
 extent of beautiful country ; looks seaward, across a 
 broad estuary, spotted with white sails, like a blue 
 sky with fleecy clouds. 
 
 Here, in the year 1535, was born Humphrey 
 Gilbert, the son of a worshipful Devonshire gentle- 
 man, and of a noble-minded mother, who, by a 
 
164. SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT, 
 
 second marriage, was also mother of Walter Raleigh. 
 He was educated at Eton, whence, in due time, he 
 was removed to Oxford ; earning, both at school and 
 college, a brilliant reputation for splendid parts, and 
 for that love of study and unflinching perseverance 
 without which brilliant parts are of no avail. From 
 Oxford he proceeded to Ireland, obtaining employ- 
 ment in the Queen's service, and now distinguishing 
 himself by his relentless severity against the Irish 
 rebels — his exploits winning the commendation of 
 the Lord-Deputy, Sir Harry Sidney* — and now ap- 
 plying himself to his favourite study of geography 
 and mathematics with all his natural ardour of dis- 
 
 • Of this severity I may present the reader with an illustration. 
 Gilbert, in November 1567, was in command at Kilmalloch, with 
 instructions to crush out the last sparks of rebellion, and with a juris- 
 diction extending over the west of Cork, Kerry, and Limerick. That 
 his proceedings were successful would appear from the report he ad- 
 dressed to Sir Harry Sidney, in which he describes Kerry as so quiet 
 that he had but to send his horse-boy for any man, and he would 
 come. How the success was obtained we shall presently learn. 
 
 ** My manner of dealing," he writes, "was to show them all [?>., 
 the rebellious Irish Papists] that they had more need of her Majesty 
 than she of their service ; neither yet that we were afraid of any num- 
 ber of them, our quarrel being so good. I slew all those from time to 
 time that did belong to, feed, accompany, or maintain any outlaws 
 or traitors ; and after my first summoning of any castle or fort, if they 
 would not presently yield it, I would not afterwards take it of their 
 gift, but won it perforce, how many lives soever it cost, putting man, 
 woman, and child of them to the sword. Neither did I spare any 
 malefactors unexecuted that came to my hands in any respect ; using 
 all those that I had protected with all courtesy and friendship that I 
 might, being for my part constantly of this opinion, that no conquen 
 
 I 
 
SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT, 165 
 
 position. The scenes of his childhood had had an 
 influence on his imagination which did not weaken 
 with time. The occupations of his leisure — if, in- 
 deed, leisure was ever known to any of the Eliza- 
 bethan men ! — were the invention of instruments for 
 observing the starry bodies, and determining the form 
 of the earth ; the correction of certain great errors 
 disfiguring the naval sea-cards; and the discussion 
 of questions bearing upon colonisation, the discovery 
 of a north-west passage, and the opening up of new 
 channels of commercial enterprise. 
 
 Returning to England, and appearing at Court, 
 
 nation will ever yield willingly their obedience for love, but rather 
 for fear. " * 
 
 Yet, says Mr Froude, Gilbert, the author of these atrocities, was 
 not a bad man. As times went, he passed for a brave and chivalrous 
 gentleman, not the least distinguished in that high band of adventurers 
 who carried the English flag into the Western hemisphere — a founder 
 of colonies, an explorer of unknown seas, a man of sincere, and, above 
 all, a man of special piety. In this very Irish service he displayed 
 signal and splendid courage. He held a ford near Kilmalloch single- 
 handed against a troop of Irish horse, to cover the passage of his 
 people. He regarded himself as dealing rather with savage beasts 
 than human beings, and, when he tracked them to their dens, he 
 strangled the cubs and rooted out the entire broods. 
 
 And not he only, continues the historian, but the Queen's repre- 
 sentative, the statesman, the gentleman, the accomplished Sidney 
 —he, too, for these doings could find but words of praise ; nay, 
 could scarce find words sufficient to express his admiration of them. 
 "For the Colonel," he wrote to Cecil, **I cannot say enough. 
 The highways are now made free where no man might travel un- 
 
 * Letter to Sir Harry Sidney, December 1567, quoted by Froude, vol. x. pp. 
 597. So«. 
 
1 
 
 166 SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 
 
 he obtained the countenance of his royal mistressl| 
 and before the Privy Council arid herself unfolded 
 his adventurous projects. The arguments he ad- 
 vanced in their support are also set forth in the 
 treatise which he published * in demonstration of the 
 existence of a north-west passage, and are scarcely 
 less remarkable for their ingenuity and learning than 
 for their occasional wildness and mysticism. 
 
 He divides his treatise into two chapters, and each 
 chapter he devotes to the examination of a particu- 
 lar class of evidence, blending fact and fiction together 
 with a refreshing enthusiasm. 
 
 In the first chapter he endeavours to prove that 
 
 spoiled. The gates of cities and towns are now left open, where 
 before they were continually shut, or guarded with armed men. 
 There was none that was a rebel of any force but hath submitted him- 
 self, entered into bond, and delivered hostages, the arch-rebel James 
 Fitz-Maurice only except, who is become a bush-beggar, not having 
 twenty knaves to follow him. And yet this is not the most nor the 
 best that he hath done ; for the estimation that he hath won to the 
 name of Englishmen there, before almost not known, exceeded all the 
 rest ; for he in battle brake so many of them, wherein he showed how 
 far our soldiers in valour surpassed those rebels, and he in his own 
 person any man he had. The name of an Englishman is more terrible 
 now to them than the sight of a hundred was before. For all this, I 
 had nothing to present him with but the honour of knighthood, which 
 I gave him. For the rest, I recommend him to your friendly report." 
 — Froude, ** History of England in the Reign of Elizabeth," x. 508- 
 
 509. 
 
 * Sir Humphrey Gilbert, '* A Discourse of a Discoverie for a New 
 Passage to Cataia." Lond., Henry Middleton, 1576. [See Dr 
 Bliss's edition of Wood's ** Athenae Oxonienses," for a brief memoif 
 of this wortliy.] 
 
SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 167 
 
 America is an island, from the authority of Plato, 
 Siculus, Ficinus, a Florentine ; Grantor, a Greek ; 
 Philo, a Jew ; Homer, and Aristotle. In the second, 
 he supports his statement by arguments derived 
 from the Gulf stream, and from the fact that none 
 of the inhabitants, brute or human, of Cathay or 
 Tartary, had ever penetrated into America, which it 
 is reasonable to suppose they would have done if 
 only separated by land or mountain ridges. So 
 that it seemeth, says one author, we have now more 
 occasion to doubt of our return than whether there 
 be a passage that way, yea or no, which doubt here- 
 after shall be sufficiently removed. Wherefore, in 
 mine opinion, reason itself, grounded upon expe- 
 rience, assured us of this passage, if there were no- 
 thing else to put us in hope thereof But lest these 
 might not suffice, I have added in this chapter fol- 
 lowing some further proof hereof by the experience of 
 such as have passed some part of this discovery ; and 
 in the next adjoining to that, the authority of those 
 which have sailed wholly through every part thereof* 
 These two chapters are accordingly filled with 
 references, and in the three following an argument 
 is developed respecting certain Indians, said to have 
 been driven by storms, in the time of the German 
 emperors, on the coast of Germany, and who, says 
 Sir Humphrey, could not have arrived there by the 
 
 * Hakluyt, " Voyages," iii. pp. 7, 8, et seq. 
 
168 SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 
 
 south-east, the south-west, the north-east, nor by 
 any other part, nor in any other direction than by 
 the north-west passage. In the eighth chapter, a 
 reply is advanced to certain reasons in favour of a 
 north-east passage, just proved by one Master 
 Anthony Jenkinson, "a worthy gentleman and 
 great traveller." The ninth proves the superior ad- 
 vantages and facilities of a north-west passage, even 
 if a route by the north-east should be discovered ; 
 and the tenth is occupied with an elaborate exposi- 
 tion of the profit that England would derive from 
 the successful realisation of the design. As, for 
 instance : the exportation of all kinds of merchan- 
 dise, the establishment of a foreign trade in gold, 
 silver, precious stones, cloth of gold, silks, all man- 
 ner of spices, grocery wares, and other things of 
 an inestimable price, which both the Spaniard and 
 Portugal, through the length of their journeys, 
 cannot well attain unto. Also, the establishment 
 of penal countries in those remotish regions, and 
 the settlement of "such needy people of our 
 country" as "now trouble the commonwealth," and, 
 through want, are enforced to commit outrageous 
 ofiences, whereby they are daily consumed with the 
 gallows.* Also, the formation of free settlements, 
 
 • Sir Humphrey seems to have been of the same opinion as the 
 demagogue John Wilkes, that the very worst use to which you could 
 put a man was — to hang him ! 
 
SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 169 
 
 from whence a yearly revenue might be obtained; 
 the increase of our ships and mariners, without fur- 
 ther burthening to the State, and the introduction 
 of handicrafts among the children of the poor, which 
 should rescue them from idleness and vice, and 
 afford them abundant employment in the fabrica- 
 tion of those trifles which the Indians are known to 
 hold in great esteem. 
 
 Much of Sir Humphrey's reasoning in this famous 
 treatise is unsound, and he frequently displays that 
 childlike credulity which was so marked a feature 
 of the character of the Elizabethan heroes ; but, on 
 the whole, his views are those of a statesman ; and 
 in singularly perspicuous language he expresses 
 philosophical ideas of the loftiest order, which, in 
 our own day, have been espoused and illustrated by 
 our greatest minds. The concluding words are of 
 a very noble spirit. As we read them, we feel they 
 could only have been penned by a man of chival- 
 rous nature and high aspirations ; and when we 
 remember his sorrowful end, we can hardly divest 
 ourselves of the feeling that they were in some 
 measure prophetic : 
 
 " Hereafter," he says, " I desire the reader never 
 to mislike with me for the taking in hand of any 
 laudable and honest enterprise ; for if through 
 pleasure or idleness we purchase slaves, the pleasure 
 vanisheth, but the shame remaineth for ever. And 
 
170 S/R HUMPHREY GILBERT. 
 
 therefore, give me leave, without offence, always to 
 live and die in this mind, that he is not worthy 
 to live at all, that, for fear, or danger of death, 
 shunneth his country's service and his own honour ; 
 seeing deatk is inevitable, and the fame of virtue im- 
 mortal. Wherefore, in this behalf, mtitare vel timero 
 sperno (I scorn either to change or fear)." 
 
 If the young student who reads these pages 
 should remember of all their contents only the last 
 few words, he will not have read in vain. Death 
 may be "a painful thing," but a life of shame is 
 infinitely more hateful ; and for a man in his passage 
 through this everyday world to think of nothing but 
 the best means of prolonging it, is to misuse the 
 great opportunities which his Maker hath put into 
 his hands. Before all things, to be honest, and 
 truthful, and earnest ; to scorn the base, and shrink 
 from the mean ; to seek with all our heart and soul 
 to do some small thing for the betterment of our 
 race ; to do our duty in the midst of discourage- 
 ment, suffering, and even harsh opposition ; such is 
 the end and object of our life. That this was keenly 
 felt by the Elizabethans our history shows. It was 
 no holiday of flowers, music, and sunshine which 
 consumed and wasted their energies ; they looked 
 upon life as a sacrifice meant to be offered up with 
 prayer and thanksgiving to the Most High. The 
 path they trod was beset with thorns ; the battle 
 
SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 171 
 
 they fought was won against enemies seen and un- 
 seen ; the cross they bore was oftentimes a burthen 
 almost too heavy for their resolute shoulders; yet 
 onward, onward, onward they heroically toiled and 
 struggled, in the noble belief they were doing the 
 work God had enjoined upon them. And was it a 
 selfish or an unworthy work ? What ! To open up 
 new channels for the energies of a race ; to crown 
 the island-queen with the flashing diadem of empire; 
 to rescue the suffering children of the New World 
 from the tyranny of the cruel Spaniard, and to act 
 as the pioneers both of religion and civilisation — 
 was not this work which a brave mind might well 
 aspire to do ? Hence it resulted that the life of our 
 Elizabethan heroes was, as Mr Froude has said, " a 
 long battle," either with the Church or with men ; 
 and it was enough for them to fulfil their mission, 
 and to pass away in the hour when God had nothing 
 more to bid them undertake. They did not com- 
 plain, and it is not for us to utter any lamentation. 
 It was no prosperous, graceful, cloudless, thornless 
 career which they desired, and their brave hearts 
 shrunk not from an honourable death. Theirs was 
 the spirit of the old Greek, and the fine feeling of 
 the great Theban poet lived in them again : 
 
 6«ey«7ii ^6 in ayiyxtty t/ xt ns uvuvufin 
 yr,^a,S in fxar^ xetHfAivas i-^at fAdrmtf 
 
172 SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 
 
 From Queen Elizabeth, Gilbert had no difficulty 
 in obtaining letters patent authorising him to under- 
 take the discovery of the north-west passage, and to 
 take possession of any lands not previously occupied 
 or inhabited by Christian princes, or their subjects. 
 The grant became perpetual if acted upon within a 
 period of six years. 
 
 He immediately proceeded to the execution of 
 his grand projects ; but two expeditions which he 
 successively sent out, failed in winning any substan- 
 tial results, through, it is probable, the inefficiency 
 of their leaders. This utter want of success — in- 
 volving, as it did, the loss of his fortune — might 
 well have quenched the spirit of any less enthusiastic 
 man. But Gilbert was inspired by a supreme belief 
 in the feasibility of the scheme on which his imagina- 
 tion loved to brood, and resolved, in 1583, on a third 
 voyage, to be undertaken under his personal guid- 
 ance. To raise the necessary funds he had to sell 
 the last remnants of his patrimony, and thus he 
 contrived to equip five small vessels — the largest 
 did not exceed two hundred tons — which he named 
 respectively, the "Delight," the "Raleigh," the 
 "Golden Hind," the "Swallow," and the " Squirrel." 
 Their tonnage was as follows : — 
 The Raleigh (this ship deserted off the 
 
 Land's End), . . . 200 tons. 
 
 The Delight, . . 120 „ 
 
SIR HUMPH RE Y GILBER T. 17S 
 
 The Golden Hind, . . .40 tons. 
 
 The Swallow, . . . . 40 „ 
 
 The Squirrel (called the frigate, i.e., a 
 
 light, swift boat), . . . 10 „ 
 
 Conceive, O reader, the daring of the men who 
 could confront the perils of the Arctic seas in a 
 cock-boat of ten tons ! 
 
 On board this tiny squadron were in all 260 men, 
 " among whom," says Hayes, the chronicler of the 
 voyage, " we had of every faculty good choice." 
 And, moreover, partly for their own solace, and partly 
 for "the allurements of the savages," the adventurers 
 carried with them a certain number of musicians, 
 as well as of "morris dancers, hobby horses, and 
 May-like concerts to delight the savage people." A 
 learned Hungarian, Stephen Parmenio (of Buda), 
 also accompanied the expedition, with the view of 
 chronicling in sonorous Latin all " gestes and things 
 worthy of remembrance." 
 
 Queen Elizabeth seems to have entertained a 
 presentiment that she would never see her chivalrous 
 servant again. As a last token of her regard she 
 sent him a valuable jewel, and she requested his 
 half-brother, Raleigh, to have his picture taken 
 before he went forth into the Unknown. 
 
 Gilbert sailed from Dartmouth on the nth of 
 June 1583. Two days later he was abandoned by 
 the " Raleigh," but he kept on his course without 
 
174 SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 
 
 abating one jot of heart or hope, and on the 30th 
 of July reached Newfoundland. Here at St John's 
 he planted a small colony — the first English colony 
 settled westward of the Atlantic ; and leaving for 
 its protection the " Swallow," he set out on an ex- 
 ploration of the American coast in the little frigate.* 
 In this work he spent the remainder of the 
 summer ; sailing into every bay and creek, register- 
 ing the soundings, and examining every possible 
 harbour; all with the noblest self-denial, and the 
 most loyal regard to truth, no less than with 
 a chivalrous disregard of personal safety. The 
 dangers he and his followers incurred we may 
 understand from the sad catastrophe that befell the 
 " Delight," towards the end of August. She struck 
 upon a bank and foundered, going down in sight 
 of the other vessels, which could render no assist- 
 ance ; and out of a crew of one hundred men only 
 twelve escaped. As she was the store ship of the 
 expedition, and had on board the Hungarian 
 chronicler, Parmenio, her loss had a melancholy 
 influence on Sir Humphrey's mind. Only the 
 
 * He took possession of the harbour of St John's, and of the 
 surrounding country "for two hundred leagues," in the Queen's 
 name ; divided it into suitable allotments ; and puMished three 
 edicts for the establishment of the Church of England, the preser- 
 vation of the Queen's rights, and the punishment of treasonable 
 language. He also made provision for working the supposed mineral 
 treasures of the island. 
 
SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT, 175 
 
 "Golden Hind" and the "Squirrel" remained of 
 the bright little squadron which had sailed so 
 merrily from Dartmouth harbour. Their supply 
 of provisions was scanty, and the bleak winter was 
 rapidly descending from its Polar shadows. It was 
 necessary, therefore, to be content with the work 
 that had been done, and to begin their homeward 
 voyage. 
 
 "So upon Saturday, in the afternoon, the 31st of 
 August," says the chronicler, Hayes, "we changed 
 our course, and returned back for England, at which 
 very instant, even in winding about, there passed 
 along between us and the land, which we now 
 forsook, a very lion, to our showing, in shape, hair, 
 and colour ; not swimming after the manner of a 
 beast by waving of his feet, but rather sliding upon 
 the water with his whole body, except his legs, in 
 sight, neither yet diving under and again rising, as 
 the manner is of whales, porpoises, and other fish, 
 but confidently showing himself without hiding, 
 notwithstanding that we presented ourselves in 
 open view and gesture to amaze him. Thus he 
 passed along, turning his head to and fro, yawning 
 and gaping wide, with ugly demonstration of long 
 teeth and glaring eyes ; and to bid us farewell, com- 
 ing right against the * Hind,' he sent forth a horrible 
 voice, roaring and bellowing as doth a lion, which 
 spectacle we all beheld so far as we were able to 
 
176 SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 
 
 discern the same, as men prone to wonder at every 
 strange thing. What opinion others had thereof, 
 and chiefly the general himself, I forbear to deliver. 
 But he took it for bonum omen, rejoicing that he was 
 to war against such an enemy, if it were the devil." 
 
 That it was the devil, no doubt both Sir Humphrey 
 and his men credited. The Elizabethans firmly 
 believed in the personality and actual presence of 
 the Father of lies ; that he went to and fro in the 
 world, assuming various shapes, and ever seeking to 
 deceive, terrify, and entrap the Christian ; and so 
 they were ready to combat him, if need were, with 
 " carnal weapons," — like Luther, when in his cell at 
 Wartburg he flung loaded inkstands at the arch- 
 deceiver's head. This belief — call it a superstition 
 if you will — lent a strange force, reality, and life to 
 the piety of our forefathers. They felt themselves 
 ever opposed and beset by a living and present 
 Power, — not by a mere philosophical principle or 
 far-off influence ; and the condition of warfare in 
 which they supposed themselves to be placed, called 
 forth all their energies, and kept alive their faith, 
 courage, and resolution. 
 
 On the 2d of September the general went on 
 board the " Golden Hind," and made merry with its 
 crew ; much lamenting the loss of his comrades, 
 books, and papers, but looking forward eagerly to 
 a second expedition in the spring, which should 
 
 d 
 
SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 177 
 
 realise his most sanguine hopes. Mr Hayes, and 
 others of his followers, were haunted with a constant 
 dream of discovering some golden land or Dorado, 
 and, unable to rise to the heig^ht of Sir Humphrey's 
 philosophical views, were of opinion that his sanguine- 
 ness resulted from his knowledge of a "treasure- 
 trove " which, and whose whereabouts, he would fain 
 keep a secret. They tested him, therefore, with 
 many questions, but could obtain only ironical and 
 jesting answers. 
 
 Leaving the issue of this good hope (of El Dorado) 
 to God, who only knoweth the truth thereof, Mr 
 Hayes is fain to hasten unto the end of the tragedy 
 he has undertaken to record. He tells us that the 
 men of the "Hind" would have wished Sir Hum- 
 phrey to abandon his resolution of going in the 
 crazy little " Squirrel," and come on board the larger 
 vessel ; but to all their entreaties he replied : " I will 
 not forsake my little company going homewards, 
 with whom I have passed so many storms and 
 perils."* 
 
 The weather now became very foul ; winds raged 
 incessantly, and the billows ran mountains high. 
 Death was following close in the wake of the father, 
 as he has been justly termed, of Northern colonisa- 
 tion — the chivalrous and pure-minded enthusiast — 
 EHzabeth's peerless and intrepid knight. Death 
 
 • Hakluyt, " Voyages," iii. 25. 
 
 M 
 
178 SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 
 
 sailed close behind him, riding on the swollen seas, 
 and advancing swiftly before the icy blast. And 
 we can fancy, with the poet, that we see the dread 
 king's ships of ice glistening in the sun, as they bear 
 down relentlessly on the shattered bark of the ad- 
 venturer ; 
 
 *' On each side, like pennons wide, 
 Flashing crystal streamlets run. 
 
 ** His sails of >vhite sea-mist 
 Dripped with silver rain ; 
 But where Ae pass'd there were cast 
 Leaden shadows o'er the main. " * 
 
 On Monday, the 9th of September, in the after- 
 noon, the frigate was near cast away with the 
 violence of the waves, but at that time recovered ; 
 and giving forth signs of joy, the General, who sat 
 in the stern with a book in his hand, cried out to 
 the men of the " Hind," whenever they came within 
 hearing, " Courage, my lads ! we are as near to 
 heaven by sea as by land ! " reiterating the same 
 speech, which was well worthy of a soldier resolute 
 in Jesus Christ. 
 
 What a text for a preacher ! " As near to heaven 
 by sea as by land " — as near to heaven in the garret 
 as in the palace, in the reeking city as in the fresh 
 breezy village. And not only we as near to heaven, 
 but heaven also as near to us ! Ever about and^ 
 
 * Longfellow, "The Seaside and the Fireside." 
 
SIR HUMPHRE V GILBER T. 179 
 
 around us — ever enfolding and embracing us — ever 
 watching, quieting, sheltering us — if we will but so 
 live as to deserve its protection ; if we will but so 
 live as to merit the companionship of Christ and his 
 angels ! 
 
 But I come to the pitiful end of my narrative. 
 
 On that same Monday night, about twelve of the 
 clock, or not long after, the frigate being ahead of 
 the " Golden Hind," her lights suddenly went out ; 
 whereupon the men of the latter, looking in each 
 other's faces with a wild surprise, and after a minute's 
 painful silence, drew breath, like one oppressed with 
 a misfortune too heavy to be borne, exclaiming, 
 
 "The General was cast away !" 
 
 which, saith the chronicler, zvas too true* 
 
 * Mr Hayes, the historian of Sir Humphrey's unfortunate expe- 
 dition, concludes his narrative (which is included in Hakluyt's 
 " Collection ") in the following terms : 
 
 "Thus faithfully I have related this stoiy, wherein some spark of 
 the knight's virtues, though he be extinguished, may happily appear ; 
 he remaining resolute to a purpose honest and godly as was this, to 
 discover, possess, and reduce unto the service of God and Christian 
 piety, those remote and heathen countries of America. Such is the 
 infinite bounty of God, who from every evil deriveth good, that fruit 
 may grow in time of our travelling in these north-western lands (as 
 has it not?) ; and the crosses, turmoils, and afflictions, both in the 
 preparation and execution of the voyage, did correct the intemperate 
 humours which before we noted to be in this gentleman, and made 
 unsavory and less delightful his other manifold virtues. 
 
 " Thus, as he was refined and made nearer unto the image of God, 
 so it pleased the Divine will to resume him unto Himself, whither both 
 his and every other high and noble mind have always aspired. 
 
180 
 
 SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT. 
 
 Thus, at the age of forty-eight, in the ripeness of 
 his manhood and the maturity of his powers, perished 
 Sir Humphrey Gilbert, the large volume of whose 
 virtues, as one of his biographers remarks, may best 
 be read in his noble enterprises. It is only needful 
 to add that he was a man of dignified presence, with 
 a fair, warm complexion, brown abundant hair, quick 
 and flashing eyes, and a white and noble brow. His 
 courage was supreme, his piety sincere, his gene- 
 rosity profuse. He was of a keen and ardent temper, 
 but always ready to forgive or ask forgiveness. His 
 faults were those of the age ; his virtues were all his 
 own. 
 

 smu 
 
 ** Nothing is a misery, 
 Unless our weakness apprehend it so. 
 "We cannot be more faithful to ourselves 
 In anything that's manly, than to make 
 Ill-fortune as contemptible to us 
 As it makes us to others. " 
 Beaumont & Fletcher, "The Honest Man's Fortune." 
 
 HESE studies of the Elizabethan Men would 
 be incomplete if they did not include a type 
 of the adventurer proper; not of the higher 
 minds only, who were actuated in their daring enter- 
 prises by statesmanlike views of colonisation and 
 commercial progress, but of those coarser, though 
 not less gallant spirits, who plunged into dangers for 
 the very lust of excitement, or from the greed of 
 gain, or the necessity of repairing their shattered 
 fortunes. 
 
 Such an one — and, in some respects, the most 
 notable— was Thomas Cavendish, or Candish, 
 the second English circumnavigator of the globe. 
 He sprung from an ancient and honourable Suffolk 
 
182 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 family, and was born about the middle of the i6th | 
 century, at Trinity St Martin, near Ipswich. His 
 father died before he came of age, and the young 
 Cavendish coming into possession of a fine estate, 
 repaired to Court, where he ruffled it with the bravest 
 of the London gallants. Of a handsome person and 
 a generous temper, he would seem to have been 
 speedily surrounded by a host of parasites, who 
 preyed upon his fortune to such an extent that he 
 found himself, in 1586, compelled to seek some 
 desperate means of recovering his position. He 
 resolved, in the true spirit of an Elizabethan gentle* 
 man, to undertake a voyage to the South Sea; where 
 he might make spoil upon the Spaniards, and re- 
 plenish his funds at the cost of the wealthy colonies 
 of the Spanish Main. I suppose it was to gain some 
 experience in navigation, prior to this great venture, 
 that he accompanied Sir Richard Grenville, in 1585, 
 on his expedition to Virginia, sailing in a vessel 
 equipped at his own cost. As already narrated in 
 the earlier part of our volume, this expedition met 
 with many mishaps and gained little profit. But as 
 far as Cavendish was concerned it answered its end; 
 it gave him some degree of skill and knowledge, and 
 brought him into contact with men who had seen 
 the rich towns of the Spanish West Indies, and 
 whose wild romantic stories wonderfully fired the 
 young gallant's ardent imagination. 
 
 A 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 183 
 
 Grenville returned to England in October. Caven- 
 dish, like a gambler who ventures his all upon one 
 last stake, immediately disposed of the remainder of 
 his fortune, and with the proceeds built a couple of 
 ships of 120 and 60 tons respectively, besides pur- 
 chasing one of 40 tons; fitted them out, victualled 
 them for two years, and raised a body of seamen 
 and soldiers to man them.* Meanwhile, he collected 
 all the maps and documents published by contem- 
 porary navigators, and gathered as much informa- 
 tion as he possibly could in reference to the New 
 World. Then, having obtained the Queen's com- 
 mission, he sailed from Plymouth on the 21st of 
 July 1586. I subjoin the names and tonnage of 
 his little squadron: 
 
 The Desire, , ♦ .120 tons. 
 
 The Content, , , 60 „ 
 
 The Hugh Gallant, . . 40 „ 
 
 They had on board 123 officers, soldiers, and seamen. 
 On the 26th of August, Cavendish arrived at Sierra 
 Leone. There he landed some of his crew, who, 
 dancing and singing with the negroes, learned that a 
 Portuguese ship was lying up the river. He resolved 
 to attempt its capture, but finding the navigation 
 too difficult, abandoned the project, and — apparently 
 by way of compensation for the disappointment — 
 disembarked seventy of his men, attacked the negro 
 
 * Hakluyt, " Voyages," iii. 800. 
 
184 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 town — which was newly built, and surrounded by 
 mud walls — burnt nearly all its houses or huts, and 
 spoiled the unoffending negroes of what little they 
 possessed. We can hardly regret that so villanous 
 an act did not go unpunished. A few days after- 
 wards, while some of the sailors were on shore 
 washing their linen, they were surprised in an 
 ambuscade, one killed, and several wounded.* 
 
 Shortly afterwards they sailed for Brazil, and 
 sailing in between the island of San Sebastian and 
 the shore, they landed at a convenient spot, remain- 
 ing there from the 1st to the 23d of November, 
 building a pinnace, and taking on board supplies of 
 fresh water. Then they made for the southward, 
 and on the 17th of December cast anchor in a har- 
 bour in lat. 6%^ S., which they christened Port Desire. 
 This is the only important discovery which Cavendish 
 seems to have made. Here they laid their ships 
 aground, and "graved and trimmed them;" living, 
 meantime, on marvellous good meat in the shape of 
 seals — which, when roasted or boiled, could hardly 
 be known from lamb or mutton — and of penguins, 
 which burrowed in the ground like rabbits. 
 
 After a skirmish with the Indi.,ns, whose footprints 
 
 are said to have measured eighteen inches in length, 
 
 Cavendish and his followers once more hoisted sail 
 
 for the south. On the 6th of January they were off 
 
 • Hakluyt, ** Voyages," iii. 803, 804. 
 
 i 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 185 
 
 the entrance to the Straits of Magellan, and in the 
 evening dropped anchor near what is called the first 
 Angostura, or Strait of the Straits. During the night 
 they observed some lights on the north shore, appa- 
 rently designed as signals to the ships, and they 
 showed their lanterns in reply. In the morning 
 Cavendish went himself in a boat to that side of 
 the strait, when three men were seen on the beach 
 waving a white flag, and inquiring in Spanish what 
 ships they were? Cavendish replied, much to their 
 disappointment, doubtlessly, that they were English, 
 bound for Peru. Some further parley took place, 
 whence it appeared that a Spanish colony had been 
 planted in this forlorn region to defend the entrance 
 to the Straits, but after suffering the most grievous 
 hardships, had been reduced by hunger and disease 
 from four hundred men and thirty women to fifteen 
 men and three women. Cavendish offered to take 
 these unfortunate creatures on board, but before 
 they could all be collected, a fair wind sprung up, 
 and rather than losing the chance it offered of expe- 
 diting his voyage by a few hours, he abandoned 
 them to their miserable fate. 
 
 After passing both the Angosturas, the English 
 squadron anchored first at the island of Santa 
 Maddalena, where they killed and salted a large 
 number of penguins; and afterwards at San Felipe, 
 the desolate station of the Spanish colonists, some 
 
186 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 of whom were found still lying in their houses, where 
 they had perished like dogs. In allusion to their 
 unhappy end Cavendish named the place Port 
 Famine — a name still retained in our English charts, 
 and also adopted by the Spaniards.* 
 
 A strong westerly wind compelled the squadron to 
 be at anchor for a period of three weeks ; but on the 
 24th of February, with a favourable breeze, they 
 entered the waters of the mighty Pacific. They had 
 thus made the passage of the Straits without misfor- 
 tune, but on the ist of March, their Spirit of Storms, 
 which has been for generations the terror of the 
 mariner, overtook them, and in the frightful hurri- 
 cane which ensued, the " Hugh Gallant" was parted 
 from her consorts. She rejoined them, however, on 
 the 15th of March, at the island of Mocha, which lies 
 off the coast of Chili. Mistaken for Spaniards, they 
 met with a hostile reception from the Indians, who 
 attacked them with bows and arrows, but were soon 
 dispersed by the English guns. 
 
 Next they disembarked on the island of Santa 
 Maria, where they were again mistaken for 
 Spaniards, but under much more favourable cir- 
 cumstances. The Indians treated them as superior 
 beings, to be propitiated by an offering of wheat 
 and barley and potatoes ; to which were added 
 
 * What a significant commentary on the vanity of human schemes ! 
 The great Ciudad of San Felipe forgotten, and only the Puerto de ^ 
 Hambre remembered. 
 
 d 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 18' 
 
 liberal supplies of fowls, hogs, maize, and dried 
 dog-fish. In return, Cavendish received the chiefs 
 and principal personages on board his ship, and 
 made them merry with wine. 
 
 Missing Valparaiso, where he intended to have 
 stopped, our navigators dropped anchor in Puerto 
 de Quintas, about seven leagues further north. A 
 herdsman, sleeping on the brow of the hill, at this 
 time awoke, and, descrying three strange ships in 
 the bay, mounted a horse which was grazing beside 
 him, and galloped off to spread the alarm. Not- 
 withstanding this ominous incident. Cavendish, on 
 the following day, landed a detachment of fifty 
 men, who marched into the interior through a fruit- 
 ful and well-watered country, but found no Spanish 
 town or village. The next day, while his men werie 
 watering, they were surprised by a body of two 
 hundred horsemen, who swooped down upon them 
 from the heights, like the eagle from its eyrie, and, 
 cutting off twelve of the party, slew three, and carried 
 away nine as prisoners to Santiago. Cavendish, 
 however, remained four days longer in the bay, in 
 defiance of the Spaniards, and completed his supplies 
 of fresh water. 
 
 On the 23rd he captured a small bark coming out 
 from Arica. He kept it, and named it the " George." 
 The crew took to their boats, and succeeded in getting 
 ashore, while the Admiral's pinnace boldly entered 
 
188 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 Arica roads, and lay aboard a ship of one hundred 
 tons, in which neither men, stores, nor cargo were 
 discovered. Early on the 26th they sailed to the 
 northward, and fell in with a small vessel despatched 
 with intelligence to the Viceroy of Mexico that the 
 dreaded English — under the command, it was 
 thought, of the terrible Drake — were on the coast. 
 There were on board three Spaniards, an old Flem- 
 ing, and one George, a Greek, who was " a reason- 
 able pilot for all the coast of Chili." At first they 
 refused to reveal their destination, but Cavendish 
 resorted to measures much esteemed in those days 
 for their success in convincing the unreasonable : 
 he caused them to be tormented with their thumbs 
 in a winch, and to continue them at several times 
 with extreme pain. He also threatened the Flem- 
 ing with short shrift and a hempen rope, and the 
 rope being fastened round the old man's neck, he 
 was pulled up a little from the hatches. By such 
 mild means as these Cavendish obtained the know- 
 ledge he required ; whereupon he burned the bark, 
 and took the men on board his own ship. 
 
 On the 20th of May, after capturing several small 
 prizes, this wild, fierce, reckless gallant arrived at 
 Paita. Anchoring in the road, he landed with sixty 
 men, and drove the inhabitants out of their town, 
 which was very well built, and marvellously clean 
 kept in every street, with a guildhall in the cewtre, 
 
THOMAS CA VENDISH, 189 
 
 and to the number of two hundred houses at the 
 least. This thriving place he burned to the ground, 
 though all the profit he and his people derived from 
 the misfortune of the Spaniards was twenty-five 
 pounds' weight of silver.* 
 
 The squadron then resumed their northward career, 
 and anchored in a commodious harbour in the island 
 of Puna, burning a ship which was lying there ready 
 to be hauled ashore. The lord or owner of the 
 island proved to be an Indian cacique, who, by 
 reason of his pleasant habitation and his great 
 wealth, had received a Spanish beauty for a wife. 
 Cavendish landed to pay his respects to so worship- 
 ful a couple. He found their house, which stood by 
 the water's edge, to be marvellously well-contrived, 
 with very many singularly good rooms and chambers. 
 To every chamber was framed a gallery, which on 
 the one side commanded a stately prospect to the 
 sea, and on the other overlooked the fair lawns and 
 valleys of the island. Below was a marvellous great 
 hall, with a very great store-house at one end, filled 
 with jars of pitch, and with bars for making cables. 
 To this sumptuous mansion a noble garden was 
 attached, in which flourished fig-trees that bore 
 continually, and pompions, and melons, cucumbers, 
 radishes, rosemary, and thyme, with many other 
 herbs and fruits. There was a well in this garden, 
 
 • liakluyt, "Voyages," iii. 809 -8 1 1. 
 
190 THOMAS CA VENDISH. 
 
 and a cotton plantation around it. On the other 
 side bloomed an orchard, stocked with oranges, 
 sweet and sour, lemons, limes, and pomegranates. 
 Hard by stood a spacious church with five bells. 
 There were not less than two hundred houses in the 
 town, and as many in one or two towns more upon 
 the island, which is of about the same dimensions 
 as the Isle of Wight.* 
 
 If we may credit the existing narrative of Caven- 
 dish's voyage, the island domain of this great cacique 
 of the Pacific exhibited a very high degree of civi- 
 lisation. This, at all events, may be imagined from 
 the respect paid by its inhabitants to women — 
 always a signal proof of a refined social condition. 
 Thus, we are told that the cacique's wife was 
 honoured as a queen ; she was never allowed " to 
 go upon the ground with her feet ;" when it was her 
 pleasure to take the air, or go abroad, she was 
 always carried, in a conveyance like unto a horse- 
 litter, upon four men's shoulders, with a veil or 
 canopy over her, for she ran on the wind, lest the 
 breeze should visit her soft cheek too rudely, or the 
 hot sun wither the glow of her complexion, while 
 her gentlewomen followed in decorous attendance 
 upon her, and a great troop of the leading inhabi- 
 tants of the island.t 
 
 But I must hasten un, notwithstanding the pleasure 
 * Hakluyt, "Voyages," 8ii. + Hakluyt, ut ante, p. 812. 
 
 dl 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 191 
 
 I feel, and which I trust the reader feels, in dwelling 
 on these hints and suggestions, so to speak, of a wild 
 romantic world long since passed away. 
 
 Cavendish had refitted his ships, and was on the 
 point of sailing, when he met with one of those 
 misfortunes, which, throughout his voyage, seem to 
 have been the result of a false security, and of a 
 dispbsition to despise or credulously trust his enemy. 
 On the end of June he had permitted about twenty 
 of his men to go ashore marauding — some wander- 
 ing one way, some another, some in quest of hens, 
 others of sheep, and others of goats. Upon these 
 straggling groups suddenly descended a company 
 of one hundred Spaniards and the Indians of the 
 island, and though the Englishmen fought as, per- 
 haps, only Englishmen in such a position can fight, 
 eight men alone escaped. Cavendish did not per- 
 mit the death of his followers to pass unavenged. 
 He landed on the island with seventy men, drove 
 Spaniards and Indians pell-mell out of the town, set 
 fire to it, and burned it to the ground. He burned 
 also four ships which were building on the stocks ; 
 he burned the church, after plundering it of its bells ; 
 he devastated field and orchard, and grove and gar- 
 den ; and of the beautiful spot which but a few hours 
 before had almost answered Tennyson's descrip- 
 tion of 
 
 •* A summer isle of Eden lying in dark purple spheres of sea,** 
 
192 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 he made a wilderness and a desert. It was a woeful 
 day for the inhabitants of Puna when they first 
 caught sight of the white sails of the English ships, 
 looming larger and larger against the blue rim of 
 the horizon of ocean ! When the observant Dam- 
 pier visited the island a century later, it had not re- 
 covered from the ravages wrought by Cavendish * 
 
 The squadron left Puna on the 5th of June. The 
 "Hugh Gallant'-' was then sunk for want of men to 
 navigate her, and the remaining ships made for the 
 coast of New Spain. Capturing a small brig, which 
 had on board one Sancius, a Marseillois by birth, 
 and an experienced pilot on the American coast, 
 Cavendish learned from him that a great treasure- 
 ship from the Philippines, the "Santa Anna," was 
 then expected at Acapulco. Towards this splendid 
 prize the English ships bent their course, burning 
 and plundering at various points along the shore. 
 At Gualutco every house was set on fire, and 
 Cavendish also gave over the church to the "de- 
 vouring flames ;" the blunder of a reckless adven- 
 turer, for, as Southey justly remarks,t by burning a ] 
 church he excited, among the Spaniards, greater 
 horror and hatred against Englishmen than burning 
 a heretic in England excited horror and hatred 
 against the Spaniards, sacrilege being regarded with | 
 
 * Burney, "Discovery in the South Seas," p. 84. I 
 
 + Southey, "British Admirals," iii., 263. 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 193 
 
 more detestation by the superstitious than cruelty 
 by a fierce and military people. By another mis- 
 taken act of bigoted prejudice he gave the Roman 
 Catholic priests materials for a legend, and a good 
 groundwork for a very respectable miracle. 
 
 There was at Gualutco a wooden rood, or cross, 
 some thirty feet in height, which the English sea- 
 men rudely pulled down, smeared over with pitch, 
 surrounded with dry reeds and grass, and attempted 
 to set on fire. The pitch burned, and the reeds 
 crackled and flamed, but not so the cross; fresh 
 combustibles were heaped about it ; for three days 
 the conflagration was maintained ; but when the 
 invaders re-embarked, it still remained unconsumed, 
 almost uninjured, among the burning brands and 
 smouldering ashes. What more evident than that 
 Heaven had miraculously preserved the holy symbol 
 of the Christian faith } Even before the days of its 
 fiery trial, the cross had enjoyed a good report. It 
 was made of an odoriferous wood which was not 
 known to flourish within forty leagues of Gualutco, 
 and credulity had ventured to whisper that it had 
 probably been reared by one of the apostles — per- 
 haps by the blessed hands of the pious St Andrew ! 
 Now, however, that a real miracle had been wrought 
 in its favour, this legendary fame could be dispensed 
 with ; and it was generally admitted that it had been 
 erected by Cortes, the great Mexican conqueror, 
 
 N 
 
194 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 while building some ships on this part of the coast 
 for a voyage of discovery * 
 
 At all events, the report of its wonderful preservation 
 spread all along the shores of the Pacific, and pilgrims | 
 came from far and wide to worship it ; delighted if 
 they could carry away the smallest fragment, for 
 the most trifling splinter, it was said, if cast into the 
 sea, stilled the raging of the storm ; if immersed in 
 water, converted it into a medicine of potent efficacy; 
 if flung into a fire, subdued the flames. However, 
 this gradual diminution of its substance, unlike the 
 widow's wasted cruse, was not miraculously supplied ; 
 and when scarce a fifth of it was left, the bishop of 
 Antiguna interfered, removed it to his episcopal 
 city, erected a chapel over it, and enshrined therein 
 the miraculous rood with suitable pomp and cere- 
 mony. 
 
 Cavendish, in his voyage along the Pacific coast, 
 seems to have emulated the example of the old 
 Vikings from whom we Englishmen have descended, 
 and whose fierce relentlessness of spirit we too often 
 display. Thus, landing at Puerto de Navidad, he 
 set fire to the town, and burned two ships on the 
 stocks. On the 9th of September he made a descent 
 in the Bay of Chaecalla or Compostella, where an 
 officer and forty men, guided by Michael Sancius, 
 marched two leagues into the interior "by a most j 
 
 • See Ttwquemada, lib. xvi., c. 207, pp. 205, 206, cit. by Southey. j 
 
 d 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 195 
 
 villanous and desert path through the woods and 
 wilderness," surprised three Spanish famihes and 
 some Indians, bound them, and conducted them to 
 the seaside. Nor were they liberated until the 
 women of the place had provided the captors with 
 a store of plantains, lemons, oranges, and other fruits, 
 whereof they had abundance. At the little woody 
 island of St Andrew they laid in a supply of food, 
 of dried and salted wild-fowl, of seals and iguanas, 
 which latter are described as "a kind of serpents, 
 with fore feet, and a long, sharp tail ; strange to 
 them that have not seen them, but very good meat."* 
 The appetites of the Elizabethan seamen, however, 
 were not very fastidious ! 
 
 On the 24th they put into the Bay of Magellan. 
 There is a very great river within, but it is barred at 
 the mouth. Upon the north side of the bar withal 
 is good fresh water, but there is very evil filling of 
 it, because, at low water, it is shoal half a mile off 
 the shore. So they sailed about a league further, 
 careening their ships, and repairing their pinnace at 
 an island securely situated, but sorely deficient in 
 water. Digging deep in the sands, however, they 
 obtained a supply, of which they stood in extreme 
 need. 
 
 The squadron made the Cape of St Lucas on the 
 14th, and lay in wait for the great treasure-ship, 
 
 * Hakluyt, " Voyages, " iii. 815. 
 
196 THOMAS CA VENDISH. 
 
 cruising cautiously about the headland, and scan- | 
 ning the horizon with eager glasses. And it came 
 to pass that early in the bright fresh dawn of the 
 4th of November, the Admiral's trumpeter from the 
 mast-head descried a sail standing in for the Cape. 
 Further observation proved that his eyes had not 
 been beguiled by his hopes, and Cavendish, who 
 was no less glad than the cause required, ordered 
 the whole company to put all things in readiness.* 
 The decks were cleared ; the heavy guns sponged 
 out ; cutlasses sharpened, and pistols primed. Then 
 every inch of canvas that the bending masts would \ 
 carry was unfurled to the wind, and the squadron 
 gave chase. In the afternoon they came up with the 
 huge galleon, which, from her size — 700 tons — was 
 evidently the "Santa Anna," from the Philippines, 
 with treasure enough on board to make every ad- 
 venturer a wealthy man ; and instantly the English 
 poured in a broadside, gave their opponent a raking 
 fire of musketry, and prepared to board. The 
 Spaniards, it was then discovered, had made fights 
 fore and aft, and laid their sails close on the poop, 
 the midship, and the forecastle. Behind their barri- 
 cades, and under these coverings, they lustily plied 
 their pikes, and flung heavy stones upon the heads j 
 of their 'daring assailants — who numbered not more j 
 than sixty in all — beating them back, after a fierce ^ 
 * Hakluyt, "Voyages." iii. 816-818. 
 
 i 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 197 
 
 encounter, with the loss of two killed and some four 
 or five wounded. 
 
 But Cavendish and his men were not to be baffled. 
 They new trimmed their sails, and fitted every man 
 his furniture, and poured in a fresh discharge with 
 the great ordnance, and swept the deck of the 
 galleon with small shot. The Spanish captain still, 
 with his company, stood very stout into his close 
 fights, and offered a steadfast resistance ; but Caven- 
 dish, encouraging his followers afresh with the whole 
 voice of trumpets, maintained the attack with so 
 much persistent vigour, that the enemy, having lost 
 many men, and finding their vessel in danger of 
 sinking, hung out a flag of truce, and finally sur- 
 rendered, on condition that their lives were spared. 
 Cavendish, " of his goodness," promised them mercy, 
 and willed them to strike their sails, and to hoist 
 out their boat, and to come aboard, — which news 
 they were full glad to hear of; and presently one of 
 their chief merchants came aboard, and falling down 
 upon his knees, offered to have kissed the Admiral's 
 feet, and craved mercy. Pardon was promised them 
 — pardon for defending their sovereign's treasure ! — 
 upon condition that they dealt truly concerning such 
 riches as were in the ship ; and the captain and pilot 
 coming on deck, promptly certified what goods 
 they had within board, to wit, 122,000 pieces of gold. 
 The rest of the riches that this argosy was laden 
 
198 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 with consisted of rich silks, damasks, and satins, 
 with musk, and divers other merchandise — to say- 
 nothing of great store of every variety of victuals, 
 with choice of many conserves of all sorts, and of 
 sundry kinds of good wine. 
 
 Cavendish had now to determine what manner of 
 mercy he would show his captives. He could not 
 carry them to England, for he had not a sufficient 
 supply of provisions ; nor, unless he allowed them to 
 remain on board the galleon, had he accommoda- 
 tion. But his own crews were so weak that he could 
 not afford a prize crew for the treasure ship. In 
 these circumstances he might have returned the 
 latter, when despoiled, to its owners. But his 
 notions of humanity did not extend so far, and 
 sailing into a bay within Cape St Lucas, named by 
 the Spaniards Aguada Segiira,^ or the Safe Water- 
 ing Place, he landed the crew and passengers, to the 
 number of 191 persons, some of whom were females.t 
 
 The spot where these unfortunates were located 
 was not, in some respects, ill-chosen : a fine river 
 of fresh water flowed through green meads and 
 shady woods ; fish, fowl, hares, and rabbits abounded. 
 The Admiral also gave them great store of victuals, 
 of garvangos, pease, and some wine ; the sails of 
 their ship to make them huts on shore ; and a 
 
 • Now called Bahia de San Bemabd. 
 t Hakluyt, "Voyages," iii. 817. 
 
