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Title: Half hours on the quarter-deck: The Spanish Armada to Sir Cloudesley Shovel 1670

Author: Anonymous

Release date: October 1, 2022 [eBook #69077]
                Most recently updated: October 19, 2024

Language: English

Original publication: United Kingdom: James Nisbet & Co., Limited

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HALF HOURS ON THE QUARTER-DECK: THE SPANISH ARMADA TO SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL 1670 ***

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text is enclosed in =equals signs=.




  HALF HOURS
  ON THE QUARTER-DECK




THE HALF HOUR LIBRARY.

_TRAVEL, NATURE, AND SCIENCE._

Handsomely bound, very fully Illustrated, 2s. 6d. each; gilt edges, 3s.


  Half Hours in the Holy Land.

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  By NORMAN MACLEOD.


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  Over Mountains, Rivers, and Prairies.


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  The People and Scenery of the Tropics.


  Half Hours in the Far East.

  Among the People and Wonders of India.


  Half Hours with a Naturalist.

  Rambles near the Seashore.

  By the Rev. J. G. WOOD.


  Half Hours in the Deep.

  The Nature and Wealth of the Sea.


  Half Hours in the Tiny World.

  Wonders of Insect Life.


  Half Hours in Woods and Wilds.

  Adventures of Sport and Travel.


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  By CHARLES KINGSLEY and others.


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  By the Rev. J. G. WOOD.


  Half Hours on the Quarter-Deck.


  Half Hours in Early Naval Adventure.


[Illustration:

  _Frontispiece._]      [_Page 41._

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE CALLS ON HIS COMRADES TO “PLAY OUT THE MATCH, FOR
THERE IS PLENTY OF TIME TO DO SO, AND TO BEAT THE SPANIARDS TOO.”]




  THE HALF HOUR LIBRARY

  _OF TRAVEL, NATURE, AND SCIENCE_

  FOR YOUNG READERS


  HALF HOURS ON

  THE QUARTER-DECK

  The Spanish Armada to Sir Cloudesley Shovel

  1670


  WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS


  London
  JAMES NISBET & CO. LIMITED
  21 Berners Street, W.
  1899




INTRODUCTION.


This is the second of a series of books on a subject of the greatest
interest to all young Englishmen--the Naval History of England. To the
sea England owes its greatness, and the Anglo-Saxon race its possession
of such large portions of the earth. Two-thirds of the surface of our
globe are covered with water, and the nations that have the chief
command of the seas must naturally have immense power in the world.
There is nothing more marvellous in the last century, great as has
been the progress in all directions, than the birth of new nations in
distant parts of the earth, sprung from our own people, and speaking
our own language. England and America bid fair to encompass the world
with their influence; because, centuries ago, England became, through
the bravery and endurance of her sailors, the chief ocean power.

From the earliest times, the command of the sea was eagerly sought
after. The Phœnicians, occupying a position of much importance as a
commercial centre between the great regions of Asia on the east and
the countries surrounding the Mediterranean on the west, made rapid
progress in navigation. The large ships they sent to Tarshish were
unequalled for size and speed. Their vessels effected wonderful things
in bringing together the varied treasures of distant countries. They
used the sea rather for commerce, and the sending forth of colonists
through whom they might extend their trade, than for purposes of
conquest. With the Romans, who succeeded them in the command of the
sea, especially after the fall of Carthage, the sea was a war-path,
and the subjugation of the world was the paramount idea, although
the vessels brought treasures from all parts to enrich the imperial
city. The Anglo-Saxons have used the seas, both east and west, as the
Phœnicians used the Mediterranean, for the extension of commerce and
the planting of colonies, but also, as the Romans, for the subjugation
and civilisation of great empires.

There is a great interest in observing the progress of events for a
century after the opening up of the great world by Columbus and others
of the same period. It seemed for a time as if Spain and Portugal were
to conquer and possess most of the magnificent territories discovered;
France seemed also likely to have a fair portion; but England, almost
nowhere at first, gradually led the way. This was due chiefly to the
wonderful feats and endurance and bravery of her sailors. One country
after another fell under our influence, till the great continent of
America in all its northern parts became peopled by the Anglo-Saxon
race--which has, in later periods, similarly spread over Australia and
New Zealand.

With the growth of the maritime power of England is associated a
splendid array of heroic names, and many of the humblest sailors were
equal in bravery to their renowned commanders. No history is more
intensely interesting than that of the daring perils and triumphs
of heroic seamen. The heroes, who have distinguished themselves in
the history and growth of the British Navy, furnish a gallery and
galaxy, bewildering in extent; the events of pith and moment, in which
they have been prominent actors, present fields too vast to be fully
traversed; they can only be touched at salient points.




