terms it. Having done so by means of steps cut out in the trunk, he found that in the midst of the branches they had constructed a convenient arbour, in which twelve men might sit; and from thence he clearly discerned both the north and south Atlantic Oceans.

Drake having taken a full view of that sea, of which he had heard such 'golden reports,' with great solemnity besought God "to give him life, and leave, once to sail an English ship in those seas;" and, adds the historian, " he was heard in what he asked, as will hereafter appear." Camden gives the following account of this discovery:

"Drake," he says, "roving for a time up and down in the parts adjoining, discerned from the mountains the South Sea. Hereupon the man, being influenced with ambition of glory and hopes of wealth, was so vehemently transported with desire to navigate that sea, that falling down there upon his knees, he implored the Divine assistance that he might, at some time or other, sail thither and make a perfect discovery of the same; and hereunto he bound himself with a vow. From that time forward, his mind was pricked on continually night and day to perform his vow."

This, however, was not the first discovery of the great South Sea. In the year 1513, six years previous to the voyage of Magelhaens, Vasco Nunnez de Balboa, a Spanish commander of Darien, to verify the intelligence he had received, marched with a body of Spaniards and Indian guides across the isthmus. He was opposed on the passage by the natives. They demanded who the bearded strangers were, what they sought after, and whither they were going? The Spaniards answered, "They were Christians; that their errand was to preach a new religion, and to seek gold; and that they were going to the Southern Sea." This answer not giving satisfaction, Balboa made his way by force. On arriving at the foot of a mountain, from the top of which he was informed that the sea he so anxiously wished to discover was visible, he ordered his men to halt, and he himself ascended alone. As soon as he had attained the summit, he fell on his knees; and, with uplifted hands, returned thanks to heaven for having bestowed on him the honour of being the first European that beheld the sea beyond America. Afterwards, descending to the sea-shore, in the presence of his followers and of many Indians, he walked up to his middle in the water, with his sword and target; and called upon them to bear testimony that he took

possession of the South Sea, and all which appertained to it, for the King of Castile and Leon.

A similar account of Balboa's discovery is given by Southey, but in a more solemn and impressive manner:

"Falling prostrate on the ground, and raising himself again upon his knees, as the manner of the Christians is to pray, lifting up his eyes and hands towards heaven, and directing his face towards the new-found South Sea, he poured forth his humble and devout prayers before Almighty God, as a spiritual sacrifice with thanksgiving, that it pleased his Divine Majesty to reserve unto that day the victory and praise of so great a thing unto him, being but a man of small wit and knowledge, of little experience, and base parentage. And having beckoned his companions to come to him, he again fell to his prayers as before, desiring Almighty God and the blessed Virgin to favour his beginning, and to give him good success to subdue those lands to the glory of his Holy name, and increase of his true religion; all his companions did likewise, and praised God with loud voices for joy. Then Vasco, with no less manly courage than Hannibal of Carthage showed his soldiers Italy from the promontories of the Alps, exhorted his men to lift up their hearts, and to behold the land even now under their feet, and the sea before their eyes, which should be unto them a full and just reward of their great labours and travails now overpast. When he had said these words, he commanded them to raise certain heaps of stones in the stead of altars, for a token of possession."*

Ramusio says that Vasco, after returning thanks to God and all the saints of heaven, addressed himself to the sea itself, exclaiming "O mare del sur, Rege gli altri mari, fá che placido et quieto riceva la mià venuta !"

When arrived within view of Panama, Drake and his party quitted the frequented path, and secreted themselves in a wood near the road between Panama and Nombre de Dios. Thence Drake sent one of the Symerons, in the dress of a native of Panama, to ascertain on what night the recoes were expected. These recoes consist of fifty, sixty, or seventy mules laden with treasure, and are guarded by a considerable number of armed men. The spy soon returned with the information that the treasurer of Lima was on his route to Europe, and would pass by that very night with eight mules laden with gold, and one with jewels.

On the receipt of this information they immediately marched towards Venta Cruz; and Drake, selecting a convenient spot,

* Southey, from Eden's translation of Peter Martyr.

ordered his men to lie down in some high grass, half on one side of the road and half on the other; but the one party somewhat in advance of the other, so that the first and last of the string of mules, all of which are tied together, might be seized at the same instant.

When they had lain thus in ambush for at least an hour, they heard the tinkling of the mules' bells, and the rich prize seemed to be within their grasp: but one of the soldiers, heated by liquor, in direct disobedience of Drake's order that no one should stir until the signal was given, would needs signalise himself by anticipating the victory; and by so doing alarmed one of the Spanish gentlemen who was attending the party, and who immediately apprised the treasurer of the danger. The gold and jewels were sent back, and the whole country was soon up in arms against the English.

