the Mistress or the Servant, might justly incurre the censure of Quis eos unquam sanus vituperavit; either's worth having sufficiently blazed their fame. This present loseth nothing by glancing on former actions, and the observation of passed adventures may probably advantage future imployments; Cæsar writte his owne Commentaries, and this Doer was partly ye. Inditor: neither is there wanting living testimony to confirme its trueth; for his sake then cherish what's good and I shall willingly entertaine check for what's amisse: Your favourable acceptance may incourage my collecting of more neglected notes, however, though vertue (as Lands) be not inheritable, yet has he left of his name one that resolves, and therein joyes to approve

himself

:

Then follows a letter from the admiral to Queen Elizabeth :

"TO THE QUEENE'S MOST EXCELLENT MATIE:

"MY MOST DREAD SOVERAIGNE, "MADAM, Seeing diverse have diverslie reported and written of these voyages and actions, which I have atempted and made, every one endeavouringe to bring to light whatsoever Incklings or Conjectures they have had, whereby many untruthes have been published, and the certaine trueth concealed, as I have thought it necessary myselfe, as in a Card, to prick the principall points of the Counsails taken, attempts made, and successe had, during the whole course of my employment in these services against the Spaniard, not as setting saile for maintayning my reputation in men's judgment, but onlie as sitting at Helme, if occasion shall be, for conducting the like actions hereafter: So I have accounted it my dutie to present this discourse to your Matie as of right, either for itselfe being the first fruits of your Servants Penne, or for the matter, being service done to your Matie by your poor Vassail, against your great Enemy, at such tymes, in such places, and after such sorte, as may seeme strange to those that are not acquainted with the whole cariage thereof, but will be a pleasing remembrance to your highnes, who take th' apparent height of th' Almighties favour toward you by these events, as truest Instruments, humbly submitting myself to your gracious censure, both in writing and presenting, that Posteritie be not deprived of such helpe as may hapilie be gained thereby, and our present Age at least may be satisfied in the rightfulnes of these Actions, which hitherto have bin silenced, and your servants labour not seeme altogether lost, but only in travell by sea and land, but also in writing the Report thereof, a worke to him no lesse troublesome, yet made pleasant and sweete, in that it hath bin, is, and shall be, for your Ma's content, to whom I have devoted myselfe, live or die.

"Jan: I. "1592."

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"FRA: DRAKE.

C

The narrative commences thus:

"As there is a general vengeance which secretlie pursueth the doers of wrong, and suffereth them not to prosper, albeit no man of purpose impeach them: Soe there is a particular indignation ingraffed in the bosome of all that are wronged, which ceaseth not seeking by all meanes possible to redresse or remedie the wrong received, in so much that those great and mighty men, in whom their prosperous estate hath bredde such an overweening of themselves that they do not onlie wronge their Inferiours, but despise them, being injured, seeme to take a verie unfitt course for their own safety and farre unfitter for their rest. For as Æsop teacheth, Even ye FLY hath her spleene, and the EMMET is not without her choller: and both together many tymes finde meanes, whereby though the EAGLE lay her Eggs in JUPITER'S lappe, yet by one way or other she escapeth not requital of her wrong done to the EMMET.