CONTENTS


  CHAP.  WILLIAM, JOHN, AND RICHARD HAWKINS.                        PAGE

     I.  THREE GENERATIONS OF ADVENTURERS,                             1


         CHARLES HOWARD, BARON OF EFFINGHAM, AFTERWARDS EARL OF
           NOTTINGHAM.

    II.  “BORN TO SERVE AND SAVE HIS COUNTRY,”                        37


         SIR MARTIN FROBISHER, NAVIGATOR, DISCOVERER, AND COMBATANT.

   III.  THE FIRST ENGLISH DISCOVERER OF GREENLAND,                   47


         THOMAS CAVENDISH, GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER.

    IV.  THE SECOND ENGLISHMAN WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED THE GLOBE,         57


         SIR WALTER RALEIGH, QUEEN ELIZABETH’S FAVOURITE MINISTER.

     V.  AMERICAN COLONISATION SCHEMES,                               83


         SIR WALTER RALEIGH, SAILOR, SCHOLAR, POET.

    VI.  NAVAL EXPEDITIONS--TRIAL AND EXECUTION,                     130


         THE PLANTING OF THE GREAT AMERICAN COLONIES.

   VII.  “TO FRAME SUCH JUST AND EQUAL LAWS AS SHALL BE MOST
           CONVENIENT,”                                              173


         OLIVER CROMWELL AND THE SEA-POWER OF ENGLAND.

  VIII.  A LONG INTERVAL IN NAVAL WARFARE ENDED,                     181


         ROBERT BLAKE, THE GREAT ADMIRAL OF THE COMMONWEALTH.

    IX.  HE ACHIEVED FOR ENGLAND THE TITLE, NEVER SINCE DISPUTED,
           OF “MISTRESS OF THE SEA,”                                 186


         GEORGE MONK, K.G., DUKE OF ALBEMARLE.

     X.  THE FRIEND OF CROMWELL, AND THE RESTORER OF CHARLES II.,    230


         EDWARD MONTAGU, EARL OF SANDWICH.

    XI.  NAVAL CONFLICT BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND THE DUTCH,           253


         PRINCE RUPERT, NAVAL AND MILITARY COMMANDER.

   XII.  THE DUTCH DISCOVER ENGLISH COURAGE TO BE INVINCIBLE,        290


         SIR EDWIN SPRAGGE, ONE BORN TO COMMAND.

  XIII.  THE DUTCH AVOW SUCH FIERCE FIGHTING NEVER TO HAVE BEEN
           SEEN,                                                     315


         SIR THOMAS ALLEN.

   XIV.  THE PROMOTED PRIVATEER,                                     334


         SIR JOHN HARMAN.

    XV.  “BOLD AS A LION, BUT ALSO WISE AND WARY,”                   343


         ADMIRAL BENBOW.

   XVI.  THE KING SAID, “WE MUST SPARE OUR BEAUX, AND SEND HONEST
           BENBOW,”                                                  346


         SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL.

  XVII.  THE SHOEMAKER WHO ROSE TO BE REAR-ADMIRAL OF ENGLAND,       359




LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.


                                                                    PAGE

  SIR FRANCIS DRAKE CALLING ON HIS COMRADES TO PLAY OUT
    THE MATCH, AND TO BEAT THE SPANIARDS TOO,             _Frontispiece_

  SIR JOHN HAWKINS,                                                    3

  ROCHELLE,                                                           11

  SIR JOHN HAWKINS PURSUING THE SHIPS OF THE ARMADA,                  19

  CHATHAM EARLY IN THE 17TH CENTURY,                                  25

  MOUNTAINS AND GLACIERS IN THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN,                  33

  EARL OF EFFINGHAM,                                                  38

  LORD HOWARD DEFEATING A SPANISH FLEET,                              43

  SIR MARTIN FROBISHER,                                               49

  SIR MARTIN FROBISHER PASSING GREENWICH,                             53

  THOMAS CAVENDISH,                                                   59

  PERILOUS POSITION IN THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN,                       67

  ROUNDING THE CAPE DE BUENA ESPERANÇA,                               75

  SIR WALTER RALEIGH,                                                 85

  RALEIGH SPREADING OUT HIS CLOAK TO PROTECT THE
    QUEEN’S FEET FROM THE MUD,                                        93

  EDMUND SPENSER, AUTHOR OF THE “FAERIE QUEENE,”                     103

  THE MADRE DE DIOS,                                                 111

  RALEIGH ON THE ORINOCO RIVER,                                      121

  RALEIGH AS SAILOR, SCHOLAR, POET,                                  131

  ENGLISH FLEET BEFORE CADIZ,                                        139

  ST. HELIERS, JERSEY,                                               149

  SIR WALTER RALEIGH CONFINED IN THE TOWER,                          157

  LORD FRANCIS BACON,                                                167

  THE MAYFLOWER,                                                     175

  OLIVER CROMWELL,                                                   183

  ADMIRAL BLAKE,                                                     193

  BATTLE BETWEEN BLAKE AND VAN TROMP,                                203

  ADMIRAL VAN TROMP,                                                 213

  THE DEATH OF ADMIRAL BLAKE,                                        225

  GENERAL MONK,                                                      233

  DEFEAT OF THE DUTCH FLEET BY MONK,                                 241

  SEA FIGHT WITH THE DUTCH,                                          249

  EARL OF SANDWICH, DUKE OF YORK--BATTLE OF SOUTHWOLD
    OR SOLE BAY,                                                     257