This disappointment was great, and the danger still greater; nor can any situation be imagined more calculated to try the temper, courage, and judgment of a leader. Drake proved himself fully equal to the emergency. Two courses were before him to retreat by the road on which he had advanced, or to proceed onward, and force his passage to Venta Cruz. To march back would be to confess his own weakness, and to encourage the Spaniards to pursue him: boldly to advance would give his own men confidence, and daunt his enemies. Drake at once resolved to adopt the latter course. He explained his intention to Pedro, the leader of the Symerons, and demanded of him whether he was prepared to follow him. Having received his strong assurance of support, he advanced to the spot where the Spaniards were posted. Their leader called upon the little band to surrender. Drake, with bold pride, defied him. He had commanded his men to receive the first volley of the enemy without returning it, and no one was to fire until he sounded his whistle. They obeyed his directions; and one man only fell by the volley which the Spaniards fired. The General then gave the signal; and the English, after discharging their arrows and shot, pressed gallantly forward. The boldness of their bearing appears to have daunted the Spaniards, who attempted no further resistance, but fled into the city; and were pursued not only by the English, but by the Symerons also; who, as soon as they

had recovered from the consternation into which the discharge of the fire-arms had thrown them, recalled their courage, animated each other with their war-cries, and fully redeemed the pledge which their leader had given.

On this occasion Drake evinced his accustomed humanity and forbearance. Not only did he treat the inhabitants with clemency, but he himself went to the Spanish ladies, and assured them that every respect should be paid to them. Taking into consideration the mere handful of English by whom this exploit was performed, and all the circumstances attending it, few bolder things have ever been achieved. Its success was complete the Spaniards appear to have been absolutely paralysed; and Drake pursued his march to his ships without any opposition, or even the fear of any. When within five leagues of their vessels they found some huts which, during their absence, a party of the Symerons had built expressly for their accommodation. Here Drake consented to halt, his men being spent with travel: but being very anxious to ascertain the condition of the men who had remained with the vessels, he sent one of the Symerons to the ships with a gold toothpick as a token. The officer who was in charge knew it; but would not consent to obey the instructions which the Symeron brought him; the General having expressly ordered him not to credit any messenger unless he brought with him his handwriting. At length he perceived that Drake had scratched his name upon it with the point of his knife: on which he immediately sent a pinnace up the river to meet them; and on the 23rd of February the entire company were reunited; and Drake, with his usual piety, celebrated their meeting by thanksgiving to God.

He now turned his thoughts to new enterprises: and although he failed to capture a vessel which was lying in the harbour at Veragua, and which was reported to contain a million in gold, yet ultimately, between Rio Francesco and Nombre de Dios, the English and Symerons, together with a party of Frenchmen under the command of a Captain Teton, who had joined Drake at Cattivas, obtained a rich booty; three recoes, consisting altogether of 109 mules, each carrying 300 pounds' weight of silver, being captured by them with little difficulty, and without the loss of a single man. As they could only carry away a small

portion of this weight of silver, they hid the remainder in holes and shallow pools. But their labour was fruitless, for when at a later period they returned to the place, they found that the Spaniards had discovered nearly all their hiding-places, and recovered their lost treasure.

With that portion, however, of the silver which they were able to take with them, they reached Rio Francesco on the 3rd of April. There, to their great surprise, and to the consternation and alarm of many of their band, instead of finding their own pinnaces, they beheld seven Spanish shallops, well manned and armed, and evidently on the look-out for them. The belief was general that their own ships had been discovered and taken. But here again Drake evinced not only his penetration and judgment, but also his indomitable resolution. Whatever he himself

might think of the real circumstances in which they were placed, he showed so much confidence and alacrity, and used such arguments, that he imparted new life and courage into every one around him. His great anxiety was to rejoin his pinnaces before the Spaniards should have completed their arrangements for attacking them but not only was it a matter of doubt where his vessels were stationed; but the nature of the country (high mountains covered with woods, and intersected by deep rivers) rendered it impossible to seek them by land; and they had not a single boat. In this emergency he ordered a raft to be constructed of the fallen trees which the river had brought down to its mouth; and with no other sail than a biscuit-sack, and no other rudder than a young tree rudely shaped into an oar, he with three others, who volunteered to accompany him, put out to sea. Having sailed upon this raft for six hours, and for a distance of more than three leagues, he and his companions sitting up to their middle in water, and at every wave up to their arm-pits, they at length had the great joy of seeing their pinnaces coming towards them but soon afterwards, the men on board not perceiving the raft, in consequence of the wind and the approach of night, altered their course, and ran for shelter behind a point of land. Drake, rightly judging that they would anchor there, ran his raft ashore, and walking over land to the other side of the point, found his vessels just where he expected. Great, of course, was the joy on both sides. Proceeding from this place to Rio