"AMONG the manifold examples hereof which former ages have committed to memorie, or our tyme yealded to sight, I suppose there hath not bin any more notable then this in hand, either in respect of the greatness of the Person by whom the first Injurie was offered; or the meanenes of him who righteth himself: the one being (in his owne conceit) the mightiest MONARCH of all the world; the other an English CAPTAINE, a meane subject of her Majesties, who, (besides the wronges received at RIO DA HACHA with Captaine JOHN LOVELL in the years 65: and 66:) having bin grievously indamaged at ST. JOHN DE ULLOA in the Bay of MEXICO with CAPTAINE JOHN HAWKINS in the years 67: and 68: not only in the losse of his goods of some value, but also of his kinsmen and friends, and that by the falsehood of DON MARTIN HENRIQUEZ then the Vice Roy of MEXICO, and finding that no recompence could be recovred out of Spaine by any of his owne meanes or by her Maiesties letters: he used such help as he might by two severall voyages into the WEST INDIES; the first with two ships, the one called the DRAGON, the other the SWANNE, in the year 70: The other in the SWANNE alone, in the yeare 71: to gaine such intelligence as might further him to get some amende for his losse: And having in those two voyages gotten such certaine notice of the persons and places aymed at, as he thought requisite, and thereupon with good deliberation resolved on a third voyage (the description whereof wee have now in hand), he accordinglie prepared his ships and companie, and then taking the first opportunity of a goode winde had such successe in his proceedings, as now follows further to be declared.

"On WHITSON Eve, being the 24th of May in the yeare 1572, CAPTAINE DRAKE in the PASCHA of PLYMOUTH of 70 Tonnes, his Admirall, with the SWANNE of the same Porte of 25 Tonnes, his Vice-Admirall, in which his brother JOHN DRAKE was CAPTAINE, having in both of them, in men, and boyes, 73: all voluntarilie assembled, of which the eldest man was 50: all the rest under 30; so divided that there were 47 in one ship and 26 in the other, both richlie furnished with victuals and apparel for a whole yeare: and no lesse heedefully provided of all manner of Munition, Artillery, stuffe and tooles that were requisite for such a man of WARRE, in such an attempte,

but especiallie having three daintie Pinnaces made in Plimouth, taken asonder all in pieces, and stowed aboard, to be set up (as occasion served), set saile from out of the SOUND of PLYMOUTH with intent to land at NOMBRE DE DIOS."

On the 2nd of July they came in sight of the high land of Santa Martha, and directed their course to Port Pheasant,

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"Which," says the narrative, our Captaine had so named it in his former voyage, by reason of the great store of those goodlie foules, which hee and his companie did then dailie kill and feede on in that place. When we landed here, we found by evident marks that there had been latelie there an Englishman of Plimouth called John Garrett, who had been conducted thither by certaine English Mariners which had been there with our Captain in some of his former voyages, who on a plate of lead, fastened to a very great tree, greater than any foure men joyning hands could fathom about, left these words engraven:

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Captain Drake, If you fortune to come into this port make haste away; for the Spaniards which you had with you here last year have betrayed this place, and taken away all that you left here. I departed hence this present 7th July, 1572. "Your very loving friend, "JOHN GARRET." Notwithstanding this warning, Captain Drake resolved to put together his pinnaces in this convenient port: this work was finished in seven days.

"Here he fortified himself on a plot of three-quarters of an acre of ground to make some safety for the present, by felling of great trees and bowsing and trailing them together with great pullies and halsers, until they were enclosed to the water, and then letting other fall upon them, until they had raised with trees and boughs thirty foot in height round about, leaving only one gate to issue at, neare the water side, which every night was shut up, with a great tree drawne athwart it.

"The next day after we had arrived, there came also into that bay an English barque of the Isle of Wight, of Sir Edward Horsey's, wherein James Rause was captaine, and John Overy maister, with 30 men, of which some had bin with our captaine in this same place the year before. They brought in with them a Spanish carvell of Sevill which he had taken the daie before, also one shallop with oares which he had taken at Cape Blanche. This Captaine Rause, understanding our Captaine's purpose, was desirous to joyne in consort with him, and was received on conditions agreed upon between them.

"22nd July. Drake disposing there of all his companies according as they enclined most, he left the three ships and the Carvell with Cap: Rause, and chose into his four pinnaces (Cap: Rause's shallop made the fourth) besides 53 of his own men, 20 to atchieve what he intended, especially having proportioned, according to his owne purpose, and the men's disposition, their severall armes: namely, 6 Targetts; 6 Fire Pikes; 12 Pikes; 24 Muskets and Callivers; 16 Bowes and 6 Partizans; 2 Drums and 2 Trumpets."