THOMAS CA VENDISH. 199 
 
 sufficient stock of spars and planks to build a 
 bark. 
 
 Among the passengers on board the galleon were 
 two Japanese lads, who could both read and write 
 their own language ; three boys from Manilla ; and a 
 Portuguese who had visited Canton, the Philippines, 
 and the islands of Japan. These, and a Spanish 
 pilot, Cavendish detained.* 
 
 Next befell the division of the plunder. It was 
 not effected to the satisfaction of all, the men on 
 board the " Content " complaining that the Admiral 
 showed a partiality for his own crew. However, 
 those in the " Content " were, after a sort, pacified 
 for a time; and on the 17th November, "The 
 Queen's day," the loyal mariners gave themselves 
 up to abundant festivities, discharging their great 
 guns, and displaying fireworks, and startling the 
 echoes of those solitary shores of the New World 
 with their shouts and songs in honour of England 
 and Elizabeth. A singular scene, if the reader will 
 but picture it to the mind's eye ! That beautiful 
 bay, with its richly-wooded slopes and verdant 
 lawns stretching down to the very margin of the 
 silver sand ; the blue intense heaven of the tropics, 
 warm with the glow of a cloudless sun, arching over- 
 head Hke a mysterious palace roof ; the broad, bright 
 ocean, spreading far away its leagues upon leagues 
 * Hakluyt, "Voyages," iii. 817, 
 
200 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 of rippled light ; the motley encampment of the 
 Spaniards, pitched by the side of the fair river ; the 
 great galleon, shorn of all her splendour, lying on 
 the bosom of the waves, dismasted and forlorn ; and 
 the tiny English barks, alone, as it were, in the 
 wide empire of the Spaniards, filling the "infinite 
 space " with the insolent thunder of their ordnance, 
 and flaunting the red cross against the sky, as if 
 there were a magic in it to protect its daring 
 children ! 
 
 After setting fire to the galleon, and tarrying 
 till it was burned, as he believed, to the water's 
 edge,* Cavendish fired a parting salute, and made 
 all sail eastward for "merrie England." During 
 the following night, the "Content," whose crew, as 
 Fuller remarks, did not answer her name, taking all 
 occasions to be mutinous,t wilfully parted company. 
 It is supposed she made an attempt to discover 
 the North- West Passage, but no tidings were ever 
 gained of the fate of her or her crew. 
 
 The " Desire " was thus left alone to traverse the 
 immense extent of the Pacific. 
 
 Her voyage was prosperous. For five and forty 
 days she enjoyed fair winds, and in that time tra- 
 
 * The "Santa Anna," however, was not destroyed. The flames 
 severing her cables, her hull drifted ashore, where it was repaired by 
 the Spaniards, and filled with jury-masts. They then embarked on 
 board, and reached Acapulco in safety. 
 
 t Fuller, "Worthies of England," ii. 339. 
 
THOMAS CA VENDISH. 201 
 
 versed without accident some seventeen hundred 
 and fifty leagues. 
 
 On the 3rd of January, Cavendish came in sight of 
 Ruatan, one of the Ladrones, where he obtained 
 supplies of fruits, fish, and potatoes, in exchange for 
 little pieces of old iron. On the 14th he was off the 
 Philippines, and on the 15th anchored at the island 
 of Capul. One of the chiefs immediately came on 
 board, under the impression that the "Desire" was 
 a Spanish ship. His skin was carved {i.e.y tattooed), 
 with sundry strokes and devices all over his body. 
 An amiable intercourse was speedily established, 
 and the English refreshed themselves to their heart's 
 content with poultry and pork, or cocoa-nuts and 
 camotes.* The day before their departure. Cavendish 
 summoned on board the " Desire " the chief of the 
 island, and then made known to him and his 
 attendants that they had been dealing with English- 
 men, the sworn enemies of the Spaniards. And 
 thereupon he caused the red cross to be hoisted, 
 the drums to beat, and the trumpets to sound. At 
 all this, says the chronicler, they much marvelled ; 
 and, to conclude, they promised, both for themselves 
 and the islands thereabout, to aid him whensoever 
 he should come again to overcome his foe. The 
 Admiral then paid them the value of their tribute 
 in money ; which they took " marvellous friendly," 
 • A root resembling the potato. 
 
202 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 and afterwards, to amuse their new friends, dis- 
 played some surprising achievements of swift 
 rowing. At the last he caused a saker* to be shot 
 off, whereat they wondered, and with great content- 
 ment took their leave. 
 
 Over the later incidents of this surprising voyage 
 I shall pass very quickly. On the 5th of March, 
 Cavendish anchored in a bay on the west coast of 
 Java, of the customs of whose inhabitants the 
 chronicler of the expedition has left an interesting 
 and a graphic account. The reigning rajah, who 
 had a hundred wives, was reported to be a hundred 
 and fifty years old. The Javanese almost wor- 
 shipped him ; his word was law. However desperate 
 the adventure he commanded, none durst venture 
 to oppose it; yet whoso failed paid with his head 
 the forfeit of his ill-success. The men were naked, 
 and dark in colour ; the women partly clothed, and of 
 a fairer complexion. When the king died, his body 
 was burned, and the residuum preserved. Five days 
 afterwards his queen, or principal wife, flung a ball 
 from her hand with all her force, and wherever it 
 ran, thither all the widows repaired. Each turned ~ 
 her face towards the coast, and with a sharp dagger j 
 stabbed herself to the heart, and so expired. This | 
 thing is as true, says the chronicle, as it may seem • 
 to any hearer to be strange. 
 
 * A saker was a piece of ordnance of small calibre. 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 203 
 
 The last weeks of March, and the month of April 
 were spent in traversing the vast and mighty sea 
 between the island of Java and the main of Africa, 
 observing the heavens, the crosiers* or South Pole, 
 the other stars, and the fowls, which are the seaman's 
 waymarks and beacons ; " fair weather, foul weather, 
 approaching of lands or islands, the winds, tempests, 
 the rains and thunders, with the alteration of the 
 tides and currents." On the 1 8th of June, the 
 "Desire" safely doubled the Cape of Good Hope — 
 the " Cape of Storms " of the old navigators — and 
 on the 9th of June dropped anchor in the roadstead 
 of St Helena. Here she took in wood and water, 
 while the crew refreshed themselves on shore. 
 Then, with a fair wind, they resumed their home- 
 ward voyage. On the 3d of September they fell 
 in with a Flemish hulk, and to their singular re- 
 joicing and comfort learned the defeat of the 
 Spanish Armada. And on the 9th, after a terrible 
 tempest, which carried away most part of their 
 sails,+ by the merciful favour of the Almighty, they 
 recovered their long-wished -for port of Plymouth, 
 two years and fifty days after their departure from 
 that place. 
 
 " He who went forth with a fleet," says Fuller, 
 
 * The constellation now known as "The Southern Cross." 
 t For the weather-worn canvas thus destroyed, it is said that 
 Cavendish substituted sails of green damask. 
 
204 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 quaintly, " came home with a ship. Thus, having 
 circumnavigated the whole earth, let his ship no 
 longer be termed the ' Desire,' but the ' Performance.' 
 He was the third man, and second Englishman, of 
 such universal undertakings." 
 
 Immediately on landing. Cavendish forwarded an 
 account of his prosperous voyage — in which his 
 skill and courage were conspicuously displayed, but 
 assuredly no generosity of feeling or loftiness of 
 ambition — to Lord Hunsdon, his friend and patron. 
 
 "It hath pleased the Almighty," he wrote,* "to 
 suffer me to incompass the whole globe of the world, 
 entering in at the Straits of Magellan, and returning 
 by the Cape de Buena Esperanza. In which voy- 
 age I have either discovered or brought certain in- 
 telligence of all the rich places of the world that 
 ever were known or discovered by any Christian 
 I navigated along the coast of Chili, Peru, and 
 Nueva Espana, where I made great spoils. I burnt 
 and sunk nineteen sail of ships, small and great. 
 All the villages and towns that ever I landed at 
 I burned and spoiled, and, had I not been dis- 
 covered upon the coast, I had taken great quantity 
 of treasure. The matter of most profit unto me was 
 a great ship of the king's, which I took at Cali- 
 fornia ; which ship came from the Philippines, being 
 one of the richest of merchandise that ever passed 
 
 • Hakluyt, "Voyages," iii. pp. 826, 827. 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 205 
 
 those seas. . . . From the Cape of CaHfornia — 
 being the uttermost part of all Nueva Espana — 
 I navigated to the islands of the Philppines, hard 
 upon the coast of China, of which country I have 
 such intelligence as hath not been heard of in these 
 parts: the stateliness and riches of which country 
 I fear to make report of, lest I should not be 
 credited ; for, if I had not known sufficiently the 
 incomparable wealth of that country, I should have 
 been as incredulous thereof as others will be that 
 have not had the like experience. I sailed along 
 the islands of the Malucos [Moluccas], where, 
 among some of the heathen people, I was well 
 entreated ; where our country may have trade as 
 freely as the Portugals, if they will themselves. 
 From thence I passed by the Cape of Buena Espe- 
 ranza, and found out, by the way homeward, the 
 Island of St Helena, where the Portugals use to 
 relieve themselves ; and, from that island, God 
 hath suffered me to return to England. All which 
 services, with myself, I humbly prostrate at her 
 Majesty's feet, desiring the Almighty long to con- 
 tinue her reign among us, for, at this day, she is 
 the most famous and victorious prince that liveth 
 in the world." * 
 
 By this voyage Cavendish must have acquired 
 a considerable fortune ; but the love of adventure 
 * Hakluyt, "Voyages," iii. pp. 836, 837. 
 
\ 
 
 206 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 with which it had also inoculated him would not 
 suffer him to rest at home in an inglorious ease ; 
 and of lettered leisure, I fancy, he had no concep- 
 tion. He spent a couple of years in gay living, and 
 then, with what money he had remaining, equipped 
 a squadron to undertake a fresh expedition against 
 the New World colonies. 
 
 It was composed of "three tall ships" and two 
 barks : the " Leicester" galleon, which bore his own 
 flag as admiral ; the " Desire," commanded by the 
 great pilot and navigator. Captain John Davis ; the 
 " Roebuck," under Master Cocke ; the " Black Pin- 
 nace ; " and a small bark named the " Dainty," 
 which belonged to, and was commanded by, Adrian 
 Gilbert, one of the famous Devonshire family of sea- 
 kings. The crews are supposed to have numbered 
 about 400 men, and among them were the two 
 Japanese, captured on board the " Santa Anna." 
 
 Cavendish put to sea on the 26th of August 1591. 
 He lay becalmed under the equinoctial line for 
 seven-and-twenty days, and many of his men were 
 seized with scurvy. A fair wind springing up, he 
 reached the coast of Brazil, and, on the i6th of 
 December, surprised and captured the town of 
 Santos, whose inhabitants were at mass when he 
 landed. The object was to obtain a supply of pro- 
 visions, but, through Cocke's mismanagement, the 
 Indians succeeded in carrying off their stores, and. 
 
 I 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 207 
 
 after wasting five precious weeks in vain attempts 
 to discover their place of concealment, Cavendish 
 sailed from Santos harbour in far worse trim than 
 he had entered it.* 
 
 He now made for the Straits, Port Desire being 
 named as the rendezvous. On the 7th of February 
 1592, the fleet was overtaken by a terrible gale, and 
 on the following day they separated. Davis made 
 for the appointed harbour, and on the way fell in 
 with the " Roebuck," which had been sorely buffeted. 
 The two ships reached Port Desire on the 6th of 
 March, and on the i6th were joined by the "Black 
 Pinnace," and the "Admiral." The ** Dainty," mean- 
 while, returned to England, her owner apparently 
 having been daunted by the ominous beginnings of 
 the expedition. In the gale Cavendish had suffered 
 much, and his officers and men showing a dis- 
 position to mutiny, he removed on board the 
 "Desire." 
 
 It was now the middle of March. "Such," says 
 Cavendish, "was the adverseness of our fortunes, 
 that in coming thither we spent the summer, and 
 found the Straits in the beginning of a most extreme 
 winter. They entered on the 14th of April with a 
 fair wind ; but it suddenly changed on the 21st, and 
 compelled the squadron to put into a small cove on 
 the southern shore of the strait, opposite Cape For- 
 
 * Hakluyt, "Voyages," iii. pp. 840, 842. 
 
208 THOMAS CAVENDISH, 
 
 ward. During these three weeks of detention in 
 this anchorage, Cavendish and his men endured 
 great sufferings from the perpetual snows and 
 storms ; and many died with " cursed famine, and 
 miserable cold," being unprovided with warm gar- 
 ments, and having no better food than a little meal, 
 water, mussels, and sea-weed. These unexpected 
 trials so dismayed the commander that he called 
 together his whole company and declared his re- 
 solution to retrace his course, and make for the 
 Cape of Good Hope. Davis, however, whose Arctic 
 exploration had fitted him to contend with any 
 difficulty, and who felt as thoroughly at home 
 among snow and ice as a white bear or a walrus, 
 pointed out to him that such an enterprise meant 
 nothing else but absolute ruin, "If the rest of 
 your ships," said the sturdy pilot, "be furnished 
 answerable to this, it is impossible to perform it; 
 for we have no more sails than masts, no victuals, 
 no ground-tackling, no cordage more than is over- 
 head, and among seventy and five persons there is 
 but the master alone that can order the ship, and 
 but fourteen sailors ; the rest are gentlemen, serving- 
 men, and artificers." As Davis was supported by 
 the general opinion, Cavendish was compelled to 
 renounce his desperate project ; but he resolved 
 on returning to Santos, and, as if displeased with 
 the Arctic explorer's honest counsel, quitted the 
 
 i 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 200 
 
 "Desire," and again hoisted his flag on board the 
 " Leicester." 
 
 They cleared the Straits on the i8th. On the 20th 
 the "Desire" and the "Black Pinnace" separated, 
 either by design or accident — Davis protested by 
 accident, Cavendish imputed by design — from the 
 "Admiral" and the "Roebuck," and returned to 
 Port Desire.* Erelong the "Roebuck" and the 
 "Leicester" also parted, but again effected a junc- 
 tion off the coast of Brazil, and sailing northward 
 committed the most inexcusable ravages, burning 
 defenceless villages, plundering houses, and devas- 
 tating plantations, — a course of conduct which 
 admits of no defence on the part of Cavendish's 
 biographer, because it inflicted no injury whatever 
 on the power and resources of Spain, while it 
 brought ruin and misery to many a humble family. 
 Near the town of Espiriteo Santo some Spanish 
 ships were descried lying at anchor off the mouth 
 of a small river. Cavendish, with his boats, at- 
 tempted to cut them out ; but his plans were ill- 
 devised, and, after a furious struggle, in which the 
 English lost eighty men killed, wounded, or taken 
 prisoners, they were forced to retire. 
 
 Either in dudgeon at his Admiral's rashness, or 
 
 * Davis afterwards re-entered and passed the Straits, was again 
 driven back, and, after enduring almost incredible hardships, reached 
 Ireland in June 1593. — Bumey, ''Discovery in the South Seas," pp. 
 loi, 103. 
 
210 
 
 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 from a superstitious fear of the ill fortune which 
 now seemed to dog his steps persistently, the master 
 of the " Roebuck " — " the most cowardly villain," 
 says Cavendish, " that ever was born of a woman," — 
 after this pitiful failure abandoned the expedition. 
 Cavendish then made for the island of St Sebastian, 
 where he repaired his boats, and laid in a stock of 
 fresh water. He sought to persuade his crew to sail' 
 for the Straits, where they might obtain a supply of 
 birds and seals ; and if they effected this passage 
 into the South Sea, could not fail to retrieve their 
 losses by the plunder of the rich Spanish cities. 
 His eloquence fell, however, upon deaf ears. Weary 
 and disheartened, they asked for neither booty nor 
 adventure, but to return to England. "And one of 
 the boldest," says Cavendish, "most proudly and 
 stubbornly uttering these words to my face, in 
 presence of all the rest ; which I seeing, and find- 
 ing my own faction to be so weak — for there were 
 not any favoured my side but my poor cousin Locke, 
 and the master of the ship — I took this bold com- 
 panion by the bosom, and with mine own hands put 
 a rope about his neck, meaning resolutely to strangle 
 him, for weapon I had none. His companions, see- 
 ing one of their chief companions in this case, and 
 perceiving me to go roundly to work with him, they 
 all came to the master, and desired him to speak, 
 affirming they would aU be ready to take any course 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 211 
 
 I thought good of; so I, hearing this, stayed myself, 
 and let the fellow go." 
 
 Misfortune, however, had not yet done with Caven- 
 lish. For their better accommodation, he had landed 
 lis wounded on the island of St Sebastian, which lay 
 ibout a mile from the mainland. The Portuguese 
 ^ere thus in a position to watch all his proceedings, 
 and while some soldiers and seamen still remained 
 ashore, an Irishman, "a noble villain," went off to 
 the continent on a raft, and betrayed his defenceless 
 comrades. The Portuguese surprised the small com- 
 pany on the island in the night-time, and butchered 
 every one of them. 
 
 "Thus," says the miserable Cavendish, "I was 
 forced to depart, Fortune never ceasing to lay her 
 greatest adversities upon me. And now I am grown 
 so weak that I am scarce able to hold the pen in my 
 hand ; whereupon I must leave you to enquire of 
 the rest of our most unhappy proceedings." 
 
 These unhappy proceedings may be briefly noticed. 
 An attempt was made to reach the island of St 
 Helena, for which the company agreed to steer only 
 on their Admiral's resolute declaration that, with the 
 object of his voyage unachieved, he would never 
 return to England, but sink the ship and all on 
 board. Under the influence of this threat, they 
 sailed to about 20° S., when they were seized with 
 another fit of mutiny, declaring they would rather 
 
212 THOMAS CAVENDISH. ' 
 
 die than be starved in searching for an island which 
 could never be found again. Again Cavendish 
 appealed to their fears, and, in stormy weather, they 
 beat southward to 28* S., and stood for St Helena, 
 but owing to adverse winds and the ill-management 
 of the sailing-master, they unfortunately missed it. 
 There was now no help but to sail with all speed 
 for England. Cavendish, broken-hearted, lay in his 
 cabin, dying ; occasionally rousing himself to pen a 
 last letter to Sir Tristram Gages, in which he detailed 
 the disasters of his second voyage, and which gives 
 the reader a higher opinion of his character than 
 the general tenor of his life would seem to justify. 
 The letter was not completed when the " Leicester " 
 reached 8* N., but its writer would seem to have 
 died long before the coast of England was sighted,^ I 
 leaving behind him the name of a gallant, adven- ■ 
 turous, but imprudent and reckless spirit, who was 
 destitute of all the higher qualities of a commander 
 — was incapable of broad views of statesmanship 
 or public policy — was indifferent to the claims of 
 humanity, — and, in his daring enterprise, was simply 
 actuated by the love of excitement and the greed of 
 gain. 
 
 A modern biographer remarks, however, that the 
 reproach of cruelty which, from transactions in both 
 voyages, and especially in the first, must rest upon 
 his memory, ought in justice to be shared with the 
 
 *mmA 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH. 213 
 
 age in which he lived, and the state of moral feeling 
 among the class to which he belonged by birth. 1 
 am not sure that there is much truth in this apolo- 
 getic plea. The great Elizabethan seamen were 
 not cruel without a cause, while Cavendish does 
 not seem to have been otherwise than culpably 
 harsh and brutal by nature. A Raleigh, a Drake, 
 or a Gilbert might seek, by some act of terrible 
 severity, to strike terror among a hostile popula- 
 tion ; but they committed no such ravages on the 
 innocent, defenceless, and unoffending, as are un- 
 fortunately recorded of Cavendish. 
 
 I am willing, however, to admit that I am dis- 
 posed — by my recollection of his sufferings and 
 untimely end, by my sense of the sad contrast 
 between the splendour of his early life, and the 
 shadows and gloom in which his sun went down in 
 early manhood — to judge his character with all 
 possible lenity, and to pass as quickly as may be 
 from the record of his errors. He was unquestion- 
 ably of a most intrepid and daring spirit ; he is 
 reputed to have been endowed with a delicate wit 
 and a handsome person ; and under no circum- 
 stances can he be deprived of the immortal renown 
 which justly attaches to the third circumnavigator 
 of the globe. 
 
 I subjoin some closing passages from his last letter:* 
 • Furchas, " His Pilgrims," book v., c. 6, p. 1 195 -1200, 
 
214 THOMAS CAVENDISH. 
 
 " My loving Friend, — 
 
 ** There is nothing in this world that makes a truer trial of 
 friendship, than at death to show mindfulness of love and friendship, 
 which now you shall make a perfect experience of ; desiring you to 
 hold my love as dear, dying poor, as if I had been most infinitely 
 rich. The success of this most unfortunate action, the bitter torments \ 
 of which lie so heavy upon me, as with much pain am I able to write 
 these few lines, much less to make discussion to you of all the adverse 
 haps that have befallen me in this voyage, the least whereof is my 
 death." 
 
 After narrating the extraordinary series of mis- 
 fortunes which he had encountered, and the crown- 
 ing disaster of missing St Helena, he continues : 
 
 " And now to tell you of my greatest grief, which was the sickness 
 of my dear kinsman John Locke, who by this time was grown in great 
 weakness, by reason whereof he desired rather quietness and conlented- 
 ness in our course, than such continual disquietness, which nevef 
 ceased us. And now by this, what with grief for him, and the con- 
 tinual trouble I endured among such hell-hounds, my spirits were 
 clean spent, wishing myself upon any desert place in the world, there 
 to die, rather than thus basely to return home again ; which course I 
 had put in execution, had I found an island which the cards make to 
 be eight degrees to the southward of the line. I swear to you I sought 
 for it with all diligence, meaning, if I had found it to have there ended 
 my unfortunate life. But God suffered not such happiness to light 
 upon me, for I could by no means find it ; so I was forced to go 
 towards England, and having gotten eight degrees by north the line, 
 I lost my most dearest cousin. 
 
 "And now consider whether a heart made of flesh be able to 
 endure so many misfortunes, all falling upon me without intermission 1 
 I thank my God that, in ending of me. He hath pleased to rid me of 
 all further trouble and mishaps. And now to return to our private^ 
 matters : I have made my will, wherein I have given special charge 
 
THOMAS CAVENDISH, 215 
 
 that all goods (whatever belong unto me) be delivered into your hands. 
 For God's sake refuse not to do this last request for me. I owe little 
 that I know of, and, therefore, it will be the less trouble ; but if there 
 be any debt that of truth is owing by me, for God's sake see it paid. 
 To use compliments of love, now at my last breath, were frivolous ; 
 but know that I left none in England whom I loved so well as your- 
 self, which you in such sort deserved at my hands as I can by no means 
 requite. I have left all (that little remaining) unto you, not to be 
 accountable for anything. That which you will, if you find any over- 
 plus (yourself especially being satisfied to your own desire), give unto 
 my sister Anne Cavendish. I have written to no man living but your- 
 self, leaving all friends and kinsmen, only excepting you as dearest. 
 Commend me to both your brethren, being glad that your brother 
 Edward escaped so unfortunate a voyage. I pray give this copy of 
 my unhappy proceedings to none but only to Sir George Cary, and 
 tell him, that if I had thought the letter of a dead man acceptable, I 
 would have written unto him. I have taken order with the master 
 of my ship to see his pieces of ordnance delivered unto him, for he 
 knoweth them. And if the " Roebuck" be not returned, then I have 
 appointed him to deliver him two brass pieces out of this ship, which 
 I pray you see performed. I have now no more to say, and take this 
 last farewell, that you have lost the lovingest friend that ever was lost 
 by any. Commend me to your wife. No more! But as you love 
 God, do not refuse to undertake this last request of mine. I pray, for- 
 get not Master Cary of Coakington ; gratify him with something, for 
 he used me kindly at my departure. Bear with this sciibbling, for I 
 protest I am scarce able to hold a pen in my hand." 
 
^ir ixmth §x^Il 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 •* No English keel hath yet that ocean plowed ; 
 If prophecie from me may be allowed, 
 Renowned Drake, Heaven does decree 
 That happy enterprize to thee ! 
 For thou of all the Britons art the first 
 That boldly durst 
 This Western World invade. 
 And as thou now art made 
 The first to whom that boon will be shown, 
 So to thy isle thou first shalt make it known." 
 
 Sir William Davenant. 
 
 HE life and exploits of Drake have found so 
 many chroniclers that I could have wished 
 to avoid, in the present volume, any repeti- 
 tion of the oft-told tale. But the public have a just 
 repugnance to the play of Hamlet with Hamlet's 
 part omitted ; and I felt that my readers might, 
 with good reason, complain if, in a book treating 
 
 d 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 217 
 
 of the Elizabethan worthies, the honoured name 
 of the first English circumnavigator was not to be 
 found. 
 
 The character of this certainly heroic man furnishes 
 us with a study of more than ordinary interest. 
 There was no inconsiderable quantity of the true 
 gold in it, and no inconsiderable quantity of alloy 
 of baser metal. It is, however, high praise when 
 you can say of any man that he was capable of 
 conceiving and achieving great projects ; that his 
 thoughts rose above the level of the thoughts of 
 most of his contemporaries ; that he knew how to 
 seize and work out a noble and ennobling idea. In 
 the conception of a voyage round the globe there 
 was a grandeur that we of the present time are not 
 altogether likely to appreciate duly, because the 
 world has since been mapped out, and scrutinised, 
 and explored, until it has become a familiar thing, 
 utterly lacking that singular mystery and weird, 
 undefinable awe which it possessed for our fore- 
 fathers. It is true that Magellan had shown the 
 way, but sometimes as large a share of credit is due 
 to the second in a difficult enterprise as to the first ; 
 and to the English hero the pathless Southern seas 
 and hot Eastern waters were as unknown as they 
 had been to the unfortunate Spanish navigator. 
 
 I look upon Drake as the prototype and legiti- 
 mate ancestor of our great English seamen — as the 
 

 218 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 first of that noble and ardent race whose finest 
 quahties culminated, as it were, in Nelson. He 
 exhibits, if you fairly read his life, the same restless 
 yearning after adventure, the same utter indifference 
 to danger, the same calm, imperturbable courage, 
 flaming up at times into a sort of wild Berserkir fury, 
 the same intense and all-absorbing patriotism, the 
 same sentiment of entire devotedness to duty, the 
 same spirit of careless generosity, and the same 
 admirable skill in managing and commanding men. 
 There was little that English sailors would not 
 attempt and achieve under Drake, or Blake, or 
 Nelson. For these illustrious seamen possessed a 
 magnetic power of raising their followers to their 
 own high level of daring and intrepidity. The con- 
 tagion of their enthusiasm made heroes of the 
 lowest ; their example was a species of inspiration. 
 
 Drake's errors leaned, so to speak, in the direc- 
 tion of virtues. Were I fond of paradoxes, I should 
 characterise them as virtues carried to an excess. 
 His ambition was inordinate ; he could bear no rival 
 near his throne. I suspect he was more loved by 
 his crew than by his lieutenants. His love of dis- 
 cipline inclined to severity; he was quick to resent, 
 and slow to forgive ; his ardent desire of glory ren- 
 dered him prone to listen to the voice of flattery; 
 his contempt and hatred of the enemies of his 
 country urged him occasionally to the commission 
 
 J 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 219 
 
 of lamentable acts of cruelty. He was, in truth, 
 before all things and in all things, a thorough sea- 
 man. He wanted that fine versatility and those 
 admirable accomplishments which have renowned 
 the name of Raleigh ; that chivalrous courtesy and 
 self-denial which have taught us to cherish the 
 name of Sidney. He was a hero on the deck of 
 his ship ; elsewhere he was a man of shrewd prac- 
 tical intellect and great decision of character, but 
 no hero. 
 
 It is always useful to consider the judgments 
 passed upon distinguished men by their contempo- 
 raries, or by writers who lived near their time. In 
 the case of Drake such judgments are numerous. 
 A very remarkable parallel between him and Haw- 
 kins occurs, for instance, in Prince's "Worthies of 
 Devon." It is from the pen of a writer who 
 modestly conceals himself under the initials R. M., 
 but deserves to be carefully perused on account 
 both of its discrimination and impartiality. 
 
 They were both alike given, says our author, to 
 travelling in their youth, and in their more mature 
 years. They both attempted many honourable voy- 
 ages ; as that of Sir John Hawkins to Guinea, to the 
 isles of America, and to St Juan de Ulloa ; so, like- 
 wise. Sir Francis Drake, after many discoveries in the 
 West Indies, and other parts, was the first English- 
 man that ever encompassed the globe, in which, as 
 
220 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 well as in his great knowledge of sea affairs, he far 
 exceeded not only Sir John Hawkins, but all others. 
 
 Our authority goes on to observe, very justly, 
 that in their natures and dispositions they differed 
 as much as in their management of war. Sir Francis 
 was of a lively spirit, resolute, quickly and sufficiently 
 valiant ; Sir John, slow, jealous, and difficult to be 
 brought to a resolution. In council. Sir John Haw- 
 kins did often differ from the judgment of others, 
 making a show in difficult cases of knowing more 
 than he would declare. Sir Francis was a willing 
 hearer of every man's opinion, but commonly a 
 follower of his own. He never attempted any 
 action wherein he was an absolute commander but 
 he performed it with great reputation, and could 
 go through the weightiest concerns with wonderful 
 ease. On the contrary. Sir John Hawkins was an 
 undertaker of great things ; but for the most part 
 without fortune or success. 
 
 In truth, Sir Francis was altogether of a nobler 
 and more able spirit than Hawkins. He was gifted 
 to some extent with the three prominent qualities 
 which should distinguish every man who aspires to 
 be an Agamemnon, «»«! av^^uv— 
 
 Self- reverence, self-knowledge, self-control. 
 
 Not altogether unworthy was he to have " stood " 
 for the model of Tennyson's " Ulysses." I can well 
 believe that the lines in which the poet describes 
 
 J 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 221 
 
 the old king's longing after action would have found 
 a ready echo in Drake's bosom : 
 
 " How dull it is to pause, to make an end, 
 To rust unbumished, not to shine in use I 
 As tho' to breathe were life. 
 
 Tho» 
 
 We are not now that strength which in old days 
 Moved earth and heaven ; that which we are, we are; 
 One equal temper of heroic hearts 
 Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will 
 To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."* 
 
 Sir John Hawkins, continues R. M., naturally 
 hated land soldiers ; and, though he was very popu- 
 lar, affected to keep company with common people 
 rather than his equals ; Sir Francis, on the contrary, 
 loved the land soldiers, always encouraged and pre- 
 ferred merit wherever he found it, and was affable 
 and easy of access. 
 
 They had both many virtues, and agreed in some, 
 as all the Elizabethan sea-kings naturally did ; such 
 as in the capacity of enduring great hardships and 
 labours ; a promptitude in dealing with difficulties 
 and dangers of sudden growth ; singular quickness 
 of observation and retentiveness of memory, and a 
 love of adventure for adventure's sake. In other 
 virtues they (that is, Drake and Hawkins) greatly 
 differed. Sir John was merciful, apt to forgive, and 
 faithful to his word; Sir Francis hard to be recon- 
 • Tennyson's "Poems," i6th edition, pp. 266, 267 
 
 L 
 
222 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 died, but constant in friendship ; and withal, at the 
 same time, suave and courteous, magnanimous and 
 liberal. They were both ambitious to a fault, but 
 one more than the other; for Sir Francis had an 
 insatiable thirst after honour, beyond all reason. 
 He was full of promises, and more temperate in 
 adversity than in prosperity. He had likewise some 
 other imperfections, as quickness in anger, bitterness 
 in disgracing, and was too much pleased with sordid 
 flattery. Sir John Hawkins had malice with dis- 
 simulation, rudeness in behaviour, and was covetous 
 in the last degree. They were both alike happy in 
 being great commanders, but not equally successful. 
 They both grew great and famous by the same 
 means ; that is, by their own virtues, courage, and 
 the fortune of the sea. There was no comparison, 
 however, between their merits, taken in general ; for 
 therein Sir Francis far exceeded. 
 
 In this concluding decision of our parallelist I cor- 
 dially agree. Drake was altogether, as I have said, 
 of a higher and loftier nature than his rival ; his 
 imagination was more vivid, his judgment more en- 
 lightened, his intellect more comprehensive. 
 
 Quaint Thomas Fuller was a quick and searching 
 critic of men's failings and perfections — as severe to 
 the one as he was just to the other. Let us hear 
 what he has to say in reference to Sir Francis Drake ;* 
 
 • Fuller, "Worthies of England." 
 
 d 
 
S/J^ FRANCIS DRAKE. 223 
 
 If any should be desirous to know something of 
 the character of Sir Francis Drake's person, he was 
 of stature low, but set and strong grown ; a very 
 religious man towards God and His houses,* gene- 
 rally sparing the churches wherever he came ; chaste 
 in his life, just in his dealings, true of his word, 
 merciful to those that were under him, and hating 
 nothing so much as idleness. In matters (especi- 
 ally) of moment he was never wont to rely on other 
 men's care, how trusty or skilful soever they might 
 seem to be, but always contemning danger, and 
 refusing no toyl. He was wont himself to be one 
 (whoever was a second), at every turn, where cour- 
 age, skill, or industry was to be employed. 
 
 Surely this is the portrait of a very admirable and 
 elevated character : " Chaste in his life, just in his 
 deaHngs, true of his word, hating nothing so much 
 as idleness." If upon the tomb of each of us such 
 an epitaph may in due time be written, I think our 
 children will have no cause for shame ! 
 
 Let us next transcribe the eulogium written by 
 Stow, the old annahst.+ He says of our hero, that 
 he was more skillfull in all points of navigation than 
 any that ever was before his time, in his time, or 
 
 * Religious, however, with all the stern intolerance of his time, 
 and utterly incapable of cherishing a single charitable feeling towards 
 Jew, Turk, or Papist, each of whom, in his eyes, was a true son of 
 Satan ! 
 
 t Quoted by Barrow in his "Life of Drake," i. E2. 
 
224 SIR FRANCIS DRAK^. 
 
 since his death. He was also of a perfect memory, 
 great observation, eloquent by nature, and skillfull in 
 artillery, expert and apt to let blood, and give 
 physick unto his people according to the climate. 
 A modern biographer would regard the last two 
 qualifications as unworthy of mention, or even dero- 
 gatory to the fame and dignity of his hero ; but the 
 Elizabethan discovery-ships carried no accomplished 
 surgeons, and a certain amount of rough medical 
 knowledge on the part of the commander was essen- 
 tial to the health and safety of his men. 
 
 Drake, continues the worthy chronicler, was low 
 of stature, of strong limbs, broad breasted, rounde 
 headed, broune hayre, full bearded ; his eyes round, 
 large, and clear, well favoured, fayre, and of a cheer- 
 full countenance. His name was a terror to the 
 French, Spaniard, Portugal, and Indians. Many 
 princes of Italy, Germany, and other, as well ene- 
 mies as friends, in his lifetime desired his picture. 
 He was the second that ever went through the 
 Straights of Magellanes, and the first that ever 
 went rounde aboute the worlde. He was lawfully 
 married unto two wives, both young, yet he himself 
 and two of his brethren died without issue. He 
 made his brother Thomas his heire, who was with 
 him in most and chiefest of his imployments. In 
 briefe, he was as famous in Europe and America as 
 Tamberlayne in Asia and AfTrica. 
 
 I 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 225 
 
 S Ambitious of Honour ; 
 Unconstant in Amity ; 
 Greatly affected to Popularity." 
 
 Stow's character of Drake is wanting in lucidity 
 and discrimination, but it serves to show how power- 
 ful an impression he produced on the mind of the 
 English people. A curious testimony to his wide 
 repute is borne by the elegiac poem of Charles Fitz- 
 Geffry, published at Oxford in 1596, the year of 
 Drake's death, and entitled, " Sir Francis Drake, his 
 Honourable Life's Commendation, and his Tragicall 
 Deathe's Lamentation." It contains two hundred 
 and eighty-five stanzas, written in a sufficiently 
 tragical and exalted style, yet not without a cer- 
 tain vivida vis, which arrests the attention of the 
 reader. As it is almost unknown to the general 
 public, I venture to make a tolerably long extract 
 from its pages : 
 
 ** Such as were they, such was our worthy Drake, 
 "Whose head a storehouse was of policies, 
 That (like his valour) forc'd his foes to quake, 
 Making their hulks to caper in the skies. 
 And quiver in the air their argosies ; 
 So by a proper sleight he knew full well 
 To send their ships to heaven, their souls to helL 
 
 " Sometime, when number virtue did surprise 
 (As virtue sometime is surprised by number). 
 His poHcy could soon a way devise 
 To fly their forces that might bring him under — 
 And how he could escape it made them wonder j 
 
 P 
 
226 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 For of their Indian gold he made him wings, 
 And (like a phcenix) safely from them flings. 
 
 ** A thousand bell-mouth'd cannons' deadly shot, 
 A thousand rattling muskets' hailstones fly ; 
 Yet thousand deadly cannons hurt him not, 
 Nor thousand rattling muskets reck'neth he, 
 But still beats them all as eagerly ; 
 And, maugre all their beards, brings home the spoil, 
 'Riching Eliza, and Eliza's soil. 
 
 " Those peerless peers, that through the world have spread 
 Their predecessors' virtues and their own, 
 And both with honour have ennobled ; 
 Who to nobility's chief point are grown, 
 The sage attendants on Eliza's crown. 
 
 Desired to venture on the foe with Drake, 
 And with his fortunes good or ill partake. 
 
 ** When forth they march'd against their eager foe, 
 Hope and Revenge did bear them out to war ; 
 Guarded with Nonperille did they go. 
 
 While Bonadventure still their ensign bear. 
 And Cowardice by Dreadnought 'bandoned far. 
 Swift-sure their race, though swift, yet alway surcj 
 And good Foresight to Hopewell did allure. 
 
 ** Watchful Advise did march in equipage, 
 Together with her sister Providence ; 
 Relief with Aid, and Aid with high Courage ; 
 Courage was guided with Experience, 
 And both did guide and guard their high pretence t 
 Where all such worthy virtues captains were, 
 What coward would not be a conqueror ? 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 227 
 
 " The soldiers followed, eager for the fight, 
 
 Known to the foe by face, not by the back ; 
 Skilful in fight, but ignorant in flight ; 
 Swift in assault, but in retiring slack, 
 Never returning but with foemen's wrack ! 
 Who would not be a soldier in that band, 
 Which, ere it fought, held victory in hand ? 
 
 ** A silver Greyhound led a golden Hind, 
 Now reconciled to its bitter foe ; 
 A Roebuck, that did bear a lion's mind, 
 Together with Diana still did go, 
 And dreaded not her darts and murdering bov/ ; 
 The Phoenix in his fleet her nest did make, 
 And Hercules himself attended Drake. 
 
 ** God's gift he had, and God his gift did speed ; 
 No misadventure cross'd where God did guide : 
 Where God did save, none other salve did need. 
 He sped the journey, He did give the tide, 
 He saved the fleet from foes' insulting pride ; 
 How could the enterprise ill issue have. 
 Where God himself did speed, did guide, did save T 
 
 " Fortune herself was present in the fleet. 
 
 But stood not on her fickle, rolling wheel, 
 Constant stability balanced her feet, 
 
 And being constant knew not how to reel, 
 But ruled the rudder and directed the keel : 
 How could mischance unto that ship betide, 
 Where Fortune was the pilot and the guide ? 
 
 " Guarded with these associates' royal train, 
 
 Forth marched valiant Drake to martial arms j 
 
228 
 
 SIR FRANCIS BRAKE. 
 
 And makes an earthquake through the coasts of Spain 
 When as his thund'ring drum resounds alarms, 
 And roaring tempests volley forth their harms : 
 Hope and Revenge to war conducted Drake, 
 And Victory and Triumph brought him back. 
 
 ** Neither in wars his worth was only known, 
 
 Although his worth was chiefly known in wars, 
 But all as well at home in peace was shown, 
 By moderating public wealth's affairs, 
 As quieting his foes' tumultuous jars : 
 And as the Laurel crown'd him conqueror, 
 So did the Olive show him counsellor. 
 
 '* Like as abroad with unresisted arms 
 He tam'd his foes' proud insultations. 
 Even so at home with lenity he charms 
 His jarring friends' discordant passions, 
 Rescuing the poor from proud vexations : 
 So all his life he made a warfare long 
 Abroad 'gainst enemies, at home 'gainst wrong. 
 
 **In war he strove (and striving still did gain) 
 To vanquish all with never daunted might : 
 In peace he sought (and seeking did obtain) 
 All to excel in equity and right, 
 A justice in peace, in war a knight : 
 Though hard it were for him that might take ease, 
 Scipio to be in war, Cato in peace."* 
 
 Of SO great an Englishman it is impossible for us 
 to form our estimate with too much prudence ; and, 
 before we begin the romantic story of his life, it will 
 
 • As stated in the text, this elegy was originally published at Oxford 
 in 1596. h was reprinted by Sir Egerton Brydges, at his private 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 229 
 
 be well for us to peruse the eloquent sketch painted 
 by a graphic American historian, not too partial in 
 his judgments of English worthies * 
 
 "Drake," he says, "was a small man, of a fair but 
 somewhat weather-stained complexion, with light- 
 brown, closely-curling hair, an expansive forehead, 
 a clear blue eye, rather commonplace features, a 
 thin, brown, pointed beard, and a slight moustache. 
 Though low of stature, he was broad-chested, with 
 well-knit limbs. His hands, which were small and 
 nervous, were brown and callous with the marks of 
 toil. There was something in his brow and glance 
 not to be mistaken, and which men willingly call 
 master ; yet he did not seem to have sprung of the 
 born magnates of the earth. 
 
 ''Emerging in early boyhood," continues Mr 
 Motley, "from his parental mansion — an old boat, 
 turned bottom upwards on a sandy down — he had 
 
 press, Lee Priory, in 1819. It opens with the usual commendatory 
 verses on the author, of which a specimen will suffice : — 
 
 ** Yet shall his fame, his worth, his worthy deeds, 
 Eternized by thy verse, among us dwell : 
 And whatsoever after age succeeds, 
 Unto posterity the same shall tell, 
 And make thy praises with his own excel s 
 Time, that doth all things else in time decern, 
 Shall never have thy name within thy power." 
 A notice of Charles Fitz-Geffry, who published several other elegies, 
 as well as various sermons and religious poems, will be found in Antony 
 k Wood's *' Athense Oxonienses." 
 * J. L. Motley, "History of the United Netherlands," ii. pp. 95, 96. 
 
230 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 naturally taken to the sea, and his master, dying 
 childless not long afterwards, bequeathed to him 
 the lugger. But in time his spirit, too much con- 
 fined by coasting in the narrow seas, had taken a 
 bolder flight. His expeditions against the Spanish 
 possessions in the West Indies were eminently suc- 
 cessful, and soon the name of Francis Drake rang 
 through the world, and startled Philip in the depths 
 of his Escorial. The first Englishman, and the 
 second of any nation, he then ploughed his memor- 
 able * furrow round the earth.* He was, indeed, one 
 of the great types of the i6th century. The self- 
 helping private adventurer, in his little vessel, the 
 'Golden Hind,' loo tons burthen, waged successful 
 war against a mighty empire, and showed England 
 how to humble Philip." 
 
 In the history of his time Drake played an im- 
 portant part. He was the foremost Englishman of 
 the age, until eclipsed by the superior renown of 
 Sir Walter Raleigh. Few of his contemporaries 
 enjoyed so wide-world a fame. To the King of 
 Spain he was, as my Lord Burghley justly said, 
 "a fearful man;" and Philip never wrote his name 
 without emotions of hate, terror, and disgust. Of 
 the common people he was the idol, and many a 
 popular tradition survives to prove the wondering 
 reverence with which they regarded his achieve- 
 ments. It seemed to them that his deeds were 
 
 4 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 231 
 
 beyond the deeds of mortal man, unless assisted by 
 the unseen powers. Southey felicitously remarks 
 that his name is the only one of modern history 
 which has acquired, in local tradition, a sort of 
 mythological celebrity* It is probable that this 
 originated with the Spaniards, who felt towards 
 him that mixed feeling of bitterness and awe which 
 the French felt a century later towards another 
 Englishman — " Malbrook." At Panama, when news 
 arrived of his decease, two days' religious festivities 
 were celebrated in honour of his death and dam- 
 nation ! The most popular of the Spanish poets 
 devoted an entire epic poem to the slander of his 
 memory. He was accused of having had dealings 
 with the devil. The imputation of magic probably 
 reached his own country, where it was readily accre- 
 dited, but with this difference — while the Spaniards 
 represented him as enslaved by the devil, Drake's 
 countrymen loved to fable of him as a ruler of 
 powerful spirits, whom he delighted to employ in 
 all good works. 
 
 Drake, by his engineering skill, supplied Ply- 
 mouth with fresh water. Such was the literal fact : 
 the popular mind, dissatisfied with its baldness, 
 declared that the beneficent deed was accomplished 
 in a far more romantic manner. The hero mounted 
 his horse, and rode about Dartmoor until he came 
 • Southey, "Lives of the British Admirals," iii. p. 238. 
 
232 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 upon a sufficiently-copious spring ; then, muttering 
 a potent spell, he started back for the town, gallop- 
 ing at full speed, with the stream rolling abundantly 
 and refreshingly at his horse's heels. 
 
 Another legend, still extant, declares that he pro- 
 vided Elizabeth with a fleet by cutting a piece of 
 wood, and, as he leaned over the side of his own 
 vessel, cutting it into chips — each chip, as it fell into 
 the water, becoming a man-of-war. Another ver- 
 sion of this miracle says, that, while playing at 
 kales, or skittles, on Plymouth Hoe, news came that 
 the Armada was sailing into the Sound. Drake 
 played out his game with the utmost composure, 
 and, when it was ended, called for an axe and a 
 block of wood — chopping the latter into fragments, 
 and flinging the fragments into the sea, where every 
 piece was transformed into " a tall vessel." 
 
 It was supposed that the circumnavigation of the 
 world was not accomplished by plain sailing, but 
 that, on reaching its extreme limit, Drake shot the 
 gulf, which afforded the only passage from one side 
 of the globe to the other. When he had performed 
 this feat, he asked his men if any one of them knew 
 where they were situated. A boy replied, " Yes ; 
 they were then exactly under London Bridge:" where- 
 upon Drake, in a fit of jealousy, flung him over- 
 board, exclaiming — " Hast thou too a devil ? If I let 
 thee live there will then be one greater than myself" 
 
S/R FRANCIS DRAKE. 233 
 
 Yet another legend : When our hero embarked 
 on his great voyage, he told his wife, with his part- 
 ing words, that unless he returned within a certain 
 number of years, she might conclude he was dead, 
 and, if so inclined, take unto herself a second hus- 
 band. The wife remained constant to her vows 
 until the prescribed limit had been overpassed. 
 She then accepted an offer. Drake immediately 
 learned her weakness, and loading one of his great 
 guns, fired it right through the globe, and with so 
 exact an aim, that the shot fell into the church 
 where the marriage-service was on the point of being 
 performed. " It is a message from Drake ! " cried 
 the startled wife to the would-be bridegroom ; " he 
 is alive ! and there must be neither troth nor ring 
 between myself and thee." 
 
 This is the Devonshire story. Southey records a 
 Somersetshire version of it.* As thus: While the 
 intending couple were on their way to church, a 
 large round stone fell through the air close. by the 
 side of Madam Drake, and fixed upon the train of 
 her gown. Thereupon she turned back, for she said 
 she knew it came from her husband. It was not 
 long before he returned, and in the shape of a 
 beggar, asked alms of her at his own door : in the 
 midst of his feigned tale, a smile escaped him ; she 
 recognised him, and led him in joyfully. The stone, 
 
 * Southey, ' ' Common Place Book, " 4th series, p. 424. 
 
234 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 says tradition, still remains where it fell. It is 
 used as a weight upon the harrow of the farm, and 
 if it be removed from the estate always returns. 
 
 These legends are so far reliable that they show 
 the extraordinary estimation in which Drake was 
 held by his contemporaries, and the extent to which 
 his surprising exploits influenced the popular ima- 
 gination. 
 
 It has frequently been said that in England it is 
 difficult for a man to rise into greatness without the 
 advantage of rank or wealth. Like most truisms, 
 the saying has little foundation. At all events, in 
 the instance of Sir Francis Drake, it is signally con- 
 futed. His father was neither rich nor noble, but 
 an honest mariner of Tavistock, in Devonshire,* who 
 lived in a lowly cottage on the bank of the Tavy. 
 There Francis Drake was born,t about 1539, or 
 1 54 1 — the date is uncertain; the eldest of twelve 
 sons, most of whom inherited their father's liking 
 for the sea. It is said that young Drake's godfather 
 was Sir Francis Russell of Tavistock, who, accord- 
 ing to custom, gave him his Christian name. The 
 truth of this statement is, however, denied by some 
 authorities, and it is certain that, if true, it sums 
 
 * Camden represents him as a clergyman, and vicar of Upnor, in Kent, 
 but his statement is not supported by good contemporary evidence. 
 
 t Or, according to his nephew, in the hull of a ship, turned upside 
 down on the sandy shore. (See his dedication to the "Voyage Re- 
 vived," etc) 
 
 d 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 235 
 
 up the whole extent of Drake's obligations to his 
 patron. 
 
 He seems to have been connected by family ties 
 with Sir John Hawkins, and some writers assert that 
 he was brought up and educated by the worthy sea- 
 king. At an early age, nevertheless, he was appren- 
 ticed to a small shipowner who traded to Zealand 
 and the French coast, and made several voyages to 
 and fro, acquiring a considerable amount of nautical 
 skill. His master dying, and bequeathing to him 
 his vessel, young Drake carried on the same traffic 
 for a few months ; till, longing for a wider sphere of 
 action, he listened to the counsel of his kinsman 
 Hawkins, and embarked his savings in the expedi- 
 tion to the West Indies, which terminated so disas- 
 trously at St Juan de UUoa.* In this expedition he 
 commanded the "Judith ;" gave abundant evidence 
 of foresight, seamanship, and courage ; and escaping 
 from the Spaniards on the night of the fatal attack, 
 succeeded in carrying home his little vessel. 
 
 Having lost his all in the voyage, young Drake 
 cherished no feelings of peculiar amity towards his 
 treacherous foes, and began to consider whether he 
 would not be justified in recouping himself at the 
 expense of the king of Spain, whenever and wher- 
 ever he was able. The case, as Fuller quaintly puts 
 
 • See the interesting narrative, published in 1626, of "Sir Francis 
 Drake Revived," which was revised by the great seaman's own hands, 
 and edited by his nephew. 
 
236 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 
 
 it, was clear in sea divinity. The King of Spain's 
 subjects had undone Master Drake, and therefore 
 Master Drake was entitled to take the best satis- 
 faction he could on the subjects oi the King of 
 Spain. 
 
 Having set before himself this laudable object, 
 Drake, by way of preparation, made a couple of 
 voyages to the New World; the first, in 1570, with 
 two ships, the " Dragon," and the " Swan ;" the 
 second, in 1571, with the "Swan" alone. The fact 
 that he was entrusted with these commands shows 
 that he had already acquired some degree of reputa- 
 tion for conduct and seamanship ; and they enabled 
 him to make himself well acquainted with the 
 American coast, and to complete his knowledge of 
 the art of navigation. 
 
 Having in these two voyages gotten such certain 
 notice of the persons and places aimed at as he 
 thought requisite, he resolved on an attempt to 
 restore his fortunes at the cost of the Spanish 
 colonies in the New World ; not actuated solely, 
 however, by this personal notion, but burning with 
 a patriotic desire to deal a heavy blow at his coun- 
 try's most dangerous enemy, and a religious senti- 
 ment of proselytising Protestantism. 
 
 Accordingly, he equipped a couple of small barks, 
 the "Pasha" of Plymouth, of 70 tons, and the 
 "Swan," of the same port, of 25 tons — the latter 
 
 A 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 237 
 
 commanded by his brother, John Drake, and with 
 crews numbering no more than three-and-twenty 
 men, a year's provisions, ample supplies of amuni- 
 tion, and three handsome pinnaces on board, which 
 could easily be put together when occasion required, 
 he sailed from Plymouth, on the 24th of May 1572. 
 The expedition was bound for Nombre de Dios, 
 which was then the granary of the West Indies, 
 where the golden harvest brought from Panama was 
 hoarded up till it could be conveyed to Spain.* 
 
 On the 2d of July he came in sight of the high 
 land of Santa Martha, and making for Port Pheasant, 
 remained there some seven days, putting together 
 his pinnaces, and recruiting his men. An unexpected 
 reinforcement arrived in the shape of an English 
 bark, the "Lion," from the Isle of Wight, com- 
 manded by Captain Rouse, and with thirty men 
 on board, some of whom had served under Drake 
 in the preceding year. Rouse willingly agreed to 
 join the expedition, along with his prize, a Spanish 
 caraval ; and the little flotilla speedily sailed for 
 Nombre de Dios. 
 
 There he placed his ships under the command 
 of Rouse, and selecting fifty-three men on whom 
 he could rely, he embarked them on board his 
 pinnaces, and under cover of the night of the 22d 
 of July, made his attack upon the town. On land- 
 
 * Fuller, "Holy and Profane State," p. io8. 
 
238 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 ing, they divided into companies, and leaving one^ 
 in possession of the fort, which he captured without 
 opposition, Drake marched the other silently into 
 the market-place, where he beat his drums and 
 sounded his trumpets, so that the Spaniards, startled 
 from their slumbers, thought that the town was 
 invested on every side. A body of them, rallying, 
 attacked the English with a volley of shot, which 
 Drake returned with " the best ancient English com- 
 pliment," a flight of arrows, and drove them from 
 the ground ; receiving, however, a severe wound in 
 the leg. This at the time he dissembled, knowing 
 that, if the general's heart stoops, the men's will fall ; 
 and, loath to leave off the action, wherein if so bright 
 an opportunity once setteth, it seldom riseth again.* 
 
 Forward, therefore, he and his gallant men pressed 
 in all haste, and gained the Treasure-house, but 
 here he fainted from loss of blood. The wound 
 being bandaged, and some drink given him, he 
 revived, and would fain have proceeded to the 
 attack. But his men insisted on his leaving the 
 place, and when he would not be persuaded, added 
 force to their entreaties, and carried him to his 
 pinnace. 
 
 Divers of the men were also wounded, though 
 but one, and he a trumpeter, was slain. Many of 
 them got good booty before they retired from the 
 
 * Fuller, (f/ anfe, p. io8. 
 
 d 
 
SJR FRANCIS DRAKE. 239 
 
 town. But the wines in a Spanish ship, which they 
 found in the harbour, they took along with them for 
 the rehef of their captain and themselves. They 
 carried off their prize to an island which they called 
 the Island of Victuals, where they stayed two days 
 to cure their wounds, and refresh themselves in the 
 gardens they found there, abounding with all sorts 
 of roots, fruits, poultry, and other fowls, "no less 
 strange than delicate," * 
 
 Drake next proceeded to the Island of Pinos, 
 where he had left his ships, under Captain Rouse ; 
 and the latter being unwiUing to continue an enter- 
 prise apparently of so unprofitable a character, he 
 was recompensed for his services, and allowed to 
 depart. 
 
 The bolder spirits followed their leader to the 
 
 Sound of Darien, where he opened up a friendly 
 
 [communication with the Symerons, Cimarrones, or 
 
 Maroons — Indians who had escaped from slavery, 
 
 and had bitter wrongs to avenge upon the Spaniards 
 
 f — and learned from them that the Spanish treasure- 
 
 ' convoy was brought from Panama to Nombre de 
 
 Dios upon mules, with a small escort, which he 
 
 might probably intercept. Drake immediately set 
 
 forth on an enterprise of so inviting a character, and 
 
 pushing forward with all speed, arrived, on the nth 
 
 February, on the summit of a considerable eminence. 
 
 • Hakluyt, "Voyages," iii. 431. 
 
240 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 Here the chief of the Symerons pointed out to him 
 a goodly and great high tree, in which they had cut 
 and made steps to ascend near the top. Here they 
 had fashioned a convenient bower, capable of accom- 
 modating ten or twelve men. Drake climbed this 
 natural watch-tower, and was rewarded with a pros- 
 pect of the great Southern Sea — the vast and un- 
 explored Pacific — over whose waters brooded an 
 atmosphere of mystery and romance ; and, fired by 
 the wondrous spectacle, he besought of Almighty 
 God to grant him life and leave to plough those 
 shining waves with an English keel. Then calling 
 up his men, and especially John Wenham, whom he 
 greatly trusted, he made known to them the grand 
 idea that filled his mind. 
 
 Through the drunken carelessness of one of his 
 sailors, he was disappointed in his hopes of securing 
 the treasure-convoy. He stormed Venta de Cruz, a 
 kind of half-way port between the two shores of the 
 Isthmus. Here, however, neither gold nor silver was 
 found, but a quantity of merchandise, to the value of 
 ;£"200,ooo, which he burned along with the town. 
 Soon afterwards, his ears were regaled by the sweet 
 music of the mules coming with a great noise of bells, 
 and he surprised three remas or companies of them, 
 each numbering thirty-three, and each mule loaded 
 with three hundred pounds' weight of silver. From 
 these he removed as much as his men could carry, 
 
 4 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 241 
 
 and buried the remainder ; but one of the English 
 getting into the hands of the Spaniards, was horribly 
 tortured until he revealed the place of concealment ; 
 so that when Drake returned for a second burden 
 almost all the booty had been removed. 
 
 When Drake regained the cave where he had left 
 his pinnaces, he found, to his great surprise, some 
 Spanish shallops, well manned and armed, evidently 
 searching for him. His mind misgave him, lest they 
 might have destroyed his own little barks ; but owing 
 to the nature of the country, which was mountainous, 
 densely wooded, and crossed by unfordable streams, 
 it was impossible for him to obtain any knowledge. 
 He therefore caused a raft to be constructed of fallen 
 trees, and with no other sail than a biscuit sack, and 
 with an oar shaped out of a sapling for rudder, he 
 ventured out to sea, up to the waist in water, a burn- 
 ing sun pouring its red-hot shafts upon his head, and 
 so hovered cautiously about the coast until he caught 
 sight of his pinnaces, sheltered behind a headland. 
 Running his raft ashore, he crossed the point on foot, 
 and regained his vessels, much to the joy of all on 
 board. He then returned to the Rio Francesco, took 
 on board his treasure and the remainder of his crews, 
 and bade farewell to his loyal Maroon allies. To 
 their chief he presented his own sword, receiving in 
 return the splendid gift of four wedges of gold, which 
 Drake nobly threw into the common store, with the 
 
 Q 
 
24^ SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 observation, that it was only just they who had born 
 part of the charge of the expedition, should enjo 
 their full proportion of its profits. 
 
 A favourable wind now bore him across th 
 Atlantic in three-and-twenty days ; and on Sunday; 
 the 9th of August 1573, he arrived at Plymoutli. 
 The good citizens were at church, listening to the 
 exhortations of a " painful preacher ; " but by some: 
 means the intelligence of his return was conveyed to 
 them, and immediately they issued forth to give him 
 and his men a hearty welcome. In those days the 
 common people knew how to express their admira-^ 
 tion of gallant deeds ! 
 
 Yet he did not escape the usual misfortune of the 
 successful, and found — as so many before him and 
 after him have found — that a prophet is not always 
 honoured in his own country. As Fuller says, with 
 characteristic pith and quaintness, there want not 
 those who love to beat down the price of every 
 honourable action, though they themselves never 
 mean to be chapmen. These cry up Drake's y"^r/////^i 
 in his expedition, that they may the better cry down-j 
 his valour: as if his performance were nothing, and! 
 that a golden opportunity had run his head, with his 
 long forelock, into Drake's hands, beyond expecta- 
 tion. But certainly his resolution and unconquerable 
 patience deserved much praise, to adventure on such 
 'a design, which had in it just no more probability than 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 243 
 
 what was enough to keep it from being impos- 
 sible. 
 
 For my part, I have observed that the Oppor- 
 tunity never comes except to the capable ; and I 
 am inclined to believe that the great man is he who 
 best understands how to take advantage of the occa- 
 sions presented to him. At the epoch of the French 
 Revolution, there were many lieutenants of artillery 
 in the French service, but only one who knew how 
 to seize his opportunities, and become Napoleon le 
 Grand. 
 
 If there were some who endeavoured to underrate 
 our hero's sagacity and vigour, the great majority of 
 Englishmen did him ample justice ; and when, with 
 an imagination ever brooding over the wonders of 
 that glorious sea, whose shining expanse he had 
 breathlessly admired from "a peak in Darien," he 
 resolved on attempting the exploration of the Pacific, 
 there was no lack of volunteers from the best and 
 noblest families to enlist under his flag. He had 
 employed the interval in rendering active assistance 
 to the Earl of Essex in his Irish campaign, doing 
 excellent service, both by sea and land, at the 
 winning of divers strong forts. He had thus recom- 
 mended himself to the favour of his sovereign ; and 
 when the project of his new expedition was sub- 
 mitted to her notice, she gave it and its author a 
 highly flattering reception. The story runs that she 
 
244 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 
 
 presented him with a sword, and said : " We do 
 account that he which striketh at thee, Drake, 
 striketh at us ! " It is added that she also furnished 
 him with a formal commission to make reprisals if 
 the Spaniards attacked him ; but as such an act 
 would have been equivalent to a declaration of war 
 against a power with which it was her anxious policy 
 to remain at peace, we must dismiss the statement 
 as a fable. Drake perfectly understood his position : 
 in the eye of Spain he was a pirate, and liable, if 
 taken, to a pirate's fate.* He knew, however, that 
 his Queen and country approved of and sympathised 
 with his designs, and that they only withheld a 
 formal sanction, because not strong enough to risk 
 hostilities with the great Spanish empire. 
 
 Partly at his own cost, partly at the cost of divers 
 friends, and partly with the secret help of the Queen, 
 Drake's expedition was duly equipped towards the 
 close of 1577. Its object, as we have seen, was to 
 penetrate into the unknown waters of the Pacific — 
 to break up the monopoly which Spain enjoyed of 
 the wealth and resources of the New World — to 
 carry fire and sword into her rich American colonies. 
 The reader will naturally suppose that, for such a 
 purpose, the Elizabethan adventurer provided him- 
 self with a powerful armada. Not he ! In his 
 
 * Barrow, "Life of Drake, 
 lands," ii. pp. 88-90. 
 
 p. 35 ; Motley, " United Nether- 
 
S/R FRANCIS DRAKE. 245 
 
 breast burned the unconquerable and unresting 
 spirit of the old Norse sea-kings, who, in their light 
 swift galleys, six centuries before, had crossed the 
 stormy Northern Ocean, and conquered unto them- 
 selves the fair green fields of England ; disembark- 
 ing a handful of men, first at one point and then at 
 another, and with measureless audacity, striking 
 inland, far into the heart of a hostile country, cap- 
 turing, plundering, and burning villages and towns, 
 and returning home with ample store of booty. 
 
 In like manner, Drake was content with a few 
 small ships, and a few scores of gallant followers. 
 His entire force, *'men, gentlemen, and sailors," 
 numbered only 164. His fleet consisted of five 
 vessels : — the " Pelican," in which he hoisted his flag 
 as Admiral, of 100 tons; the "Elizabeth," of 80, 
 Captain John Winter ; the " Marygold," a bark of 
 30, Captain John Thomas ; the " Loan," a fly-boat 
 of 50, Captain John Chester ; and the " Christopher," 
 a pinnace of 15 tons, Captain Thomas Moon: in 
 all, 275 tons. This diminutive armada, however, 
 was plentifully stored, and well supplied with amu- 
 nition. Nor did Drake omit to make provision for 
 merriment and delight, as well as for the utilities ; 
 carrying with him expert musicians, rich furniture 
 (all the vessels for his table, yea, many belonging to 
 the cook-room, being of pure silver) ; with divers 
 shows of all sorts of curious workmanship, whereby 
 
246 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 the civility and magnificence of his native country 
 might, among all nations whither he should come, 
 be the more admired * Drake knew the effect of 
 show and parade on the minds of savages, and in 
 this ostentation of wealth and luxury was guided by 
 politic motives. 
 
 To lull the suspicions of the Spanish court, Drake 
 gave out that he was bound for Alexandria ; but it 
 is not probable that either abroad or at home the 
 pretext was credited. He sailed from Plymouth on 
 the 15th of November; encountered off Falmouth 
 a terrible storm, and was compelled to put back into 
 Plymouth to refit ; set forth again, with happier 
 fortune, on the 13th of December, and made the 
 island of Mogadore, off the Barbary coast, on the 
 27th. Here he remained awhile, trading with the 
 Moors, and making prizes of several merchant- 
 vessels — one of which he equipped in the place of 
 the " Christopher " — taking in wood and water, and 
 thereafter sailing for the island of Maya, where he 
 captured a Portuguese ship, laden with wine and 
 provisions, and put on board of her a crew of twenty- 
 eight men, under Master Thomas Doughty. En- 
 couraged by this success, the fleet stood across the 
 Atlantic for the coast of Brazil, which, after often 
 meeting with unwelcome storms, and equally unwel- 
 come calms, they made on the 8th of February, in 
 
 * Prince, "Worthies of Devon," /« i/f^r^r Drake. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 247 
 
 lat. 3 1 "* 30' S. After a short excursion up the river La 
 Plata, or "River of Silver/'they continued their voyage 
 to the south, and on the 17th of May reached a good 
 port in lat. 47i^ Here Drake broke up the "Swan," 
 so as to lessen the number of his ships, and bring 
 the fleet more under his direct control. He then 
 employed his men in securing supplies of seal's 
 flesh ; and, some of the natives making their appear- 
 ance, endeavoured to establish a communication with 
 them. Thrusting a pole into the ground not far 
 from their landing-place, Drake's sailors attached to 
 it a few trifling presents, and retired. The Indians, 
 in return, put some of their coronals and carved 
 bones. The old chronicler describes them as naked, 
 save that about their waist they wore the skin of 
 a beast with the hair or fur on, and something also 
 wreathed on their heads. Their faces were painted 
 with divers colours. Some of them had on their 
 heads the similitude of horns, and every man his 
 bow, which was an ell in length, with a couple of 
 arrows. They were very agile people, and quick to 
 deliver, and seemed not to be ignorant in the feats 
 of war, as by their order of ranging a few men might 
 appear.* 
 
 They were a merry race ; partial to dancing, and 
 easily affected by music. They fed on seals and 
 other flesh, which they ate nearly raw. They were 
 
 * Ilakluyt, " Voyages," iii. 733. 
 
248 S/R FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 of large stature. " One of the giants" — says Fletcher, 
 chaplain of the fleet and historian of the expedition — 
 "standing with our men when they were taking their 
 morning draught, showed himself so familiar that he 
 also would do as they did ; and taking a glass in his 
 hand (being strong Canary wine) it came no sooner 
 to his lips, than it took him by the nose, and so 
 suddenly entered his head that he was so drunk, 
 or at least so overcome, that he fell to the ground ; 
 yet he held the glass fast in his hand without spilling 
 any of the wine ; and when he came to himself, he 
 tried again, and tasting, by degrees got to the bottom. 
 From which time he acquired such an affection for 
 the mighty drink, that, having learned its name, he 
 would every morning come down from the moun- 
 tains with a loud shout of * Wine ! Wine ! Wine ! ' 
 continuing the same until he arrived at the tent." 
 
 After a fortnight's sojourn in Seal Bay, the fleet 
 again sailed southward, and on the 2oth of June 
 dropped anchor in the good harbour discovered by 
 Magellan, and named by him Port Julian. It was a 
 place of evil omen. On the shore stood a moulder- 
 ing gibbet, identifying the spot with the scene of the 
 prompt retaliation inflicted by Magellan on certain 
 of his mutinous crew. Here Drake attempted to 
 open up a friendly intercourse with the natives, but 
 they had been evilly entreated by the Spaniards, and 
 remembering what had befallen them, received his 
 
SIR FRANCIS BRAKE. 249 
 
 advances with cold indifference. The Englishmen, 
 partly in sport and partly in earnest, challenged 
 them to a trial of skill with bow and arrows. Robert 
 Winter, in doing so, pulled his bow-string with over- 
 exertion, and broke it. The savages seized the 
 opportunity to rain down upon him a volley of 
 arrows, one of which fixed in his shoulder, and 
 another in his lungs. Allowing his anger to master 
 his prudence, the gunner thereupon hastily aimed 
 his caliver at the aggressors ; it missed fire, and he 
 was immediately shot through the breast, and out at 
 back, so that he fell to the ground, dead. Drake 
 now came upon the scene, and by his coolness and 
 skill, succeeded in withdrawing his men without fur- 
 ther loss. Winter was conveyed on board ship, but 
 he died the next day, and both his body and the 
 gunner's were buried, with due solemnities, on a 
 rocky island in the fatal harbour.* The English 
 remained six or seven weeks longer in Port Julian, 
 and the savages made no further attempt to molest 
 them. 
 
 * ClifFe's Narrative, in Hakluyt, iii. 75 1. 
 
 «.^«r><£K5 <§j|lc9''€KfiV'^*i» 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ' Ni frustra, quod mortali tot secla negarant, 
 Hdc tuus immensum nuper Dracus ambiit orbem, 
 Qu4 patri Oceano clausas circumdare terras 
 Concessit natura viam j media meare 
 Tellura, et duplici secludere littore mundos." 
 
 BUDEIUS. 
 
 E have spoken of one Master Thomas 
 Doughty, whom Drake had intrusted with 
 an important command when off the coast 
 of Africa. He was a gentleman of good birth, of 
 undoubted courage, and considerable ability ; but, it 
 would seem, of a restless and ambitious spirit, with- 
 out any settled principles, and, so long as he gained 
 any particular end, very indifferent as to the means 
 by which he compassed it. A charge of peculation 
 having been advanced against him, he was removed 
 from the charge of the Portuguese prize ; and thence- 
 forth he appears to have meditated the design of 
 subverting Drake, and taking the guidance of the 
 expedition. Much mystery involves the entire 
 transaction, but, at all events, Drake's suspicions of 
 
 i 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 251 
 
 Doughty's fidelity were removed soon after he had 
 dropped anchor in Port Juh'an ; and finding, on in- 
 quiry, that he was labouring to excite a mutiny 
 among the seamen, he caused him to be arrested, 
 and tried before a jury of twelve men, "after the 
 English manner." The charge of treachery was 
 supported by evidence which to the jury appeared 
 worthy of belief; he was declared guilty, and sentenced 
 " to receive punishment according to the quality of 
 the offence." Doughty, seeing no remedy for himself 
 but patience, and finding no support among the 
 crews, submitted calmly to an unavoidable fate. 
 Before his death, he desired to receive the commu- 
 nion ; which he did at the hands of Fletcher, the 
 chaplain, and Drake accompanied him in that holy 
 action. The rite concluded, and the place of execu- 
 tion being made ready, he embraced the Admiral, 
 took leave of all the company, offered up a prayer 
 for the safety of the Queen and her realm, and quietly 
 surrendered himself to the executioner. 
 
 So far I have followed the brief and unimpassioned 
 narrative preserved by Hakluyt. The particulars 
 given in " The World Encompassed " are more 
 minute, and of so much serious interest, that I think 
 it best to give them in the original language : * 
 
 * There can be no doubt, however, that many of them are unwort*\v 
 of credit, and the accoimt is only valuable so far as it is conhnneOL oy 
 the narrative in Hakluyt and Camden. 
 
252 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 "This plot was laid before the departure of the expedition from 
 England, and which was made known to the General at Plymouth, 
 who would not believe that a person whom he so dearly loved would 
 conceive such evil purposes against him ; till, at length, perceiving 
 that the manifold practices grew daily more and more, even to extreme- 
 ties, and that lenity and favour did little good, he thought it high 
 time to call these practices in question, and before it were too late to 
 call any question of them into hearing ; and therefore, setting good 
 watch over him, and assembling all his captains and gentlemen of his 
 company together, he propounded to them the good parts which were 
 in the gentleman ; the great good-will and inward affection, more than 
 brotherly, which he had ever, since his first acquaintance, borne him ; 
 not omitting the respect which was had of him among no mean per- 
 sonages in England ; and afterwards delivered the letters which were 
 written to him, with the particulars which, from time to time, had 
 been observed, not so much by himself, as by his good friends ; not 
 only at sea, but even at Plymouth ; not writings alone, but actions, 
 tending to the overthrow of the service in hand, and making away of 
 his person. 
 
 ** Proofs were required and alleged, so many, and so evident, that the 
 gentleman himself, stricken with remorse of his inconsiderate and 
 unkind dealing, acknowledged himself to have deserved death, nay, 
 many deaths ; for he had conspired not only the overthrow of the 
 action, but of the principal actor also, who was not a stranger or ill- 
 wilier, but a dear and true friend unto him ; and, therefore, in a great 
 assembly openly besought them, in whose hands justice rested, to 
 take some order for him, that he might not be compelled to enforce 
 his own hands, against his own bowels, or otherwise to become his 
 own executioner. 
 
 "The admiration and astonishment hereat, in all the hearers, even 
 those that were his nearest friends, and most affected him, was great, 
 yea, in those which, for many benefits received from him, had good 
 cause to love him j but yet the General was most of all distracted ; 
 zxi^ therefore withdrew himself, as not able to conceal his tender affec- 
 tion, requirmg them that had heard the whole matter to give their 
 
 I 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 253 
 
 judgments, as they would another day answer it unto their Prince, 
 and unto Almighty God, judge of all the earth. 
 
 "They all, after duly weighing the evidence, above forty in number, 
 the chiefest in place and judgment in the whole fleet, with their own 
 hand, under seal, adjudged that he had deserved death ; and that 
 it stood by no means with their safety to let him live; and there- 
 fore they remitted the manner thereof, with the circumstances, to 
 the General. Therefore they then proposed to him this choice : 
 Whether he would take to be executed in this island ? or to be set 
 upon land on the main ? or return into England, there to answer 
 his deed before the Lords of Her Majesty's Council? He most 
 humbly thanked the General for his clemency extended towards him 
 in such ample sort ; and craving some respite, to consult thereon 
 and make his choice advisedly. The next day he returned answer 
 that, * Albeit he had yielded in his heart to entertain so great a sin 
 as whereof he was now guilty condemned ; yet he had a care, and 
 that excelling all other cares, to die a Christian man, and therefore 
 besought the General most earnestly he would not counsel him to 
 endanger his soul by consenting to be left among savage infidels ; and 
 as for returning to England, he must first have a ship, and men to 
 conduct it, with sufficient victuals, if any men could be found to accom- 
 pany him on so disgi-aceful an errand. Yet the shame of return would 
 be more grievous than death ; and therefore he preferred that, with 
 all his heart, he did embrace the first part of the General's offer, 
 desiring only this favour, that they might once again receive the holy 
 Communion together before his death, and that he might not die other 
 than a gentleman's death. 
 
 "No reasons could persuade him to alter his choice. Seeing he 
 remained resolute in his determination, his last requests were granted ; 
 and the next convenient day a Communion was celebrated by 
 Mr Francis Fletcher, preacher and pastor of the fleet at that time. 
 The General himself communicated in this sacred ordinance with this 
 condemned penitent gentleman, who showed great tokens of a contrite 
 and repentant heart. After this holy repast they dined also at the same 
 table together, as cheerfully, in sobriety, as ever in their lives they 
 
} 
 
 254 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 had done aforetime, each cheering up the other, and taking their leave 
 by drinking each to other, as if some journey only had been in hand. 
 
 "After dinner, all things being ready prepared by the provost- 
 marshal, Mr Doughtie, without any dallying or delaying the time, 
 came forth, and kneeled doviTi, preparing at once his neck for the axe, 
 and his spirit for heaven. Which having done, without long cere- 
 mony, as one who had before digested this whole tragedy, he desired 
 all the rest to pray for him, and willed the executioner to do his office, 
 not to fear nor spare." 
 
 This lamentable tragedy has left upon Drake's 
 fair fame a blot which every Englishman would 
 wish to see removed, and which, for my own part, 
 I believe to be wholly undeserved. From the chap- 
 lain Fletcher's narrative, it appears that Doughty 
 strongly denied the charges made against him, even 
 while receiving the sacrament, and at the very 
 moment of his death. Was he innocent, or was he 
 guilty } If innocent, how came it that a verdict 
 was pronounced against him by twelve men, whom 
 we must suppose to have been impartial, and that 
 no effort was made by any of his comrades to obtain 
 a reversal of his sentence 1 If guilty, what were 
 his projects } How were they discovered } As Dr 
 Johnson shrewdly observes, "What designs he would 
 have formed with any hope of success, or to what 
 actions worthy of death he would have proceeded 
 without accomplices, is equally difficult to imagine."* 
 It is certain that he possessed no very loyal friends. 
 
 ♦ Dr Johnson, *'Life of Drake," p. 323. 
 
DRAKE. 255 
 
 I 
 
 I admit, then, the clouds and doubts which hang 
 over the whole of this unhappy transaction, but 
 cannot see that any suspicion of cruelty or in- 
 justice attaches to Drake. His conduct, as repre- 
 sented by the various chroniclers of the expedition, 
 seems to have been perfectly straightforward, open, 
 and honourable, from first to last. He regretted 
 Doughty's crime, but he believed in it ; he regretted 
 Doughty's death, but looked upon it as necessary 
 to the safety of his expedition. It may be true that 
 he was deceived by an intrigue of some enemies of 
 Doughty, but I cannot easily think a man of his 
 shrewd sagacity would have suffered himself to be 
 so misled. Rather am I inclined to accept the 
 suggestion thrown out by Southey,* that Doughty 
 contemplated making off with one of the ships, and 
 trying his own fortune. Such a project was by no 
 means unlikely to have entered the brain of a man 
 so restless, so aspiring, and so discontented. 
 
 The general opinion of the fleet, adds Southey, 
 was, that a mutiny had been designed. The Portu- 
 guese pilot on board, who is likely to have been an 
 attentive observer, and must have been an important 
 one, says, that Doughty was put to death because 
 he would have returned. The Spaniards,t willing as 
 they were to load Drake with every kind of obloquy, 
 
 * Southey, "Lives of the British Admirals," iii. 131. 
 t Hakluyt, "Voyages," iii. 'jyi,. 
 
256 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 were so far from blaming him for this tragic event, 
 that they commended his vigilance and decision. 
 The sufferer's solemn protestations of innocence are 
 easily explained, and are by no means unusual in 
 similar cases. Few men will admit their guilt while 
 there exists a hope of their innocence being believed; 
 and Doughty might reasonably cherish such a hope 
 even to the very last. Finally — and this considera- 
 tion is one which ought to carry great weight — the 
 justice of Drake's procedure was never called in 
 question on his return to England, though his 
 enemies and detractors were numerous, and would 
 gladly have availed themselves of it, if possible, to 
 have worked his disadvantage. 
 
 It is pleasant, however, to turn from so sad a 
 story to the record of chivalrous deeds and romantic 
 scenes. 
 
 On the 17th of August, Drake sailed from the 
 ill-omened port, and on the 20th sighted the high, 
 steep, and hoary cliffs of Cape Virgenes. Here, in 
 kindly remembrance of his good friend. Sir Chris- 
 topher Hatton, he changed the name of his vessel to 
 the "Golden Hind" — Sir Christopher's cognizance — 
 a name which has become immortal in the annals of 
 famous ships, like Blake's " Triumph," and Nelson's 
 "Victory." 
 
 " A ship which round about the world he bear, 
 Whose sail did winged Eurus' flight outstrip. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 257 
 
 Storming tempestuous Boreas' stormy dare, 
 Descrying uncouth coasts, and countries rare, 
 And people which no eye had ever seen, 
 Save day's fair golden eye, and night's bright Queen."* 
 
 On the 2 1st the fleet entered the Straits discovered 
 by Magellan, and named by him the Patagonian — 
 after the natives, to whom, because they wore ill- 
 shapen sandals, he had given the name of Patagons 
 (Span. " a large, clumsy foot.") 
 
 We found the Straits, says the chronicler in Hak- 
 luyt,t to have many turnings, and, as it were, shutting 
 up, as if there were no passage at all; by means 
 [whereof we had the wind often against us, so that 
 [some of the fleet recovering a cape or point of land, 
 fothers should be forced to turn back again, and to 
 come to an anchor where they could. There be 
 many fair harbours, with store of fresh water, but 
 yet they lack their best commodity ; for the water 
 is there of such depth, that no man shall find ground 
 to anchor in, except it be in some narrow river or 
 corner, or between some rocks ; so that if any 
 extreme blasts or contrary winds do come (where- 
 unto the place is much subject) it carrieth with it no 
 small danger. The land on both sides is very huge 
 and mountainous ; the lower mountains whereof, 
 although they be monstrous and wonderful to look 
 
 * Fitz-Geffry, "Life and Death of Drake," st. 144. 
 t Ilakluyt, "Voyages," iv. 236. 
 
 R 
 
258 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 upon for their height, yet there are others which 
 exceed them in a strange manner, reaching them- 
 selves above their fellows so high, that between 
 them there did appear regions of clouds. These 
 mountains are covered with snow. The Strait is ex- 
 treme cold, with frost and snow continually ; the trees 
 seem to stoop with the burthen of the weather, and yet 
 are green continually; and many good and sweet herbs 
 do very plentifully grow and increase under them. 
 
 In the Straits, Drake came upon three islands, 
 lying triangle-wise, which he christened Elizabeth, 
 St Bartholomew, and St George. Here he met with a 
 kind of fowl — whose flesh, says the chronicler, is not 
 unHke that of an English goose — which have no wings, 
 but pinions to assist them in swimming, and are of a 
 black colour, mixed with white spots under their 
 belly and about their necks. They walk so upright, 
 that from a distance the spectator might mistake 
 them for children. If a man approach anything near 
 them, they run into holes in the ground (which be 
 not very deep), so that to take them, we had staves 
 with hooks fast to the end, wherewith some of our 
 men pulled them out, and others being ready with . 
 cudgels, did knock them on the head, for they bite 
 so cruelly with their crooked bills, that none of us 
 were able to handle them alive.* 
 
 * This is the first description of the penguin to be found in the English 
 language. 
 
 i 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 259 
 
 It was on the 6th of September that the first 
 Engh'sh keels ploughed the waters of the Pacific ; a 
 memorable day, from which we might reasonably 
 date the history of our commercial success and mari- 
 time enterprise, — a day " big with the fate " of king- 
 doms ; for henceforth the monopoly of Spain was 
 broken up, and a new, and by no means easily 
 daunted race of claimants appeared to the vast 
 resources of the New World, — a day of vast import- 
 ance to all mankind, for it rung the knell of Papal 
 tyranny, as of Spanish pretension to universal em- 
 pire. This is no mere figurative exaggeration, but the 
 sober statement of an unimpeachable truth. From 
 the day that Drake entered the great Southern Sea, 
 the fortunes of Spain were numbered. It heralded 
 the downfall of her colonial power, and her loss of 
 the boundless treasury which supplied the means of 
 fettering human thought and action over one half 
 of Europe. It exposed to a daring and unresting 
 enemy her vulnerable side. From any formidable 
 attacks at home, her military strength secured her. 
 T/iere she confronted England and France like a 
 giant armed to the neck. But in the New World 
 her cuirass no longer covered her, and from the 
 wounds she received in her unguarded flank, slowly, 
 but surely, ebbed her very life-blood ! 
 
 Early in October, the English fleet was visited 
 with a terrific gale, and the " Marygold," separating 
 
260 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 from her consorts, was never again heard of. The 
 two remaining ships, after many accidents, put into 
 a bay which seemed hkely to offer a secure asylum ; 
 but it proved to be very dangerous, and full of rocks. 
 Drake's cable broke, and the " Golden Hind " was 
 driven out to sea. As she did not return, Captain 
 Winter went in quest of her, but soon wearying of 
 the search — he had already weaned of the expedition 
 — he gave over the voyage, and, against the wishes 
 of his crew, put about, and sailed for England.* 
 
 Drake, now left alone with the little pinnace, was 
 once more driven back as far as 53® S., and took 
 shelter on the island-girt coast of Terra del Fuego. 
 But again carried out to sea by the violence of the 
 gale, he was unfortunately parted from his shallop, 
 with eight seamen on board, and only one day's pro- 
 visions ;+ and beaten and tossed about further to the 
 
 * Hakluyt, "Voyages," iv. 258. (Edward Cliffe's Narrative.) 
 f These unfortunate men regained the shore, salted and dried some 
 penguins for food, and rowed along the coast until they reached the 
 Plata. Here they unfortunately landed, and fell in with a party of 
 Indians, who wounded all with their arrov/s, and captured four. The 
 others pushed off, and reached an island about three leagues from the 
 mainland, where two died of their wounds, and the boat was shattered 
 on the rocks. The survivors lived on the rock for a couple of months, 
 when the want of fresh water compelled them to return to the main- 
 land. They reached it on a large plank, some ten feet long, and 
 immediately alighted on a rivulet of sweet water, "when," says Carder — 
 the only one who lived to see England again — " my only comfort and 
 companion, William Pitcher, although I dissuaded him to the con- 
 trary, overdrank himself, being perished before with extreme thirst, 
 and, to my unspeakable grief and discomfort, died half an hour after 
 
 J 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 261 
 
 south, until he fell in with the uttermost part of the 
 land towards the South Pole — without which there is 
 no main nor island to be seen to the southward ; but 
 the Atlantic Ocean and the South Sea meet in a large 
 and free scope. Here the storm, after raging one-and- 
 fifty days, ceased ; and on the 28th of October, the 
 "Golden Hind" anchored insmoothwaterinaharbour 
 of the island, whose southern extremity is now called 
 Cape Horn. Drake landed, and, leaning over the cliff 
 as far as he safely could, returned to tell his men that 
 he had been further south than any living man. 
 
 Two days afterwards, with a fair wind, Drake 
 resumed his voyage along the American shore; made 
 the Island of Mocha, and nearly lost a boat's crew 
 in an Indian ambuscade ; and on the 5th of Decem- 
 ber entered Valparaiso, plundered the town — which 
 only contained nine families — and captured a vessel 
 lying in the harbour. She proved to be the " Grand 
 Captain of the South Sea," and no despicable prize, 
 her cargo consisting of jewels, merchandise, 1770 jars 
 of Chili wine, and 60,000 pesos * of gold ; the latter 
 a booty which largely delighted the crew, as being a 
 kind of earnest of the treasures that awaited them 
 in the golden cities of the New World. 
 
 in my presence, whom I buried as well as I could in the sand. " Peter 
 Carder's remarkable narrative will be found in the "Pilgrims" of 
 Purchas, vol. iv. pp. 1187, 1188. 
 * A pgso was valued at about eight shillings English money. 
 
262 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 After refitting his ship, refreshing his men, and 
 building a pinnace for coasting purposes, in a quiet 
 and sheltered bay near Coquimbo, our hero, on the 
 19th of January 1574, resumed his enterprise. At a 
 place called Tarapaca, he landed for water, and 
 found a Spaniard lying asleep, with thirteen bars of 
 silver beside him, valued at 6000 ducats. These 
 were removed, but the man was allowed to go free. 
 Advancing a little further, and again landing, the 
 EngHsh fell in with a Spaniard and an Indian driving 
 eight llamas — the mules or camels of the New World 
 — each carrying two leathern bags, and each bag 
 containing fifty pounds of silver. These were brought 
 on board. Good fortune now seemed never weary 
 of visiting the adventurers. At Arica, on the 7th of 
 February, they captured a couple of small vessels, 
 one laden with 800 lbs. of silver, the other with 200 
 jars of wine. At Callao, on the loth, they found 
 about thirty vessels anchored, seventeen of which 
 were ready for sailing. These they plundered of all 
 their merchandise ; and then, obtaining intelligence 
 of a treasure-ship, laden with gold and silver, that 
 had not long before left Callao on her voyage to 
 Panama, they sailed in swift pursuit of her. She 
 was called the " Cacafuego," and the Spaniards 
 boasted of her as "the great glory of the South 
 Sea." Drake came up with her on St David's 
 Day, ofif Cape San Francisco ; and the first shot 
 
 d 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 263 
 
 having carried away her mainmast, her captain 
 surrendered. 
 
 A prize crew was immediately put on board, and 
 then, to elude pursuit, Drake sailed with her far out 
 to sea for two nights and a day. When at a safe 
 distance from the mainland, he caused the ships to 
 lay by, and overhauling the galleon, transferred her 
 precious cargo to his own vessel. It proved a booty 
 of almost inconceivable magnitude, his share of 
 which was sufficient to make the humblest mariner 
 a man of decent opulence. Besides precious stones, 
 and jewels, and valuable wares, she carried thirteen 
 chests full of reals of plate, eighty pounds weight of 
 gold, and twenty-six tons of silver. The whole value 
 was 360,000 pieces of gold ; and the victorious 
 English ship was now, in very truth, the " Golden 
 Hind." In a spirit of commercial irony, Drake, 
 when he had examined the cargo, called for the 
 register, or bill of lading, and wrote a formal receipt 
 in the margin for the exact total.* 
 
 Having rifled her of all that was valuable, he now 
 dismissed the " Cacafuego ; " and, sailing westward 
 to avoid Panama, where he would probably have 
 met with too hot a reception, he skirted the 
 American coast as far as Aguapulca, making many 
 
 * Southey says that this incident is also related by Lopez de Vega, in 
 his " Dragontia." It seems that the Spaniards were much amused by 
 Drake's rough humour. 
 
1 
 
 264 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 small prizes on the way. Here he refitted his wave- 
 worn bark, and anxiously considered what course he 
 had best adopt, with the view of conveying safely to 
 an English harbour his extraordinary spoil. He feared 
 to attempt a second passage of Magellan's Straits, 
 lest the Spaniards should have stationed a fleet to 
 guard its entrance. On the other hand, to sail 
 across an unknown ocean, with a ship heavily laden 
 and in a somewhat tattered condition, seemed a 
 daring enterprise even to Drake's bold spirit. But 
 was there not a third course ? The two great oceans, 
 the Pacific and the Atlantic, united at the southern 
 extremity of the New World, — was it not probable 
 that the same was the case at its northern extremity? : 
 In other words — did there not exist a north-east 
 passage to Europe } 
 
 Drake determined to attempt its discovery ; and, 
 if possible, to equal the fame of Magellan. He an- 
 nounced his intention to his ship's company, who 
 were ready enough to follow wherever he led. But 
 first it was necessary to secure an abundant supply 
 of wood and water, and, for this purpose, Drake 
 steered for Nicaragua; anchoring, on the i6th of- 
 March, in a small bay of the island of Canno, which 
 proved a convenient and agreeable station. The 
 pinnace was here employed on active service ; and 
 brought in a prize laden with butter, honey, sarsa- 
 parilla, sea-charts, and other commodities. From 
 
 i 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 265 
 
 Canno they sailed on the 24th. On the 6th of April, 
 another valuable prize was taken ; but the English 
 were now becoming fastidious, and contented them- 
 selves with selecting only silks, linen, delicate China 
 porcelain, and " a falcon of gold, with a great emerald 
 in its breast," out of the Spaniard's multifarious 
 cargo. On the 13th, they were quietly moored in 
 the harbour of Guatulco, where they arrived at a 
 happy moment for some negroes, who were being 
 tried before a Spanish court, and whom they de- 
 livered, in all probability, from a violent death.* 
 
 After a fortnight's sojourn, the " Golden Hind " 
 once more let loose her canvas to the breeze, and 
 steered directly off to sea, beating about in various 
 directions until the 3d of June, when they saw land 
 in lat. 42° N. They progressed two degrees further 
 to the northward, and then found themselves arrested 
 by the terrible and unusual severity of the weather. 
 The ropes of the ship were frozen stiff; the rain, as 
 it fell, was converted into " an unnatural and frozen 
 substance ; " as soon as the meat was removed from 
 before the fire it congealed ; and the seamen could 
 not expose any part of the body, without running 
 the risk of being instantly benumbed. 
 
 Through these unforeseen and most grievous cir- 
 ^cumstances, a sudden and great discouragement, 
 [says the chronicler, seized upon the minds of our 
 
 * Hakluyt, " Voyages," iv. 239. 
 
266 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 
 
 men, and they were possessed of a great dislike 
 and doubting of any good to be done that way. 
 Yet would not the General be discouraged — (it is 
 impossible to fancy Drake blenching before any 
 natural or earthly obstacle!) — but, by comfortable 
 speeches of the Divine Providence, and of God's 
 loving care for His children, and also by other good 
 and comfortable persuasions, adding thereto his own 
 cheerful example — (a silent leader makes timid fol- 
 lowers !) — he so stirred them up to put on a good 
 courage, and to acquit themselves like men, to 
 endure some short extremity that they might win 
 the speedier comfort, and a little trouble that they 
 might obtain the greater glory ; he so stirred them 
 up, I say, that every man was thoroughly armed with 
 willingness, and resolved to see the uttermost, if it 
 were possible, of what good was to be done that way. 
 
 I continue my extracts from the old chronicle ;* 
 there is a pleasant and wholesome flavour in it, like 
 that which clings to old wine. 
 
 The land in that part of America, stretching further 
 out to the west than Drake had previously imagined, 
 they had sailed nearer to it than they were aware, 
 and yet the nearer they drew to it, the greater 
 extremity of cold they suffered.! 
 
 * Hakluyt, " Voyages," iv. 240 
 
 t The reader will understand that this severe cold is very unusual 
 
 in a latitude so far south as the then position of the "Golden Hind." 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 267 
 
 On the 8th of June, they were forced by contrary 
 winds to run close into the shore, which they then 
 for the first time caught sight of; and they dropped 
 anchor in a small and ill-sheltered bay — the best 
 road, however, they could at the time discover — 
 where the gusts and flaws that beat upon them 
 threatened the " Golden Hind " with an unwelcome 
 end ; and when these temporarily ceased, and a 
 calm ensued, there followed the "most vile, thick, 
 and stinking fogs," against which the sun prevailed 
 nothing, till once more the wind arose, and scattered 
 them afar. 
 
 In this place it was evidently impossible to remain, 
 and yet the severity of the cold, which took the 
 heart and pith out of Drake's sailors, forbade their 
 proceeding any further to the north. In truth, the 
 wind being right in their teeth, forced them south- 
 ward, whether they would or no. 
 
 On the 17th of June, the storm-tossed and wave- 
 worn mariners found a convenient harbour in lat. 
 38° 30' N., a harbour which, under the name of San 
 Francisco, is now famous throughout the civilised 
 world, and thronged with gilded treasure-ships of a 
 burthen and a value such as neither Drake nor the 
 Spaniards ever imagined in their wildest dreams. 
 
 With the natives of California Drake carried on 
 a very friendly intercourse. They seem to have 
 reverently regarded the Englishmen as gods, sud- 
 
268 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 
 
 denly descended from some higher sphere, and to 
 have offered them the most reverent homage. After 
 an interview with Drake, a whole company of men 
 and women returned in the evening to their little 
 village, and gave themselves up to the most doleful 
 lamentations, the women shrieking so vehemently 
 that though the village was nearly a mile distant, 
 their voices were plainly audible. For two days 
 afterwards they did not approach the English 
 encampment ; on the third, a much more numerous 
 assemblage than before appeared on the summit of 
 an adjacent hill, and one of them delivered a long 
 and animated oration, at the end of which they all 
 laid down their bows and arrows, and descended to 
 the tents. The women, however, kept their station, 
 tormenting themselves lamentably, and rending the 
 flesh from their cheeks, in obvious performance of a 
 religious rite of propitiation. 
 
 By way of reproof, Drake ordered his men to 
 prayers, and Divine service was celebrated with a 
 zealous devoutness which the natives evidently 
 understood. 
 
 Immediately afterwards, a great throng of people 
 came down to the encampment, and two heralds 
 explained by signs that their chief, or HM, was 
 about to visit the Admiral. Presently he made his 
 appearance. He was of a goodly stature and comely 
 personage, and bore himself with a certain natural 
 
p 
 
 SIR FRAN as DRAKE. 269 
 
 dignity. He was decorated with strings of shell, 
 and wore a cloak apparently made of rabbit skins. 
 His train consisted of about one hundred tall and 
 warlike men, with similar cloaks, but made of dif- 
 ferent skins. Some wore a strange attire of feathers ; 
 others had their heads covered with a very fine 
 down, which grows in that country upon a herb 
 very like the English lettuce. All had their faces 
 cunningly painted. Then followed the "naked, 
 common sort of people — every one having his 
 face painted, some with white, some with black, 
 and other colours.* The procession was closed by 
 the women and children, each carrying a round 
 basket, or two, of tobacco, boiled fish, and a root 
 c'dWed petak, of which a kind of meal was made, to 
 be either baked or eaten raw. 
 