With this force he set out for Nombre de Dios; and reached the Isles of Pinos on the 22nd of July. Here he met with certain black men who had fled from the Spaniards their masters, and were known by the name of Symerons, who had enrolled themselves under two kings or chiefs. Drake, thinking these people might be of service to him, set them on shore on the main land, that they might make their way to the Isthmus of Darien. These Symerons were not negroes, but the native Indians of this part of the continent, who had fled from their tyrannical persecutors; they were not very dissimilar either in manners or character to the maroons of Jamaica; but in the latter there was a mixture of the negro race.

Drake came silently and by night before Nombre de Dios; and finding his people were talking of the greatness of the town, and what its strength was, according to the report of the negroes whom they took at the Isle of Pinos, thought it best to put these conceits out of their heads at once, and therefore took the opportunity of the rising moon to persuade his people that it was the dawn of day.

"By this occasion we were at the towne, a longe hower sooner than was first purposed. For we arrived there by three of the clock after midnight; at what time it fortuned that a ship of Spaine of sixtie tunnes, laden with Canary wines and other commodities, which had but lately come into the Bay, and had not yet furled her sprit-sayle, espying our foure Pinnaces, sent away her Gundeloe towards the towne to give warning.”

Drake perceiving this, took his course between her and the town, and forced her to go to the other side of the bay; by which means they landed without opposition, although they found one gunner upon the platform.

"On landing on the platform, we found six great pieces of brass ordinance mounted upon their carriages, some demy, some whole Culverins: we presentlie dismounted them, the Gunner fledd, the Towne tooke Alarum, (being verie ready thereto by reason of their often disquieting by their neare neighbours the Symerons,) as we perceived not onelie by the noise and cryes of the people, but by the Bell ringing out, and drums runninge up and downe the towne. Our Captaine sent some of our men to stay the ringing of the Alarum bell, which had continued all this while, but the Church being verie strongly built, and faste shutte, they could not without firing (which our Captaine forbad) get into the steeple where the Bell hung."

In the market-place the Spaniards saluted the party with a

volley of shot: Drake returned the greeting with a flight of arrows, "the best ancient English compliments," says Prince. This drove them away, but he himself received a dangerous wound; which he courageously concealed for a long time, "knowing, if the general's heart stoops, the men's will fail; and that if so bright an opportunity once setteth, it seldom riseth again." He left twelve of his men to keep their pinnaces and secure their retreat, and having strengthened the port, sent the rest to reconnoitre the town. He then commanded his brother and John Oxenham with sixteen men to go above the King's Treasure-house, and enter near the east end of the market-place, he himself designing to march with the rest up the broad street, with trumpets sounding and drums beating, to the market-place, the fire-pikes being divided between both companies, which whilst they affrighted the enemy gave light to the English. After a skirmish with the Spaniards, they seized upon two or three, and compelled them to conduct them to the Governor's house; where usually all the mules, which brought the king's treasure from Panama, were unladen, though the silver only was kept there, the gold, pearls, and jewels being carried to the Treasury hard by.

Drake and his party then went to the Governor's house, and found the door open, a fine Spanish horse ready saddled, and a candle lighted on the stairs; by means of this light they saw a vast heap of silver in the lower room, consisting of bars piled up against the wall; as nearly as they could guess, seventy feet in length, ten in breadth, and twelve in height, each bar between thirty-five and forty pounds' weight. If this estimate be correct, the value of the heap must have been about a million sterling. He next proceeded to the King's Treasure-house, telling his people

"That he had now brought them to the mouth of the Treasury of the World; which if they did not gain, none but themselves were to be

blamed."

After this, he ordered his brother, with John Oxenham and their company, to break open the Treasure-house; whilst he with the rest kept possession of the market-place; but as he stepped forward, his strength, and sight, and speech failed him, and he fainted from loss of blood. At this his men were greatly dis