 After much singing and dancing, the chief placed 
 on Drake's head a feathered cap of network, and 
 round his neck a string of wampum, saluting him by 
 the name of HM ; a ceremony which the English 
 Admiral interpreted as formally conveying to him 
 and his followers the sovereignty and possession of 
 the whole country, but which was, perhaps, simply 
 intended as an expression of amity and good-will, 
 or of reverence and propitiation towards a superior 
 race. 
 
 The common sort of the people, leaving the king 
 
 * Ilakluyt, " Voyages," iv. 241. 
 
270 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE., 
 
 and his train engaged with Drake, scattered them- 
 selves, together with their sacrifices, among the Eng- 
 lish sailors, taking a diligent view of every person ; 
 and to those (the youngest) who most pleased their 
 fancy, they offered their sacrifices with lamentable 
 weeping, scratching and tearing the flesh from their 
 faces with their nails until the blood poured down. 
 The honest Englishmen, however, wanted no such 
 miserable humiliation ; stayed their hands by force, 
 and directed them upwards to the living God, whom 
 only they ought to worship.* 
 
 These Californians were but a little removed from 
 the condition of the animals. Their weapons were 
 bows and arrows, but ill made, and comparatively 
 useless. Their huts, or dens, were circular, partly 
 under ground, built of earth, and roofed with pieces 
 of wood, which joined together at a common apex, 
 so as to form a kind of spire. The fire was built up 
 in the centre, and beds of rushes were placed around 
 it. Deer abounded in the interior, but do not seem 
 to have been much hunted by the Indians, whose 
 principal subsistence was afforded by a kind of coney, 
 which had the feet of a mole, the tail of a rat, and 
 under the chin, on each side, a pouch. Modern 
 voyagers identify it with the Canada pouched rat 
 (or Mus biirsarius) of Shaw. 
 
 In allusion to the white cliffs which faced the sea, 
 • Hakluyt, "Voyages," iv. 241. 
 
 mi 
 
^ SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 271 
 
 Drake named this country New Albion, and took 
 formal possession of it in the Queen's name. 
 
 After remaining five weeks in port, Drake sailed 
 to the eastward, followed by the regrets of the simple 
 Indians. Having abandoned his intention of seeking 
 a North-east passage, he steered to the Moluccas ; 
 fell in with the Pelew Islands on the 4th of Septem- 
 ber, christening them the "Islands of Thieves," in 
 allusion to the pilfering propensities of the inhabi- 
 tants ; and on the i6th of October made the Philip- 
 pine group. On the 21st he took in fresh water at 
 the largest, called Mindanao. On the 3d of Novem- 
 ber, he was in sight of the spice-bearing shores of 
 the Moluccas, and steered for Tidore ; but finding 
 that the Portuguese had been driven out of Ternate, 
 and had settled at Tidore, he altered his course 
 for the former port. 
 
 On arriving at Ternate, he sent a velvet cloak as 
 a present to its king, asking permission to trade for 
 spices, and to obtain a supply of provisions. 
 
 The king, by way of reply, came off to the "Golden 
 Hind," preceded by four large and richly decorated 
 canoes, each manned by eighty rowers, who timed 
 their oars to the dash of brazen .cymbals. On either 
 side of the canoes sat a file of soldiers, armed with 
 sword, dagger, and target ; and in each was also 
 mounted a small piece of ordnance. On board were 
 his principal courtiers, or ministers of state, protected 
 
272 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 from the sun, as became such august personages, 
 by an awning of thin perfumed mats ; and divers of 
 them being of good age and gravity, they made an 
 ancient and fatherly show. There were also divers 
 young and comely men who, like the others, were 
 attired in white lawn of cloth of Calicut.* 
 
 Thus coming near the ship, they rowed about it 
 in due order, performing their homage (for so Drake's 
 imperious spirits interpreted a simple act of courteous 
 welcome) with great solemnity, and signifying that 
 they had been commissioned by their sovereign to 
 conduct the ship into a more convenient anchorage. 
 
 The king himself now made his appearance, and 
 was politely received by Drake, with the utmosti 
 pomp and circumstance, with a salute of great guns, 
 and a flourish of trumpets — he and his seamen being 
 attired in their bravest garb. He was a tall and 
 portly man, with a well-looking countenance. His 
 attendants displayed towards him the greatest 
 reverence, speaking to him only on their knees. He 
 and they were well contented with the presents which 
 were made them ; and, taking his leave as the ship an- 
 chored, he promised to repeat his visit on the follow- 
 ing day, and said that provisions should be supplied. 
 
 He kept his word right royally. Boats flocked 
 about the ships, loaded to the gunwale with rice, 
 and fowls, imperfect and liquid sugar, sugar-canes, a 
 
 * Ilakluyt, "Voyages," iv. 243. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 273 
 
 fruit called " figo," cloves, sago, and other edibles. 
 The sago is described by the chronicler of the expe- 
 dition as "a meal made out of the tops of trees, 
 melting in the mouth like sugar, but eating like 
 sour curd ; yet, when made into cakes, it will keep 
 so as to be fit for eating at the end of ten years."* 
 
 The king, however, did not, as he had promised, 
 repeat his visit on the following day ; but sent his 
 brother to make his excuses, and to invite the 
 Admiral to land. Drake appears to have felt some 
 suspicion in respect to this sudden change of the 
 royal intention, and declined to leave his vessel. 
 But the brother remaining as hostage, he allowed 
 certain of his officers to carry, in his stead, a variety 
 of presents to the king. 
 
 They were received with a remarkable display of 
 " barbaric pomp," and ushered into a " large and fair 
 house," near the castle, which the prince — a man of 
 more than ordinary courage and capacity — had 
 captured from the Portuguese. About one thou- 
 sand persons were assembled, among whom were 
 seven ambassadors from different countries — includ- 
 ing two Turks, and one Italian — and sixty grave 
 and reverend elders, belonging to the royal council.f 
 
 * The reader needs not to be told that sago is the farina ot the 
 sago-palm. 
 
 + It is difficult to make out who these ambassadors were, or how 
 any Italian should have forced his way to Ternate. It seems pro- 
 bable that all seven were Mohammedan envoys. 
 
 S 
 
274 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 
 
 "The king at last came in, guarded with twelve^ 
 launces covered over with a rich canopy, with em- 
 bossed gold. Our men, accompanied with one of 
 their captains, called Moro, rising to meete him, he 
 graciously did welcome and intertaine them. He 
 was attired after the manner of the country, but 
 more sumptuously than the rest. From his waste 
 downe to the ground, was all cloth of golde, and the 
 same very rich. His legges were bare, but on his 
 feete were a paire of shooes, made of Cordovan 
 skinne. In the attire of his head were finely 
 wreathed hooped rings of gold, and about his necke 
 he had a chaine of perfect golde, the links whereof 
 were great, and one folde double. On his fingers he 
 had sixe very faire jewels ; and sitting in his chaire 
 of estate, at his right hand stood a page with a 
 fanne in his hand, breathing and gathering the ayre 
 to the king. The same was in length two foote^ 
 and in bredth one foote, set with eight saphyres, 
 richly imbrodered, and knit to a staffe three foote in 
 length, by the which the page did hold and moove 
 it. Our gentlemen having delivered their messagCj 
 and received order accordingly, were licensed td 
 depart, being safely conducted backe againe by one 
 of the king's counsell." 
 
 Having procured a supply of provisions, and 
 large quantity of cloves, Drake sailed from th 
 Moluccas on the 9th of November, and on thi 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 275 
 
 lOth anchored at a small island near the eastern 
 part of Celebes, which they named Crab Island. 
 As it was one vast dense mass of forest, with trees 
 lofty, large, and straight, and free from branches till 
 near the top, the Admiral resolved on thoroughly 
 repairing his vessel there, that she might safely 
 undertake the homeward voyage. Among the trees 
 by night glowed an infinite swarm of " fiery worms," 
 whose bodies, though no bigger than our English 
 house-flies, made so great a show and light that 
 every twig shone like a burning candle. The island 
 also contained a wonderful store of bats, as big as 
 large hens, and of cray fishes, also of exceeding 
 bigness, so much so, indeed, that one of them was 
 an ample dinner for four hungry stomachs,* and 
 proved very savoury and nutritious eating.t 
 
 On the 1 2th of December, the " Hind " sailed for 
 the west, but soon got involved in the maze of islets, 
 shoals, and reefs that lie ofT the coast of Celebes. 
 To escape these dangers, Drake held to the north- 
 ward, but on the 9th of January, 1579, when he 
 supposed himself to be in an open sea, his adven- 
 turous voyage narrowly escaped a fatal termination. 
 The ship was scudding before a fresh wind under 
 
 * Hakluyt, "Voyages," iv. 244. 
 
 t These were land crabs, probably belonging to the genus Gecar- 
 cinus. Their habits are nocturnal, and they burrow in the ground. 
 The bats would seem to have been of the genus GaleopithecuSy and the 
 fireflies of the genus Fulgora. 
 
276 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 full sail, when suddenly she ran aground on a dan- 
 gerous shoal, and struck twice on it, knocking 
 twice, says Fuller, at the door of death, which 
 no doubt had opened the third time. Here — con- 
 tinues our quaint divine — here they stuck from eight 
 o'clock at night till four the next afternoon, having 
 ground too much, and yet too little to land on, and 
 water too much, and yet too little to sail in. Had 
 God who, as the wise man saith (Proverbs xxx. 4), 
 " holdeth the winds in His fist," but opened His little 
 finger, and let out the smallest blast, they had un- 
 doubtedly been cast away, but there blew not any 
 wind all the while. Then they, conceiving aright 
 that the best way to lighten the ship was first to 
 ease it of the burthen of their sins by their repen- 
 tance, humbled themselves by fasting under the 
 hand of God. Afterwards they received the com- 
 munion, dining on Christ in the sacrament, expect- 
 ing no other than to sup with Him in heaven. Then 
 they cast out of their ship six great pieces of ord- 
 nance, threw overboard as much wealth as would 
 break the heart of a miser to think on it, with much 
 sugar, and packs of spices, making a caudle of the 
 sea round about. And, finally, they betook them- 
 selves to their prayers — the best lever at such a 
 dead lift indeed ! — and it pleased God that the 
 wind, formerly their mortal enemy, became their 
 friend, which, changing from the starboard to the 
 
 A 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 277 
 
 larboard of the ship, and rising by degrees, cleared 
 them off to the sea again, for which they returned 
 unfeigned thanks to Almighty God * 
 
 Having suffered many dangers by winds and 
 shoals, the adventurers, on the 8th of February, fell 
 in with the fruitful island of Barativa, whose in- 
 habitants they found well-favoured, honest in their 
 dealings, and courteous to strangers. Thence they 
 
 * Fuller, "The Holy State," edit. 1840, p. no. A somewhat 
 different account is given in Hakluyt, which I therefore subjoin : 
 "When wee had ended our businesse here, we waied, and set saile to 
 runne for the Malucos, but having at that time a bad winde, and 
 being amongst the islands, with much difficultie wee recovered to the 
 northward of the island of Celebes, where by reason of contrary winds 
 not able to continue our course to runne westwards, we were inforced 
 to alter the same to the southward againe, finding that course also to 
 be very harde and dangerous for us, by reason of infinite shoalds 
 which lie off and among the islands ; whereof wee had too much triall 
 to the hazard and danger of our shippe and lives. For of all other 
 dayes upon the 9 of Janurie, in the year 1579, wee ranne suddenly 
 upon a rocke, where we stucke fast from 8 of the clocke at night, till 
 4 of the clocke in the afternoon the next day, being indeede out of all 
 hope to escape the danger ; but our Generall, as hee had alwayes 
 hitherto shewed himselfe couragious, and of a good confidence in the 
 mercie and protection of God, so now he continued in the same ; and 
 lest he should seeme to perish wilfully, both he and we did our best 
 indevour to save ourselves, which it pleased God so to blesse, that 
 in the ende we cleared ourselves most happily of the danger. 
 
 "We lighted our ship upon the rockes of 3 tunne of cloaves, 8 
 peeces of ordinance, and certaine meale and beanes ; then the winde 
 (as it were in a moment, by the speciall grace of God) changed from 
 the starreboord to the larboord of the ship, we hoised our sailes, and 
 the happy gale drove our shipe off the rocke into the sea againe, to 
 the no little comfort of all our hearts, for which we gave God such 
 praise and thanks as so great a benefite required," 
 
278 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 departed to Java, which " land of fire," as Michelet 
 calls it,* was at that time governed by five rajahs, 
 living in such unity (mirabile dictit !) as if they had 
 one spirit and one mind, and ruling over people who 
 lived not less harmoniously than their princes. They 
 had a house in every village for their common as- 
 sembly. Every day they met twice — men, women, 
 and children — bringing with them such victuals as 
 they thought good, some fruits, some boiled rice, 
 some sago, and some roasted fowls \X and having a 
 table raised three feet above the ground, they set 
 their dishes upon it, and all fell to, with eager 
 appetite, but earnest courtesy. Java, in Drake's 
 time, must have been a veritable Eden — a realiza- 
 tion of Plato's " Utopia," or Bacon's " New Atlantis." 
 It is to be regretted that so perfect a picture of the 
 Golden Age was speedily effaced. 
 
 ♦ Michelet, ** La Montagne." 
 
 f * ' They boile their rice in an earthen pot made in forme of a sugar 
 loafe, being full of holes, as our pots which we water our gardens 
 withall, and it is open at the great ende, wherein they put their rice 
 drie, without any moisture. In the meane time they had ready another 
 great pot, set fast in a furnace, boiling full of water, whereinto they 
 put their pot with rice, by such measure, that they, swelling, become 
 soft at the first, and by their swelling stopping the holes of the pot, 
 admit no more water to enter, but the more they are boiled the harder 
 and more firme substance they become, so that in the end they are a 
 firme and good bread, of the which, with oile, butter, and sugar, and 
 other spices, they make divers sorts of meates very pleasant of taste, 
 and nourishing to nature. " 
 
 X Hakluyt, ** Voyages, " iv. 245. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 279 
 
 From Java, Drake steered his course to the Cape 
 of Good Hope — the goodliest cape his men had seen 
 " in the whole circumference of the earth " — doubled 
 the southern extremity of Africa in safety, and on 
 the 22d of July arrived at Sierra Leone. Here a 
 supply was obtained of water, and a refreshment of 
 oysters and various fruits. 
 
 " On the 24th, the " Golden Hind " once more put 
 to sea, and concluded her prosperous voyage on the 
 28th of September, sailing right bravely into Ply- 
 mouth Harbour, after an absence of two years and 
 nearly eleven months. According to Drake's com- 
 putation, the day of their arrival was Monday, but 
 they found it to be Sunday in England. Every 
 school-boy now-a-days knows that in the circum- 
 navigation of the globe a day is necessarily lost, 
 and he also knows the reason why ; this, however, 
 was not patent to the Elizabethan seamen, and they 
 marvelled accordingly. 
 
 The concluding words of the old narrative seem 
 worthy of being transcribed.* 
 
 Safely, with joyful minds and thankful hearts to 
 God, we arrived at Plymouth, the place of our first 
 sailing forth, after we had spent two years, ten 
 months, and some odd days beside, in seeing the 
 wonders of the Lord in the deep, in discerning so 
 
 * "The World Encompassed," by Sir F. Drake (the nephew), ed. 
 4to, 1653. 
 
280 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 many admirable things, in going through with so 
 many strange adventures, in escaping out of so many 
 dangers, and overcoming so many difficulties, in this 
 our encompassing of the nether globe, and passing 
 round about the world, which we have related. 
 
 "Soli rerum maximarum Effectori, 
 Soli totius mundi Gubernatori, 
 Soli morum Conservatori, 
 Soli Deo sit semper gloria."* 
 
 On landing at Plymouth, Drake was received by 
 the Mayor and corporation, and by crowds of the 
 citizens, who welcomed him with loud shouts, set 
 the bells a-ringing for the remainder of the day, and 
 gave themselves up to feasting and rejoicing. On 
 the morrow he visited his birthplace near Tavistock. 
 After enjoying the warm Devonshire hospitality for 
 some days, he re-embarked on board the " Golden 
 Hind," and sailed for Deptford. 
 
 But though the welcome due to the first English 
 seaman of the age was cordially awarded by the 
 commonalty, and his praises were sung in ballad 
 and romance,t Drake found himself but coldly 
 
 * To God, the sole Doer of the greatest deeds, the sole Governor 
 of the whole world, the sole Preserver of His creatures, to God alone 
 ever be the glory. 
 
 + But, as Mr Motley observes, it was not the ignoble pursuit of 
 gold alone, through toil and peril, which endeared him to the nation. 
 The popular instinct recognised that the true means had been found at 
 last for rescuing England and Protestantism from the overshadowing 
 empire of Spain.—" United Netherlands," ii. 96. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 281 
 
 regarded by the court. We can only suppose that 
 Elizabeth considered it politic to take none of the 
 responsibility of his daring voyage and piratical 
 actions against the Spanish colonies upon herself, 
 at a time when she was ill-prepared for war with 
 Spain. Not yet persuaded, says Stow, to accept 
 and approve his unknown purchase, Elizabeth 
 paused awhile and heard every opinion, which at 
 that time were many ; the principal points being — 
 that if this action of Drake should be justified, it 
 would break the peace, raise reproach, breed war 
 with the house of Burgundy, and cause embargo of 
 the English ships and goods in Spain. Whereunto 
 answer was made : that it was neither prize, nor 
 piracy, nor civil policy to cast so much treasure out 
 of their possession ; that no prince or private sub- 
 ject could rightly challenge it ; that no offence had 
 been committed in its acquisition, nor any intended 
 to Christian prince or state. 
 
 The force of this argument it is difficult to see. I 
 take it that as a justification it amounts to nothing 
 more than Rob Roy's famous plea : 
 
 ** That they should take who have the power, 
 And they should keep who can."* 
 
 But the English people plainly perceiving that the 
 enemy of their religion and liberty was Philip of Spain, 
 and that the colonies in the New World were the vul- 
 
 • Wordsworth, ** Poems : Rob Roy's Grave." 
 
282 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 nerable part of his armour, were not inclined to punish 
 as a pirate the man who had detected the secret weak- 
 ness of their foe, and skilfully taken advantage of it. 
 
 To this opinion Elizabeth and her ministers after 
 awhile inclined, and Drake, who had patiently bided 
 his time, had the pleasure of receiving the Queen's 
 Majesty on board his weather-beaten bark, April 
 the 4th, 1 581, and entertaining her at a sumptuous 
 banquet. After dinner she rewarded him with the 
 signal honour of knighthood, observing that "his 
 actions did him more honour than the title which 
 she conferred." And then, being as highly graced as 
 his heart could wish, with princely commendations 
 and encouragements, he forthwith visited his friends 
 in court, town, and country ; his name and fame 
 became admirable in all places ; the people swarming 
 daily in the streets to behold him, and vowing hatred 
 to all that durst mislike him.* Thenceforward, until 
 his death, I believe him to have been the most popu- 
 lar man in England. 
 
 The Queen now gave directions that the " Golden 
 Hind " should be preserved as a monument of the 
 national glory, and her great commander's enterprise. 
 On the day of her visit, a copy of Latin verses, 
 composed by some of the scholars of Winchester 
 College, had been nailed to the mainmast. Accord- 
 ing to Camden, they ran as follows : 
 
 • Stow, «* Chronicles." a'^**v 1581. 
 
SIR FRANCIS BRAKE, 283 
 
 "Plus ULTRA, Herculeis inscribas, Drace, columnis, 
 
 Et magno dicas Hercule major ero. 
 Drace, pererrati novit quem terminus orbis, 
 
 Quemque semel mundi vidit uterque Polus, 
 Si taceant homines, facient te sidera notum ; 
 
 Sol nescit Comitis non memor esse sui." 
 
 They were thus translated : 
 
 i ** On Hercules' Pillars, Drake, thou mayst P/its Ultra write full well. 
 And say I will in greatness that great Hercules excel. 
 Sir Drake, whom well the world's end knows, which thou didst 
 
 compass round, 
 And whom both poles of heaven once saw, which north and south 
 
 do bound. 
 The stars above will make thee known if men were silent here j 
 The sun himself cannot forget his fellow-traveller." 
 
 For many years the " Golden Hind " was pre- 
 served in Deptford dockyard, as great an object of 
 interest and curiosity as is now the "Victory" in 
 Portsmouth Harbour. Eventually growing too de- 
 cayed to admit of further repair, a sufficient quantity 
 of sound timber was selected from the wreck to be 
 converted into a chair, which was presented to the 
 University of Oxford, with the following inscription 
 by the poet Cowley :* 
 
 " To this great ship, which round the world has run. 
 And matched in race the chariot of the sun, 
 This Pythagorean ship (for it may claim, 
 Without presumption, so deserved a name. 
 By knowledge once, and transformation now), 
 
 * Cowley's "Poetical Works," in Dr Anderson's "British Poets," 
 sy. 229. 
 
 \ 
 
284 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 In her new shape, this sacred port allow. 
 
 Drake and his ship could not have wished from Fate 
 
 A more blessed station, or more blessed estate, 
 
 For lo ! a seat of endless rest is given 
 
 To her in Oxford, and to him in heaven." 
 
 Before I quit this subject I may add, in reference 
 to the profits of the expedition so boldly conceived 
 and so skilfully carried out, that Drake repaid to 
 the different adventurers £4^ for every £1 sub- 
 scribed ;* and that, as a further token of the Queen's 
 satisfaction, a new coat-of-arms was granted to him, 
 namely, a ship on a globe, held with a cable rope 
 by a hand out of the clouds. Over the globe ran 
 the motto, Auxilio divino, and underneath it, Sic 
 parvis magna. 
 
 • Barrow, ** Life of Drake," p. 78. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 *' When Britain, looking with a just disdain 
 Upon this gilded majesty of Spain, 
 And knowing well that empire must decline, 
 Whose chief support and sinews are of coin, 
 Our nation's solid virtue* did oppose 
 To the rich troubles of the world's repose, . , 
 They that the whole world's monarchy designed 
 Are to their ports by our bold fleet confined, 
 From whence our red cross they triumphant see, 
 Without a rival on the sea. 
 
 Waller. 
 
 ITH an astuteness of policy which Mr 
 Froude has lucidly illustrated in his very 
 valuable " History of England," Elizabeth 
 and her ministers, Cecil and Walsingham, had warded 
 off hostilities with Spain for many years, giving her 
 kingdom time to recruit her resources, to unite her 
 opposed factions, and to settle her internal dissen- 
 sions. But at length all hope of peace was perforce 
 
 * The poet here employs the word 
 ing, as from the Latin virtus, ** valour. 
 
 virtue in its ancient mean- 
 
286 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 abandoned. England threw her weight into the 
 scale between Spain and the revolted Netherlands, 
 and, besides contributing money, munitions, and 
 soldiers to the little Protestant republic, which so 
 gallantly contended with its mighty foe, determined 
 on following in the track pointed out by Drake, and 
 attacking the Spanish King in his American colo- 
 nies, whence he drew his principal supplies. 
 
 For this purpose a powerful fleet of the Queen's 
 own ships was equipped, and the command-in-chief 
 entrusted to Sir Francis Drake. There lived no 
 English seaman, indeed, who could reasonably have 
 challenged it with him. His armada consisted of 
 twenty-one sail of men-of-war a.nd pinnaces, having 
 on board two thousand seamen and soldiers. 
 
 The principal officers were : , 
 
 Sir Francis Drake, "j ' 
 
 in the " Elizabeth Bonaventura." 
 
 in the "Primrose." 
 
 the " Leicester," galleon. 
 
 Admiral or General, 
 
 Thomas Turner, his Captain, ) 
 
 Martin Frobisher, \ 
 
 Vice-Admiral, j 
 
 Francis Knollis, ) 
 
 Rear-Admiral, J 
 
 The troops were under the command of 
 Lieutenant-General Carleill, in the "Tiger." 
 
 Assisted by one Major, three Corporals of the field, and 
 ten Captains.* 
 
 In addition to these illustrious names, Drake was 
 
 * The narrative of this expedition, preserved by Hakluyt, was com 
 piled by two military officers— Captain Walter Biggs, and« on his death, 
 by Lieutenant CrippR. 
 
 I 
 
¥ 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 287 
 
 offered the services of a volunteer, whom he knew 
 not how to refuse, and yet whom he durst not accept. 
 One of the brightest ornaments of the Elizabethan 
 age, as I shall show hereafter, was Sir Philip Sidney 
 — that "glorious star," as Camden calls him,* "that 
 lively pattern of virtue, and the lively joy of all the 
 learned sort." He was now in his 32d year, with a 
 great longing after fame, and a capacity for the 
 higher affairs which moved the admiration of the 
 best judges. It was impossible, says Mr Motley,t 
 that knight-errant so true should not feel keenest 
 sympathy with an oppressed people struggling 
 against such odds, as the Netherlanders were doing 
 in their contest with Spain. As the son-in-law of 
 Walsingham, and the nephew of the great Earl of 
 Leicester, he might justly suppose that his talents 
 and character would secure him a conspicuous 
 position in the enterprise. He applied, therefore, 
 for the governorship of Flushing ; a post which 
 would enable him to display his courage as a com- 
 mander, and his skill as a statesman. It was refused 
 to him ; and, stung to the heart by what he con- 
 sidered a gross injustice, he resolved to seek his 
 fortune beyond the seas. 
 
 Sir Philip hath taken a very hard resolution — 
 wrote Walsingham to his confidant, Davison — to 
 
 * Camden, ** Britannia," p. 329. 
 
 t J. L. Motley, "History of the United Netherlands," ii. 342^ 
 
288 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 accompany Sir Francis Drake in this voyage, moved 
 thereto for that he saw her Majesty disposed to 
 commit the charge of Flushing unto some other; 
 which he reputed would fall out greatly to his dis- 
 grace, to see another preferred before him, both for 
 birth and judgment inferior unto him. The despair 
 thereof, and the disgrace that he doubted he should 
 receive, have carried him unto a difficult course.* 
 
 It would seem that Drake was by no means desir- 
 ous of carrying Sir Philip with him.f He felt that it 
 was dangerous to have as a volunteer a gentleman of 
 such distinguished birth and eminent parts, for two 
 suns cannot well shine in the same hemisphere ; and 
 it was not improbable that he might incur Eliza- 
 beth's displeasure by removing from England one 
 of the brightest ornaments of her court. At the 
 same time, if he refused Sir Philip, he might expose 
 himself to the anger of a powerful family. Happily 
 for Drake, he was released from his dilemma by the 
 interposition of the Queen herself, who sent down to 
 Plymouth a royal mandate, prohibiting Sir Philip from 
 joining the expedition, and who, soon afterwards, be- 
 stowed upon him the governorship he had coveted. 
 
 The great fleet sailed from Plymouth on the 14th 
 of September 1585. 
 
 • Walsingham's Letter, in State Paper Office MSS., quoted by 
 Motley. 
 t Lord Brooke, "Life of Sir PhiUp Sidney," pp. 87, 88. 
 
 I 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 289 
 
 After a few days, for lack of a favourable wind, 
 Drake put into Bayonne, and despatched a messenger 
 to the governor with the two puzzling queries : Was 
 there war between Spain and England ? and, Why 
 was an embargo laid on the English merchants and 
 their goods ? 
 
 The governor replied, that to his belief the two 
 aforesaid nations were at peace, and he did not feel 
 it to be his business to make war: secondly, that 
 the embargo had been ordered by the king, but not 
 with the design of injuring any man, and that, more- 
 over, a week ago it had been taken off. 
 
 The English troops, however, landed, found what 
 quarters they best might, set their sentinels, and 
 prepared to encamp until the morning ; but about 
 midnight, the weather growing overcast, Drake 
 deemed it wiser not to tarry, and after receiving 
 presents from the governor of wine and oil, bread, 
 marmalade, and fruit, they returned to their vessels. 
 
 A storm now arose which endured for three days. 
 Some of the ships were driven from their anchorage ; 
 others forced out to sea ; but at length, all were 
 re-collected, and Carleill was sent with the prisoners 
 to see what he could do above Vigo. 
 
 All he could do, or all he did, was to capture some 
 small boats and caravels belonging to private indi- 
 viduals. 
 
 The fleet then sailed for the Canaries ; making 
 
 T 
 
290 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 I 
 
 first for the Isle of Pal ma, with the intention of 
 taking their pleasure of that place, and completing 
 the equipment and provisioning of their ships. But 
 we were forced, says the historian of the expedition/ 
 by the vile sea-gale, which at that present fell out, 
 and by the naughtiness of the landing-place, being 
 but one, and that under the favour of many plat- 
 forms, well furnished with great ordnance, to depart 
 with the receipt of many of their cannon shot. 
 Drake would probably have forced a landing, but 
 for the dangerous surge which threatened to swamp 
 any boats attempting it. 
 
 On the 1 6th of November, they arrived off the 
 group of the Cape de Verde Islands, and dropped 
 anchor between the towns of Plaga (now Praga) and 
 Santiago. There Carleill landed with a thousand 
 men, and took possession of the latter town, whose 
 inhabitants had fled into the woods ; and straight- 
 way they mounted upon its walls the glorious cross 
 of St George, that all the fleet might see it. Orders ' 
 were given that all the ordnance throughout the 
 town, and upon all the platforms, which were above 
 fifty pieces, all ready charged, should be shot off in 
 honour of the Queen's Majesty's coronation day, 
 being the 17th of November, after the grand custom 
 of England. This was done, and was so answered 
 again by all the ships in the fleet, as it was strange 
 
 • Cates, in Hakluyt, "Voyages," iii. 535. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 291 
 
 to hear such a thundering noise last so long to- 
 gether. 
 
 Drake lingered on the island fourteen days ; a 
 singular and a fatal delay, for it not only gave the 
 Spanish colonies in the West Indian seas enough 
 time to prepare for their defence, but induced a 
 terrible sickness among the people, so that shortly 
 after the fleet again set sail, between 200 or 300 
 perished. 
 
 According to Gates, the chronicler, it did not 
 appear until they had quitted the island, when it 
 seized the people with extreme but burning and 
 continual agues ; few of those attacked escaped with 
 life, and those who did were not without great altera- 
 tion and decay of their wits and strength for a long 
 time after. Upon some of the dead, marks appeared 
 which were taken for plague spots.* 
 
 After a passage of eighteen days, the fleet made 
 Dominica, where they exchanged beads and other 
 trifles with the Caribs for great store of tobacco and 
 cassava bread. Then they departed to St Chris- 
 topher's, and Drake, landing his men, to refresh and 
 recruit them, spent the Christmas tide on that fair 
 and fertile island. A council of war decided that 
 the great attempt of the expedition should be made 
 upon Hispaniola, as well for that they knew them- 
 selves then to be in their best strength, as also the 
 * Cates, in Hakluyt, ii. 538. 
 
292 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 rather allured thereunto by the glorious fame of the 
 city of St Domingo, being the ancientest and chief 
 inhabited place in all the tract of country thereabouts. 
 
 And, truly, a notable city was St Domingo ; the 
 oldest and most important Spanish settlement 
 in the New World. It was first founded on the 
 eastern bank of the river Ozama, by Bartholomew 
 Columbus, in the year 1496, and christened Nueva 
 Isabella, in honour of the great and victorious Queen 
 of Castile. Soon afterwards Orando removed it to 
 a less healthy site on the river's western bank ; it 
 was thought for the mere purpose of gaining some 
 degree of reputation as the second founder. But 
 whatever the defects of its new situation, the city 
 flourished exceedingly, so that it came to be said that 
 no city in the mother country, Barcelona excepted, 
 was more splendidly built — that Charles V. in Spain 
 was worse lodged than the Viceroy in this West 
 Indian capital — and that its regularly laid-out streets 
 surpassed those of any other place in handsomeness 
 and commodiousness. Its cathedral boasted of 
 relics much worthier honour than the bones of any 
 saint, or virgin, preserved in the monasteries and 
 churches of Spain, in the first cross planted by 
 Columbus on the site of the New World, and the 
 bones of the illustrious discoverer interred on the 
 right hand side of the high altar.* 
 
 • Oviedo, cited by Southey, in "British Admirals," iii. 179, 180. 
 
 I 
 
 J 
 
i 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 293 
 
 On New Year's-day, Carleill disembarked his 
 troops to attack this prosperous and populous city. 
 On their approach, about one hundred and fifty 
 brave horsemen came out to receive them, but soon 
 retired before the pikes and small shot of the 
 English, who moved on steadily towards the two 
 sea-gates. Carleill then divided his little army into 
 two detachments, leading one in person against one 
 of the gates, while the other, commanded by Captain 
 Powell, assaulted the second. After some hot fight- 
 ing, both bodies made their way victoriously towards 
 the Plaza Mayor, or market-place, where they im- 
 mediately began to entrench themselves, securing 
 all the approaches with strong barricades, and plant- 
 ing their ordnance so as to sweep the converging 
 streets. Carleill rightly divined that it would be 
 impossible to hold the entire city with his small 
 force. The position he had taken up, he held, how- 
 ever, for a month ; but to their great disappointment 
 the invaders found little plate or silver in the place, 
 though they supplied themselves with an abundant 
 store of wine, oil, olives, and other provisions, together 
 with silk, linen, and woollen cloths. 
 
 To swell their gains, the English demanded a 
 ransom for the city, and as it was not forthcoming 
 with sufficient promptitude, they set the suburbs on 
 fire for successive mornings, though, as they were 
 very magnificently built of stone, the work of des- 
 
294- SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 
 
 truction proved by no means easy. Two hundred 
 sailors, from daybreak till nine o'clock, when the 
 next detachment took their turn, did nothing but 
 labour to fire these houses ; and yet, after all, not 
 above one-third of the town was fired. So, in the 
 end, weary with doing so little harm at so great a 
 cost of toil, the invaders agreed to accept a ransom 
 of 20,000 ducats. \ 
 
 A very notable mark and token of the insatiable 
 ambition of the Spanish king and nation was dis- 
 covered in the gallery of the viceroy's palace; where 
 were painted, on a very large escutcheon, the arms of 
 the king of Spain, and, beneath them, a terrestrial 
 globe, containing upon it the whole circuit of the 
 sea and earth, with a horse standing upon his hind- 
 legs as in the act of leaping from it. A scroll pro* 
 ceeding from the animal's mouth displayed these 
 words : Non siifficit orbiSy The whole world suf-: 
 ficeth not* 
 
 The English could not refrain from pointing out 
 to the Spanish negotiators this extravagant piece of 
 ostentation, and from sarcastically inquiring what 
 was meant by such a device .? At which they would 
 shake their heads, and turn aside their faces, in some 
 smiling sort, without answering a word, as if ashamed 
 thereof Neither Englishmen nor Spaniards could 
 then foresee that, three centuries later, the boast 
 
 * Gates, in Hakluyt, iii. 540. 
 
 i 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 295 
 
 might be reasonably and truthfully adopted by the 
 descendants of Drake and his fellow-countrymen, who, 
 planting themselves in America and Australia, in Hin- 
 dostan, China, and New Zealand, have shown, in very 
 deed, that to the Saxon race Non stifficit orbis. 
 
 The fleet now put to sea, and stood over to the 
 mainland, where they sailed slowly along the coast 
 until they arrived at Carthagena, entering a harbour 
 about three miles to the westward. Carthagena was 
 the strongest fortress on the Spanish Main ; being 
 not only strong in its military defences, but in its 
 natural position on a sandy peninsula, with the sea 
 to the east, and a great lake running into the 
 harbour on the west. 
 
 The neck of this peninsula was not above 150 feet 
 across ; and fortified with a massive rampart of 
 stone, well and orderly built, with flanking in every 
 part, and a ditch. The gate, or opening, was narrow; 
 and the Spaniards had barricaded it with wine-butts 
 filled with earth, full and thick, as they might stand 
 on end one by another. This place of strength, 
 moreover, was furnished with six great pieces, 
 "demi-culverins and sakers," which shot directly 
 in front upon the assailants ; and without the wall, 
 on the river side of the strait, the latter had brought 
 two great galleys, with their prows to the shore, and 
 eleven pieces of ordnance, flanking the approach. 
 The troops told off to man these works were esti- 
 
296 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 mated at from 300 to 400 arquebusiers on board the 
 galleys, and 300 shot and pikes at the barricade. 
 
 The resolute Englishmen were not discouraged 
 by these formidable preparations. The barricade 
 was the nearest place for their assault, and in spite 
 of shot and pike they determined to carry it. With 
 patience and perseverance — the reader knows the 
 old adage ! — down fell the barrels of earth, and 
 pell-mell went swords and pikes together after the 
 English musketeers had fired a rough salute, even 
 at the enemy's nose. The pikes of the assailants 
 were somewhat longer than those of the Spaniards, 
 and their bodies better armed ; with which advan- 
 tage, says honest Gates,* our swords and pikes grew 
 too hard for them, and they were driven to give 
 place, their chief ensign-bearer, who fought very 
 manfully to the last, falling by the Lieutenant- 
 General's own hand. ] 
 
 Pouring into the town, our sturdy Englishmen 
 found every street barricaded, but earthwork and 
 trench were more skilfully made than stoutly 
 defended ; and, despite of the poisoned arrows of 
 the Indians — which, if they did but break the skin, 
 the party so touched, unless it were by great marvel, 
 died — the assailants gained the market-place with I 
 trifling loss. All further resistance was then aban- 
 doned by the Spaniards, who seem to have been 
 
 * Gates, in Hakluyt, iii. 542. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 297 
 
 easily discouraged, and the red cross waved from 
 the walls of Carthagena ! 
 
 The same course was adopted here as at St Do- 
 mingo, portions of the town being daily destroyed 
 by fire, until the ransom was agreed upon. Yet the 
 other miseries of war were suspended, and divers 
 courtesies passed between the English and the 
 Spaniards, as feasting and using them with all kind- 
 ness and favour. But the disease which attacked 
 the fleet after its departure from Hispaniola never 
 left it, as indeed might well be premised, when we 
 consider the smallness of the English ships, and their 
 utter deficiency in proper sanitary arrangements. 
 Drake and his captains, therefore, determined to 
 abandon the contemplated enterprise against Nom- 
 bre de Dios, and, accepting 110,000 ducats as the 
 ransom for Carthagena, they began their homeward 
 voyage. Towards the close of May they were ofif 
 the coast of Florida, where they destroyed a small 
 Spanish fort and town, and still keeping in sight of 
 the shore, they arrived at Sir Walter Raleigh's 
 newly-planted settlement in Virginia, which they 
 had been commanded to visit, and which they found 
 in a deplorable case. Drake took on board Lane 
 the governor, and the other survivors of the colony, 
 and, after a passage of thirty days, brought home 
 his fleet to Plymouth in safety and good order * 
 
 * Hakluyt, '< Voyages, " iii. 548. 
 
298 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 The plunder on board the fleet was valued a' 
 £^60,000, whereof the companies which travelled ii 
 the voyage were to have ;^20,ooo, the adventurer 
 the other ;^40,ooo ; and of the ;^20,ooo it was com 
 puted that some £6 would come to a single share. 
 
 Some of Drake's biographers grow lachrymosi 
 over the ill success of this famous expedition ; no 
 seeing, as it appears to me, that it fully answerec 
 its object in distracting the attention of the Spanisl 
 government, in crippling its resources, and espe 
 cially in cherishing among the English seamej 
 and the English nation a warlike feeling, a con 
 fidence in their own valour, and a contempt for thei] 
 mighty enemy. These were qualities that serve 
 them well in the great conflict that was rapidlj 
 approaching. 
 
 For we are now arriving at the memorable epocl 
 of the attempted invasion of England by the so< 
 called Invincible Armada — a memorable epoch : \i 
 truth, the most memorable, perhaps, in our EnglisI 
 annals— the very starting-point of modern EnglisI 
 history. The present generation, perhaps, are not 
 always mindful of the vast importance of the issue 
 or of all that hung upon the possible event of th< 
 unequal struggle.* It is not too much to say, thai 
 
 • Among recent writers, however, justice has been done to thi 
 great struggle by Mr Kingsley, in his " Westward Ho ! " and by Ml 
 Motley in his admirable ** History of the United Netherlands." Wl 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 299 
 
 had it ended otherwise than as, thank God ! it did 
 end, the whole face of Europe, the entire current of 
 its history, the leading principles of its polity, would 
 have changed. The conquest of England must 
 have been followed by the subjugation of Holland, 
 and Spain might then have realised that dream of 
 universal empire which has dazzled so many em- 
 perors and statesmen ; might have welded Europe 
 into one compact and homogeneous mass, saturated 
 with Roman Catholicism, and impervious to the in- 
 fluences of free thought, in religion as in philosophy, 
 in Hterature as in science. By the defeat of the 
 Armada the liberty of England was saved ; and not 
 only of England, but of Europe. Constitutional 
 Government was made possible ; Protestantism was 
 made possible ; Bacon's philosophy was made pos- 
 sible ; and the United States of America were made 
 possible. The Armada was the result of what Mr 
 Motley has justly called a deep-laid conspiracy of 
 Spain and Rome against human rights ; and all man- 
 kind were interested in its destruction. But who 
 does not see that its success was impossible, unless 
 Heaven had consented to the abrogation of its own 
 eternal laws ? 
 
 may also reasonably expect that it will receive the treatment it 
 deserves at the hands of Mr Froude, when he brings down to this 
 date his eloquent and suggestive "History of England*" 
 
^ 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 *• No foreign banished wight 
 Shall anchor in this port ; 
 Our reahn it brooks no stranger's force, 
 Let them elsewhere resort." 
 
 «• Qiieen Elizabelh," A.D. 1 569. 
 
 HE condition of affairs in the year 1587 may 
 be briefly summed up as follows :* 
 
 The power of Spain at this time had 
 reached its culminating point. The resources 0I 
 the New World were at its disposal ; a century of 
 maritime enterprise had bred up a race of skilful 
 and intrepid seamen ; a long series of military 
 successes had fostered a vast army of soldiers who 
 boasted themselves to be invincible. Both army 
 and navy, as I have elsewhere said,t were not only 
 wielded by one despotic authority, but bound 
 
 * Compare Motley, " History of the United Netherlands ;" Ranke, 
 " History of the Popes ;" Prescott, " Life of Philip the Second ;" and 
 Knight, *' Popular History of England." The original authorities are 
 given by Mr Motley, who has made such ample use of them as to leave 
 few grains of comfort for after gleaners in the same field. 
 
 t "Scenes from the Drama of European History," pp. 282, 283. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 301 
 
 together by religious sentiment and patriotic feel- 
 ing. Moreover, the spirit of adventure, the chival- 
 rous fervour, the zealous devotion which had been 
 engendered by a prolonged warfare against the 
 Moors, had not as yet been crushed into the dust 
 by the incubus of an absolute monarchy. The men 
 of Castile and Arragon were still the worthy de- 
 scendants of the knights and soldiers who had so 
 heroically achieved the triumph of the Crescent 
 over the Cross; and zeal for the Church still 
 glowed in the hearts of those brave veterans who 
 remembered that their sires had fought against the 
 Moslem in the name and for the sake of Christ. 
 Their sovereign, Philip the Second, was himself a 
 bigot, sincere, stern, and obstinate. If he lusted for 
 universal empire, it was because universal empire 
 would enable him to stamp out heresy, and assert 
 the supremacy of the Church of Rome over the 
 wide globe. He believed himself to be signaUsed 
 by Heaven as the champion of the Church, as its 
 first and most favoured soldier, whose " mission" it 
 was to place the Papal power on impregnable 
 foundations, and arrest the pestilent progress of 
 free inquiry in politics and religion. This was the 
 dream, the ambition, the one all-engrossing object 
 of his life, to which he devoted his narrow mind and 
 sublime faculty of patience with a devotion that was 
 almost heroic ! We know it was a delusion, but we 
 
302 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 cannot wonder at the- influence it exercised over an 
 imagination that was powerful in exact proportion 
 to the weakness of the judgment ; over a will that 
 was resolute in exact proportion to the littleness of 
 the intellect. For it promised to the dreamer both 
 an earthly and a heavenly crown as his reward 
 that on earth he should reign the lord paramount 
 of obedient nations, that in heaven his place should 
 be found in the loftiest rank of the celestial hier 
 archy. 
 
 There were many circumstances which at the 
 outset served to stimulate this half-mundane and 
 half-religious ambition. The Protestant faith which 
 in its early days, had sprung upward with so glorious 
 a vigour, and spread its roots into so many lands, 
 seemed sinking into a premature decay. The 
 glorious tree was checked in its development, and 
 superficial observers could not perceive that it 
 would soon bud and blossom with a more won- 
 derful energy than before. Looking around, they 
 saw that in France and Spain the new heresy hac 
 been completely extinguished ; that Belgium, at one 
 time half Protestant and rebellious, had been re- 
 conquered both in creed and allegiance by Philip, 
 and had become one of the most thoroughly Papis 
 tical countries in Europe. Half Germany, too, hac 
 been won back to the old faith. In Switzerland, 
 Savoy, and elsewhere, the progress of the counter- 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 303 
 
 reformation had been rapid and decisive. In France, 
 it seemed probable that the Catholic League, under 
 the Guises, would obtain the supreme power. The 
 Papal Court itself had shaken off the luxurious and 
 self-assured lethargy in which it had long indulged, 
 and at the head of a zealous propagandist army of 
 Jesuits and monks, was displaying a vigour and a 
 restless energy worthy of the days of Hildebrand 
 or Innocent the Third. 
 
 Where, then, shall we look for any obstacles to 
 the realisation of Philip's dream ? Turn your gaze 
 to the low levels of Holland, and to the sea-washed 
 cliffs of England, and behold a spectacle fitted to 
 fill with pride every generous spirit ! These two 
 small countries — one containing about a million 
 and a half, the other some three millions of inhabi- 
 tants — gallantly threw themselves into the breach, 
 and at the imminent risk of annihilation, defended 
 the liberties of the world. It is curious now, on 
 looking back, to see how needful was the one to 
 the existence of the other ; how strange a similarity 
 came to pass between their characters and their 
 fortunes ; how opportunely they both developed at 
 one and the same time a love of freedom and a 
 genius for maritime enterprise ; how Holland must 
 have abandoned her struggle against Philip, but for 
 the assistance of England ; how England might 
 have fallen before the Armada but for the ready 
 
304 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 help of Holland. Shoulder to shoulder they stoo 
 together, and stood invincible ; and if England wen 
 sometimes inclined to underrate the strength an 
 usefulness of her younger sister, and if Hollan 
 not unfrequently complained of the parsimonjj 
 which characterised the English Government, stil 
 in their heart of hearts both felt that their interest! 
 were one and indivisible ; that with the life am 
 liberty of the one were bound up the life and libert) 
 of the other. 
 
 Mr Motley, in his admirable history, has dealt 
 somewhat harshly — I would even say, unjustly— 
 with England's Queen and ministers, when describing 
 the niggardly aid they extended to their feeble but 
 gallant ally. I cannot help thinking that he has 
 failed to make due allowance for the difficultie 
 with which they had to contend. The England ol 
 Elizabeth's reign was very different from that rich 
 and powerful and united England which now fills 
 so large a space in the eye of the world. Its whol 
 annual revenue scarcely exceeded the income novi 
 enjoyed by some of our wealthier nobles and mer- 
 chants. The population did not number more than 
 that of modern London, Its navy consisted of a 
 few small and ill-found ships ; its army scarcely 
 served to garrison half-a-dozen towns. Nor were 
 its people all " of one mind." The next heir to the 
 throne, Mary Queen of Scots, a Roman Catholic ol 
 
 
S/R FRANCIS DRAKE. 305 
 
 the most bigoted type, was at the head of a power- 
 ful party, who were constantly hatching murderous 
 plots against Elizabeth's life, and conspiracies to 
 overthrow her throne. I think that, under such 
 circumstances, an impartial historian should make 
 reasonable allowance for the occasional vacillations 
 of the great Queen, for her eager desire to avoid 
 war, for the thrift which she displayed in the 
 management of her scanty revenue. 
 
 Could Philip of Spain have brought all the im- 
 mense resources of Spanish power to bear upon 
 divided England, in her defenceless condition, it is 
 difficult to say what the result might have been. 
 Happily, as I have said, he had another foe to con- 
 tend with ; a foe apparently as weak, and equally as 
 resolute. His mistaken policy had raised up an 
 active and determined enemy in the Protestant 
 provinces of Holland. Under the wiser and more 
 equitable rule of Charles V. they had remained 
 silent, though secretly impatient of the yoke that 
 weighed upon them ; but when Philip endeavoured 
 to recall them to the bosom of the Roman Catholic 
 Church by the headsman's axe and the auto-da-f4^ 
 the slow but steadfast spirit of the Dutch flamed 
 up fiercely into open revolt. And in vain were the 
 Spanish soldiers let loose upon their industrious 
 villages and opulent cities. Corn-field and garden 
 laid waste, burning houses, outraged women, mur- 
 
I 
 
 306 
 
 SIR PR A NCI S DRAKE. 
 
 dered children, honest citizens danghng from a 
 gibbet that in this case brought no dishonour, proved 
 no inducement to the Hollander to rest his belie 
 and hope on a Church or creed that could sanction 
 such atrocities. For years the heroic struggle was 
 maintained, and England, herself Protestant, and 
 herself menaced by Spain, could not remain un 
 moved by its vicissitudes. 
 
 Men and money, therefore, were supplied to the 
 Dutch insurgents. Their cause was that of every 
 lover of civil and religious freedom, and many a 
 gallant Englishman was right glad to hallow it with 
 his blood. For this bled Sidney on the field of 
 Zutphen ; for this, stout Roger Williams led his 
 lusty pikes against the Spanish infantry at Sluys. 
 I could wish the help given by the Queen's govern- 
 ment had been larger, though I can appreciate the 
 motives which withheld them from embarking more 
 directly into the contest. Motives of expediency, 
 however, should never weigh against the immutable 
 principles of truth and justice. 
 
 At length, in the early spring of 1587, Elizabeth 
 and her ministers resolved — or rather, circumstances 
 proved too - strong for them, and drove them to the' 
 conclusion — that they could only hope to still public 
 discontent and restore internal peace by ridding 
 themselves of the Scottish Queen. It was not with-J 
 out a painful mental struggle that Elizabeth con-i 
 
 i, 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 307 
 
 sented, if she did consent, to her execution. Her 
 councillors, however, saw the urgent necessity of the 
 step ; Mary's head fell on the scaffold at Fotheringay, 
 and though Faction murmured, it was too cowed to 
 strike. Thenceforth the domestic peace of England 
 was secured, and she was the better able to grapple 
 with her formidable enemy. 
 
 At the Court of Madrid, and at the Vatican, Mary's 
 death caused a powerful sensation. Neither Philip 
 nor the Pope had ever believed that Elizabeth would 
 venture on so bold a step ; and both now saw that 
 all hope was lost of a peaceful restoration of Catholi- 
 cism in England. There was reason to fear, more- 
 over, that England, relieved from the danger that 
 had so long oppressed her, would throw herself with 
 greater energy into the struggle with the Nether- 
 lands. Philip, therefore, determined upon a supreme 
 effort to subjugate this heretical and unfriendly 
 nation ; and the Pope not only sanctioned and 
 blessed the enterprise, but promised a million of 
 scudi towards its charges, to be paid whenever the 
 Spaniards were in possession of a single English 
 port. " Thus," says Ranke,* the German historian, 
 " thus did the united powers of Spain and the 
 Papacy, from which such mighty influence had gone 
 forth over the whole world, rouse themselves for an 
 attack upon England." The king had already com- 
 
 * Ranke, " History of the Popes of Rome." 
 
^ 
 
 308 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 piled from the archives of Simancas a statement of 
 his claims to the throne of that country, on the 
 extinction of the Stuart line. The most brilliant 
 prospects, especially that of an undisputed supremacy 
 on the seas, were associated in his mind with this 
 enterprise. 
 
 Silently, swiftly, and with all possible secretness, 
 Philip prepared to realise his dream. He does not 
 seem to have fully estimated its difficulties, and his 
 projects were frequently so vague as to excite the 
 ridicule of his great general, the Prince of Parma, 
 but, nevertheless, he called all the resources of his 
 vast empire into requisition. The ship-builders 
 handled axe and hammer in every port, the arm- 
 ourers plied their forges ; all Spanish Europe — which 
 meant really all civilised Europe — echoed with the 
 din of arms. Provisions were heaped up in a 
 thousand granaries ; men were daily mustered on 
 the parade grounds, and accustomed to the use of 
 arms. Carts and waggons were built for the con- 
 veyance of stores ; spades, mattocks, and baskets 
 got ready for the pioneers ; iron and brass ordnano 
 were cast, and leaden shot melted in vast quantities 
 nor were the instruments of torture, the thumb 
 screw and the " gaoler's daughter " — the argumenU 
 adhominem of the Inquisition — forgotten. Whethe 
 the full extent of these preparations was known toj 
 Elizabeth's ministers may be doubted ; but not-^ 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 309 
 
 withstanding the skill and secrecy of Philip's agents, 
 so much leaked out, that Henry the Third of France, 
 who had just cause of his own to dread the success 
 of Spain, sent warning to Elizabeth of the coming 
 danger. 
 
 But the great Queen, and the " peace party " at 
 her court, headed by the Lord Treasurer, Burghley, 
 would not be convinced. Philip was skilfully amus- 
 ing them with artful negotiations ; and, lost in the 
 labyrinths of a subtle diplomacy, Elizabeth believed 
 herself able to direct it towards her own ends. She 
 had so much to risk by war, so much to gain by 
 peace, that perhaps it is no wonder she shut her ears 
 and her eyes when they should ha^e been most open. 
 But there were some in England whom Philip could 
 neither amuse nor deceive ; the Earl of Leicester — 
 to whose courage, capacity, and patriotism English 
 writers have been unwilling to do justice — the able 
 and far-seeing Walsingham, Raleigh, and Sir Francis 
 Drake. And it came to pass, that soon after the 
 latter's return from his West Indian Expedition, he 
 determined to see for himself the mysterious pre- 
 parations which filled the ports of Spain.* To 
 destroy the ships collecting there would be to 
 " singe the beard of PhiHp of Spain," if nothing 
 more. 
 
 So Drake visited the Netherlands, discussed his 
 * Motley, " United Netherlands," ii. 97. 
 
 h 
 
810 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 project with the States-General, and was warmly- 
 welcomed by Dutch skippers and merchants. His 
 visit was not without result. He obtained men, 
 ships, and money, and promoted a warm feeling 
 towards England, which afterwards bore good 
 fruit. Then he returned home, and, sanctioned 
 by the Queen, got together, with wonderful celerity, 
 a fleet of thirty ships.* Four of these were Queen's 
 ships, the " Bonaventura," in which he sailed as 
 admiral ; the " Lion," Captain William Borough, 
 controller of the navy ; the " Dreadnought," Captain 
 Thomas Venner ; and the " Rainbow," Captaini 
 Harry Bellingham. To these were added other 
 two ships by the munificent patriotism of London 
 citizens, and the whole armament sailed from Ply- 
 mouth early in April 1587. 
 
 The wind commands me away, wrote its heroic 
 leader ; our ship is under sail. God grant that we 
 may so live in His fear, that the enemy may have 
 cause to say that God doth fight for Her Majesty 
 abroad as well as at home ; and give her long and 
 happy life, and ever victory against God's enemies 
 and Her Majesty's.t 
 
 This was written on the 2d of April ; on the i6th 
 of the same month, in lat. 40", Drake fell in with 
 ten Middleburgh ships, and learned that vast sup- 
 
 * Hakluyt, "Voyages," part the 2d, vol. ii., p. 121. 
 t Drake to Walsingham, in Barrow's "Life of Drake." 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 311 
 
 plies of military stores had been accumulated at 
 Cadiz with a view to their speedy transportation to 
 Lisbon. For Cadiz Drake sailed immediately, and 
 on the 19th entered the road ; by this haste for- 
 tunately outstripping the swift pinnace which Ehza- 
 beth, in a moment of vacillation, had despatched 
 with orders for his return. He found in the harbour 
 sixty ships, and many other small vessels, which he 
 readily engaged, and compelling the armed galleys 
 to retire under the guns of the forts, he burned all 
 the transports and store-ships, to the burthen of 
 10,000 tons, after he had removed the most valuable 
 portions of their cargoes on board his own fleet. 
 Pipe-staves and pikes, horse-shoes and saddles, 
 timber and cutlasses, wine, oil, figs, raisins, biscuits, 
 and flour, — a heterogeneous mass of ingredients 
 long brewing for the trouble of England — were 
 emptied into the harbour, and before the second 
 night, the blaze of 150 burning vessels played 
 merrily upon the grim walls of Philip's fortress. 
 Some of these ships were of the largest size then 
 known. One was of 1500 tons, another of 1200, 
 and several others of 1000 and 800 tons.* 
 
 On the 2 1st Drake gaily left the Cadiz roads, and 
 sweeping along the coast to Cape Sagres, captured 
 and destroyed 100 vessels of different burthen ; 
 landed his men at Sagres, assaulted the defences, 
 
 * Motley, "United Netherlands," ii. 269. 
 
312 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 captured and destroyed them. He then entered 
 the mouth of the Tagus, where lay the Marquis of 
 Santa Cruz, Lord High Admiral of Spain — the 
 royal standard flying from his main - topgallant 
 mast — and the heavy guns of his stately galley 
 frowning a grim defiance. To him Drake sent a 
 plain, blunt message, stating who he was, and 
 declaring himself ready to exchange bullets or pri- 
 soners. The proud Castilian noble replied that he 
 had no orders from his king ; but he fretted so at the 
 insult, and at the shame sustained by the Spanish 
 flag, that he never "enjoyed good days after," and 
 within a few months died of literally a broken heart.* 
 
 Having obtained intelligence that the "San Felipe," 
 a Spanish carrack from the Indies, had wintered at 
 Mozambique, and was then on her homeward route, 
 he determined to lay in wait for her, and about 
 twenty leagues from St Michael's (one of the 
 Azores) falling in with this extraordinarily rich 
 argosy, easily captured her. Thus, with merry 
 hearts, the fleet returned to Plymouth, "to their 
 own profit and due commendation, and to the great 
 admiration of the whole kingdom." 
 
 And here, by the way, says the old chronicler, it 
 
 is to be noted, that the capture of this carrack 
 
 wrought two extraordinary effects in England : 
 
 first, that it taught others that carracks were no 
 
 • Hakluyt, "Voyages," iii. 132. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 313 
 
 such brigs but that they might be taken ; and, 
 secondly, in acquainting the English nation more 
 generally with the particularities of the exceeding 
 riches and wealth of the East Indies ; whereby 
 themselves and their neighbours of Holland have 
 been encouraged, being ever so skilful in navigation, 
 and of no less courage than the Portugals, to share 
 with them in the East Indies, where their strength 
 is nothing so great as was heretofore supposed. 
 
 Thus in a few weeks had Drake dealt a good 
 blow at the enemy ; had ** singed the king of Spain's 
 beard," to use his own expressive phrase ; and had 
 obtained certain and unmistakable information in 
 reference to his enormous power and vast prepara- 
 tions. "There would be 40,000 men under way 
 erelong," he wrote, " well equipped and provisioned," 
 and he did not cease to urge upon the Queen and 
 her ministers the urgent necessity that existed for 
 calling the entire strength of England into the 
 field. 
 
 For the revenge of these things, he wrote to 
 Walsingham,* what forces Spain is able to make, we 
 shall be sure to have brought upon us, as far as they 
 may, with all the devices and traps they can devise. 
 I thank them much they have stayed so long, and 
 when they come they shall be but the sons of mortal 
 men, and for the most part enemies to the truth, and 
 
 * Barrow, "Life of Drake," p. 105; Camden, " Annals, " iii. 396. 
 
314 SIR FRANCIS BRAKE. 
 
 upholders of bulls to Dagon's image, which hath 
 already fallen upon the ark of our God, with hiSj 
 hands, arms, and head striken off. 
 
 God make us all thankful, he continued, that Her 
 Majesty sent out these few ships in time. 
 
 There must be a beginning of any great matter,' 
 but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly- 
 finished, yields the true glory. God make us all 
 thankful again and again that we have, although it 
 be little, made a beginning upon the coast of Spain. 
 
 It was doubtful, however, whether Philip would 
 be as thankful, as Drake opined all Englishmen 
 should be, for this "beginning;" and as Elizabeth 
 still hoped to preserve peace, she hastened to dis 
 avow and rebuke her adventurous seaman. But ] 
 doubt not she found means to convey to him secretly 
 her acknowledgments of his patriotism, his courage, 
 and his resolution. 
 
 Meanwhile Drake retired to his Devonshire home, 
 and expended his energy and a portion of his wealth 
 in supplying Plymouth with fresh water, which he 
 brought through valleys, wastes, and bogs, and, 
 what was most troublesome, through a rock sup- 
 posed to be impenetrable. Fine would have been 
 the diversion, says quaint old Prince, when the water, 
 was brought somewhat near the town, to have seen 
 how the mayor and his brethren, in their formali- 
 ties, went out to meet it, and bid it welcome thither ; 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 315 
 
 and that being thus met, they all returned together. 
 The gentlemen of the corporation, accompanied with 
 Sir Francis Drake, walked before, and the stream 
 followed after into the town, where it has continued 
 so to do ever since. 
 
 At last the year 1588 arrived — the memorable 
 year, as Mr Kingsley calls it, of England's Salamis 
 — the year concerning which the German astrologers 
 had been accustomed to prognosticate the most ter- 
 rible events. As the epoch approached, a dull feel- 
 ing of fear spread over all civilised Europe, like the 
 uneasy and undefinable apprehension of coming evil 
 which occasionally seizes upon the mind. Portents 
 observed during the winter came to increase the 
 general panic. Showers of blood descended in 
 Sweden, monstrous births occurred in France, and 
 at Weimar the mid-day sun appeared holding a 
 drawn sword in its mouth — an evil omen whose 
 meaning could not be mistaken. 
 
 But in truth, as Mr Motley observes,* neither 
 miracles nor prophecies were required to enforce 
 the conviction that a long procession of disasters 
 was steadily advancing. With France torn asunder 
 by internal dissension, and feebly swayed by a 
 feeble king ; with Spain holding Italy in her grasp, 
 firmly allied with the Papacy, already having re- 
 duced and nearly absorbed France, and now, after 
 * Motley, " United Netherlands," ii. 335, 336. 
 
316 S/R FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 long and patient preparation, about to hurl the 
 thunderbolt of her vengeance upon the little king- 
 dom of England and its only ally, the infant com- 
 monwealth of the Netherlands — it would have been 
 strange indeed if the dullest intellect had not 
 dreamed of strange events. 
 
 All through the spring and early summer of 1588, 
 Spanish diplomacy continued to lull Queen Elizabeth 
 into a fool's paradise of illusion, and her ministers 
 still believed in peace ; while, happily for England, 
 her soldiers and sailors with hot haste made ready 
 for war. ** You will proceed with the negotiations," 
 wrote Philip to his great general, Alexander Farnese, 
 Prince of Parma, " now yielding on one point, and 
 now insisting on another; but directing all to the 
 same object — to ^-ain time while proceeding with 
 the invasion, according to the plan already engaged 
 upon." 
 
 All the military details of the huge expedition" 
 Philip had entrusted to Parma, the ablest general 
 of the sixteenth century — a famous soldier, and yet 
 not the less a skilful diplomatist and an astute 
 statesman. The zealous instrument of despotism — 
 who should have been, from his vast mental endow- 
 ments, the hero of some chivalrous struggle against 
 "armed wrong" — he served the narrow-minded 
 Philip throughout a long and brilliant career with 
 entire singleness of purpose. His fidelity was i 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 317 
 
 corruptible ; his obedience never halted. A man of 
 acute observation and unfaltering resolution ; cap- 
 able of enduring the utmost fatigue ; quick to con- 
 ceive and prompt to act ; so fertile in resources that 
 no difficulty found him unprepared, and so confident 
 in himself, that no danger, however sudden, dis- 
 turbed his composure, — he possessed all the quali- 
 ties which distinguish the great military commander. 
 And as with the poet, so with the warrior, he must 
 be born, not made. Parma's unbounded generosity 
 won the hearts of his soldiers, while his military skill 
 secured their devotion. His was not only the master- 
 mind which framed a comprehensive scheme, but the 
 untiring industry which perfected its minutest details. 
 In maturing his great enterprise, he attended per- 
 sonally to the most trivial point ; like Wellington, 
 he foresaw everything, and provided for everything. 
 At the epoch of which I am writing, he had attained 
 the prime of manhood, and his person was not un- 
 worthy of the intellect it enshrined. His figure was 
 tall, slender, and well-knit ; the warm blood of the 
 South flushed his dark complexion ; the brown full 
 hair was swept off a calm and lofty forehead ; the 
 grave and melancholy eyes were ever watchful, and 
 glowed at times with a steadfast and intense light ; 
 the physiognomy was rather long, but tapered finely 
 towards the chin, as in the type of countenance made 
 80 familiar to us by the portraits of Vandyke ; and 
 
1 
 
 318 S/R FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 over a firm and well-set mouth drooped a full mou* 
 tache. 
 
 Of the preparations made by this remarkable 
 man, the agents of the English government were 
 continually forwarding accounts. There is provided 
 for lights, wrote one of them,* a great number o! 
 torches, and so tempered that no water can put 
 them out ; a great number of little mills for grind 
 ing corn ; great stores of biscuits baked and oxen 
 salted ; great number of saddles and boots. Also 
 there is made 500 pair of velvet shoes — red, crimson 
 velvet ; and in every cloister throughout the country 
 great quantity of roses made of silk, white and red, 
 which are to be badges for divers of his gentlemen, 
 By reason of these roses it is expected he is going 
 to England. There is sold to the prince by John 
 Angel, pergaman, two hundredweight of velvet, gold, 
 and silver, to embroider his apparel withal. The 
 covering to his mules is most gorgeously embroi- 
 dered with gold and silver, which carry his baggage. 
 There is also sold to him by the Italian merchants 
 at least 670 pieces of velvet, to apparel him and his 
 train. Every captain has received a gift from the' 
 prince to make himself brave ; and for Captain 
 Corralini, an Italian, who hath one cornet [troop] 
 of horse, I have seen with my eyes a saddle, with 
 the trappings of his horse, his coat, and rapier, and 
 
 • Motley, "United Nether?ands,"iL 
 
 A 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 319 
 
 dagger, which cost 3 500 French crowns. All their 
 lances are painted of divers colours, blue and white, 
 green and white, and most part blood-red — so there 
 is as great a preparation for a triumph as for war. 
 A great number of English priests come to Antwerp 
 from all places. The commandment is given to all 
 the churches to read the Litany daily for the pros- 
 perity of the Prince in his enterprise. 
 
 A brave show was Parma determined to make on 
 his triumphal entry into London ! After conquer- 
 ing the heretics by force of arms, he would dazzle 
 them into willing obedience by the splendour of 
 himself and followers ! 
 
 Sir William Russell wrote of graver matters. 
 The Prince of Parma, he warned the Queen, was 
 making great preparations for war, and with all 
 expedition means to march a great army, and for a 
 triumph, the coats of costly apparel for his own 
 body did exceed for embroidery, and was beset 
 with jewels ; for all the embroiderers and diamond- 
 cutters worked both night and day, so great was 
 the haste. Five hundred velvet coats of one sort 
 for lances, and a great number of brave new coats 
 for horsemen ; 30,CXXD men were ready, and gathered 
 in Brabant and Flanders. The report ran that in 
 a couple of days there should be 10,000 men ready 
 to do some great exploit in Holland, and 20,000 to 
 march with the Prince into France, but it was not 
 
320 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 known for certain what way or how they should . 
 march ; only, said Sir William, all was ready at an 
 hour's warning — 4000 saddles, 4000 lances, 6000 
 pairs of boots, 2000 barrels of beer, and biscuits 
 sufficient for a camp of 20,000 men. 
 
 Spring ripened into summer, and hot suns lit up 
 the chalk cliffs of England, and the great Armada 
 was ready. The plan of invasion elaborated by 
 Parma, and sanctioned by Philip, was this : 
 
 A formidable fleet of galleons and men-of-war, 
 armed with heavy ordnance, was to assemble in the 
 ports of Spain and Portugal, under the Marquis of 
 Santa Cruz, an experienced and able seaman. When 
 fully equipped and manned it would collect in one 
 imposing armada, sail for the English Channel, and 
 lay off the coast of Holland, between Ostend and 
 Flushing. On board this fleet would be embarked 
 22,000 soldiers, including 16,000 veteran Spanish 
 infantry. 
 
 In flat-bottomed boats, which Parma had caused 
 to be built in the Netherlands, the great general pro- 
 posed to assemble his own invincible army, 17,000 
 strong, and, covered by the Armada, to carry them 
 across the Channel, unite them with 6000 Spaniards 
 from the fleet, and land on the English shores a 
 veteran and splendidly-equipped host, capable of 
 marching triumphantly upon London. 
 
 Happily, however, the Government oi the United 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 321 
 
 Provinces appreciated the urgency of the crisis, re- 
 cognised the fact that their Hfe and Hberties were 
 indissolubly connected with the independence of 
 England, and refused to be deceived, like Elizabeth 
 and her ministers, by the specious professions of 
 Philip or the diplomacy of Parma. They accord- 
 ingly concentrated a large fleet on the Flemish 
 coast, and stationed a mosquito-force of sloops 
 close in shore, to keep watch over the Spanish 
 flotilla. And until these troublesome sentinels 
 were driven away by Santa Cruz and his Armada, 
 Parma and his soldiers could not sail for England, 
 
 It was not until the middle of June that Eliza- 
 beth and her ministers awoke from their voluntary 
 delusion. Defensive preparations had, indeed, been 
 undertaken, but with so much slothfulness, and in 
 so parsimonious a spirit, that very little had really 
 been accomplished. There was no lack of energy 
 and enthusiasm either at sea or on land. Nor were 
 ships wanting ; but the delay in equipping them was 
 intolerable. Nevertheless, their captains were fired 
 with Drake's spirit, and longed to singe the King 
 of Spain's beard a little more eff'ectually. Our 
 ships do show like gallants here, wrote the ardent 
 Winter ; it would do a man's heart good to behold 
 them. Would to God the Prince of Parma were on 
 the seas with all his forces, and we in sight of them ! 
 You should hear that we would make his enterprise 
 
322 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 very unpleasant to him. Lord Howard of Effing- 
 ham, the Lord High Admiral, asked but for " four 
 great ships and twenty hoys, with but twenty men 
 a-piece, and each with but two iron pieces," and was 
 ready to promise that he would give the Queen a 
 good account of the Spanish forces. But, unfor- 
 tunately, the four great ships were not ready ; the 
 Queen's Majesty, complained Howard, keeping them 
 to protect Chatham Church withal, when they should 
 be serving their turn abroad. To Drake, as the great 
 seaman of the age, the eyes of all England had natu- 
 rally turned, in this supreme crisis of the nation's 
 fortunes, and the command of a squadron had been 
 entrusted to him. Right willingly he left his Devon- 
 shire retirement, but he could not communicate to 
 the Queen's Government the energy which was in 
 himself, because they refused to see the danger as 
 clearly as he saw it. " I fear me much," wrote the 
 Admiral, " and with grief I think it, that her Ma- 
 jesty relieth on a hope that will deceive her, and 
 greatly endanger her, and then it will not be her 
 money nor her jewels that will help ; for as they 
 will do good in time, so they will help nothing for 
 the redeeming of time."* 
 
 Not more reassuring were the preparations on 
 shore. It was the design of the Duke of Parma, once | 
 
 * Howard to Walsingham, 17th April 1588 (State- Paper Office 
 MSS.). 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 323 
 
 having landed, to march directly towards London ; 
 yet there were no fortresses to oppose the advance 
 of the first general in Europe, and his veterans, on 
 the unprotected and wealthy metropolis. Was there 
 an army ? Yes ; of 86,016 foot, and 13,831 cavalry — 
 on paper, — and even of these, only 48,000 were set 
 down as trained. Leicester was to be commander- 
 in-chief ; a man of undoubted courage and capacity, 
 but assuredly no fitting opponent for such a com- 
 mander as Alexander Farnese. His army was to 
 consist of 27,000 infantry, and 2000 horse, but at 
 midsummer it had not reached half that number.* 
 
 The whole royal navy, numbering about thirty-six 
 vessels, ranging from 1 100 and 1000 tons to 30, was 
 at last got ready for sea. Its aggregate tonnage 
 amounted to 11,820, scarcely half the burthen of 
 the " Great Eastern," and about equal to that of two 
 iron-clad frigates. These ships carried S^y guns and 
 6279 men. 
 
 In this emergency the private gentlemen and 
 wealthy merchants of England contributed nobly 
 to the national defence, and not only fitted out 
 vessels at their own expense, but volunteered to 
 serve on board of them. By midsummer a total force 
 was thus equipped of 197 ships, with an aggregate 
 of 29,744 tons, and 15,785 seamen. Lord Howard 
 of Effingham took the command-in-chief in the 
 
 ♦ Motley, "United Netherlands," ii. 424. 
 
324 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 
 "Ark Royal," of 800 tons, 425 sailors, and 35 guns. 
 Next in rank came Vice- Admiral Drake, who hoisted 
 his flag on board the " Revenge," of 500 tons, 250 
 men, and 40 guns. A squadron, to cruise on the 
 French and Flemish coasts, was detached, under 
 Lord Henry Seymour, in the " Rainbow." 
 
 Now that the danger was upon her, and her eyes 
 were opened, the spirit of the great Queen rose to 
 a level with the imminency of the hazard, and she 
 displayed a courage and a resolution which inspired* 
 fresh animation into the hearts of her subjects. The 
 little nation of four millions, says Mr Motley,* the 
 merry England of the sixteenth century, went for- 
 ward to the death-grapple with its gigantic anta- 
 gonist as cheerfully as to a long-expected holiday. 
 Spain was a vast empire, overshadowing the world ; 
 England, in comparison, but a province ; yet nothing 
 could surpass the steadiness with which the conflict 
 was awaited. 
 
 This seems the fitting place to introduce a tabular 
 comparison of the two great fleets preparing, the 
 one to attack, the other to defend, the "sea-girt 
 isle." The notable feature of the Spanish Armada 
 was its preponderance in heavy ships — galleons and 
 galleasses — stately, but somewhat clumsy vessels, 
 which, to the eyes of men of the sixteenth century, 
 were apparently invincible. But, in truth, they were 
 
 • Motley, ** United Netherlands," ii. 425, 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 325 
 
 far less formidable than the smaller craft of Howard 
 and Drake, because less readily manoeuvred, and so 
 encumbered with top-hamper that they could carry 
 little canvas. In a grand water pageant they figured 
 bravely, but never were vessels less fitted for fighting 
 or sailing purposes. 
 
 I may add that Santa Cruz having died of "a 
 broken heart," the command was given to the 
 Duke of Medina Sidonia, a grandee of vast wealth, 
 but of no nautical ability. 
 
 THE ENGLISH FLEET.* 
 
 No. of 
 Ships. 
 
 English. 
 
 Tons. 
 11,850 
 
 Mariners. 
 
 34 
 
 Her Majesty's ships under the Lord ) 
 High Admiral, 
 
 6,279 
 
 10 
 
 Serving by tonnage with the Lord 
 High Admiral, . . . ) 
 
 750 
 
 239 
 
 32 
 
 Serving with Sir F. Drake, , 
 
 5,120 
 
 2,348 
 
 SB 
 
 Fitted out by the city. 
 
 6,130 
 
 2,710 
 
 20 
 
 Coasters with the Lord High Admiral, 
 
 1,930 
 
 993 
 
 23 
 
 Coasters with the Lord Henry Seymour, 
 
 2,248 
 
 1,073 
 
 i8 
 
 Volunteers with the Lord High Admiral, 
 
 1,716 
 
 859 
 
 IS 
 
 Victuallers, .... 
 
 
 810 
 
 7 
 197 
 
 Vessels not mentioned in the King's ) 
 Library list, • • . ) 
 
 — 
 
 474 
 
 29,744 
 
 15,785 
 
 ♦ This estimate is founded on the lists preserved by Hakluyt. See Lediard's 
 "Naval History;" and compare with Stow's " Chronicle," anno 1588. 
 
326 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 THE SPANISH ARMADA.' 
 
 525w 
 
 Spanish. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Crews. 
 
 Mariners. 
 
 Soldiers. 
 
 j 
 
 12 
 
 Squadron of Portuguese ) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 galleons under the 
 
 7,739 
 
 389 
 
 1,242 
 
 3,086 i 
 
 
 Generalissimo, 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 1 
 
 14 
 
 Fleet of Biscay, Captain 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 General Don Juan 
 
 5,861 
 
 302 
 
 906 
 
 2,117 
 
 
 Martinez de Recalde, 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 Fleet of Castile, General 
 
 8,054 
 
 
 
 
 
 Don Diego de Valdez, 
 
 474 
 
 1,793 
 
 2,924 
 
 II 
 
 Andalusian Squadron, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 General Don Pedro 
 
 8,692 
 
 315 
 
 776 
 
 2,359 
 
 
 de Valdez, 
 
 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 S quadron of Guypuscoa, 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 Don Miguel de 
 
 7,192 
 
 296 
 
 608 
 
 2,120 ! 
 
 
 Aguendo, 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 Eastern fleet, or Levan- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 tiscas, Don Martin 
 
 8,632 
 
 319 
 
 844 
 
 2,792 
 
 
 Ventendona, 
 
 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 Fleet called Ureas, or 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Hulks, Don Juan 
 
 10,860 
 
 466 
 
 950 
 
 4,170 
 
 
 Lopez de Medina, 
 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 Pataches and Zabras, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Don Antonio de Men- 
 
 2,090 
 
 204 
 
 746 
 
 1,103 
 
 
 doza, 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 Galleasses of Naples, 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Don Hugo de Mone- • 
 
 — 
 
 200 
 
 477 
 
 744 
 
 
 ada. 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 The Galleys of Por- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 tugal, Don Diego 
 
 — 
 
 200 
 
 424 
 
 440 1 
 
 132 
 
 de Mendrana, 
 
 
 
 
 
 59,120 
 
 3,165 
 
 8,766 
 
 2i,855t 
 
 * This estimate is the result of a comparison of the statements made by various 
 authorities. See Motley, Barrow, Lediard, Camden, and Stow. Mr Motley cites 
 also, Herrera, the Spanish, and Metercn, the Dutch, historians. 
 
 t Some writers put the total at 19,295, but this does not include the volunteers. 
 The daily cost of this immenre force was estimated at 30,000 ducats. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 327 
 
 English, 
 Spaniards, . 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Guns. Mariners. 
 
 197 
 132 
 
 29,744 
 59,120 
 
 837 
 
 3. 165 
 
 21,855 soldiers, f 
 
 30,621 men. ) 
 
 65 
 
 More E. 
 
 29,376 
 
 More S. 
 
 2,328 
 
 More S. 
 
 I4,836* 
 More S. 
 
 * Barrow, "Life of Drake," p. 118. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 
 
 "What knight is he 
 Who, living now, holds it not shame to live 
 Apart from that hereditary battle 
 Which needs his sword ! " 
 
 George Eliot, "The Spanish Gipsy." 
 
 EgglEARLY three centuries ago, on a sunny July 
 |J(S afternoon, you might have seen a remark- 
 ^=™ able group of personages assembled on 
 the grassy, wind-swept ascent of the Hoe of 
 Plymouth ;* — some of them playing at bowls,t a 
 favourite pastime with Englishmen in the reign of 
 Elizabeth ; others gazing on the gleaming waters of 
 the Sound, where gallantly ride half-a-hundred stout 
 English keels ; and a few indulging in long pipes of 
 the Nicotian weed, but recently introduced into 
 England by Raleigh's lieutenant. Master Ralph 
 
 * The Hoe, Howe, or Hough, is a considerable elevation, now 
 only clothed in part with verdure, which completely overlooks Mill 
 Bay and the Sound. At the east end stands the citadel. 
 
 + Such is the tradition, and I, for my part, firmly believe in it 
 
DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 329 
 
 Lane. A famous group, each of whom has already 
 won a niche in English history, a place among 
 
 "England's illustrious sons of long long ages;" 
 
 brave old sea-kings, who do their best, though 
 with many shortcomings, to fear God, and honour 
 the Queen — the Queen — the "great Gloriana" of 
 Spenser — the idol of all true English hearts — in 
 whose name they have accomplished heroic deeds 
 on the rich shores of the New World. Yonder 
 stands bluff, honest, weather-beaten John Hawkins, 
 Admiral of the Port, the patriarch of Devonshire 
 seamen ; a burly sea-dog, with a grizzled head, a 
 rough weather-tanned face, sharp, quick eyes, and 
 a close-cut grey beard. He is closely studying the 
 movements of a sturdy, plainly-dressed captain, 
 who seems wholly absorbed in the chances of the 
 game he is playing. This is Sir Francis Drake, 
 the hero of our story, whom, in all these preliminary 
 explanations, we may seem to have neglected, but 
 who is, in truth, the guiding spirit and controlling 
 mind of England's naval preparations. Observe the 
 round, compact head, thickly covered with light- 
 brown, curly hair ; the large, clear, earnest eyes ; 
 the firm mouth, and resolute chin ; the broad, calm 
 brow ; the general expression of dauntless courage, 
 unfailing energy, decision, and promptitude which 
 may be read in each eloquent feature. Another 
 spectator of the game, we recognise at once by his 
 
330 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 handsome, intellectual countenance, and chivalrous 
 bearing, as the courtier, poet, statesman, and adven- j 
 turer whose romantic life I have already narrated — • f 
 Sir Walter Raleigh. The stately, well-favoured 
 nobleman whom all regard with an air of courteous 
 deference, is Lord Charles Howard of Effingham, 
 the Lord High Admiral of England, a loyal Catholic, 
 who is the heart, as Drake is the brain, of the royal 
 fleet. Around him are gathered stout Captain 
 Turner — Richard Hawkins, the "Complete Sea- 
 man " — steadfast Sir Robert Southwell — the gallant 
 Winter — the chivalrous Sir Richard Grenville — 
 the tried and trusty Martin Frobisher — and the 
 young Lord Sheffield. A hero-band, I take il, by 
 no means unworthy of remembrance along with the 
 Three Hundred who fell at Thermopylae, or the 
 handful of gallant Swiss who fought and conquered 
 on the red field of Sempach, "in the brave days 
 of old." 
 
 We can easily suppose that all their discourse 
 turns on one absorbing subject — the King of 
 Spain's Armada. For the long imminent danger 
 has come at length. On the 28th, 29th, and 30th 
 of May, the fleet, after tarrying a month at Lisbon 
 for more favourable weather, has received the bene- 
 diction of the Cardinal Archduke Albert, and set 
 sail on its memorable voyage.* 
 
 * Motley, "United Netherlands," ii. -142. 
 
 i 
 
DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 331 
 
 So heavy were its ships, however, and so unskil- 
 fully managed, that nearly three weeks were con- 
 sumed in sailing from Lisbon to the neighbourhood 
 of Cape Finisterre. 
 
 There the Armada was overtaken by a terrible 
 storm, which dispersed it over the ocean in all direc- 
 tions, and afforded an opportunity to heroic David 
 Gwynn, a Welsh slave on board the "Vasana" 
 galley, to release his fellow-prisoners, overpower 
 the crew, and capture the vessel. " Comrades," 
 exclaimed the sturdy Welshman, " God has given 
 us liberty, and by our courage we must prove our- 
 selves worthy of the boon." Thereupon he laid his 
 ship alongside of another galley, called the " Royal," 
 boarded her, succeeded in mastering the vessel, and, 
 conducting both his prizes to the coast of France, 
 arrived safely at Bayonne on the 31st. 
 
 The rest of the fleet ultimately reassembled at 
 Coruiia, where they remained for a month, repairing 
 damages, and recruiting. On the 22d of July the 
 Armada again set sail. Six days later they took 
 soundings, thirty leagues from the Scilly Islands, 
 and on Friday the 29th of July, off the Lizard 
 Point, first caught a glimpse of the land which the 
 Pope had bestowed upon Philip of Spain. 
 
 Let us now return for a moment to our group of 
 sea-captains on the Hoe of Plymouth. 
 
 We may imagine that the Lord High Admiral 
 
1 
 
 332 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 is just communicating to his astonished hearers the 
 intelligence he has received from Court ; that the 
 Armada, dispersed and shattered by the gales of 
 June, will not make its appearance for another 
 year, and that, therefore, he is to disarm the four 
 largest ships and send them into dock. While he 
 and his captains are anathematising the blindness 
 of statesmen, the report of a single gun seaward 
 directs the attention of every one to a small armed 
 vessel staggering up the Sound under a press of 
 canvas. Soon a boat puts off, rows hastily for the 
 shore, and lands her captain, who, pushing his way 
 through the eager group, makes a profound obei- 
 sance to the Lord High Admiral, and hurriedly 
 tells his tale. His name is Fleming ; his ship is a 
 Leith privateer. While off the Cornish coast he 
 has discovered the mighty array of the Spaniards, 
 bearing down with the wind like so many floating 
 castles, the ocean seeming to groan under the weight 
 of their heavy burdens.* Immediately on discover- 
 ing the enemy, he crowded on every sail his masts 
 would carry, that the Lord High Admiral might 
 obtain an hour or two's grace. At the news, 
 many a sea-captain grasps his ready hilt, and 
 hurries towards the shore ; but Drake stops them- 
 with his hearty laugh : " Let us play out our play ; 
 there will be plenty of time to win the game and 
 
 * Camden, " Chronicles," 1588. 
 
 i 
 
DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 333 
 
 beat the Spaniards too." The game is played 
 out gallantly and steadily — the most memorable 
 game that ever stirred the heart ^of an earnest 
 player ; and the last cast being thrown, Drake and 
 his comrades leap into their boats, and row swiftly 
 on board their respective ships.* — 
 
 With so much alacrity and skill did Drake and 
 Howard direct the movements of their squadrons, 
 that before morning sixty of the best English ships 
 had warped out of Plymouth Harbour.t 
 
 Throughout that anxious night the watch-fires 
 blazed along the English coast, and lit up every 
 promontory and headland, from the Land's End to 
 Berwick-upon-Tweed. The signal was caught up 
 by the wards on the neighbouring hills, and over the 
 whole country flew the fiery-cross, to make known 
 to Englishmen that " the great day of the Lord was 
 at hand." 
 
 This strange and impressive spectacle of England 
 armed, and on the watch, has been described by 
 Lord Macaulay in some vigorous stanzas, not un- 
 worthy of comparison with the famous description 
 of the beacon-lights in ^Eschylus. To many of my 
 readers they will, doubtlessly, be familiar, but I do 
 not think they will object to reperuse so stirring a 
 piece of poetical declamation : — 
 
 * Kingsley, " Westward Ho ! " 
 
 t Motley, ** United Netherlands," ii. 45a 
 
334 SJR FRANCIS DRAKE, 
 
 '* A guard at every gun was placed along the wall ; 
 The beacon blazed upon the roof of Edgecombe's lofty hall ; 
 Many a light fishing-bark put out, to ply along the coast ; 
 And with loose rein, and bloody spur, rode inland many a post 
 
 " With his white hair, unbonneted, the stout old Sheriff comes — 
 Behind him march the halberdiers, before him sound the drums ; 
 The yeomen, round the market-cross, make clear and ample space, 
 For there behoves him to set up the standard of her grace : 
 And haughtily the trumpets peal, and gaily dance the bells, 
 As slow upon the labouring wind the royal blazon swells. 
 Look how the lion of the sea lifts up his ancient crown, 
 And underneath his deadly paw treads the gay lilies down ! 
 
 "So stalk'd he when he tum'd to flight, on that famed Picard field, 
 Bohemia's plume, and Genoa's bow, and Caesar's eagle shield ; 
 So glared he when at Agincourt in wrath he turn'd to bay, 
 And crush'd and torn, beneath his claws, the princely hunters lay. 
 Ho ! strike the flagstaff deep, sir knight ! ho ! scatter flowers, fair 
 
 maids ! 
 
 Ho ! gunners ! fire a loud salute ! ho ! gallants ! draw your blades I 
 Thou sun, shine on her joyously! ye breezes, waft her wide I 
 Our glorious semper eademt the banner of our pride ! 
 
 " The fresh'ning breeze of eve unfurl' d that banner's massy fold — 
 The parting gleam of sunshine kiss'd that haughty scroll of gold ; 
 Night sunk upon the dusty beach, and on the purple sea ; 
 Such night in England ne'er had been, nor ne'er again shall be. 
 From Eddystone to Berwick bounds, from Lynn to Milford Bay, 
 That time of slumber was as bright, as busy as the day ;. 
 For swift to east, and swift to west, the warning radiance spread — 
 High on St Michael's Mount it shone — it shone on Beachy Head. 
 
 " Far o'er the deep the Spaniard saw, along each southern shire, 
 Cape beyond cape, in endless range, those twinkling points of fire. 
 
DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 335 
 
 The fisher left his skiff to rock on Tamar's glittering wave, 
 The rugged miners pour'd to war, from Mendip's sunless caves ; 
 O'er Langleat's towers, o'er Cranbourne's oaks, the fiery herald flew, 
 And roused the shepherds of Stonehenge, the rangers of Beaulieu. 
 Right sharp and quick the bells rang out all night from Bristol 
 
 town, 
 And, ere the day, three hundred horse had met on Clifton Down. 
 
 " The sentinel on Whitehall gate looked forth into the night. 
 And saw, o'erhanging Richmond hill, that streak of blood-red light : 
 The bugle's note, and cannon's roar, the death-like silence broke, 
 And with one start, and with one cry, the royal city woke; 
 At once, on all her stately gates, arose the answering fires ; 
 At once the wild alamm clash'd from all her reeling spires ; 
 From all the batteries of the Tower peal'd loud the voice of fear, 
 And all the thousand masts of Thames sent back a louder cheer : 
 
 *' And from the farthest wards was heard the rush of hurrying feet, 
 And the broad streams of flags and pikes dash'd down each roaring 
 
 street : 
 And broader still became the blaze, and louder still the din, 
 As fast from every village round the horse came spurring in; 
 And eastward straight, for wild Blackheath, the warlike errand 
 
 went. 
 And roused, in many an ancient hall, the gallant squires of Kent : 
 Southward, for Surrey's pleasant hills, flew those bright coursers 
 
 forth; 
 High on black Hampstead's swarthy moor, they started for the nortli ; 
 
 •* And on, and on, without a pause, untired they bounded still; 
 All night from tower to tower they sprang, all night from hill to hill ; 
 Till the proud Peak unfurl'd the flag o'er Derwent's rocky dales ; 
 Till, like volcanoes, flared to heaven the stormy hills of Wales ; 
 Till twelve fair counties saw the blaze on Malvern's lonely height ; 
 Till stream'd in crimson, <m the wind, the Wrekin's crest of light , 
 
336 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 Till, broad and fierce, the star came forth, on Ely's sacred fane, 
 And town and hamlet rose in arms, o'er all the boundless plain; 
 Till Belvoir's lordly towers the sign to Lincoln sent, 
 And Lincoln spread the message on, o'er the wide vale of Trent ; 
 Till Skiddaw saw the fire that burnt on Gaunt's embattled pile, 
 And the red glare on Skiddaw roused the burghers of Carlisle." 
 
 On Saturday the 30th of July, a dull, misty day, 
 the two hostile fleets, which respectively represented 
 the cause of Freedom and the lust of Universal 
 Empire, the hopes of Protestantism and the plans 
 of an aggressive Romanism, came in sight of each 
 other. 
 
 By nine o'clock, on Sunday morning, the 31st of 
 July, when about ten miles from Looe, on the Cornish 
 coast, they first came to blows. The Spaniards num- 
 bered 1 36 sail, of which 90 were large ships ; and 
 the English 6y. It was, to the latter, a supreme 
 moment of half painful, half confident expectancy. 
 Were they defeated, there was nothing to prevent 
 the enemy from landing ; and nothing, as Drake 
 well knew, when they had once landed, to prevent 
 a veteran army, led by a veteran general, from 
 marching straight upon London. The appearance 
 presented by the Armada was impressive, nay, 
 almost theatrical ; but I do not believe it made 
 one English heart to falter. The ships, says Motley, 
 seemed arranged for a pageant in honour of a victory 
 already won. Disposed in form of a crescent, whose 
 
 hose] 
 
DELIVEkANCE OF ENGLAND, 337 
 
 horns were seven miles asunder, those gilded, towered, 
 floating castles, with their brilliant standards and 
 martial music, slowly bore up the channel.* Their 
 Admiral, the "Golden Duke," stood in his private 
 shot-proof turret,t on the deck of his great galleon, 
 the "Saint Martin," surrounded by guards of infantry 
 and captains of cavalry, no better acquainted than 
 himself with naval tactics. Round these unwieldy 
 galleons and galleys, the light English ships, com- 
 manded by able and experienced seamen, hovered 
 with the utmost freedom ; obtained the weather- 
 gage at once ; and at intervals cannonaded their 
 enemies with no inconsiderable effect, easily escap- 
 ing out of range at will, and so avoiding the crash- 
 ing broadsides from their heavy ordnance. 
 
 In vain the "Golden Duke" attempted to bring 
 on a general engagement. This was not the object 
 of Drake or Howard, who knew that in a ship-to- 
 ship fight, the strongest would necessarily conquer. 
 They availed themselves of their swifter vessels and 
 superior nautical skill to hover about the enemy's 
 flanks or follow at his heels, singling out any stray 
 galleon for especial punishment, and harassing the 
 Spaniards in what must have proved to them a most 
 intolerable manner. 
 
 Before the sun set the Armada must have seen 
 good reason to doubt its presumed invincibility. 
 
 * Motley, "United Netherlands," ii. 450. t Meteren, xv. 274. 
 
 Y 
 
338 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 Powder and shot being very fruitlessly expended,] 
 a master-gunner on board Admiral Aguendo's flag-j 
 ship, received a reprimand for careless firing. H( 
 was a Fleming, and, probably his heart was not inj 
 his work. Enraged with his captain, he laid a train t< 
 the powder-magazine, fired it, and leaped overboard. 
 Two decks blew up, and the great castled poop, with] 
 a large treasure, and nearly 200 men* The rest 
 were saved in boats which put off to the wreck. 
 
 In the evening another disaster occurred. The] 
 galleon of Don Pedro de Valdez, got into collision 
 with two or three Spanish ships successively, sprang 
 her foremast, and was left behind. Frobisher inl 
 the "Triumph," and Hawkins in the "Victory, 
 fastened upon the Spaniard like two bulldogs, butj 
 under the cover of night he resisted bravely. 
 
 The following day, however, Sir Francis Drake,] 
 espying the unfortunate struggle, sent forth aj 
 pinnace to command him to yield, otherwise hisj 
 bullets should force them without further favour.! 
 But Valdez, to seem valorous (says Speed), answered-' 
 that they were 450 strong ; that himself was Dorti 
 Pedro, and stood on his honour, and thereupon 
 propounded certain conditions. Drake replied that 
 he was too busy to parley ; if he would yield, he 
 must promptly do it ; if not, he should well prove 
 that Francis Drake was no dastard. No sooner 
 
 * Camden, iii. 412. 
 
DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 339 
 
 did Valdez know that it was the fiery Drake (ever 
 terrible to the Spaniards) who had him in chase, 
 than with forty of his followers he repaired on board 
 his ship ; where, first giving him the cong4, he pro- 
 tested that he, and all his, were resolved to die in 
 defence, had they not fallen under the power of him 
 whose valour and felicity were so great that Mars and 
 Neptune seemed to attend him in his attempts, and 
 whose generous mind towards the vanquished had 
 often been experienced, even by his greatest foes. 
 
 Sir Francis, requiting his Spanish compliments 
 with honourable English courtesies, placed him at 
 his own table, and lodged him in his own cabin. 
 The residue of that company, adds Speed, were 
 sent into Plymouth, where they remained eighteen 
 months until their ransoms were paid ; but Drake's 
 soldiers had well paid themselves with the spoil of 
 the ship, wherein were 55,000 ducats in gold, which 
 they shared merrily among them.* 
 
 On Monday the ist of August there was no 
 fighting. The Duke of Medina Sidonia divided his 
 unwieldy fleet into two great divisions, of which he 
 took the van, placing the rear — which consisted of 
 forty-three ships in all, including four of the largest 
 galleons — under Don Antonio de Leyva. He was 
 
 • Hawkins and Frobisher afterwards claimed a share of the prize 
 and ransom-money ; to which they do not seem to have been entitled, 
 as they bore no part in the direct capture of the galleon. 
 
340 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 instructed to bring the English to close quarters 
 if possible, and seize every opportunity of bringing 
 on a general engagement. 
 
 By dawn of Tuesday the 2d of August, the 
 Armada lay between Portland Rise and St Alban's 
 Head, and, the wind shifting to the north-east, 
 obtained the weather-gage. The Spaniards took 
 advantage of it to attack the English, and a 
 fiercely- contested action ensued. "We had a 
 sharp and long fight," says Hawkins. For while, 
 on the one hand, the English manfully rescued the 
 ships of London, which were hemmed in by the 
 Spaniards ; so, on the other side, the Spaniards as 
 stoutly delivered Recalde, the Admiral of the Bis- 
 cayan fleet, when he was in danger of being cap- 
 tured. Never was heard such thundering of ord- 
 nance on both sides, though the Spanish guns, 
 being ill served, sent most of their shot over the 
 heads of their antagonists. One Mr Cook, or Cope, 
 was the only Englishman that died bravely in the I 
 midst of his enemies, commanding his own ship. 
 The reason was, says one of the historians,* that the 
 English ships were moved and managed with such 
 agility, giving their broadsides to the larger and 
 more unwieldy of the enemy, and sheering off again 
 just as they pleased, while the Spanish ships lay as 
 so many butts for the English to fire at. This was 
 
 • Camden, iii. 413. 
 
DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 341 
 
 the most furious and bloody skirmish of all, in 
 which the Lord Admiral, in the "Ark Royal," 
 fighting in the thick of the melee, and seeing one 
 of his captains, the gallant Fenner, afar off, ex- 
 claimed, " Oh ! George, what doest thou ? Wilt thou 
 now frustrate my hopes and opinions conceived of 
 thee ? Wilt thou forsake me now ? " These words 
 so inflamed the spirit of the English seaman that 
 he carried his vessel into the press, and relieved 
 his commander. 
 
 During the struggle, the English were continually 
 receiving reinforcements of men, and fresh supplies 
 of warlike munitions. Many noble volunteers — such 
 as Cumberland, Oxford, Northumberland, Raleigh, 
 Brooke, Dudley, Willoughby, Noel, Hatton, and 
 Thomas Cecil — could no longer control their im- 
 patient minds, but as the thunder of the cannon 
 rolled along the rocky coast of Dorset, they has- 
 tened merrily on board the ships of Drake, Haw- 
 kins, Howard, and Frobisher, — like gallants to a 
 wedding, — or came in small vessels, equipped at 
 their own expense, to play their part in the fierce 
 struggle, and taste the delights of battle.* 
 
 The English fleet now mustered about one hun- 
 dred ships, and was divided into four squadrons, 
 under the commanders already named. 
 
 The morning of the 3d of August found both 
 
 • Motley, "United Netherlands," iii. 455. 
 
342 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 armaments off the western headlands of the Isle 
 of Wight. Howard sent to Portsmouth for am 
 munition, and the day went down in silence, for the 
 wind had sunk to a dead calm, and the two great 
 fleets drifted onward slowly with the tide. 
 
 The 4th of August* was St James' day, — the f^te 
 day of the patron saint of Spain, St Jago of Com 
 postella — of him who, mounted on a snow-white 
 steed, had appeared in the front of the battle in 
 one of the Spanish encounters with the Moors, and 
 led his worshippers to the victory. Remembering 
 this tradition, the Spanish galleys and three of the 
 great galleons — the fourth had suffered sorely in 
 Tuesday's fighting — made ready to attack the 
 English, and found them nothing loth for the 
 combat. The brunt of the assault fell upon Fro- 
 bisher, who, however, maintained the unequal conflict 
 with sturdy resolution, until the Lord High Admiral, 
 accompanied by the " Golden Lion," the " White 
 Bear," the "Elizabeth," the "Victory," and the! 
 "Leicester,'* bore down to his rescue, and drove 
 straight into the very heart of the Spanish fleet. 
 There was hot work, then, my masters ! The 
 Englishmen were fighting, as they best loved to 
 fight, at close quarters, and from maintop and rigg- 
 ing they so plied their musketry, and they so swiftly 
 
 * Throughout this narrative the dates are given in accordance with 
 the New Style. The 4th of August, n.s., is the 25th of July, o.s. 
 
I 
 
 DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 343 
 
 discharged broadside after broadside, now raking a 
 Spanish galley from stem to stern, now pouring a 
 storm of shot into the port-holes of some large 
 galleons, that the Spaniards found themselves in a 
 sad condition ; and when the Lord Admiral with- 
 drew his ships — having no design to risk the fortunes 
 of England on a single battle — they made no attempt 
 to follow him, but lay sullenly on the water like a 
 lion which has been well baited by nimble hounds. 
 
 And so, to use the words of Kingsley,* the fight 
 thundered on the live-long afternoon, beneath the 
 virgin cliffs of Freshwater; while myriad sea-fowl 
 rose screaming up from every ledge, and with their 
 black wings spotted the snow-white walls of chalk ; 
 and the lone shepherd hurried down the slopes 
 above to peer over the dizzy edge, and forgot the 
 wheat- ear fluttering in his snare, while, trembling, he 
 gazed upon glimpses of tall masts and gorgeous 
 flags, piercing at times the league-broad veil of 
 sulphur smoke which weltered far below. 
 
 Friday the 5th of August was a tranquil summer 
 day, and while the Armada rolled along the southern 
 coast of the Isle of Wight, with the English fleet 
 hovering to windward, the Lord Admiral summoned 
 on board the "Ark Royal" Lord Sheffield, Lord 
 Thomas Howard, Roger Townsend, Martin Fro- 
 bisher, and John Hawkins, and, in recognition of 
 
 * Kingsley, "Westward Ho!" c. 31 
 
344 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 their courage and devotion, bestowed upon them 
 the honour of knighthood. "Truly," said rough 
 John Hawkins, after submitting his shoulder to the 
 accolade, "truly my old woman will hardly know 
 herself again when folks call her Afy Lady."* 
 
 All next day the two fleets sailed up the Channel 
 in hostile but silent companionship, and at last, on 
 Saturday afternoon, the 6th of August, the Armada 
 dropped anchor in the roads of Calais, where, accord- 
 ing to Philip's scheme, it was to be reinforced by 
 the army and flotilla of the Duke of Parma. 
 
 And that same afternoon the English Admiral 
 was joined by Lord Henry Seymour, with his 
 squadron of sixteen vessels, and there he, too, 
 dropped anchor, to the eastward of Calais, and 
 within a mile and a-half of the French shore. 
 
 Never, since England was England, says Mr 
 Motley '^ — the grandeur of his theme inspiring him 
 with unwonted eloquence — had such a sight been 
 seen as now revealed itself in those narrow straits 
 between Dover and Calais. Along that low, sandy 
 shore, and quite within the range of the Calais forti- 
 fications, 130 Spanish ships — the greater number of 
 them the largest and most heavily armed in the 
 world — lay face to face, and scarcely out of cannon- | 
 shot, with 150 English sloops and frigates, the 1 
 
 * Camden, "Armada," iii. 414. 
 
 t Motley, "United Netherlands," ii. 459, 460 
 
DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 345 
 
 strongest and swiftest that the island could furnish, 
 and commanded by men whose exploits had rung 
 through the world. 
 
 Further along the coast, invisible, but known to 
 be performing a most perilous and vital service, was 
 a squadron of Dutch vessels of all sizes, lining both 
 the inner and outer edges of the sandbanks of the 
 Flemish coasts, and swarming in all the estuaries 
 and inlets of that intricate and dangerous cruising- 
 ground between Dunkirk and the Texel. Those 
 fleets of Holland and Zealand, numbering some 150 
 galleons, sloops, and fly-boats, lay patiently blockad- 
 ing every possible egress from Newport, Gravelines, 
 Sluys, Flushing, Dunkirk, and longing to grapple 
 with the Duke of Parma, so soon as his fleet of gun- 
 boats and hoys, packed with his Spanish and Italian 
 veterans, should venture to set forth upon the sea 
 for their long-prepared exploit. 
 
 Sunday, August the 7th, was, for England and 
 Englishmen, a day of intense anxiety and awful 
 suspense. Many an earnest prayer went up to 
 Heaven that day from the congregations gathered 
 in the crowded churches — from the sick and ailing 
 in their solitude at home ! In this hour of peril the 
 Queen's Majesty herself had composed a private 
 meditation, which was forwarded to her generals at 
 Plymouth and elsewhere, and which ran as follows:* 
 * MS. in British Museum, indorsed by Sir Robert Cecil 
 
346 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 " Most Omnipotent, and Guider of all our world's 
 wars, that only searchest and fathomest the bottom 
 of all hearts' conceits, and in them seest the true 
 original of all actions intended, how no malice of 
 revenge, nor quittance of injury, nor desire of blood- 
 shed, nor greediness of lucre, hath bred the resolu- 
 tion of our now set-out army, but a heedful care 
 and wary watch, that no neglect of foes, nor over-~ 
 surety of harm, might breed either danger to us or 
 glory to them : these being grounds, Thou that didst 
 inspire the mind, we humbly beseech, with bended 
 knees, prosper the work, and with the best fore- 
 winds guide the journey, speed the victory, and 
 make the return the advancement of Thy glory^ 
 the triumph of Thy fame, and surety to the realm, 
 with the least loss of English blood. 
 
 " To these devout petitions, Lord, give Thou Thy 
 blessed grant. Amen." 
 
 There was, indeed, full cause for humble and 
 devout prayer. The "Golden Duke" had de- 
 spatched messenger after messenger to bid Parma 
 put to sea, and pressed for a reinforcement of light 
 vessels, fit to compete with the nimble English 
 barks. It was true the watchful Hollanders had 
 hitherto held him safe in port, where he raged like 
 a bear bound to a stake, longing and yet unable to 
 pounce on his puny antagonists. But if the Armada < 
 could drive off the English fleet, a junction might : 
 
 d 
 
DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 347 
 
 still be effected ; and Drake and Howard were too 
 good seamen not to know that in a close and gene- 
 ral engagement the superior size, weight, and num- 
 bers of the Spanish must inevitably prevail. 
 
 And therefore the Lord Admiral, holding council 
 with his captains, and gazing on the vast galleons 
 and galleasses, which rode on the water like so 
 many floating castles, might well exclaim : 
 
 " Considering their hugeness, 'twill not be possible 
 to remove them but by a device ! " 
 
 At that moment Winter happened to remember 
 the fire-ships designed some years before by the 
 Italian engineer Gianibelli, and used at the siege 
 of Antwerp. He suggested* that something of the 
 same kind might now be attempted, with the view 
 of producing a panic among the Spaniards, who had 
 much reason to recollect Gianibelli's terrible device. 
 His suggestion was adopted eagerly. Six vessels 
 were filled with wildfire, rosin, pitch, and brimstone, 
 and gallantly towed down before the wind by two 
 brave captains. Young and Prowse. 
 
 It was night, a deep dark night, with indications 
 in sky and sea of a coming gale. The look-outs on 
 the Spanish galleons could with difficulty pierce the 
 intense obscurity. Suddenly the faint thud of oars, 
 
 • That this suggestion was made by Winter is clearly shown by 
 his letter to Walsingham, nth Aug. 1588 (S. P. Office MS.), quoted 
 by Motley. 
 
348 SIR FRANCIS BRAKE. 
 
 regularly plied, fell upon their ears. A moment 
 more, and the waves were lighted up with a dazzling 
 glare ! And the strange radiance revealed to the eyes 
 of the startled Spaniards the outlines of six flaming 
 vessels bearing right down upon their unwieldy array, 
 and bringing with them death and destruction. 
 
 There is nothing so contagious as fear. A yell 
 arose on every hand : " The fire-ships of Antwerp ! 
 The fire-ships of Antwerp are upon us !" Cables 
 were hastily cut — galleon, galleas, patache, each 
 drove through the ruck, regardless of their com- 
 rades, heeding nothing, mad with panic alarm, 
 hurrying to escape ! Vainly the Admiral-Duke en- 
 deavoured to reassemble his scattering fleet. The 
 Spaniards would listen neither to commands nor 
 entreaties. Two of their ships were already a-blaze, 
 and who could tell how many more might be in- 
 volved in the calamity } All was over ! Spain had 
 played her great stake, and lost. When morning 
 dawned, the stately Armada was driving in hope- 
 less confusion towards the Flemish coast. 
 
 And as morning dawned (Monday, August the 
 8th), the English began the chase, led by Drake 
 and Fenner, who were soon followed closely by 
 Fenton and Southwell, Cross, Burton, and Rayner, 
 the Lord Admiral, Lord Thomas Howard, and 
 Lord Sheffield. The boats of the "Ark Royal," 
 with those of the " Delight " and the " Margaret and 
 
DELIVERANCE OP ENGLAND. 349 
 
 Joan," dashed after Don Hugo de Mon^ada's flag- 
 ship, the "Capitana," and, after a sharp but brief 
 encounter, carried her. Off Gravelines, the whole 
 Enghsh fleet came up, and the Armada was 
 brought to bay. The action was begun by Drake 
 in the "Revenge," supported by Frobisher in the 
 " Triumph," and Hawkins in the " Victory ; " others 
 plunging into the melee as they arrived upon the 
 scene. It lasted six hours — to the great glory of 
 the English, who were still terribly overmatched by 
 their gigantic antagonists. 
 
 "Howbeit," says the old historian,* "there were 
 many excellent and warlike ships in the English 
 fleet, yet scarce were there twenty-two or twenty- 
 three among them all, which matched ninety of the 
 Spanish ships in bigness, or could conveniently 
 assault them. Wherefore, the English ships, using 
 their prerogative of steerage, whereby they could 
 turn and wield themselves with the wind which 
 way they listed, came oftentimes very near upon 
 the Spaniards, and charged them so sore that now 
 and then they were but a pike's length asunder ; 
 and so continually giving them one broadside after 
 another, they discharged all their shot, both great 
 and small, upon them, spending one whole day, 
 from morning till night, in that violent kind of 
 conflict, until such time as powder and bullets 
 
 • Camden, iii. 414, 415, 416. 
 
350 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 failed them. In regard of which want they thought 
 it convenient not to pursue the Spaniards any 
 longer, because they had many great vantages of 
 the English, namely, for the extraordinary bigness 
 of their ships, and also for that they were so nearly 
 conjoyned, and kept together in so good array, that 
 they could by no meanes be fought withall one toj 
 one. The English thought, therefore, that they 
 had right well acquitted themselves, in chasing the 
 Spaniards first from Callies, and then from Dun- 
 kerk, and by that meanes to have hindered them 
 from joyning with the Duke of Parma his forces, 
 and getting the wind of them to have driven them 
 from their own coasts. 
 
 "The Spaniards that day," continues our authority, 
 " sustained great loss and damage, having many of 
 their shippes shot thorow and thorow, and they 
 discharged likewise great store of ordnance against 
 the English ; who indeed sustained some hindrance, 
 but not comparable to the Spaniards' loss ; for they 
 lost not any one ship or person of account, for very 
 diligent inquisition having been made, the English- 
 men all that tyme wherein the Spanish navy sayled 
 upon their seas, are not found to have wanted above 
 one hundred of their people; albeit Sir Francis 
 Drake's ship was pierced with shot forty times, and 
 his very cabben was twice shot thorow, and about 
 the conclusion of the fight, the bed of a certain 
 
 i 
 
w 
 
 DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 351 
 
 gentleman lying weary thereupon was taken quite 
 from under him with the force of a bullet. Like- 
 wise, as the Earl of Northumberland and Sir Charles 
 Blunt were at dinner upon a time, the bullet of a 
 demi-culveryn brake thorow the middest of their 
 cabben, touched their feet, and strooke downe two 
 of the standers by, with many such accidents be- 
 falling the English shippes, which it were tedious 
 to rehearse." 
 
 The result of the day's fighting may be thus 
 summed up : Three Spanish galleons sunk, thirteen 
 others driven ashore as hopeless wrecks, and from 
 four to five thousand Spanish soldiers and seamen 
 killed by the English shot. " Surely," wrote Winter, 
 " every man in our fleet did well, and the slaughter 
 the enemy received was great. . . . God hath mightily 
 preserved her Majesty's forces, with the least losses 
 that ever hath been heard of, being within the com- 
 pass of so great volleys of shot, both small and 
 great. I verily believe there is not threescore men 
 lost of her Majesty's forces." 
 
 The defeat of the enemy would have been still 
 more effective, had not the supply of ammunition 
 failed on board the English ships. But the 
 Spaniards were utterly cowed, and although still 
 numerous enough to have destroyed their antagonists, 
 had they been properly handled, they thought of 
 nothing but a speedy flight. " A thing greatly to be 
 
352 SIR PRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 regretted," said Fenner,* " is that the Ahnighty hath 
 stricken them with a wonderful fear. I have hardly- 
 seen any of their companies succoured of the extre- 
 mities which befell them after their fights, but they 
 have been left at utter ruin, while they bear as 
 much sail as ever they possibly can." " In very 
 conscience," wrote Winter, " I think the Duke would 
 give his dukedom to be in Spain again." 
 
 On Tuesday afternoon, the 9th, the English 
 Admiral called a council of war ; whereat it was 
 determined that Lord Seymour and his squadron 
 should return to guard the mouth of the Thames 
 against any attempt on the part of Parma, while 
 the pursuit was continued by the remainder of the 
 fleet. So Drake, and Howard, and Frobisher 
 followed the flying Spaniards through the North 
 Sea from Tuesday night until Friday morning — 
 Drake ardently longing for another brush with his 
 old enemies. " We have the army of Spain before 
 us," he wrote to Walsingham,+ "and hope, with the 
 grace of God, to wrestle or fall with him. There 
 never was anything pleased me better than seeing 
 the enemy flying with a southerly wind to the 
 northward. God grant you have a good eye to 
 the Duke of Parma, for, with the grace of God, if 
 we live, I doubt not so to handle the matter with 
 
 * Fenner to Walsingham, 14th August 1588, cited by Motley. 
 t Barrow, ** Life of Drake." 
 
\ 
 
 DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 853 
 
 the Duke of Sidonia as he shall wish himself at St 
 Mary's Port among his orange trees." 
 
 Drake, however, did not obtain "the pull" he 
 longed for. As the weather was threatening, and 
 no further danger to be apprehended from the 
 Armada, Howard deemed it prudent to abandon 
 the chase, leaving two pinnaces to dog the fleet 
 until it should be past the Isles of Scotland. So 
 the English ships went homeward, and in four or 
 five days all arrived safely in Margate Roads ; while 
 the Armada, caught in the terrible tempest which 
 raged throughout the remainder of the month of 
 August, strewed the coasts of Norway, Scotland, 
 and Ireland with its bones, — of 134 vessels which 
 sailed in such splendid pomp from Coruna, not 
 more than 53, great and small, returning to the 
 Spanish ports ; and of the 30,000 men they carried, 
 not more than 10,000 ever seeing their native land 
 again. 
 
 The story of the Armada was summed up very 
 pithily by our hero in a published statement, which 
 showed that Drake was not less ready with his pen 
 than his sword :* 
 
 " It was happily manifested in very deed to all 
 nations, how this navy, which they termed invincible, 
 consisting of 140 sail of ships, not only of their 
 own kingdom, but strengthened with the greatest 
 
 * Barrow, " Life of Drake," pp. 145, 146. 
 
354 SJR FRANCIS DRAKE, 
 
 argosies, Portugal carracks, Florentines, and large 
 hulks of other countries, were, by thirty of Her 
 Majesty's own ships of war, and a few of our 
 merchants, by the wise, valiant, and advantageous 
 conduct of the Lord Charles Howard, High Admiral 
 of England, beaten and shuffled together even from 
 the Lizard in Cornwall, first to Portland, where they 
 shamefully left Don Pedro de Valdez, with his 
 mighty ship : from Portland to Calais, where they 
 lost Hugh de Mon9ado, with the galleys of which 
 he was captain ; and from Calais, driven with squalls 
 from their anchors, were chased out of sight of 
 England, round about Scotland and Ireland ; where, 
 for the sympathy of their religion, hoping to find 
 succour and assistance, a great part of them were 
 washed against the rocks, and those other that 
 landed, being very many in number, were, notwith- 
 standing, broken, slain, and taken ; and so sent from 
 village to village, coupled in halters, to be shipped 
 into England, where Her Majesty, of her princely 
 and invincible disposition, disdaining to put them 
 to death, and scorning either to retain, or entertain 
 them, they were all sent back again to their coun- 
 tries to witness and recount the worthy achievement 
 of their invincible and dreaded navy. Of which the 
 number of soldiers, the fearful burthen of their ships, 
 the commanders' names of every squadron, with all 
 other, their magazines of provisions, were put in 
 
DELIVERANCE OF ENGLAND. 355 
 
 print, as an army and navy irresistible and dreading 
 prevention ; with all which their great, terrible osten- 
 tation they did not, in all their sailing round about 
 England, as much as sink or take one ship, bark, 
 pinnace, or cockboat of ours, or even burn so much 
 as one sheepcote in this land." 
 
 It is needless to describe the enthusiasm excited 
 in the country by the failure of the projected inva- 
 sion, or the welcome accorded to Drake, Howard, 
 Frobisher, Winter, and the other great captains who 
 had done their work with so much prudence and 
 boldness. The Queen went in state to St Paul's, 
 through streets decorated with blue cloth and 
 banners, and under the sacred roof she graciously 
 saluted by name her illustrious commanders ; after 
 which a solemn thanksgiving was duly offered up. 
 And in every church, from Berwick to Land's End, 
 public and general thanks unto God were also given, 
 with all devotion, and inward affection of heart, and 
 humbleness, for His gracious favour extended to- 
 wards the land in its dehverance and defence, in the 
 wonderful overthrow and destruction showed by His 
 mighty hand on its malicious enemies the Spaniards, 
 who had thought to invade and make a conquest of 
 the realm. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LAST YEARS OF DRAKE'S LIFE. 
 
 ** Fortune has turns of loss and turns of honour, 
 And the most valiant feel them both." 
 
 John Fletcher, "The Humorous Lieutenant." 
 
 HE spirits of Englishmen were mightily 
 exalted by the successes achieved in the 
 great encounter with the Armada, and 
 knowing that Philip's desire of conquest would now 
 be urged forward by an imperious desire of revenge, 
 they resolved on carrying the war into his own 
 kingdom, to show themselves as vigorous in attack 
 as they were resolute in defence. It was determined 
 to assist Don Antonio, bastard of Portugal, and pre- 
 tender to its crown, in an attempt to excite an in- 
 surrection among the Portuguese, and rescue them 
 from the Spanish yoke. 
 
 In the expedition equipped for this bold, but not 
 altogether well-considered purpose, the Dutch had 
 a share; contributing 1500 soldiers, under Nicolas 
 van Meetkerke and Van Laen, and forty ships. 
 
LAST YEARS OF DRAKE'S LIFE. 357 
 
 The Queen supplied sixty thousand pounds in 
 money, and six ships of war ; and about one hun- 
 dred and fourteen armed merchantmen and other 
 craft were fitted out by the noble volunteers and 
 wealthy traders of England. The total force com- 
 prised 1 60 ships and 14,000 men. As a matter of 
 necessity, the naval command was entrusted to 
 Drake ; who was associated with a skilful and 
 veteran soldier, Sir John Norris ; and among the 
 more notable personages who sailed under their 
 joint leadership, were the young Earl of Essex, Sir 
 Edward Norris, Harry Norris, Roger Williams, the 
 gallant Winter, and Fenner. Drake hoisted his flag 
 in his old ship, the " Revenge."* 
 
 The enterprise, however, did not prove as suc- 
 cessful as might have been anticipated from the 
 character of the men who led it ; chiefly, perhaps, 
 from the attempt that was made to combine a com- 
 mercial with a military object — to do as much injury 
 to the enemy as possible, but to secure as much 
 profit as possible for the merchant adventurers 
 who had largely helped to equip the expedition. 
 
 Sailing from Plymouth on the i8th of April 1589, 
 Drake made his first attack on Corufia, where, as 
 usual, his men displayed a prodigious valour. Many 
 ships were burned, and the lower portion of the town 
 
 • Barrow, "Life of Drake," pp. 151, 152; Hakluyt, "Voyages, 
 ii., pt. 2, 121. 
 
358 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 was captured, but an attempt on the upper was re- 
 pulsed by an overwhelming force. The commanders 
 then re-embarked the troops, and on the lOth of 
 May sailed down the coast of Portugal, arriving at 
 Peniche, about forty miles from Lisbon, on the 19th. 
 Here they once more landed, entered the town 
 without opposition, captured the castle, and then 
 struck boldly across the country to the very walls 
 of the Portuguese capital, while Drake, with the 
 fleet, prepared to sail up the Tagiis. The great 
 seaman, however, was prevented from co-operating 
 with the army by contrary winds. The troops, on 
 their adventurous march, suffered terribly from dy- 
 sentery, and died by scores ; and when they arrived 
 before the gates of Lisbon, reduced in number to 
 some four thousand, they found themselves with- 
 out a solitary field-piece.* Moreover, the delay at 
 Coruna had given the enemy time to collect his 
 soldiers, and post them strongly for the defence of 
 the capital. Yet it is a remarkable proof of the 
 dread in which the Spaniards held their hardy 
 antagonists, that, enfeebled and ill-provided as 
 these were, no attack was made upon them, and 
 they were suffered to retrace their steps at their 
 leisure to Cadiz. 
 
 Here they re-embarked, and set sail from the 
 Tagus. On their homeward voyage they landed 
 
 • Camden, iii. 431-433; Barrow, "Life of Drake," pp. 160, 161. 
 
LAST YEARS OF DRAKE'S LIFE. 359 
 
 and burned Vigo, and arrived at Plymouth in the 
 middle of July. 
 
 The result of the expedition was not what had 
 been expected, yet it served to convince the English 
 of their superiority over the Spaniards, for had not 
 a handful of troops marched unmolested from 
 Peniche to Lisbon ? Had they not burned villages, 
 captured towns, humbled the generals, and defied 
 the armies of Spain ?* And so much failure as had 
 taken place, was rightly attributed, not to any want 
 of conduct or earnestness on the part of Drake and 
 Norris, but to insufficiency of means, the lukewarm- 
 ness of the Portuguese, and the sudden mortality 
 among the troops.t 
 
 Most men, says Camden, were of opinion that 
 the English navy answered all points, both of re- 
 venge and honour, having in so short a compass of 
 time taken one town by storm, made a glorious 
 assault upon another, driven before them a very 
 potent army, landed their forces in four several 
 places, marched seven days together in order of 
 battle, and, with colours flying through the enemy's 
 country, attacked a strong and flourishing city with 
 a small handful of men, and lodged for three nights 
 
 * "The world will speak," wrote Roger Williams, "how 5000 
 Englishmen dared the Spaniards to battle at the gates of Lisbon. " 
 t Barrow, " Life of Drake, " p. 169. 
 
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 
 
 in the suburbs of it. Besides that, they beat the 
 enemy back to the very gates, after they had made 
 a sally ; took two castles on the sea, and spoiled 
 the enemy of all their stores and ammunition. 
 
 Of the next four years of Drake's stirring and 
 busy life we possess but few particulars. In 1592-3 
 he sat in Parliament as the representative of Ply- 
 mouth, and it is a proof of his untiring energy that 
 his name appears upon all the committees on public 
 business, and the bills from several of them were 
 put into his hands. Needless to add that he con- 
 stantly advocated hostilities against Spain, and 
 maintained the necessity of keeping the navy in 
 an efficient condition. 
 
 In 1594 he was once more called to active ser- 
 vice, the Queen's Government having determined 
 on a new expedition against the Spanish colonies, 
 projected, in the first place, by Sir John Hawkins. 
 In the command of this expedition, which consisted 
 of six Queen's and twenty private ships,* Drake was 
 associated with Hawkins, his old "companion-in- 
 arms," and hoisted his flag in the "Defiance." 
 Their principal lieutenants were York, Troughton, 
 Winter, Thomas Drake, Sir Nicholas Clifford, and 
 Sir Thomas Baskerville, commander of the land 
 forces. 
 
 The destination of the fleet was Puerto Rico, 
 
 * Majmard says twenty-seven, and 2500 men. 
 
LAST YEARS OF DRAKE'S LIFE. 361 
 
 where a vast treasure was supposed to have been 
 accumulated, preparatory to its removal to Spain, 
 for the purpose of equipping another " invincible 
 armada" against England. 
 
 Drake and Hawkins quitted Plymouth on the 
 28th of August 1595, and on the 27th of September 
 arrived off the island of Grand Canary, which they 
 resolved to subdue. Some time was lost in seeking 
 a convenient landing-place, and the delay giving 
 the Spaniards time to concentrate their forces, the 
 English were compelled to retire " without receiving 
 or doing any harm worth the writing." However, 
 they succeeded in obtaining a supply of fresh water 
 on the western side of the island, but Captain 
 Grimstone and his boat's crew, wandering to some 
 distance from the shore, were surprised by the 
 herdsmen, and the captain, his boy, and a surgeon 
 slain. 
 
 On the 8th of November, as related in my 
 memoir of Sir John Hawkins, the fleet anchored 
 within the Virgin Islands, where they stayed four 
 days. They then stood for the eastern end of 
 Puerto Rico. Unhappily, one of their small vessels, 
 the " Francis," separating from Hawkins's squadron, 
 fell in with, and was captured by, some Spanish 
 ships, and intelligence of the English designs was 
 thus spread abroad through all the West Indian 
 colonies, enabling them to complete their defen- 
 
362 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 sive preparations.* On the I2th, the fleet came to 
 anchor before Puerto Rico, and that same day, about 
 three o'clock, Sir John Hawkins died. The Spanish 
 forts soon afterwards opened fire upon Drake and 
 his vessels, to the imminent peril of their com- 
 mander, for as he sat at supper in his flagship the 
 " Defiance," with Sir Nicholas Clifford and " divers 
 others," a shot came amongst them, and wounded 
 Sir Nicholas, Drake's tried and trusty friend 
 "Brute" Brown, Captain Stafford, and some of 
 the bystanders. Clifford died that night, and 
 Brown five or six days after, Drake exclaiming, 
 "Oh, dear Brute! I would grieve for thee.; but 
 now is no time for me to let down my spirits." t 
 
 This unlucky accident induced Drake to shift his 
 quarters, and the following morning he dropped 
 anchor before the point without the town, a little 
 to the westward. Here they remained till night- 
 fall, and then twenty-five pinnaces, boats, and 
 shallops, well manned, and furnished with fireworks 
 and small shot, entered the road. 
 
 The Spaniards, however, had prepared for the 
 unbidden guests a rough welcome. They had 
 landed the treasure, sunk the galleon which carried 
 it in the mouth of the channel, and on both sides 
 erected a floating barrier of masts, so as to render 
 
 ♦ Hakluyt, "Voyages," iii. 584. 
 t Fuller, "Holy State," p. ii3. 
 
LAST YEARS OF DRAKES LIFE, 363 
 
 the entrance impracticable. Five ships were sta- 
 tioned behind this rampart, and from their frowning 
 sides, as from the forts commanding the harbour, 
 poured forth a destructive fire, which killed and 
 wounded upwards of a hundred of the assailants. 
 
 Drake was compelled to abandon his attempt 
 on Puerto Rico, and reluctantly taking leave of it on 
 the 20th, he made for Rio de la Hacha, " one of the 
 ancientest towns in all the Main, though not very 
 large," and took possession of it. The inhabitants 
 failing to ransom it, Drake burned it to the ground, 
 excepting only the churches, and the house of a lady 
 who wrote to him, requesting him to spare it. A 
 similar fate befell Santa Martha, on the 2ist; and 
 on the 27th the English entered the harbour of 
 Nombre de Dios, which the Spaniards abandoned 
 at their approach. They found that all its trea- 
 sures had been removed, and nothing fell into their 
 hands but twenty bars of silver, a couple of bars of 
 gold, and some money. 
 
 Drake remained at Nombre de Dios, burning it 
 and all the ships which lay in the harbour or were 
 drawn up on the beach, while Sir Thomas Basker- 
 ville, with 700 men, pushed across the country to 
 Panama. It proved a most unfortunate expedition. 
 The English fell into an ambuscade, and suffered 
 severely; and learning that the enemy were well 
 prepared for them, that two stout forts commanded 
 
364 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 their road, and that Panama had been rendered very- 
 strong, Baskerville determined to return. " They 
 had so much of this breakfast/' says Fuller quaintly,* 
 "they thought they should surfeit of a dinner and 
 supper of the same. No hope of conquest, except 
 with cloying the jaws of death, and thrusting men 
 on the mouth of the cannon. Wherefore, fearing to 
 find the proverb true, that gold may be bought too 
 dear, they returned to their ships." 
 
 There can be no doubt that this failure greatly 
 affected the spirits of Drake, who foresaw that he 
 would have to return to England without profit or 
 glory, and with a cloud on his fame that threatened 
 to darken all his former achievements. His dis- 
 appointment preyed upon his health, which would 
 also seem to have suffered from the climate. His 
 proud heart and enterprising nature could not brook 
 the ill fortune that had fallen upon him. He feared, 
 too, what might be said of him in England ; con- 
 ceiving, says Fuller, that expectation — a merciless 
 usurer — computing each day since his departure, 
 exacted an interest and return of honour and profit 
 proportionable to his great preparations, and tran- 
 scending his former achievements. He saw that all 
 the good which he had done in this voyage con- 
 sisted in the evil he had done to the Spaniards afar 
 off; whereof he could present but small visible 
 ♦ Fuller, "Holy State," p. iij. 
 
LAST YEARS OF DRAKE'S LIFE. 365 
 
 proofs in England. These apprehensions, accom- 
 panying, if not causing, the disease of the flux, 
 wrought his sudden death. And sickness did not 
 so much untie his clothes as sorrow did rend at 
 once the robe of his mortality asunder. 
 
 In truth, Drake had lived several men's lives in 
 the course of his five-and-fifty years ; and his spirit 
 had exhausted his body. The sword had worn out 
 its sheath ; and the man's great, proud heart was 
 not strong enough to bear the burthen of an un- 
 accustomed failure. To Drake, success was as the 
 breath of his nostrils ; to be defeated was to die. 
 
 On the 5th of December the fleet sailed from 
 Nombre de Dios ; and on the loth anchored off an 
 island called Escudes, some thirty leagues to the 
 westward. The end was now at hand, the last scene 
 of a stirring drama was about to be played ; and 
 Drake began to keep his cabin, being extremely 
 sick of a flux. But the conclusion of our melan- 
 choly story is best told in the old chronicler's 
 words ; * 
 
 *' On the ninth we founde a very deepe and dan- 
 gerous baye, playinge it here up and downe : all 
 men weary of the place. The tenth we descried a 
 small island called Escudes, where we came to 
 anchor: and here we tooke a frygotte which was 
 
 • Maynard's Narrative: "Sir Francis Drake, His Voyage" (Hak- 
 iuyt Society) pp. 18-20. 
 
366 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 an advice of the kinge's. By this we learned that 
 the towns standinge upon this lake were of small 
 wealth and very dangerous, by reason of many 
 shoals and greate roughes our mariners should 
 have, it beinge an hundred leagues : yet, if the 
 winde would have permitted, we had assuredly put 
 for them, and never returned to one halfe againe. 
 Heere we stayed, at a waste island, where there 
 was no reHefe but a few tortoyses for such as could 
 catch them, twelve days. This is accounted the 
 sickliest place of the Indies ; and heere died many 
 of our men, victualls beginninge to growe scarse 
 with us. In the end, findinge the winde to con- 
 tinue contrary, he resolved to departe, and to take 
 the winde as God sent it. 
 
 " So, on the twenty-second, we went hence, having 
 there buried Captaine Plott, Egerton, and divers 
 others. I questioned with our Generall, beinge 
 often private with him whilst we stayed heere, to 
 see whether hee should reveale unto mee any of 
 his purposes ; and I demanded of him, why hee so 
 often conjured me, beinge in England, to stay with 
 him in these partes as longe as himselfe, and where 
 the place was. He answered me with griefe, pro- 
 testinge that hee was as ignorant of the Indies as 
 mysealfe, and that he never thought any place 
 could be so changed, as it were from a delitious 
 and pleasant arbour into a vast and desarte wilder- 
 
LAST YEARS OF DRAKE'S LIFE, 367 
 
 nesse ; besides the variableness of the winde and 
 weather, so stormie and blusterous as hee never 
 saw it before. But hee most wondered that since 
 his cominge out of England he never sawe sayle 
 worth givinge chace unto : yet in the greatness of 
 his minde, hee would, in the ende, conclude with 
 these wordes : ' It matters not, man ; God hath 
 many thinges in store for us ; and I knowe many 
 means to do Her Majestic good service, and to 
 make us riche, for we must have gould before wee 
 see Englande ; ' when, goode gentleman (in my 
 conceite), it fared with him as with some careles 
 livinge man who prodigally consumes his time, 
 fondly perswadinge himselfe that the nurse that 
 fedde him in his childhood will likewise nourish 
 him in his ould age, and, findinge the dugge dried 
 and withered, enforced then to behould his folly, 
 tormented in mind, dieth with a starved bodie. 
 Hee had, beside his own adventure, gaged his owne 
 reputation greatly, in promisinge Her Majestie to do 
 her honorable service, and to returne her a very 
 profitable adventure ; and havinge sufficiently ex- 
 perienced for seven or eight years together, how 
 hard it was to regain favour once ill thought of, 
 the mistresse of his fortune now leavinge him to 
 yield to a discontented minde. And since our 
 returne from Panama, he never carried mirth nor 
 joy in his face; yet no man hee loved must con- 
 
368 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 jecture that hee tooke thought thereof. But heere 
 hee began to grow sickly * At this island we suncke 
 a carvell which we brought out of England, putting 
 her men and victualls into a last taken frigott. From 
 hence a great currante setts towards the eastward ; 
 by reason wherof, with the scant of winde we had 
 on Wednesday, beinge the twenty-eight, we came 
 to Portabella [Puerto Bello], which is within eight 
 or nine leagues of Nombre de Dios. It was the 
 best harborough we came into since we left Ply- 
 mouth. 
 
 "This morninge, about seven of the clocke, Sir 
 Francis died. The next day Sir Thomas Basker- 
 ville carried him a league off, and buried him in 
 the sea." 
 
 His body was placed in a leaden coffin ; the 
 solemn service of our Church was read over it ; 
 and it sank into the deep amidst volleys of 
 musketry, and salutes from every vessel in the 
 squadron. The ocean may have received into its 
 ample bosom many better men, but none braver 
 or more patriotic than Francis Drake. 
 
 Prince, the historian of Devon, records the follow- 
 ing lines, apparently the production of one of 
 Drake's contemporaries : 
 
 * Some authorities pretend that Drake was poisoned, but there 
 seems no ground for the imputation. Probably the story was origi- 
 nated by a Spanish calumniator. 
 
LAST VBA^^S^^^S^^RAKE'S LIFE. 369 
 
 " Where Drake first found, there last he lost his name, 
 And for a tomb, left nothing but his fame. 
 His body 's buried under some great wave ; 
 The sea, that was his glory, is his grave : 
 On whom an epitaph none can truly make. 
 For who can say, Here lies Sir Francis Drake?" 
 
 But the following couplet, also recorded by Prince, 
 seems infinitely more energetic and appropriate : 
 
 " The waves became his winding sheet, the waters were his tomb ; 
 But for his fame the ocean-sea was not sufficient room." 
 
 I have attempted to sketch the leading features 
 of his character at the outset of this condensed 
 summary of his illustrious achievements, and there- 
 fore I may now take leave of our hero in the words 
 of honest Fuller : 
 
 " This our captain was a religious man ; chaste in 
 his life ; just in his dealings ; true to his word ; 
 merciful to those who were under him ; hating 
 nothing so much as idleness." 
 
 Only of a true and genuine man could so much 
 as this be truly said.* 
 
 * It may be new to most of m^ readers to learn that Drake was a 
 poet, or, rather, a dealer in rhymes. The only specimen I know of 
 his doings in this way is ** a copy of verses " prefixed to Sir Humphrey 
 Gilbert's "True Report of the Late Discoveries." As it throws a 
 strong incidental light on Drake's character, I append it here : 
 
 •'SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, KNIGHTE, IN COMMENDATION OF THE 
 ABOVE TREATISE. 
 
 " WTio seekes by worthie decdes to gaine renowne for hire, 
 
 Whose hart, whose hand, whose purse is prest to purchase his 
 
 desire, 
 
 A 2 
 
370 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 
 
 If anie such there bee, that thirsteth after fame, 
 
 Lo, heere a meane, to winne himself an everlasting name ; 
 
 Who seekes by gaine and wealth to advance his house and blood, 
 
 Whose care is great, whose toile no lesse, whose hope is all for good, 
 
 If anie one there bee that covets such a trade, 
 
 Lo heere the plot for commonwealth, and private gaine is made ; 
 
 He that for vertue's sake will venture farr and neere, 
 
 Whose zeale is strong, whose practize trueth, whose faith is void of 
 
 feere, 
 If any such there bee, inflamed with holy care, 
 Heere may hee finde a readie meane, his purpose to declare. 
 So that for each degree, this Treatise dooth unfolde. 
 The path to fame, the proofe of zeale, and way to purchase golde. 
 
 "Fraunces Drake." 
 
m^^^^£^S^Mi 
 
 ^ix f pli^g B^^^^^^U^ 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HIS CHILDHOOD, YOUTH, AND EARLY MANHOOD. 
 
 " A slender swaine, excelling far each other 
 In comely shape, like her that did him breed, 
 He grew up fast in goodnesse and in grace, 
 And doubly faire woxe both in mynd and face. 
 
 •' Which daily more and more he did augment, 
 With gentle usage and demeanure myld : 
 That all men's hearts with secret ravishment 
 He stole away, and wittingly beguyld. 
 Ne spight itselfe, that all good things doth spill, 
 Found ought in him, that she could say was ill. " 
 
 Spenser, " Astrophel." 
 
 |MONG the galaxy of names which, to use 
 a well-worn image, irradiates the reign of 
 Elizabeth, not one is more conspicuous as 
 " a bright particular star," than that of Philip 
 Sidney. 
 
 It was his singular fortune to win the almost 
 universal eulogium of his contemporaries. He was 
 
372 - SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, 
 
 praised and beloved by those of his age, who them- 
 selves were praised and beloved by the nation ; by 
 those poets and statesmen whose praise could se- 
 cure, or at least confirm, a reputation. Nor less 
 has it been his good fortune to obtain the suffrages 
 of posterity, which, calmly weighing the deserts and 
 demerits of men, frequently reverses the verdict 
 passed by their fellows, and does justice where 
 injustice had prevailed, or considers with leniency 
 where a harsh and captious spirit of criticism had 
 overruled. So high was his esteem in his own time, 
 that Fulke Greville thought it an honour to inscribe 
 on his tombstone the fact that, in life, " he was the 
 friend of Sir Philip Sidney." Spenser dedicated to 
 his memory one of the finest of his minor poems, 
 and sang of him in strains which could only be 
 appHed to a man of surpassing excellence : 
 
 ** That most heroic spirit, 
 The heaven's pride, the glory of his days, 
 
 Which now triumpheth through immortal merit 
 Of his brave virtues, crowned with lasting bays 
 Of heavenly bliss, and everlasting praise." 
 
 When he died it was accounted a sin, we are told, 
 for any gentleman of quality, for many months 
 after, to appear at court or city, in any light or 
 gaudy apparel.* Camden, the learned author of 
 " The Britannia," speaks of him as " that Sidney, 
 ♦ " Life and Death of Sir Philip Sidney." 
 
YOUTH AND EARL Y MANHOOD. 373 
 
 who, as Providence seems to have sent him into 
 the world to give the present age a specimen of 
 the ancients, so did it on a sudden recall him, and 
 snatch him from us as one more worthy of heaven 
 than of earth." And again, he exclaims : " What- 
 ever we loved in you, whatever we admired in you, 
 still continues and will continue in the memories of 
 men, the revolutions of ages, and the annals of time. 
 Many, as being inglorious and ignoble, are buried 
 in oblivion ; but Sidney shall live to all posterity." 
 To swell the chorus of panegyric comes a royal 
 voice, that of James the First, who, in his wonted 
 pedantic fashion, calls upon Mars, Minerva, and 
 Apollo, to 
 
 *• Lament for him that duly served you all, 
 
 Whom in you wisely all your arts did mell ;"* 
 
 and adds, 
 
 ** I need not in remembrance for to call 
 
 His race, his youth, the hope had of him aye, 
 Since that in him doth cruel death appal 
 
 Both manhood, wit, and learning every way ; 
 But yet he doth in bed of honour rest, 
 And evermore of him shall live the best." 
 
 How dearly he was loved and admired by those 
 of his own blood, we may understand from the pas- 
 sionate eloquence of his sister's "Doleful Lay of 
 Clarinda." She exclaims : 
 
 * Afe//, to mingle or blend. 
 
374 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 '* What cruel hand of cursed foe unknown 
 
 Hath cropped the stalk that bore so fair a flower ? 
 
 Untimely cropp'd, before it well were grown, 
 And clean defaced in untimely hour ; 
 
 Great loss to all that ever him did see, 
 
 Great loss to all — but greatest loss to me ! 
 
 " O Death, that hast us of much riches reft I 
 
 Tell us, at least, what hast thou with it done ? 
 What has become of him whose flower here left 
 
 Is but the shadow of his likeness gone ? 
 Scarce like the shadow of that which he was, 
 Nought like, but that he like a shade did pass. 
 
 ** But that immortal spirit which was deck'd 
 
 With all the dowries of celestial grace, 
 By sovereign choice from the heavenly choirs select, 
 
 And lineally derived from angels' race — 
 Oh ! what is now of it become aread ? 
 Ah me ! can so divine a thing be dead ?" 
 
 Again, let us take the testimony of one of his 
 closest friends — one who knew him most intimately, 
 and was well capable of forming a correct and en- 
 lightened judgment — Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke. 
 He pronounces him to have been a true model of 
 worth ; a man fit for conquest, plantation [i.e., col- 
 onisation], reformation, or what action soever is 
 the greatest and hardest among men ; withal, such 
 a lover of mankind and goodness, that whosoever 
 had any real parts, in him found comfort, partici- 
 pation, and protection to the uttermost of his power ; 
 like Zephyrus, he giving life where he blew. He 
 
 d 
 
YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD. 375 
 
 proceeds to record the strongest evidence of the 
 universal estimation in which he was regarded by 
 his contemporaries. The universities abroad and at 
 home, he says, accounted him a general Maecenas 
 of learning. Soldiers honoured him, and were so 
 honoured by him, as no man thought he marched 
 under the true banner of Mars, that had not obtained 
 Sir Philip Sidney's approbation. Men of affairs, in 
 most part of Christendom, entertained correspon- 
 dency with him. He was of so large a heart and 
 capacity that every cunning painter, every skilful 
 engineer, every excellent musician, and, in truth, 
 every other artificer of extraordinary fame, made 
 himself known to this famous spirit, and found him 
 his true friend without hire, and the common rendez- 
 vous of worth in his time. Nor was he, in this 
 benevolence, actuated by a private, but by a public 
 affection; his chief ends being, not friends, wife, 
 children, and himself, but, above all things, the 
 honour of his Maker, and the service of his Prince 
 and country. 
 
 This general tribute of praise has been taken up 
 by later writers, and Southey dwells with delight 
 on the life and character of the Elizabethan hero, 
 than whom, he says — 
 
 " Than whom no gentler, braver man, 
 His own delightful genius ever feigned, 
 Illustrating the vales of Arcady 
 With courteous courage and with loyal loves." 
 
376 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 A recent biographer* speaks of him as the 
 perfect type of a gentleman. If the chief quah- 
 ties comprehended under this term are generosity, 
 dignity, refinement of heart and mind, it would be 
 hard to find in any age or nation a better example 
 than Sidney. His soul overflowed with magna- 
 nimity and sympathy. These inward excellences 
 were set off, when living, by his extreme beauty 
 of person, sweetness of voice, and proficiency in all 
 accomplishments and arts, as well as by a certain 
 gracefulness, which appeared in whatever he said or 
 did, and still shines through his writings with a 
 peculiar charm. 
 
 Finally, Campbell has beautifully described his 
 life as " poetry put into action." 
 
 Yet, when we come to study his career, we find it 
 difficult, at first, to account for this universal and 
 enduring fam€^_ Sidney has written no great work, 
 no magnificent epic or stirring drama. His "Arcadia," 
 notwithstanding occasional fine passages, lacks com- 
 pleteness, vitality, and perfectness of execution ; its 
 beauties are many, but its faults are numerous and 
 serious. His "Defence of Poesy" is simply an 
 agreeable and eloquently-written essay. His poli- 
 tical efforts are chiefly confined to a few graceful 
 and vigorous sonnets. 
 
 Nor did he accomplish any great deeds as a 
 * Julius Lloyd, ♦' Life of Sir Philip Sidney," chap. I 
 
YOUTH AND EARL Y MANHOOD. 377 
 
 military commander. He never rivalled the daring 
 enterprises of Drake and Frobisher, just as his 
 genius never approached to the ardour, force, and 
 elevation of Raleigh's. His adventures on the 
 battle-field were marked by a rashness of spirit 
 and a hastiness of conception which plainly show 
 his deficiency in the special qualities of a successful 
 general. In like manner, he gave no proof of 
 capacity as a statesman ; nor is there any reason 
 to believe that he would ever, under the most 
 favourable circumstances, have risen, in this line 
 of action, to the height of a Cecil or a Walsingham. 
 On what, then, does his fame depend? How 
 comes it that he has secured a renown which 
 shows no sign of diminution ? The secret, as 
 a recent writer justly observes, seems to lie in 
 the singular beauty of his life, and also in the 
 universality of his genius. He touched nothing 
 which he did not adorn. There was no string in 
 Apollo's lyre which he could not wake up into 
 exquisite music. He was poet, courtier, states- 
 man, soldier, gentleman. The Admirable Crichton 
 of his time, he was distinguished not less by his 
 intellectual accomplishments than by the grace- 
 fulness of his manners, the beauty of his person, 
 his amiableness of disposition, his delicacy of taste, 
 his purity of thought, and refinement of feel- 
 ing. It was this general perfectness — this beauti- 
 
378 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 ful "roundness" and "wholeness/' so to speak, of 
 character and genius, which secured the applause 
 of his contemporaries, and built up on such lasting 
 foundations his fame. In the separate departments 
 of action and reflection he was excelled by such 
 men as Raleigh, Drake, Frobisher, Walsingham, 
 Cecil, Spenser, Shakespeare ; but few attained, like 
 him, an admirable distinction in all, and, at the 
 same time, displayed the brightest graces of a 
 Christian life. 
 
 Gentle Sir Philip Sidney, exclaims Thomas Nash,* 
 thou knowest what belonged to a scholar; thou 
 knowest what paines, what toil, what travail con- 
 duct to perfection ; well couldest thou give every 
 virtue his encouragement, every art his due, every 
 writer his desert; because none more virtuous, witty, 
 or learned than thyself. But thou art dead in thy 
 grave, and hast left too few successors of thy glory, 
 too few to cherish the sons of the muses, or water 
 those budding hopes with their plenty, which thy 
 bountie erst planted. 
 
 Old Antony k Wood speaks of him+ as the short- 
 lived ornament of his noble family, and the Marcellus 
 of the English nation, who hath deserved, and with- 
 out dispute or envy enjoyed, the most exalted praises 
 
 * Nash, " Pierce Pennilesse," (ed. 1592). 
 
 + Antony ^ Wood, *' Athenge Oxonienses" (edit, by Philip Bliss, 
 1813), vol. i. p. 513. 
 
YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD. 370 
 
 of his own and of succeeding ages. The poets of his 
 time, especially Spenser, reverenced him not only 
 as a patron, but as a master; and he was almost 
 the only person in any age (I will not except 
 Maecenas) that could teach the best rules of poetry, 
 and most freely reward the performances of poets. 
 He was a man of a sweet nature, of excellent be- 
 haviour, of much, and withal of well-digested, learn- 
 ing ; so that rarely wit, courage, breeding, and other 
 additional accomplishments of conversation, have 
 met in so high a degree in any single person. 
 
 " To praise thy life, or waile thy warlike death, 
 And vaunt thy wit — thy wit high, pure, divine — 
 Is far beyond the power of mortall line, 
 Nor any one hath worth that draweth breath. 
 
 " That day their Hanniball died, our Scipio fell — 
 Scipio, Cicero, and Petrarch of our time ! 
 Whose virtues, wounded by my worthless rhyme, 
 Let angels speak, and Heaven thy praises tell."* 
 
 The object of all these praises was born on the\ 
 29th of November 1 5 54, at Penshurst Place, in Kent. 1 
 
 There are many fair mansions in the " garden of 
 England," many noble manorial halls and stately 
 castles, but none, perhaps, of goodlier aspect, or 
 more pleasantly situated, than Sidney's home at 
 Penshurst. It stands upon an ample lawn in the 
 
 * Spenser, "Poetical Works: An Epitaph upon the Right Hon- 
 ourable Sir Philip Sidney, Knight," pp. 464-5. 
 
380 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 green valley of the Medway, with swelling hills 
 around, and patches of leafy woodland, gardens, 
 bowers, and fertile meadows. No better descrip- 
 tion of it exists than that so boldly and felicitously 
 drawn by Ben Jonson,* in which he praises its 
 walks for health as well as sport ; its mount, where 
 Pan and Bacchus made high feasts "beneath the 
 broad beech and the chestnut shade ;" its pasturage 
 for " sheep, bullocks, kine, and calves ; " its orchard 
 fruit, its garden flowers. Commemorating, too, the 
 well-ordered household by which the noble pile was 
 tenanted, and the admirable example displayed before 
 its youthful scions by its illustrious lord and lady ; 
 
 ** They are, and have been, taught religion : thence 
 Their gentle spirits have suck'd innocence. 
 Each morn and even they are taught to pray 
 With the whole household ; and may every day 
 Read in their virtuous parents' noble parts 
 The mysteries of manners, arms, and arts." 
 
 Nor does the poet forget the splendid hospitality 
 maintained at Penshurst. And, he exclaims : 
 
 " And, though thy walls be of the county stone, 
 They're reared with no man's ruin, no man's groan ; 
 There's none that dwell about them wish them down j 
 But all come in, the farmer and the clown, 
 And no one empty-handed, to salute 
 . Thy lord and lady, though they have no suit." 
 
 VPhilip's father was Sir Harry Sidney, a man of 
 
 * Ben Jonson, '* The Forest," No. ii., "To Penshurst." 
 
YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD. 381 
 
 high capacity and unblemished character, who was 
 descended from an Angevin family, knighted by 
 Edward the Sixth, thrice appointed by Queen Eliza- 
 beth Lord Deputy of Ireland, and afterwards Presi- 
 dent of Wales, an office which he held for six-and- 
 twenty years ; esteemed by the worthiest among his 
 contemporaries, and renowned for discretion, honour, 
 judgment, and statesmanlike capacity. His mother 
 was Lady Mary Dudley, daughter of the Duke of 
 Northumberland — " a full, fair lady," said her hus- 
 band, "in mine eye, at least, the fairest ;" one of the 
 noblest women of her time, who, as Spenser says, 
 
 '* Forth out of her happy womb did bring 
 The sacred gift of learning and all honour, 
 On whom the heavens poured all their gifts upon her." 
 
 Of his maternal descent Philip, in after-life, was 
 justly proud. " I am a Dudley in blood," he wrote,* 
 " that duke's daughter's son ; and do acknowledge — 
 though, in all truth I may rightly affirm that I am, 
 by my father's side, of ancient and always well- 
 esteemed and well-matched gentry — yet I do ac- 
 knowledge, I say, that my chiefest honour is to be 
 a Dudley." 
 
 Philip was the eldest son of these noble parents. 
 He received his name in remembrance of Philip, 
 King of Spain, through whose influence with Queen 
 
 * Sidney, "Defence of the Earl of Leicester;" **An Answer to 
 •Leicester's Commonwealth,'" printed in Collins's " Memorials," etc. 
 
382 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 Mary, Sir Henry had been restored to the lands for- 
 feited by the attainder of the Protector Duke of 
 Northumberland. A year later came into the world 
 his favourite sister, Mary, afterwards Countess of 
 Pembroke, who lived to display a bright combina- 
 tion of virtues and mental gifts, and to win the 
 homage of Spenser and Ben Jonson.* In due time 
 came three other daughters, and two more sons, 
 Robert and Thomas. 
 
 After receiving a sound elementary education at 
 his mother's knees, Philip, in his tenth year, was 
 sent to school at Shrewsbury, his father being at 
 that time Lord President of Wales, and keeping his 
 
 * Thus Spenser says : 
 
 " Urania, sister unto Astrophel, 
 In whose brave mind, as in a golden coffer, 
 All heavenly gifts and riches locked are, 
 More rich than pearls of Ind, or gold of Ophir, 
 And in her sex most wonderful and rare. " 
 
 Ben Jonson's epitaph is well known : 
 
 ** Underneath this marble hearse 
 Lies the subject of all verse — 
 Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother : 
 Death, ere thou hast slain another, 
 Wise, and fair, and good as she, 
 Time shall throw a dart at thee. 
 Marble piles let no man raise 
 To her name ; for after days 
 Some kind woman, born as she, 
 Reading this, like Niobe, 
 Shall turn marble, and become 
 Both her mourner and her tomb." 
 
YOUTH AND EARL Y MANHOOD. 383 
 
 state at Ludlow Castle. Shrewsbury contained one 
 of the best schools in England, and Shrewsbury 
 school possessed, in Thomas Ashton, one of the 
 best masters in England. Under his wise care the 
 young Philip throve mightily, and showed an early 
 promise of ability which greatly astonished his fel- 
 lows ; with such staidness of mind, lovely and familiar 
 gravity, as carried grace and reverence above greater 
 years ; his talk ever of knowledge, and his very play 
 tending to enrich his mind, so as even his teachers 
 found something in him to observe and learn, above 
 that which they had usually read or taught.* 
 
 He could hardly fail to rise rapidly to a man's 
 stature in thought and intellect, considering the 
 great example set to him by his father, and the 
 precious counsel which that father failed not to pour 
 into his ears. A letter which he addressed to his 
 boy, when he was eleven years old, is truly remark- 
 able for its healthy wisdom ; and by every youthful 
 learner, who would make a fitting use of God's gifts 
 of mind and body, should be read and pondered. 
 For this purpose, I quote the more noticeable pas- 
 sages :+ 
 
 " Let your first action," he writes, " be the lifting 
 up of your mind to Almighty God by hearty prayer; 
 and feelingly digest the words you speak in prayer, 
 
 * Lord Brooke, "Life of the Renowned Sir Philip Sidney," p. 7. 
 + Arthur Collins, "Letters and Memorials of State," pp. 8, 9. 
 
384 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 with continual meditation and thinking of Him to 
 whom you pray, and of the nature for which you 
 pray. And use this as an ordinary act, and at 
 an ordinary hour, whereby the time itself shall 
 put you in remembrance to do that which you 
 are accustomed to do in that time. Apply your 
 study to such hours as your discreet master doth 
 assign you, earnestly ; and the time I know he will 
 so limit as shall be both sufficient for your learning 
 and safe for your health. . . . 
 
 " And mark the sense and the matter of that you 
 read, as well as the words. So shall you enrich 
 your tongue with words, and your wit with matter ; 
 and judgment will grow as years groweth in you. . . 
 
 " Be courteous of gesture, and affable to all men, 
 with diversity of reverence, according to the dignity 
 of the person : there is nothing that winneth so much 
 with so little cost. Use moderate diet, so as, after 
 your meal, you may find your wit fresher, and not 
 duller, and your body more lively, and not more 
 heavy. 
 
 . " Use exercise of body, yet such as is without 
 peril of your joints or bones. It will increase your 
 'force and enlarge your breath. Delight to be 
 cleanly, as well in all parts of your body as in your 
 garments : it shall make you grateful in each com- 
 pany, and otherwise [shall make you] loathsome. . . 
 
 " Be you rather a hearer and bearer away of other 
 
YOUTH AND EARL V MANHOOD. 385 
 
 men's talk than a beginner and procurer of speech ; 
 otherwise you shall be counted to delight to hear 
 yourself speak. If you hear a wise sentence or an 
 apt phrase, commit it to your memory, with respect 
 of the circumstance when you shall speak it. 
 
 "Think upon every word that you will speak 
 before you utter it, and remember how nature hath 
 ramparted up, as it were, the tongue with teeth, lips, 
 gums, and hair without the lips, and all betokening 
 reins or bridles for the use of that member. 
 
 " Above all things tell no untruth ; no, not in 
 taylis : the custom of it is naughty. And let it not 
 satisfy you that, for a time, the hearers take it for 
 truth ; for after it will be known as it is to your 
 shame : for there cannot be a greater reproach to 
 a gentleman than to be accounted a liar. 
 
 " Study and endeavour yourself to be virtuously 
 occupied : so shall you make such a habit of well- 
 doing in you, that you shall not know how to do 
 evil, though you would." 
 
 To this admirable epistle — which forms so remark- 
 able a contrast to the worldly-wise letters addressed 
 to his son, under somewhat similar circumstances, 
 by my Lord Chesterfield — Lady Sidney added a 
 letter which is also worthy of quotation : 
 
 " Your noble and careful father," she says, " hath 
 taken pains with his own hand to give you, in this 
 his letter, so wise, so learned, and most requisite 
 
 2 B 
 
386 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 precepts, for you to follow with a diligent and 
 humble, thankful mind, as I will not withdraw your 
 eyes from beholding and reverently honouring the 
 same; no, not so long time as to read any letter 
 from me. And, therefore, at this time, I will write 
 unto you no other letter than this ; whereby I first 
 bless you, with my desire to God to plant you in 
 His grace ; and, secondarily, warn you to have 
 always before the eyes of your mind these excel- 
 lent counsels of my lord, your dear father, and that 
 you fail not continually, once in four or five days, to 
 read them over. And for a final leave-taking for 
 this time, see that you show yourself as a loving, 
 obedient scholar to your good master to govern 
 you yet many years ; and that my lord and I may 
 hear that you profit so in your learning, as thereby 
 you may increase our loving care for you, and 
 deserve at his hands the continuance of his great 
 joy, to have him often witness with his own hand 
 the hope he hath in your well-doing."* 
 
 Who can be surprised, that under such devout 
 and earnest guidance, the young Philip, as he grew 
 in years, grew also in virtue and wisdom } 
 
 He appears to have been removed to Oxford 
 about the midsummer of 1568, and to have entered 
 Christ Church College. Here he remained until 
 1571, distinguishing himself no less by his skill in 
 
 * " Harleian Miscellany" (ed. 1812) ix., pp. 447, 448. 
 
YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD. 387 
 
 all athletic exercises, than by his devotion to literary 
 pursuits. A marriage was at this time projected 
 between him and Anne, daughter of Sir William 
 Cecil ; but the father eventually preferred a richer 
 bridegroom for his lovely and loveable daughter, 
 who, in 1 571, married the dissolute Edward de Vere, 
 Earl of Oxford. 
 
 The cause of Sidney's early removal from the uni- 
 versity cannot be certainly ascertained, but we may 
 suppose it to have been due to the outbreak of the 
 plague in Oxford. In the following year, having 
 obtained, through the influence of his uncle the 
 Earl of Leicester, the Queen's license to go out of 
 England into parts beyond the seas, he proceeded \ . i([ 
 
 to France in the train of the Ambassador Extra- j^''^ 
 ordinary to the French court, the Earl of Lincoln. 
 At Paris he obtained the favour of Walsingham, 
 the English minister, who introduced him into the 
 most exclusive circles of French society, while 
 Charles IX. appointed him one of the gentlemen 
 of his bedchamber. He became a witness of the 
 horrors of St Bartholomew's Eve, when the streets 
 of the French capital ran red with the blood of the 
 martyred Huguenots, and almost immediately quit- 
 ting France, he proceeded through Lorraine to 
 Strasburg, and thence to Heidelberg.* 
 
 At Frankfort he lodged in the house of a cer- 
 * Collins, "Letters and Memorials," p. loo. 
 
388 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 tain learned printer, Andrew Wechel, and made the 
 acquaintance of the excellent Languet, who remained 
 through life his "guide, philosopher, and friend." 
 The young Englishman profited largely by the 
 counsels and instruction of the grave and experi- 
 enced scholar, who had seen the ways and habita- 
 tions of many men, had suffered much, had reflected 
 deeply, and was well capable of inspiring with the 
 breath of holy life a fresh young mind. Sidney 
 afterwards recorded his obligations to the Huguenot 
 legist :— 
 
 ** The song I sang old Languet had me taught — 
 Languet the shepherd best swift Ister knew, 
 For clerkly read, and hating what is naught, 
 
 For faithful heart, clean hands, and mouth as true. 
 With his sweet skill my skilless youth he drew 
 To have a feeling taste of Him who sits 
 Beyond the heaven, far more beyond our wits." 
 
 In Languet's company he visited Vienna early in 
 the summer of 1573, and was presented at the court 
 of the Emperor Maximilian. Thence he repaired 
 to Presburg ; returned to Vienna in October ; and, 
 temporarily taking leave of Languet — with whom, 
 however, he maintained an active correspondence — 
 he travelled, in company with one Lewis Bryskitt, 
 Griffin Madox, and Thomas Coningsby, to the 
 classic land of Italy. In Pavia, Padua, and Genoa, 
 he spent about eight months, carefully examining 
 
YOUTH AND EARL V MANHOOD. 389 
 
 their glorious antiquities and their masterpieces of 
 modern art, and cultivating his liberal and large 
 intellect by the study of Italian history and litera- 
 ture. The "sights and sounds" of the famous 
 Italian cities, then not wholly bereft of their power 
 or splendour, nor wholly insensible to the pleasures 
 of knowledge, must have made a great impression 
 on Sidney's mind, and powerfully influenced his 
 course of reflection and meditation. His letters at 
 this time are very full of interest, from the light 
 they throw on his tastes and studies, on the work- 
 ings of his mind, and the views he took of the great 
 political questions of the day. 
 
 The winter of 1574 Sidney spent with Languet 
 at Vienna. In the spring of 1575, having recovered 
 his health, which had been much shaken, he and his 
 friend went to Prague. But he had much exceeded 
 his two years' leave of absence, and it was necessary 
 he should return to England. His homeward route 
 included several famous places — Dresden, Heidel- 
 berg, Strasburg, Frankfort, and Antwerp, where he 
 took ship for England, reaching London early in June.* 
 
 He had profited greatly by his tour ; had acquired 
 a knowledge of French, German, Italian, Dutch, and 
 Spanish ; had learned the still more important know- 
 ledge which is obtained by a close and observant 
 study of mankind ; and gained an insight into the 
 
 • S^ Sidney's ** Correspondence with Hubert Languet" 
 
390 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, 
 
 currents of thought and policy then eddying to and 
 fro in the leading European nations. That he fully 
 appreciated the vast importance of travel as an 
 agent of mental culture, may be gathered from the 
 letter which, upon this very subject, he addressed 
 to his brother Robert : 
 
 Sidney's letter to his brother Robert. 
 
 "You have thought unkindness in me that I have not written 
 oftener unto you, and have desired I should write unto you some- 
 thing of my opinion touching your travel, you being persuaded my 
 experience thereunto be something which I must needs confess ; but 
 not as you take it, for you think my experience grows from the good 
 things which I have learned ; but I know the only experience which 
 I have gotten is to find how much I might have learned, and how 
 much indeed I have missed, for want of directing my course to the 
 right end and by the right means. ... I am sure you have imprinted 
 in your mind the scope and mark you mean by your pains to shoot at; 
 for if you should travel but to travel, or to say you have travelled, 
 certainly you should prove a pilgrim to no purpose. But I presume 
 so well of you, that, though a great number of us never thought in 
 ourselves why we went, but a certain tickling humour to do as other 
 men had done, you purpose, being a gentleman born, to furnish your- 
 self with the knowledge of such things as may be serviceable for your 
 country and calling, which certainly stands not in the change of air — 
 for the warmest sun makes not a wise man ; no, nor in learning 
 languages, although they be of serviceable use, for words are but 
 words, in what language soever they be, and much less in that all of 
 us come home full of disguisements, not only of apparel, but of our 
 countenances, as though the credit of a traveller stood all upon his 
 outside — but in the right informing your mind -with those things which 
 are most notable in those places which they come unto. . . . 
 
 •'This, therefore, is one notable use of travellers, which stands in 
 the mind and correlative knowledge of things, in which kind comes 
 
YOUTH AND EARL V MANHOOD. 391 
 
 in the knowledge of all leagues betwixt prince and prince ; the topo- 
 graphical description of each country ; how one city lies by situation 
 to hurt or help the other ; l;ow they are to the sea, well harboured or 
 not ; how stored with ships, how with revenue, how with fortifica- 
 tions and garrisons ; how the people, warlike, trained, or kept under, — 
 with many other such considerations, which, as they confusedly come 
 into my mind, so I, for want of leisure, hastily set them down. . . . 
 The other kind of knowledge is of them which stand in the things 
 which are themselves either simply good or simply bad, and so serve 
 either for a right instruction or a shunning example! These Homer 
 meant in this verse : 
 
 ** ' Qui multos hominum mores cognovit et urbes,* 
 
 for he doth not mean by * mores ' how to look, or put off one's cap 
 with a new-found grace, although true behaviour is not to be despised. 
 Marry, my heresy is, that the English behaviour is best in England, 
 and the Italian's in Italy. But * mores ' he takes for that from which 
 moral philosophy is so called — the certainties of true discerning of 
 men's minds, both in virtue, passions, and vices. And when he says 
 'cognovit urbes,* he means not, if I be not deceived, to have seen 
 towns and marked their buildings — for surely houses are but houses 
 in every place — but he attends to their religion, politics, laws, bring- 
 ing up of children, discipline, both for war and peace, and such like. 
 . , . Now resteth in my memory but this point, which is the chief to 
 you of all others— which is the choice of what men you are to direct 
 yourself to ; for it is certain no vessel can leave a worse taste in the 
 liquor it contains, than a wrong teacher infects an unskilful hearer 
 with that which hardly will ever out I will not tell you some 
 absurdities I have heard travellers tell. Taste him well before you 
 drink much of his doctrine. And when you have heard it, try well 
 what you have heard before you hold it for a principle ; for one error 
 is the mother of a thousand. But you may say. How shall I get 
 excellent men to take pains to speak to me ? Truly, in a few word*, 
 either by much expense or much humbleness." 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 SIDNEY'S PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE. 
 
 He was (wo worth that word !) to ech well-thinking minde, 
 A spotlesse friende, a matchles man, whose virtue ever shinde, 
 Declaring in his thoughts, his life, and that he writ, 
 Highest conceits, longest foresights, and deepest works of wit. 
 
 Spenser. 
 
 IDNEY, on his return to England, was at 
 once admitted into the most brilliant life 
 in England. The nephew of the powerful 
 Earl of Leicester, and the son of Sir Henry Sidney, 
 could not fail to occupy a prominent position at 
 court ; especially when his claims were supported 
 by the recommendations of a graceful person and a 
 winning address. He followed Elizabeth in her 
 progress, in 1575, to Kenilworth, and Chartley, and 
 Stafford, and Worcester, and Woodstock — at Chart- 
 ley seeing, for the first time, the beautiful Penelope 
 Devereux, eldest daughter of the Earl of Essex, 
 who was afterwards to hold him so enthralled by 
 the fascination of her loveliness. It was not, how- 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE. 393 
 
 ever, love at first sight ; but the feeling of admira- 
 tion excited by her beauty, gradually, on closer 
 and longer acquaintance, ripened into the earnest 
 and all-absorbing passion which beats through the 
 stiff restraint of poetic metre and expression in 
 his " Astrophel and Stella." He himself tells us :* 
 
 ** Not at first sight, nor with a dribbSd shot, 
 
 Love gave the wound which, while I breathe, will bleed : 
 
 But known worth did in mine of time proceed, 
 Till, by degrees, it had full question got. 
 I saw and liked ; I liked, but loved not ; 
 
 I loved, but straight did not what love decreed ; 
 
 At length to love's decrees I, forced, agreed." 
 
 Meanwhile, in every brilliant spectacle, the young 
 courtier became a foremost figure ; and among the 
 wits and sages, the poets and warriors, the states- 
 men and councillors who surrounded the throne of 
 Elizabeth with a splendour of intellectual power 
 such as never before or since has England seen, he 
 maintained his position with an ease and a vigour that 
 manifested the depth, truth, and solidity of his genius. 
 
 In the autumn of 1576 Sidney visited his father 
 in Ireland, where the Earl of Essex was command- 
 ing against the rebels as Earl-Marshal. That ad- 
 mirable nobleman was a great friend of Sidney's, 
 and warmly favoured his suit to his daughter Pene- 
 lope. But on the 21st of August he was suddenly 
 
 * In the second sonnet of his "Astrophel and Stella." 
 
394 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, 
 
 taken ill ; a month later, and he was dead. With 
 him died, though Sidney knew it not, all hopes of 
 his securing the hand of the brilliant beauty. Dur- 
 ing his illness Essex had often longed to see his 
 young favourite ; but travelling in Ireland was slow 
 work in those days, and Sidney only arrived in time 
 to shed the tears of manly sorrow over his patron's 
 corpse, and to receive the tender message he had 
 ordered to be delivered to him. " Oh ! that good u 
 gentleman ! " the dying Essex had exctarmedptWo | 
 days before his death, and when he had given up all 
 hopes of seeing him;* — " Oh ! that good gentleman. 
 Have me commended unto him. And tell iiim I 
 sent him nothing, but I wish him" well — so well that, 
 if God do move their hearts, I wish that he might 
 match with my daughter. I call him son ; he is so 
 wise, virtuous, and godly. If he go on in the course 
 he hath begun, he will be as famous and worthy a 
 gentleman as ever England bred." 
 
 Returning to England, he resumed his attendance 
 at Court, and his love-suit to the proud but fair 
 Penelope. Both occupations were pleasant enough 
 to a man of Sidney's poetic and chivalrous tempera- 
 ment, but there was in him a pith and force which 
 needed nobler development. 1 am glad, therefore, 
 that he was called away to honourable work in 
 1577, and selected by the Queen to bear a con- 
 
 • H. R. Fox Browne, ** Life of Sir P. Sidney," p. 129. 
 
 I 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE. 395 
 
 gratulatory message to the Emperor Rodolph on 
 his accession to the imperial throne ; a mission of 
 much importance for so young a man. He was 
 also instructed to take especial note of the rela- 
 tions then subsisting between the various Ger- 
 man States; and to discover what princes were 
 faithfully attached to the principles of the Reforma- 
 tion, and disposed to assist in a struggle against the 
 unfortunate preponderance of the Spanish power.* 
 
 Towards the close of February 1577, Sidney de- 
 parted on his mission, attended by his friend Fulke 
 Greville, and a numerous company of English 
 gentlemen. With something of his uncle's love of 
 bravery, he took good care that the dignity of his 
 embassage should be recognised in every town he 
 visited ; and over the houses in which he lodged he 
 caused a tablet to be fixed, emblazoned with his 
 arms, and with the following inscription :t 
 
 Illustrissimi et generosissimi viri 
 
 PhILIPPI SIDN/TLI, Angli, 
 
 Pro-regis Hiberni/E FiLir, CoMiTis Warwici, 
 Et Leicestri^e Nepotis, Serenissim^e 
 
 ReGIN^ ANGLIiE AD C^SAREM LeGATI. 
 
 Thus honouring himself and his office, Sidney 
 proceeded to Heidelberg, where he was admitted 
 to an interview with John Casimir, the son of the 
 
 * Fulke Greville, "Life of Sir P. Sidney," pp. 48, 49. 
 
 f Collins, "Letters and Memorials" (Introduction^ p. 100. 
 
396 S/R PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 deceased Elector Palatine, and endeavoured to re- 
 concile him to his brother, the Elector Lewis. Next, 
 he went on to Prague, and had an audience with 
 the Emperor, whom he seems to have surprised by 
 the boldness of his speech and the liberality of his 
 views. With lofty eloquence he pointed out the 
 dangers to which the free nations of Europe were 
 exposed from the alliance between Rome and 
 Spain ; and urged that their only hope of safety 
 was in associating by a uniform bond for the pro- 
 tection of religion and liberty. This, he declared, 
 would prove a more solid union, and would symbo- 
 lise far better against their tyrannies than any fac- 
 tious combination in policy, any league of state or 
 other traffic of civil or martial kinsmen. 
 
 On the last day of April Sidney returned to 
 Heidelberg, where he was received by the Elector 
 Lewis. The interview did not prove satisfactory, 
 and little hope could reasonably be entertained, in 
 the then condition of affairs in Germany, that the 
 Protestant Confederation, which all sagacious poli- 
 ticians joined in seeking to establish, could either 
 be formed, or, if formed, for any length of time 
 maintained. Private jealousies rendered the princes 
 insensible to the common danger, and oblivious of 
 the common good. 
 
 Sidney therefore proceeded into the Netherlands, 
 and at Brussels was introduced to the famous con- 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE. 397 
 
 queror of Lepanto, Don John of Austria, who was 
 scarcely less a foe to Protestantism than to Mo- 
 hammedanism. Thereafter he visited a man of 
 far greater mark, both in the council and the field, 
 the illustrious William of Orange, whose capacity, 
 virtues, and heroic perseverance had secured him 
 general recognition as the leader of the Protest- 
 ants. It is worth while pausing a moment in our 
 narrative to see what manner of man this grave 
 and patient prince appeared to Sidney and his 
 friends.* 
 
 " His uppermost garment," says Fulke Greville, 
 " was a gown, yet such as, I dare confidently affirm, 
 a mean-born student in our Inns of Court would not 
 have been well pleased to walk the streets in. Un- 
 buttoned his doublet was, and of like precious 
 matter and form to the other ; his waistcoat, which 
 showed itself under, not unlike the best sort of 
 those woollen knit ones which our ordinary boatmen 
 row us in : his company about him, the burgesses 
 of that beer-brewing town (Delft) : and he, so fellow- 
 like encompassed with them, as, had I not known 
 his face, no exterior sign of degree or deservedness 
 could have discovered the inequality of his work or 
 estate from that multitude. Notwithstanding, I no 
 sooner came to his presence, but it pleased him to 
 take knowledge of me ; and even upon that, as if it 
 
 ♦ Fulke Greville, ''Life of Sir Philip Sidney," pp. 24, 25. 
 
398 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, 
 
 had been a signal to make a change, his respect of 
 a stranger instantly begat respect to himself in all 
 about him ; an outward passage of inward greatness 
 which, in a popular estate, I thought worth the 
 observing, because there is no pedigree but worth 
 could possibly make a man prince, and no prince in 
 a moment — at his own pleasure." 
 
 Early in June, after an absence of about three 
 months and a half, Sidney returned to England, to 
 receive, as he had merited, his Sovereign mistress's 
 approval of the ability with which he had dis- 
 charged a delicate mission. "He hath given," wrote 
 Mr Secretary Walsingham to the young statesman's 
 father, " no small arguments of great hope, the points 
 whereof I doubt not but your Lordship shall reap, 
 as the benefit of the good parts that are in him, and 
 whereof he hath given some taste in this voyage, is 
 to redound to more than your Lordship and him- 
 self. There hath not been any gentleman, I am 
 sure, these many years, that hath gone through so 
 honourable a charge with as great commendations 
 as he : in consideration whereof, I could not but 
 communicate this part of my joy with your Lord- 
 ship, being no less a refreshing unto me in these 
 my troublesome businesses than the rill is to the 
 chased stag." 
 
 Sidney was now admitted into the "inner circle] 
 of royal favour." He was appointed the Queen's! 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE, 399 
 
 cup-bearer, and from her royal hands received the 
 precious gift of a lock of her "auburn hair." His 
 handsome person and graceful address, as well 
 as his proved ability, and a sagacity beyond his 
 years, would necessarily recommend him to so ad- 
 mirable a judge of mankind as Elizabeth, who loved 
 her courtiers to be men of parts, no less than of 
 courtly figure and dignified bearing. And Sidney, 
 as a modern biographer has well observed, was, in 
 all things, the type of a gentleman. What do we 
 comprehend under this term } Generosity, dignity, 
 elevation of thought, purity of mind } Then, in that 
 case, it would be difficult to discover in any age or 
 nation a better example than Sidney. In many 
 respects he anticipated the poet's ideal as set forth 
 in King Arthur ; or that fair and beautiful picture 
 of a noble character ascribed by Tennyson to a 
 prince whom England lost too soon and appreciated 
 too late : 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 " We see him as he moved, 
 How modest, kindly, all-accomplished, wise ; 
 With what sublime repression of himself, 
 And in what limits, and how tenderly ; 
 Not swaying to this faction or to that ; 
 Not making his high place the lawless perch 
 Of winged ambitions, nor a vantage ground 
 For pleasure ; but through all his tract of years 
 Wearing the white flower of a blameless life."* 
 
 • Tennyson, "Dedication to the 'Idylls of the King. 
 
400 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 Sidney's soul overflowed with liberal sympathies 
 and lofty emotions. His mind was ever set upon 
 high attainments ; he lived only to dream of great 
 deeds, and to set before men the example of a noble 
 disregard of self. And all these varied excellences 
 were set off, it is justly said, by a singular beauty of 
 person, sweetness of voice, dignity of bearing, and 
 an universal proficiency in arts and letters ; to say 
 nothing of the exquisite grace which, like a lamp 
 shining through an alabaster vase, illuminated and 
 irradiated whatever he did, or wrote, or said. 
 
 To supplement these claims to Elizabeth's favour, 
 and the consideration of her courtiers and states- 
 men, came Sidney's illustrious descent and power- 
 ful family connections. He was not only the son 
 of Sir Henry Sidney, but the nephew of the Earl 
 of Leicester, and, by the marriage of his sister 
 Mary, the brother-in-law of the Earl of Pembroke. 
 
 Do not suppose, however, that our hero devoted 
 himself solely, in this flush of young prosperity 
 and influence, to a courtly life. Some accusations 
 having been bruited against his father, he repelled 
 them with characteristic force and complete suc- 
 cess. He took a special interest in the various 
 projects of maritime discovery which then stirred 
 up the minds of our English sea-kings, and ap- 
 pealed irresistibly to the imagination of our an- 
 cestors. And more ; he distinguished himself by 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVA TR LIFE. 401 
 
 his constant and liberal patronage of learned men. 
 He was everywhere known as the friend of litera- 
 ture and its professors. Poets, scholars, musicians, 
 engineers, navigators, historians, thronged his house, 
 to receive assistance from his open purse, and 
 encouragement from his enthusiasm, which, says 
 Mr Lloyd,* was ever ready to be kindled by any 
 noble idea. His London house was the Earl of 
 Leicester's mansion, near the present site of Temple 
 Bar; and his prospective inheritance of the great 
 Earl's estates, as well as of those of his other 
 childless uncle, the Earl of Warwick, considerably 
 enhanced the importance of his patronage. But 
 the support which he rendered by his name and 
 money was made doubly precious by his exquisite 
 taste and refinement of feeling. Owing to these 
 causes, men of letters never wearied of showing 
 their grateful appreciation of his interest in their 
 labours. We read that the famous scholar, Henry 
 Stephen, inscribed a work to him ; and sent him a 
 copy of the Greek Testament, with a letter breath- 
 ing the most affectionate respect. Dr Powell dedi- 
 cated his " History of Wales" to Sidney, exhorting 
 him to thank God (or his gracious gifts, and to 
 employ these gifts for the glory of God and the 
 welfare of England. Other works inscribed to him 
 were, Hakluyt's first volume of his imperishable 
 
 * Julius Lloyd, " Life of Sir Philip Sidney." 
 
 2 C 
 
402 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 "Collection of Voyages;" the ** Poetica Geographia" 
 of Lambert Dane ; the first translation into English 
 of Tasso's " Gierusalemme Liberata ; " an English 
 version of a Spanish treatise on the " Art of War ; " 
 and a work by Theophilus Banco, on the " Logic " 
 of Peter Ramus — which was the favourite study of 
 Sidney's friend and secretary, William Temple, and 
 much occupied the minds of learned men until 
 happily superseded by the bolder theories of Des- 
 cartes and the loftier philosophy of Lord Bacon. 
 
 That these lettered enjoyments were more con- 
 genial to his tastes than the artificial mummeries of 
 court life, may be inferred from the ridicule with 
 which he treats the latter in his masque, "The Lady 
 of the May," composed, in the Spring of 1578, for 
 performance at Wanstead, during Elizabeth's visit 
 to the Earl of Leicester. Its main feature, accord- 
 ing to Mr Fox Bourne,* is its strong satire of the 
 pedantic mode of speech then so much in vogue ; 
 an affectation effectively ridiculed by Shakespeare 
 in his " Love's Labour Lost." 
 
 It was about this time Sidney was introduced by 
 Gabriel Harvey to the poet Edmund Spenser, whose 
 warm friend and generous patron he continued 
 throughout life, and whose " Faery Queen " was 
 undertaken at his instigation. It has been justly 
 remarked, that the friendship between these two 
 
 * H. R. Fox Bourne, ** Life of Sir Philip Sidney," pp. 229, 230. 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVA TE LIFE. 403 
 
 lofty minds was in every way most memorable, 
 and to both proved equally beneficial. From it 
 there ensued to Spenser large help in the exercise 
 of his genius, and a chief part of so much worldly 
 advancement as the poet ever enjoyed ; while, on 
 the other hand, it furnished Sidney with a powerful 
 inducement to devote himself more thoroughly and 
 sincerely to letters than he had ever done before, 
 and provided him with an able counsellor and an 
 enthusiastic fellow-student. 
 
 Poet and patron resided for awhile at stately 
 Penshurst, and there, in its pleasant leafy shades, 
 Spenser completed his " Shepherd's Calendar." It 
 was published in April 1579, with a dedication to 
 " the noble and virtuous gentleman, most worthy of 
 all titles, both of learning and chivalry. Master Philip 
 Sidney : " 
 
 *' Go, little book { thyself present, 
 As child whose parent is unkent. 
 To him that is the president 
 Of nobleness and chivalry ; 
 And if that envy bark at thee, 
 As sure it will, for succour flee 
 Under the shadow of his wing ; 
 And, asked who thee forth did bring, 
 A shepherd's swain, say, did thee sing, 
 All as his straying flock he fed ; 
 And when his honour has thee read, 
 Crave pardon for thy hardihed." 
 
 Tearing himself away from Arcadian dreams and 
 
404 SIJ^ PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 poetical studies, Sidney returned to Elizabeth's 
 glittering court ; while Spenser accompanied the 
 new Lord Lieutenant, Arthur Lord Grey of Wilton, 
 to Ireland, as his private secretary; a post which 
 the influence of Leicester and Sidney had procured 
 him (July 1580). 
 
 Sidney's brilliant Court career was temporarily 
 overshadowed by his quarrel with the Earl of Ox- 
 ford, an unprincipled nobleman, arrogant, licentious, 
 and foppish. While Sidney, with patriotic honesty, 
 protested against the match about this time pro- 
 jected between Elizabeth and the Duke of Anjou, 
 as fatal to the best interests of the Queen and her 
 kingdom, it was loudly supported by Oxford, who 
 knew no higher principle of conduct than to secure 
 his sovereign's smile. In their feud it would seem 
 that public and private motives were equally con- 
 cerned. It happened in this wise :* 
 
 Sidney, one day in September, was playing at 
 tennis, when the Earl entered the place, and 
 haughtily, as he thought became one who was 
 great by birth, greater by alliance, and greatest 
 by his present possession of the Queen's favour, 
 demanded to share in the game. Sidney, disliking 
 such mode of address, at first took no notice of the 
 intrusion. When he was eventually forced to speak, 
 it was only to use words of becoming dignity, so 
 
 • H. R. Fox Bourne, " Life of Sidney," pp. 247-248. 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVA TE LIFE. 405 
 
 that his rival felt himself reproved, and was propor- 
 tionately enraged. After further discourse, rough 
 and impertinent, he so far forgot himself as to com- 
 mand the whole party of tennis-players to quit the 
 court. Sidney plainly refused. 
 
 " Had your Lordship chosen," he said, "to express 
 yourself in courteous terms, you would have been met 
 with courtesy, but you will find that we are not the 
 men to be moved by any scourge of your fury." 
 
 " Puppy !" shouted the Earl, in so loud a voice 
 that the courtiers without, having already over- 
 heard something of the dispute, swept into the 
 court to witness it. 
 
 In a calm, deliberate tone, Sidney asked the Earl 
 what he had just called him. 
 
 "A puppy!" repeated Oxford. 
 
 " That," said Sidney, gravely, " is a lie I " 
 
 He waited for the only answer which, in those 
 days, a man of honour was supposed to make ; but 
 none came. He therefore walked out of the court, 
 saying, as he went, that such a business had better 
 be decided in a more private place. Oxford fore- 
 bore to follow him. To the astonishment of the 
 spectators, and the no small injury of his reputa- 
 tion, he proceeded to his game of tennis, surlily 
 remarking that he had gained his point in being rid 
 of the fellow. 
 
 For a whole day Sidney expected the message 
 
406 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 which he so much desired. Weary, at length, of 
 waiting, he sent a gentleman to the Earl,* and in- 
 structed him to say that in such a state of affairs 
 his Lordship's French companions would teach him, 
 if he did not know, the only honourable course for 
 him to adopt. Thus provoked, Oxford sent the 
 challenge ; but, meanwhile, the matter had become 
 known to the Lords of the Council, and a resort to 
 swords was peremptorily forbidden. 
 
 Sidney, in truth, was not the " faultless monster *' 
 of the poet. He possessed a remarkable share of 
 the graces of humanity, but he was also blemished 
 by some of its faults. His most signal infirmity 
 seems to have been a passionate temper ; which, as 
 all the world knows, is the frequent accompaniment 
 of a warm and generous heart, and a quick and lofty 
 intellect. His father having some grounds to sus- 
 pect that he had been injured in the Queen's 
 opinion by the Earl of Ormond, Sidney imme- 
 diately espoused the quarrel. One day, at Court, 
 the Earl addressed him ; he turned away in angry 
 silence. The courtiers naturally apprehended that 
 a challenge would follow upon so deliberate a slight, 
 but Ormond generously remarked : " I will accept 
 no quarrel from a young gentleman that is bound 
 
 * Gabriel Harvey describes Oxford as — 
 
 ** Delicate in speech, quaint in array, conceited in all points ; 
 In courtly guiles a passing singular odd man." 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE. 407 
 
 by nature to defend his father's causes, and who is 
 by nature furnished with so many virtues as I know 
 Mr Philip to be/' 
 
 There was also reason to believe that a certain 
 Mr Molyneux, Sir Henry Sidney's secretary, had 
 betrayed some of the Lord Deputy's despatches to 
 the Irish insurgents. That the belief was ground- 
 less, Molyneux succeeded in proving ; but not until 
 he had brought down upon himself a fierce menace 
 from our impetuous Philip : 
 
 '* Master Molyneux, 
 
 " Few words are best. My letters to my father have come lo the 
 eyes of some, neither can I condemn any but you for it. If it be so, 
 you have played the very knave with me ; and so I will make you 
 know if I have good proof of it. But that for so much as is past. 
 
 "For that is to come, I assure you, before God, that if ever I know 
 you to do as much as read any letter I write to my father, without his 
 commandment, or my consent, I will thrust my dagger into you. In 
 the meantime, farewell. "Philip Sidney." 
 
 He now incurred the serious displeasure of the 
 Queen by a very forcible and eloquent remon- 
 strance, which he addressed to her on the subject of 
 her proposed marriage. His love-suit to Penelope 
 Devereux being also rejected, he was sick at heart, 
 and, abandoning the shows and pageants of the 
 Court, retired, in most melancholy mood, to his 
 brother-in-law's seat at Wilton. Here he profited 
 much by the sweet companionship and bright ex- 
 ample of his sister, the Countess Mary, who, next 
 
408 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 to Languet, was the most powerful agent in the 
 development of his nobler qualities and better dis- 
 position. Spenser speaks of her as 
 
 ** The gentlest shepherdess that lives this day, 
 And most resembling both in shape and spright 
 Her brother dear ; " 
 
 and it is certain that there ever existed a very true 
 and tender sympathy between them. To amuse 
 their lettered leisure they undertook a joint trans- 
 lation of the " Psalms of David," which exhibits a 
 considerable fidelity to the original, and no ordinary 
 amount of poetical skill. Let the reader judge for 
 himself from the following specimen : 
 
 •' The Lord, the Lord, my Shepherd is, 
 And so can never I 
 Taste misery ; 
 He rests me in green pastures His ; 
 By waters still and sweet 
 He guides my feet. 
 
 " He me revives, leads me the way 
 
 Which righteousness doth take, 
 For His name's sake : 
 Yea, though I should through valleys stray 
 Of death's dark shade, I will 
 No whit fear ill. 
 
 " For Thou, dear Lord, Thou me besett'ft, 
 Thy rod and Thy staff be 
 To comfort me : 
 Before me Thou a table sett'st. 
 
 E'en when foes' envious eye 
 Doth it espy 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE, 409 
 
 *• Thou oil'st my head, Thou fill'st my cup; 
 Nay, more, Thou, endless Good, 
 Shalt give me food. 
 To Thee I pray, ascended up, 
 
 Where Thou, the Lord of all. 
 Dost hold Thy hall."* 
 
 This agreeable task completed, Sidney addressed 
 himself to a more laborious work, the well-known 
 prose romance which, in grateful affection to his 
 sister, he designated " The Countess of Pembroke's 
 Arcadia." It was written at her instigation. " You 
 desired me to do it," he says in his dedication, " and 
 your desire to my heart is an absolute command- 
 ment. Now, it is done only for you, only to you." 
 Full is it, from the first page to the last, of refined 
 fancies expressed in quaint, vigorous, and often 
 eloquent language ; with many touching episodes, 
 and many graceful pictures of scenery. It reveals 
 to us a kind of Utopian region, where every chival- 
 rous excellence is found in combination with the 
 unsophisticated manners of a rural life. Its arti- 
 ficial structure and elaborate Platonism render it 
 unacceptable to the most of modern readers; but 
 no one can carefully peruse it without being bet- 
 tered by the perusal, and without forming a high 
 opinion of its author's genius. 
 
 Its style is deserving of all praise. As an acute 
 
 • From the "Psalms of David, translated into Divers and Sundry 
 Metres." 
 
410 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 modern writer has remarked,* " Sidney's prose is 
 the most flowing and poetical that had yet been 
 written in English ; though its graces are rather 
 those of artful elaboration than of a vivid natural 
 expressiveness. The thought, in fact, is generally 
 more poetical than the language ; it is a spirit of 
 poetry encased in a rhetorical form. Yet," adds 
 Professor Craik, " notwithstanding the conceits into 
 which it frequently runs — and which, after all, are 
 mostly rather the follies of a nimble wit, somewhat 
 too solicitous of display — Sidney's is a wonderful 
 style, always flexible, harmonious, and humorous, 
 and on fit occasions rising to great stateliness and 
 splendour; while a breath of beauty and noble 
 feeling lives in and exhales from the whole of his 
 great work, like the fragrance from a garden of 
 flowers." 
 
 The " Arcadia " is so little known to the young 
 student, that a few brief quotations, as specimens of 
 its style and order of thought, may prove accept- 
 able. 
 
 Of solitude, Sidney finely says : They are never 
 alone who are accompanied with noble thoughts. 
 
 In reference to the advantage of cherishing high 
 aims and lofty aspirations : Who shoots at the 
 mid-day sun, though he be sure he shall never hit 
 
 * Professor G. L. Craik, " Compendious History of English 
 Ijterature," i. 473, 474. 
 
 I 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE, 411 
 
 the mark, yet as sure he is, he shall shoot higher 
 than who aims but at a bush. 
 
 On Virtue and the Claims of Ancestry : I am 
 no herald to enquire of men's pedigrees ; it sufficeth 
 me if I know their virtues. 
 
 The following picture of an Arcadian landscape 
 was probably drawn from the neighbourhood of 
 Penshurst : — 
 
 There were hills that garnished their proud 
 heights with stately trees; humble valleys, whose 
 base estate seemed comforted with the refreshing 
 of silver rivers ; meadows, enamelled with all sorts 
 of eye-pleasing flowers ; thickets which, being lined 
 with most pleasant shade, were witnessed so, too, 
 by the cheerful disposition of many well -tuned 
 birds ; each pasture stored with sheep, feeding in 
 sober security, while the pretty lambs, with bleating 
 oratory, craved the dam's comfort ; here a shepherd- 
 boy, piping as though he should never be old ; 
 there a young shepherdess knitting, and withal sing- 
 ing — and it seemed that her voice comforted her 
 hands to work, and her hands kept time to her 
 voice-music. As for the houses of the country (for 
 many houses came under their eye), they were ali 
 scattered, no two being one by the other, and yet 
 not so far off as that it barred mutual succour — a 
 show, as it were, of an accompanionable solitariness, 
 and of a wild wilderness. 
 
412 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 Our next quotation will be longer, but its tender 
 sweetness will not fail to command the reader's 
 appreciation. It is descriptive of the death of 
 Daiphantus, the disguised maiden, who, out of pure 
 love, followed the fortunes of Pyrocles, under the 
 semblance of a page, and whose finely-drawn cha- 
 racter seems to have suggested to Beaumont and 
 Fletcher the idea of the page Bellario, in their 
 drama of " Philaster." I think no one, after read- 
 ing this beautiful episode, will be disposed to find 
 fault with Cowper for describing its author as a 
 "warbler of poetic prose;" or with Charles Lamb 
 for asserting that the "noble images, passions, senti- 
 ments, and poetical delicacies of character scattered 
 all over the ' Arcadia ' [spite of some stiffness and 
 encumberment], justify the character which his con- 
 temporaries have left us of the writer."* But as 
 this seems a suitable place for the introduction of 
 a few additional illustrations of the characteristics 
 of Sidney's genius as poet and prose-writer, we 
 shall arrange them in the following order : 
 
 * Charles Lamb, "Essays of Elia ; on Some Sonnets of Sir Philip 
 Sidney " — a delightfully characteristic paper. 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE. 418 
 
 SOME SPECIMENS OF SIDNEY'S WORKS. 
 
 HIS POETRY. 
 
 I. Translation from Horace, Book ii., Ode x. 
 
 II. Sonnet : ** In wonted walks." 
 
 III. Sonnet : " With how sad steps, O Moon." 
 
 IV. A Ditty. 
 
 TRANSLATION FROM HORACE : "ODES," BOOK II.» ODE X. 
 
 You better sure can live, not evermore 
 
 Trying high seas ; nor while seas rage you flee, 
 Pressing too much upon ill-harbour' d shore. 
 
 The golden mean who loves, lives safely free 
 From filth of foresworn house, and quiet lives, 
 Releas'd from court, where envy needs must be. 
 
 The wind most oft the longest pine tree grieves ; 
 
 The stately towers come down with greater fall ; 
 The highest hill the bolt of thunder cleaves. 
 
 Evil haps do fill with hopes, good haps appall 
 With fear of change the courage well prepar'd ; 
 Foul winters as they come, away they shall. 
 
 Though present times, .ind past, with evils be snar'd, 
 
 They shall not last : with Cittern, silent muse, 
 Apollo wakes, and bow hath sometime spar'd. 
 
 In hard estate, with stout shows, valour use, 
 The same man still in whom wisdom prevails, 
 In too full wind drav/ in thy swelling sails. 
 
414 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 SONNET. 
 
 In wonted walks, since wonted fancies change, 
 
 Some cause there is, which of strange cause doth rise : 
 
 For in each thing whereto mine eye doth range ; 
 Part of my pain, me-seems, ingravdd lies. 
 
 The rocks, which were of constant mind the mark, 
 In climbing steep, now hard refusal show : 
 
 The shading woods seem now my sun to dark, 
 And stately hills disdain to look so low. 
 
 The restless caves now restless visions give ; 
 In dales I see each way a hard ascent : 
 
 Like late mown meads, late cut from joy I live, — 
 Alas ! sweet brooks do in my tears augment ; 
 
 Rocks, woods, hills, caves, dales, meads, brooks, answer nie ; 
 
 Infected minds infect each thing they see. 
 
 SONNET. 
 (From ** Astrophel and Stella," xxxi.) 
 With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb'st at the skies ! 
 
 How silently, and with how wan a face ! * 
 
 What way it be ; that, ev'n in heavenly place 
 That busy archer his sharp arrows tries ? 
 
 Sure, if that long, with Z<7Z'^-acquainted eyes, 
 Can judge oi Love, thou feel'st a lover's case ; 
 
 I read it in thy looks, thy languish'd grace 
 To me, that feel the like, thy state descries. 
 
 Then, even of fellowship, O Moon, tell me, 
 Is constant Love deem'd there but want of wit ? 
 
 Are beauties there as proud as here they be ? 
 
 * Imitated by Henry Kirke White (" Eccentric Drama):— 
 " With what a silent and dejected face 
 Dost thou, wan rijoon ! upon thy way advance." 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVA TE LIFE. 415 
 
 Do they above love to be lov'd, and yet 
 
 Those lovers scorn, whom that love doth posses>fr ? 
 Do they call Vertue there ungratefulness t 
 
 A D I T T Y. 
 
 My true love hath my heart, and I have his, 
 
 By just exchange one to the other given ; 
 I hold his dear, and mine he cannot mbs ; 
 
 There never was a better bargain driven ; 
 My true love hath my heart, and I have his. 
 
 His heart in me keeps him and me in one, 
 
 My heart in him his thoughts and senses guide : 
 
 He loves my heart, for once it was his own, 
 I cherish his because in me it bides : 
 
 My true love hath my heart, and I have his. 
 
 HIS PROSE. 
 T. The Poet (** The Defense of Poesy.") 
 
 II. The Death of D'iaphantus ("The Countess of Pembroke's 
 Arcadia.") 
 
 THE POET. 
 
 Now, of all sciences is our poet the monarchy for he doth not only 
 shew the way, but giveth so sweet a prospect into the way, as will 
 entice any man to enter into it ; nay, he doth, as if your journey 
 should be through a fair vineyard, at the very first give you a cluster 
 of grapes, that, full of that taste, you may long to pass farther. He 
 beginneth not with obscure definitions which must blur the margent 
 Avith interpretations, and load the memory with doubtfulness ; but he 
 Cometh to you with words set in delightful proportion, either accom- 
 panied with, or prepared for, the well-inchanting skill of musick^ and 
 Tvith a tale, forsooth, he cometh unto you with a tale, which holdeth 
 
416 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 children from play, and old men from the chimney corner ; and, 
 pretending no more, doth intend the winning of the mind from 
 wickedness to virtue, even as the child is often brought to take most 
 wholesome things by hiding them in such other as have a pleasant 
 taste, which, if one should begin to tell them the nature of the aloes 
 or rhabarbarum they should receive, would sooner take their physick 
 at their ears than at their mouth ; so is it in men (most of which arc 
 children in the best things, 'till they be cradled in their graves), glad 
 they will be to hear the tales of Hercules, Achilles, Cyrus, -(Eneas, 
 and hearing them, must needs hear the right description of wisdom, 
 valour, and justice, which, if they had been barely (that is to say, 
 philosophically) set out, they would swear they be brought to school 
 again. That imitation whereof Poetry is, hath the most conveniency 
 to nature of all other, insomuch that, as Aristotle saith, * Those things 
 which in themselves are horrible, as cruel battle, and unnatural mon- 
 sters, are made in poetical imitation delightful.' Truly, I have known 
 men, that even with reading Amadis de Gaul, which, God knoweth, 
 wanteth much of a perfect poesy, have found their hearts moved to 
 the exercise of courtesy, liberality, and especially courage. Who 
 readeth ^neas carrying old Anchises on his back, that wisheth not it 
 were his fortune to perform so excellent an act? Whom doth not 
 those words of Turnus move (the tale of Turmis having planted his 
 image in the imagination) — 
 
 ** Fugientum haec terra videt? 
 Usque adeone mori miserum est ? " 
 
 Where the philosophers (as they think) scorn to delight, so much they 
 be content little to move, saving wrangling whether Virtus be the 
 chief or the only good — whether the contemplative or the active life 
 do excel : which Plato and Boetius well knew, and therefore made 
 Mistress Philosophy very often borrow the masking raiment of Poesy. 
 For even those hard-hearted, evil men, who think virtue a school- 
 name, and know no other good but indulgere genis, and therefore 
 despise the austere admonitions of the philosopher, and feel not the 
 jnward reason they stand upon, yet will be content to be delighted, 
 
 A 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE. 417 
 
 which is all the good-fellow Poet seems to promise ; and so steal to 
 see the form of goodness — which seen, they cannot but love, ere 
 themselves be aware, as if they took a medicine of cherries. 
 
 II. — THE DEATH OF DAlPHANTUS. 
 
 Poor Daiphantus fell extreme sick, yet would needs conquer the 
 delicacy of her constitution, and force herself to wait on me, till one 
 day, going towards Fontus, we met one who in great haste went seek- 
 ing for Lydeus and Yelenor, whose death as yet was not known unto 
 the messenger, who, being their servant, and knowing how dearly 
 they loved Plexirtus, brought them word how, since their departing, 
 Plexirtus was in present danger of a cruel death, if by the valiantness 
 of one of the best knights of the world he were not rescued. We 
 inquired no further of the rnatter, being glad he should now, to his 
 loss, find what an unprofitable treason it had been unto him to dis- 
 member himself of two such friends, and so let the messenger part, 
 not sticking to make him know his master's destruction by the false- 
 hood of Plexirtus. 
 
 But the grief of that finding a body already brought to the last 
 degree of weakness, so overwhelmed the little remnant of the spirits 
 left in Daiphantus, that she fell suddenly into deadly swoonings, never 
 coming to herself but that withal she returned to make most pitiful 
 lamentations, most strange unto us, because we were far from guess- 
 ing the ground thereof. But finding hei sickness such as began to 
 print death in her eyes, we made all haste possible to convey her to 
 the next town ; but before we could lay her on a bed, both we and 
 she might find in herself that the harbingers of over-hasty death had 
 prepared his lodging in that dainty body, which she undoubtedly feel- 
 ing, with a weak cheerfulness, showed comfort therein, and then, 
 desiring us both to come near her, and that nobody else might be 
 present, with pale, and yet, even in 'paleness, lovely lips, " Now 
 or never, and never indeed but now, it is time for me," she said, 
 * to speak j and I thank death, which gives me leave to discover 
 that, the suppressure whereof perchance hath been the sharpest 
 spur that hath hasted my race to this end. Know, then, my lords;, 
 
 2 D 
 
418 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 and especially you, my lord and master, Pyrocles, that your page 
 Daiphantus is the unfortunate Zelmane, who for your sake caused my 
 as unfortunate lover and cousin Palladius to leave his father's court, 
 and, consequently, both him and my aunt his mother to lose their 
 lives. For your sake myself have become of a princess a page, and 
 for your sake have put off the apparel of a woman, and, if you judge 
 not more mercifully, the modesty." We were amazed at her speech, 
 and then had, as it were, new eyes given us to perceive that which 
 before had been a present stranger to our minds; for indeed forth- 
 with we knew it to be the face of Zelmane, whom we had before 
 known in the court of Iberia. And sonow and pity laying her 
 pain upon me, comforted her the best I could by the tenderness 
 of good will, pretending indeed better hope than I had of her re- 
 covery. 
 
 But she, that had inward ambassadors from the tyrant that shortly 
 would oppress her, " No, my dear master," said she, '* I neither 
 hope nor desire to live. I knew you would never have loved me " — 
 and with that word she wept. " Nor, alas ! had it been reason you 
 should, considering many ways my unworthiness. It sufficeth me 
 that the strange course I have taken shall to your remembrance wit- 
 ness my love ; and yet this breaking of my heart, before I would 
 discover this pain, will make you, I hope, think that I was not alto- 
 gether immodest Think of me so, dear master, and that thought 
 shall be my life ; " and with that, languishingly looking upon me, 
 •'And I pray you," said she, "even by these dying eyes of mine, 
 which are only sorry to die because they shall lose your sight ; and 
 ^y these polled locks of mine, which, while they were long, were the 
 ornament of my sex, now in their short curls the testimony of my 
 servitude ; and by the service I have done you, which, God knows, 
 has been full of love, think of me after my death with kindness, 
 though you cannot with love. And whensoever you shall make any 
 other lady happy with your well-placed affection, if you tell her my 
 folly, I pray you speak of it not with scorn, but with pity." I assure 
 you, dear princess of my life, — for how could it be otherwise ? — her 
 words and her manner, with the lively consideration of her love, so 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVA TE LIFE. 419 
 
 pierced me, that though I had divers griefs before, yet methought I 
 never felt till then how much sorrow enfeebled all resolution ; for I 
 could not choose but yield to the weakness of abundant weeping ; in 
 truth with such grief that I could willingly at that time have changed 
 lives with her. 
 
 But when she saw my tears, "O God," she said, "how largely am 
 I recompensed for my losses ! Why, then," said she, ** I may take 
 boldness to make some requests unto you." I besought her to do, 
 vowing the performance, though my life were the price thereof. She 
 showed great joy. "The first," said she, "is this, that you will 
 pardon my father the displeasure you have justly conceived against 
 him, and for this once succour him out of the danger wherein he is : I 
 hope he will amend ; and I pray you, whensoever you remember him 
 to be the faulty Plexirtus, remember withal that he is Zelmane's father. 
 The second is, that when you once come into Greece, you will take 
 unto yourself this name, though unlucky, of Daiphantus, and vouchsafe 
 to be called by it : for so shall I be sure you shall have cause to re- 
 member me ; and let it please your noble cousin to be called Palladius, 
 that his name yet may live upon the earth in so excellent a person ; 
 and so between you I trust sometimes your unlucky page shall be, 
 perhaps with a sigh, mentioned. Lastly, let me be buried here, 
 obscurely, not suffering my friends to know my fortune, till, when 
 you are safely returned to your own country, you cause my bones to 
 be conveyed thither, and laid, I beseech you, in some place where 
 yourself vouchsafe sometimes to resort." Alas ! small petitions from 
 such a suitor ! which yet she so earnestly craved that I was fain to 
 swear the accomplishment. And then, kissing me, and often desiring 
 me not to condemn her of lightness, in mine arms she delivered her 
 pure soul to the purest place, leaving me as full of agony as kindness, 
 pity, and sorrow could make an honest heart. For I must confess for 
 true, that if my stars had not wholly reserved me for you, there else, 
 perhaps, I might have loved, and, which had been most strange, 
 begun my love after death : whereof let it be the less marvel, because 
 somewhat she did resemble you, though as far short of your per- 
 fection as herself dying was of herself flourishing; yet something 
 
420 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 there was which, when I saw a picture of yours, brought again her 
 figure into my remembrance, and made my heart as apt to receive 
 the wound as the power of your beauty with irresistible force to 
 pierce. 
 
 We may agree with Mr Lloyd that, in all pro- 
 bability, the months which he spent at Wilton, or 
 at the Earl of Pembroke's neighbouring manor of 
 Clarendon, were the happiest of Sidney's life. Be- 
 tween him and his sister the affection which sub- 
 sisted was of the deepest and most earnest nature ; 
 and they were further bound together by their 
 similarity of tastes and identity of pursuits. In 
 later years, when buffeted by the storms of the 
 busy world, he often returned in imagination to the 
 cultivated leisure he had enjoyed in his sister's 
 company, and, perhaps, forgot in musing upon 
 them, the disappointments that clouded his career. 
 Yet was his nature so evenly balanced between the 
 active and the contemplative, that he could not 
 bear to be long excluded from either. 
 
 At Wilton, says Mr Lloyd,* he saw the armour 
 of several gallant French knights, Montmorenci, 
 Louis of Bourbon, Montpensier, and others, the 
 spoils of the brilliant victory of St Quentin, where 
 the Earl's father had led the English contingent. 
 Upon these bright trophies of martial valour, 
 Sidney gazed with impatient enthusiasm, longing 
 
 • Julius Lloyd, " Life of Sir PhUip Sidney." 
 
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE, 421 
 
 to carry out into practice the beautiful ideal of 
 Christian chivalry which illuminated and inspired 
 his fancy. 
 
 Having been returned to the House of Commons 
 in the third session of Elizabeth's fourth Parliament 
 as member for Kew, Sidney quitted the classic 
 shades of Wilton, and repaired to London, plunging 
 afresh into the delights and bitternesses of courtly 
 life. The bitternesses must have predominated 
 largely, for he found his " Stella " — his beloved 
 Penelope — married, though sorely against her will, 
 to the Lord Robert Rich, whom he immediately 
 stigmatised, in a vigorous sonnet, as 
 
 ** That rich fool who, by blind Fortune's lot, 
 The richest gem of love and life enjoys, 
 
 And can with foul abuse such beauties blot.*'* 
 
 Sidney was terribly stricken by this event, and I 
 think it threw a gloom upon all his after career, 
 though he lived to throw off the worst influences 
 of his passion, and to conquer all unholy longing 
 after a prize that could never be his. 
 
 * Sidney, ** Astrophel and Stella," Sonnet 15. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE END OF A BRIGHT CAREER. 
 
 " Woods, hills, and rivers now are desolate, 
 
 Since he is gone, the which them all did grace ; 
 And all the fields do wail their widow-state, 
 
 Since death their fairest flower did late deface. 
 The fairest flower in field that ever grew 
 Was Astrophel — tfiat was we all may rue. 
 
 " Break now your garlands, oh, ye shepherds' lasses ! 
 Since the fair flower which them adorned is gone — 
 The flower which them adorned is gone to ashes ; 
 
 Never again let lass put garland on. 
 Instead of garland, wear sad cypress now, 
 And bitter elder, broken from the bough." 
 
 Countess of Pembroke, " Doleful Lay of Clarinda." 
 
 E find Sidney in attendance upon the Queen 
 on the 1st of January 1583, and presenting 
 her, as a new year's gift, with a beautiful 
 golden flower-pot, shaped like a castle, and daintily 
 garnished on one side with small diamonds. In 
 return, he would seem to have received a lock of the 
 sovereign's hair, " soft and bright, and of a light 
 brown colour, approaching to red," which is still 
 
END OF A BRIGHT CAREER. 423 
 
 preserved, along with the verses written by Sidney 
 in acknowledgment of so rare a token of favour :* 
 
 " Her inward worth all outward show transcends. 
 Envy her merits with regret commends ; 
 Like sparkling gems her virtues draw the sight, 
 And in her conduct she is always bright. 
 When she imports her thoughts, her words have force, 
 And sense and wisdom flow in sweet discourse." 
 
 A few days later he was honoured with the Order of 
 the Garter, to which he had been nominated in 1579, 
 and on the 13th of January was duly installed at 
 St George's Chapel, Windsor — thenceforward to be 
 always known as Sir Philip Sidney, Knight, of 
 Penshurst. 
 
 Elizabeth, at this period, could not grow weary 
 of bestowing favours upon him. She now licensed 
 and authorised him, by her royal letters patent, to 
 " discover, search, find out, view, and inhabit, certain 
 parts of America not yet discovered, and out of 
 those countries, by him, his heirs, and assignees for 
 ever, such and so much quantity of ground as should 
 amount to the number of thirty hundred thousand 
 acres of ground and wood, with all commodities, 
 jurisdictions, and royalties, both by sea and land ; 
 with full power and authority that it should and 
 might be lawful for the said Sir Philip Sidney" to 
 colonise and inhabit the same. 
 
 * H. R. Fox Bourne, "Life of Sir Philip Sidney," p. 363. 
 
424 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, 
 
 ^ 
 
 Sidney, like so many others of the great Eliza- 
 bethan men, had had his imagination fired, and his 
 love of adventure awakened, by the romantic nar- 
 ratives of the Spanish discoverers. He was anxious 
 now to act upon the grant so munificently made to 
 him of lands as yet unknown, and, it might be, non- 
 existent ; but lacking himself the funds necessary 
 for the equipment of a suitable expedition, he trans- 
 ferred his rights, with due reservations, to Sir George 
 Peckham. He may have been moved to take this 
 step by other considerations, for he had but just 
 married, after conquering his hopeless and unworthy 
 love for Lady Rich, Frances Walsingham, the eldest 
 daughter of Elizabeth's celebrated Secretary of 
 State. And, says a quaint old writer, though Sir 
 Philip received no considerable accrument of means 
 by his match, yet, accounting virtue a portion to 
 itself, he so afi'ectionately loved her, that herein he 
 was exemplary to all gentlemen not to carry their 
 love in their purses, or so to consult profit as to 
 prefer it before merit in marriage. He was at this 
 time aged eight-and-twenty. His wife little ex- 
 ceeded fifteen years. 
 
 In the following year Sidney again made his ap- 
 pearance as an author. An anonymous pamphlet 
 was issued, under the title of " Leicester's Com- 
 monwealth " — now known to have been written by 
 Robert Parsons, the English Jesuit — in which Eliza- 
 
END OF A BRIGHT CAREER. 425 
 
 beth's powerful favourite was accused of the blackest 
 crimes, and vilified with a force and unscrupulous- 
 ness which only the bitterest hatred could have 
 inspired. The greater the quantity of mud you 
 fling at a man, the greater are your chances that 
 some of it will stick ; and of the mud flung in this 
 notorious pamphlet much has stuck, unfortunately 
 for Leicester. Yet it is only fair to remember that 
 Leicester, as the foremost advocate of a cordial 
 alliance between England and the revolted pro- 
 vinces of Holland, was necessarily an object of 
 enmity to the Papists, and that at this conjunc- 
 ture, when he was straining every nerve to render 
 effectual assistance to the Dutch in their heroic 
 struggle, it was specially their object and interest 
 to blacken his character and weaken his influ- 
 ence. 
 
 He found a gallant defender in his chivalrous 
 nephew, who replied to the anonymous assailant in 
 a vigorously written " Defence of Leicester," which 
 exhibits his literary powers in a very favourable 
 light. It was never published, however, but privately 
 some copies of it were circulated in manuscript. To 
 Sidney's biographer it is of considerable value, from 
 its eloquent exposition of his claims to an illustrious 
 lineage. " I truly am glad," he writes, in reply to 
 the monstrous assertion that the Dudleys were of 
 low birth ; " I truly am glad to have cause to set 
 
426 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 \ 
 
 forth the nobility of that blood whereof I am 
 descended ; which but upon so just cause, without 
 vainglory, could not have been uttered." 
 
 Meanwhile, the attention of all good patriots and 
 earnest-minded men was seriously directed to the 
 state of affairs in the Netherlands. It was clear that 
 the Dutch could no longer stand their ground against 
 the overwhelming power of Spain without assistance ; 
 and all sensible Englishmen saw that if they were 
 crushed, the result would be dangerous to their own 
 best interests. The safety of England was bound 
 up with the independence of the States. Eliza- 
 beth's ministers urged upon her this self-evident 
 truth, but nevertheless she shrank from openly 
 descending into the arena against her powerful 
 antagonist. Her revenues were small ; her realm 
 was distracted by Roman Catholic plots and the 
 intrigues of the partisans of the Scottish queen; 
 the population of England at that time scarcely 
 numbered four millions ; there was no standing 
 army; and the royal fleet consisted of only a few 
 ill-equipped vessels of comparatively light burthen. 
 We may not wonder, therefore, that she hesitated, 
 or that when at last she espoused the cause of the 
 States, it was with very evident reluctance and 
 lukewarmness. The Dutch envoys offered her the 
 sovereignty of the United Provinces. After mature 
 consideration she declined the splendid but dangerous 
 
END OF A BRIGHT CAREER. 427 
 
 gift, but she promised to send an army to their assist- 
 ance. She knew, she said, that by so much help 
 she would offend the King of Spain as much as if 
 she had accepted the proffered crown. But what 
 care I ? she exclaimed. We must all die once. I 
 know very well that many princes are my enemies, 
 and are seeking my ruin ; and that where malice is 
 joined with force, malice often arrives at its ends. 
 But I am not so feeble a princess that I have not 
 the means and the will to defend myself against them 
 all. They are seeking to take my life, but it troubles 
 me not. He who is on high has defended me until 
 this hour, and will keep me still, for in Him do I 
 trust.* 
 
 To the command of the army despatched in fulfil- 
 ment of Elizabeth's promise, Leicester was appointed, 
 and his nephew hoped at the same time to obtain 
 the governorship of Flushing, one of the towns which 
 the Dutch, according to agreement, placed in the 
 hands of the English. He was disappointed, and 
 in his disappointment turned in another direction 
 to find honourable occupation for his energies. He 
 resolved upon carrying out his long-cherished pro- 
 ject of founding a colony in the West Indies, and 
 found thirty gentlemen of good family and fortune 
 prepared to assist him in the adventure.^ He carried 
 
 * J. L. Motley, " History of the United Netherlands." 
 t Lord Brooke, ** Memoir of Sir Philip Sidney," p. 132. 
 
428 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 into his schemes a very noble and elevated spirit. 
 His was no vulgar greed of gold or power, but 
 brighter and loftier ideals floated before his fond 
 imagination, and he was bent on the establishment 
 of a Western Utopia, where religion and justice 
 should be the overruling principles. With varied 
 eloquence he sought to attract around him the elite 
 of the enterprising spirits of his age. The induce- 
 ments he offered were many and well-chosen. To 
 martial men, says his friend and biographer. Lord 
 Brooke,* he opened wide the door of sea and land, 
 for fame and conquest : to the nobly ambitious, the 
 far stage of America to win honour in : to the 
 religious divines, besides a new apostolical calling 
 of the lost heathen to the Christian faith, a large 
 field of reducing poor Christians, misled by the 
 idolatry of Rome, to their primitive Mother Church : 
 to the ingeniously industrious, variety of natural 
 riches for new mysteries and manufactures to work 
 upon : to the merchants, with a simple people, a 
 fertile and unexhausted earth : to the fortune- 
 bound, liberty : to the curious, a fruitful womb of 
 invention. Generally, the word £^old was an attrac- 
 tive adamant to make men venture that which they 
 have, in hope to grow rich by that which they have 
 not. 
 
 He joined to him in the leadership of the expedi- 
 * Lord Brooke, "Memoir of Sir Philip Sidney," p. 133. 
 
END OF A BRIGHT CAREER. 42S 
 
 tlon Sir Francis Drake, with the understanding that, 
 so long as it was in preparation, Drake should be 
 nominally the sole commander, but that, when it 
 left England, he and Sidney were to possess joint 
 authority. As we have already shown, however, 
 our hero was again doomed to disappointment. 
 Drake wished for no "rival near his throne," and 
 was unwilling, perhaps, to bear the responsibility 
 in which he would have been involved by Sidney's 
 secret departure from England. He gave informa- 
 tion to Court of Sidney's designs, and the Queen 
 straightway sent a peremptory order that he should 
 abandon them. It was delivered into Sir Philip's 
 hands by a peer of the realm, and carried with it, 
 says Lord Brooke, in the one hand grace, in the 
 other, thunder ; that is, a threat of the Queen's 
 severe displeasure if he persisted, and a promise 
 that, if he obeyed her mandate promptly, he should 
 be rewarded with employment in the Netherlands. 
 
 There was no choice for Sidney but submission. 
 Drake sailed from Plymouth at the head of a 
 splendid fleet, and Sidney departed for the Nether- 
 lands as governor of Flushing (November i6, 1588). 
 
 He found that important town in a sorry condi- 
 tion. Its defences had been utterly neglected ; stores 
 and provisions were wanting ; the garrison was ill- 
 equipped, sickly, and ill-fed. With characteristic 
 energy he addressed himself to the task of remedy- 
 
430 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 ing these evils, while urgently pressing upon his 
 uncle the need of immediate advance against the 
 enemy if he would render any real assistance to the 
 suffering Netherlanders. Nor did he forget to call 
 his attention to the wretched state of the English 
 army. " It grieves me very much," he wrote, " the 
 soldiers are so hardly dealt with in your first be- 
 ginning of government .... When soldiers 
 grow to despair, and give up towns, then it is late 
 to buy that with hundred thousands what might 
 have been saved with a trifle." * 
 
 Shortly afterwards he addressed the following 
 letter to his father-in-law, Walsingham, which will 
 interest the reader from its lively presentment of 
 the condition of affairs, and its illustration of several 
 points of Sidney's character. It was written at 
 Utrecht, whither he had repaired to visit Leicester :t 
 
 " At Utrecht, the 2/[th of March 15S6. 
 *• Right Honourable, 
 ** I receive divers letters from you, full of the discomfort which I 
 see, and am sorry to see, that you daily meet with at home ; and I 
 think, that such is the good will it pleaseth you to bear me, that my 
 part of the trouble is something that troubles you ; but I beseech you 
 let it not. I had before cast my count of danger, want, and disgrace ; 
 and, before God, sir, it is true in my heart, the love of the cause 
 doth so far overbalance them all, that, with God's grace, they shall 
 never make me weary of my resolution. If her Majesty were the 
 
 * From the " Cotton MSS.," cited by Fox Bourne, 
 t This letter is preserved in Lodge's "Letters of Illustrious Per- 
 sonages." 
 
END OF A BRIGHT CAREER. 431 
 
 fountain, I would fear, considering what we daily find, that we should 
 wax dry; but she is but a woman whom God useth — and I know 
 not whether I am deceived, but I am faithfully persuaded, that if 
 she should withdraw herself, other springs would rise to help this 
 nation ; for, methinks, I see the great work indeed in hand against 
 the abusers of the world, wherein it is no greater fault to have con- 
 fidence in man's power, than it is too hastily to despair of God's 
 work. I think a wise and constant man ought never to grieve while 
 he doth play, as a man may say, his own part truly, though others 
 be out; but if himself leave his hold because other mariners will be 
 idle, he will hardly forgive himself his own fault. For me, I cannot 
 promise of my own course, because I know there is a higher Power 
 that must uphold me, or else I shall fall ; but certainly I trust I 
 shall not, by other men's wants, be drawn from myself. Therefore, 
 good sir, to whom for my particulars, I am more bound than to all 
 men besides, be not troubled with my troubles, for I have seen the 
 worst, in my judgment, beforehand, and worse than that cannot be. 
 
 ** If the Queen pay not her soldiers she must lose her garrisons. 
 There is no doubt thereof. But no man living shall be able to say 
 the fault is in me. What relief I can do them I will. I will spare 
 no danger if occasion serves. I am sure no creature shall be able 
 to lay injustice to my charge; and, for further doubts, truly I stand 
 not upon them. 
 
 " It hath been a costly beginning unto me this war, by reason I had 
 vothing proportioned unto it, my servants inexperienced, and myself 
 every way unfurnished ; but hereafter, if the war continue, I shall pass 
 much better through with it. For Bergen-op-Zoom,* I delighted in 
 it, I confess, because it was near the enemy ; but especially having a 
 very fair house in it, and an excellent air, I destined it for my wife ; 
 but finding how you deal there, and that ill payment in my absence 
 thence might bring forth some mischief, and considering how apt the 
 Queen is to interpret everything to my disadvantage, I have resigned 
 it to my Lord Willoughby, my very good friend, and, indeed, a 
 
 * A town on the mainland, near Flushing, and apparently included in Sidney'^ 
 governorship. 
 
432 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 valiant and frank gentleman, and fit for that place. Therefore I 
 pray you know that so much my regality is fallen. I understand I 
 am called very ambitious and proud at home ; but certainly, if they 
 knew my heart, they would not altogether so judge me. 
 
 " I wrote to you a letter by Will, my Lord of Leicester's jesting 
 player, inclosed in a letter to my wife, and I never had answer thereof. 
 It contained something to my Lord of Leicester, and counsel that 
 some way might be taken to stay my lady there. I since, divers 
 times, have writ to know whether you had received them, but you 
 never answered me that point. I since find that the knave delivered 
 the letters to my Lady of Leicester, but whether she sent them to you 
 or no, I know not, but earnestly desire to do, because I doubt there is 
 more interpreted thereof. Mr Erington is with me at Flushing, and 
 therefore I think myself at the more rest, having a man of his reputa- 
 tion : but 1 assure you, sir, in good earnest, I find Burlas another 
 manner of man than he is taken for, or I expected. I would to God 
 Bourne had obtained his suit. He is earnest, but somewhat dis- 
 composed with the consideration of his estate. Turner is good for 
 nothing, and worst for the sound of the hackbuts. 
 
 "We shall have a sore war upon us this summer, wherein, if ap- 
 pointment had been kept, and these disgraces forborne, which have 
 greatly weakened us, we had been victorious. I can say no more at 
 tliis time, but pray for your long and happy life. 
 
 ** Your humble son, 
 
 " Philip Sidney. 
 
 "I know not what to say to my wife's coming till you resolve 
 better ; for, if you run a strange course, I may take such an one here 
 as will not be fit for any one of the feminine gender. I pray you 
 make much of Nicholas Grey. I have been vilely deceived for armours 
 for horsemen ; if you could spare me any out of your armoury I will 
 send them you back as soon as my own be finished. There was never 
 so good a father found a more troublesome son." 
 
 Shortly after this characteristic letter was written, 
 
 # 
 
END OF A BRIGHT CAREER. 433 
 
 Lady Frances arrived at Flushing, where, notwith- 
 standing the sounds and rumours of war, she con- 
 trived to enjoy the hours in great contentment. 
 "Your daughter," wrote Sir PhiHp to Walsingham, 
 " is very well and merry." Not so was her husband ; 
 in addition to the cares of public policy, a heavy 
 domestic affliction now fell upon him, in the death 
 of his admirable and worthy father, on the 8th of 
 May. He wanted but six weeks of being fifty-seven 
 years old, and in a comparatively short life had done 
 as much work for the State as could be well com- 
 pressed into the busiest career. For his death, — we 
 read in Holinshed,* — there was great moan and 
 lamentation, especially by those under his govern- 
 ment, as having lost that special nobleman, whom 
 for courtesy they loved, for justice amongst them 
 they highly honoured, and for many other, his rare 
 gifts and singular virtues, they in his life-time greatly 
 esteemed, and at his death marvellously bemoaned, 
 lifting up both hands and hearts to Almighty God, 
 and heartily wishing and humbly praying a like 
 might succeed in the place as he had been. 
 
 Three months later, on the 9th of August, Sidney 
 lost his mother ; a noble English matron, exceeding 
 most of her sex in "singularity of virtue and quality." + 
 
 In the interval which elapsed between these two 
 
 heavy blows, Sir Philip, in concert with Maurice of 
 
 * Holinshed, iii. 534. f Archer, Continuation of Stowe, p. 733. 
 
 2 £ 
 
434 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 Nassau, had projected and successfully carried out 
 a brilliant military enterprise, the capture of Axel, — 
 a strongly-fortified city in Flanders, nearly opposite 
 Flushing. With 500 of his Zealand regiment, accom- 
 panied by Lord Willoughby and 500 English from 
 Bergen-op-Zoom, Sidney, on the night of the 6th of 
 July, rowed across the Scheldt, and on its north 
 bank was joined by Maurice and Colonel Piron, 
 with some 2000 Flemings. They then proceeded, 
 partly on foot and partly by boat, to a point within 
 a mile of Axel, where they were drawn up in 
 close array, and harangued by Sidney in spirit- 
 stirring words. 
 
 At two o'clock in the morning the assault was 
 dehvered. The moat was deep ; but some thirty 
 or forty soldiers, headed by Sidney, plunged into 
 the waters, scaled the wall, and threw open the 
 gates to their comrades. The garrison, surprised, 
 rushed to arms, and offered a brave resistance, but 
 the greater portion was cut to pieces, and the 
 remainder either surrendered, or sought safety in 
 flight.* Sidney posted a body of picked men in 
 the market-place, to guard against a renewed out- 
 break, and patrolled the town with suitable detach- 
 ments. The booty was considerable ; five of the 
 enemy's ensigns were also taken ; and property to 
 the value of two million florins destroyed. Sidney 
 
 ♦ Motley, ii. 89. 
 
 ■ 
 
END OF A BRIGHT CAREER. 435 
 
 spent twelve days in ensuring the safety of his 
 capture, and placing in it a garrison of 800 men, 
 under Colonel Piron, proceeded to join Leicester 
 and the main army at Arnheim. 
 
 We now approach the last scene of his brief but 
 brilliant career ; the scene which, perhaps, has done 
 as much to preserve his name and memory as his 
 "Arcadia," or his "Defence of Poesy;" so great is 
 the influence on the hearts of men of a noble act of 
 self-denial, so keenly sensible are they of the beauty 
 and sacredness of a generous example ! 
 
 It was an object with the English generalissimo 
 to obtain command of the river Yssel, and this 
 could only be done by effecting the capture of 
 Zutphen.* Accordingly, he invested it in force on 
 the 1 3th of September, Leicester preparing to attack 
 it on the left, and Sir John Norris, Count Lewis 
 William of Nassau, and Sir Philip Sidney, having 
 command on the right. The Prince of Parma, recog- 
 nising the strategical importance of the post, made 
 great efforts for its defence, and proceeded to throw 
 into it fresh reinforcements and large supplies of 
 food and munitions. On the 21st, Leicester received 
 information that a convoy was at Deventer, a few 
 miles up the river, and that an attempt would be 
 
 * The events which we here glance at so very briefly are described 
 with much detail by Mr Motley in his *' History of the United 
 Netherlands, " 
 
436 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 made to smuggle it into the town on the following 
 night. He therefore gave orders to Sir William 
 Stanley, with 300 pikemen, and Sir John Norris, 
 with 200 horse, to intercept it. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 22d, the English 
 leaders started on their mission, accompanied by 
 about fifty volunteers, among whom were Sidney, 
 the Earl of Essex, Audley, Willoughby, Pelham, 
 Russell, and others of the best and bravest blood of 
 England. It was a misty dawn, and the little troop 
 moved on through the shadows scarcely able to 
 distinguish any object ten paces distant. "Out of 
 about 500 Englishmen," says Mr Bourne,* "it seems 
 that a party of 200 horsemen, headed by Sidney, 
 advanced to the very walls of the town. Then sud- 
 denly the fog dispersed, and the little company found 
 themselves in a very unexpected and very perilous 
 position. Above 1000 of the enemy's cavalry were 
 stationed in readiness to receive them ; and they were 
 within range both of the great guns which played 
 from the ramparts and of the still more effective 
 muskets handled by troops secreted in the trenches." 
 
 Nothing daunted, our heroes charged with head- 
 long valour, and, when forced to retreat, after an 
 hour and a halfs hard fighting, retreated in perfect 
 order. Sidney's horse was killed under him, and 
 from a chivalrous disregard of justifiable precau- 
 • Fox Bourne, •* Life of Sir Philip Sidney," p. 505. 
 
END OF A BRIGHT CAREER. 437 
 
 tion, his danger was greatly enhanced. Riding to 
 the field he had met Sir William Pelham, the Lord 
 Marshal of the army, lightly armed. In a Quixotic 
 spirit of noble rivalry, he immediately threw off 
 his own cuisses, or thigh-pieces, and, mount- 
 ing a fresh horse, joined in a second desperate 
 charge, which drove back the enemy for some 
 distance. Collecting all the Englishmen who were 
 on the field, a third and still more desperate onset 
 was made, resulting in a great slaughter of the 
 Spaniards. But, unhappily, in this last charge, 
 Sidney was wounded. A shot hit him on the leg, 
 a little above the knee, shattered the bone, and 
 glanced upwards far into the thigh. His horse, 
 restive and ill-trained, took flight and galloped off 
 the field ; but Sidney, notwithstanding his mortal 
 pain, retained his seat. Then he began, slowly, 
 to return to the camp, and was carried to the place 
 near which the Earl of Leicester stood. Thirsty, 
 with excess of bleeding, he called for drink, which 
 was presently brought him ; but, as he was putting 
 the bottle of water to his mouth, he saw a foot- 
 soldier carried past, and ghastly casting up his eyes 
 at the precious draught, — which Sir Philip perceiv- 
 ing, he drank not at all, but delivered the bottle to the 
 poor man, with the memorable words, " Thy necessity 
 is greater than miner* 
 
 * Lord Brooke, p. 146. 
 
438 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, 
 
 Being met by his uncle, who had crossed the 
 river to witness the engagement, "O PhiHp!" cried 
 Leicester, "I am truly grieved to see thy hurt." 
 " My Lord," he replied, " this have I done to do 
 you honour, and her Majesty some service." 
 
 '•O, noble Sir Philip!" exclaimed Sir William 
 Russell, coming up from the fight, spent, worn, and 
 sorely wounded ; " there was never man attained 
 hurt more honourably than you have done, nor any 
 sword like unto you." " God directed the bullet," 
 answered Sidney, and bade the surgeons probe his 
 wound, while he was still strong enough to endure 
 the pain. They did not succeed in extracting the 
 bullet, but set the bone ; and, in a very precarious 
 condition, the wounded hero was carefully removed 
 to Arnheim. 
 
 " How God will dispose of him," wrote Leicester 
 to England, the following day,* " I know not, but 
 fear I must needs greatly the worst ; the blow in 
 so dangerous a place and so great ; yet did I never 
 hear of any man that did abide the dressing and 
 setting his bones better than he did ; and he was 
 carried afterwards in my barge to Arnheim, and I 
 hear this day he is still of good heart, and com- 
 forteth all about him as much as may be. God of 
 His mercy grant his life, which I cannot but doubt 
 of greatly. I was abroad at that time in the field, 
 
 * Collins, "The Sidney Papers" (Introduction), p, 105. 
 
END UP A BRIGHT CAREER, 439 
 
 giving some order. to supply that business, which 
 did endure almost two hours in continual fight, and 
 meeting Philip coming upon his horse-back, not a 
 little to my grief. But I would you had stood by 
 to hear his most loyal speeches to her Majesty ; 
 his constant mind to the cause, his loving care over 
 me, and his most resolute determination for death, 
 not a jot appalled for his blow, which is the most 
 grievous that ever I saw with such a bullet ; riding 
 so long, a mile and a half, upon his horse, ere he 
 came to the camp ; not ceasing to speak still of 
 her Majesty ; being glad if his hurt and death 
 might any way honour her, for hers he was while 
 he lived, and God's he was sure to be if he died ; 
 praying all men to think that the cause was as 
 well her Majesty's as the country's, and not to be 
 discouraged, 'for you have now such success as 
 may encourage us all ; and this my hurt is the 
 ordinance of God by the hap of the war.' " 
 
 On his sick-bed he was tended by his wife, who 
 watched over him with assiduous affection. At 
 first some hopes of his recovery were entertained, 
 but about the eleventh or twelfth day it was seen 
 that death was approaching ; and men mourned as 
 for the loss of a well-beloved brother. He bore his 
 pains with gentle patience. The last hours of his 
 life in no wise cast any shame on its brilliant spring. 
 It was the death of a hero, and of a Christian hero 
 
440 S/K PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 whose courage was inspired by the truest piety. 
 With his chaplain, Gifford, he delighted to hold 
 long and frequent converse on religious matters. 
 From a narrative drawn up by Gifford, we extract 
 the following interesting account of his closing 
 moments:* 
 
 " The night before he died, towards the morning, 
 I asked him how he did > He answered, ' I feel 
 myself more weak.' ' I trust,' said I, ' you are well, 
 and thoroughly prepared for death, yf God shall 
 call you.' At this he made a little pause, and then 
 he answered, * I have a doubt ; pray resolve me in 
 it. I have not slept this night. I have verie ear- 
 nestlie and humblie besought the Lord to give me 
 some sleep: He hath denied it. This causeth me 
 to doubt that God doth not regard me, nor heare 
 any of my prayers. This doth trouble me.' Answer 
 was made, that for matters touching salvation or 
 pardon of our sins through Christ, He gave an 
 absolute promise; but for things concerning this 
 life, God hath promised them, but with caution : 
 that which he hath absolutely promised we may 
 assuredly look to receive, craving in faith that which 
 he hath thus promised. * I am,' said he, * fully satis- 
 fied and resolved with this answer. No doubt it is 
 even so : then I will submit myself to His will in 
 these outward things.' . . . 
 ♦ Priated in Dr Zoucli's " Life of Sir Philip Sidney,' pp. 267-278. 
 
END OF A BRIGHT CAREER. 441 
 
 "Within a few hours after, I told him that I 
 thought his death did approach, which indeed he 
 well perceived, and for which he prepared himself 
 His fear that death would take away his under- 
 standing did continue. * I doe,' said he, ' with 
 trembling heart most humblie intreat the Lord that 
 the pangs of death may not be so grievous as to 
 take away my understanding.' 
 
 "It was proved to him by testimonies and in- 
 fallible reasons out of the Scriptures, that although 
 his understanding and senses should fail, yet that 
 faith, which he had now, could not fail, but would 
 hold still the power and victory before God ; yea, 
 in that respect all one, as if he had his senses and 
 understanding. At this he did, with a cheerful 
 and smiling countenance, put forth his hand, and 
 slapped me softlie on the cheeks. Not long after, 
 he lift up his eyes and hands, uttering these 
 words: *I would not change my joye for the 
 empire of the worlde;* for the nearer he saw 
 death approach, the more his comfort seemed to 
 increase. 
 
 "As the light of a lamp is continued by pour- 
 ing in of oyl, so he sought to have the burning zeal 
 and flame of his prayer, upon which his heart was 
 still bent, cherished by the comforts of the holy 
 word, accounting it a great injury if we did not 
 seek to give wings to his faith to carry up his 
 
442 SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 prayers speedily, uttering grief when he felt any 
 thought interrupting him. . . . 
 
 " His speech faihng him, he made sign with his 
 hand to be still spoken to, and could less endure 
 that I should make any intermission ; even as one 
 that runneth a race, when he approach eth unto the 
 end, doth strain himself most vehemently, he would 
 have the help that might be to carry him forward, 
 now in the very end of his race, to the goal. 
 
 " It now seemed as if all natural heat and life 
 were almost utterly gone out of him, that his under- 
 standing had failed, and that it was to no purpose 
 to speak any more unto him. But it was far other- 
 wise. I spake thus unto him : * Sir, if you heare 
 what I saye, let us by some means know it, and if 
 you have still your inward joy and consolation in 
 God, hold up your hand.* With that he did lift up 
 his hand, and stretched it forth on high, which we 
 thought he could scarce have moved, causing the 
 beholders to cry out with joy that his understand- 
 ing should be still so perfect, and that the weak 
 body, beyond all expectation, should so readily give 
 a sign of the joy of the soul. After this, requiring 
 of him to lift up his hands to God, seeing he could 
 not speak or open his eyes, that we might see his 
 heart still prayed, he raised both his hands, and set 
 them together on his breast, and held them upwards, 
 after the manner of those which make humble peti- 
 
END OF A BRIGHT CAREER. 443 
 
 tions ; and so his hands did remain, and were so 
 stiff, that they would have so continued standing, 
 being once so set, but that we took the one from 
 the other. 
 
 "Thus, his hearing going away, we commended 
 him to God divers times by prayer ; and at last he 
 yielded up his spirit into the hands of God, unto his 
 most happy comfort." 
 
 Thus, at the age of thirty-one, Sidney terminated 
 his bright and brief career, passing away very peace- 
 fully, about half-past two o'clock in the afternoon of 
 Monday, October 17th, 1586. Who does not wish 
 that he had lived longer? What might not Eng- 
 land have expected from the noon of a manhood 
 whose morn had been so full of auspicious promise } 
 Alas, how many hopes, and fair aspirations, and 
 grand ambitions, were interred in Sidney's prema- 
 ture grave, leaving scarce a memorial behind to 
 testify to their abundant splendour ! 
 
 ** Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise 
 To scorn delights, and live laborious days : 
 But the fair guerdon when we hope to find, 
 And think to burst out into sudden blaze, 
 Comes the blind Fury with th' abhorred shears 
 And slits the thin-spun life." — Milton. 
 
 On Monday, October 24th, after having been 
 embalmed, Sidney's body was removed to Flushing. 
 The authorities of the Netherlands would fain have 
 
444 SIJ^ PHILIP SIDNEY. 
 
 honoured it with a public funeral, and they pledged 
 themselves to erect for it a magnificent mausoleum ; 
 but it was deemed desirable to convey it to England. 
 It was placed in the "Black Prince," a pinnace of 
 Sir Philip Sidney's own, and landed at Tower Hill, 
 on the Thame?, on Friday the 5th of November. 
 Thence it was carried to a house in the Minories, 
 where, owing to some curious legal difficulties con- 
 cerning the administration of his estate, it remained 
 for upwards of three months. Finally, on Thurs- 
 day the 1 6th of February 1587, it was interred in 
 St Paul's Cathedral, with a funeral pomp of the 
 most splendid character ; and for months afterwards 
 it was accounted a sin for any gentleman of quality to 
 appear at Court or city in any light or gaudy apparel. 
 
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