  DUNKIRK,                                                           265

  CASTLE OF TANGIERS,                                                273

  ACTION BETWEEN THE EARL OF SANDWICH AND ADMIRAL
    DE RUYTER,                                                       283

  PRINCE RUPERT AT EDGEHILL,                                         293

  DEFEAT OF THE DUTCH OFF LOWESTOFT,                                 301

  ADRIAN DE RUYTER,                                                  309

  THE DUTCH FLEET CAPTURES SHEERNESS,                                319

  ATTACKING A PIRATE OFF ALGIERS,                                    329

  AN ALGERINE CORSAIR,                                               339

  ADMIRAL BENBOW,                                                    351

  SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL,                                             361

  CARRICKFERGUS CASTLE,                                              369




HALF HOURS ON THE QUARTER-DECK.




WILLIAM, JOHN, AND RICHARD HAWKINS.

CHAPTER I.

THREE GENERATIONS OF ADVENTURERS.


The proclivities of parents are not uniformly manifested in their
children, and the rule of “Like father, like son” has its exceptions.
The three generations of the Hawkins’ family, who distinguished
themselves as maritime adventurers in the reign of Henry VIII. and
Queen Elizabeth, while differing in character, disposition, and
attainments at divers points, were in common governed by a ruling
passion--love of the sea, and choice of it as a road to fame and
fortune.

William Hawkins, Esq., of Tavistock, was a man of much property,
acquired by inheritance, but chiefly by his good fortune as a
successful naval adventurer. He was regarded with great favour by
King Henry VIII. About the year 1530 he fitted up a ship of 250 tons
burthen, which he named the _Paul of Plymouth_, and in which he made
three voyages to Brazil, touching also at the coast of Guinea to buy
or capture human beings,--to make merchandise of them. He was probably
the first English adventurer that engaged in this horrible traffic.
Old chroniclers coolly record the fact that he traded successfully
and most profitably in “slaves, gold, and elephants’ teeth.” Brazil
was in those days under a quite different government to that of the
enlightened ex-Emperor Dom Pedro, or of the Republic that has recently
succeeded him. Its rulers were savage Indian chiefs, with whom Hawkins
was signally successful in ingratiating himself. On the occasion of his
second visit to the country, so complete was the confidence reposed
in him by these native princes, that one of them consented to return
with him to England, Hawkins leaving Martin Cockram of Plymouth, one
of his crew, as a hostage for the safe return of the prince. The
personal adornments of this aboriginal grandee were of a remarkable
character. According to Hakluyt’s account, “In his cheeks were holes,
made according to the savage manner, and therein small bones were
planted, standing an inch out from the surface, which in his country
was looked on as evidence of great bravery. He had another hole in
his lower lip, wherein was set a precious stone about the bigness of
a pea. All his apparel, behaviour, and gestures were very strange to
the beholders,” as may easily be believed. After remaining in England
for about a year, during which time the distinguished foreigner was a
repeated visitor at the court of Henry VIII., who was a warm patron
of Hawkins, the adventurer embarked to return to Brazil. Unhappily,
the Indian prince died on the passage, which naturally occasioned
serious apprehensions in Hawkins’ mind. He was sorry for the death of
his fellow-voyager, but more concerned on account of poor Cockram,
the hostage, whose life, he feared, was imperilled by the death of
the savage, for whose safe return he had been left as security. The
confiding barbarians, however, disappointed his fears; they accepted,
without doubt or hesitation, his account of the circumstances of the
chief’s death, and his assurance that all that was possible to skill and
care had been done to save his life. The friendly intercourse between
Hawkins and the natives continued; they traded freely upon mutually
satisfactory terms, and Hawkins returned to England freighted with a
valuable cargo. He was greatly enriched by his successive voyages to
the West Indies and Brazil, and at a mature age retired from active
life, in the enjoyment of the fortune he had amassed by his skill
and courage as a seaman, his wisdom and astuteness as a merchant,
his enterprise, fortitude, perseverance, and other qualities and
characteristics that distinguish most men who get on in the world.

[Illustration: SIR JOHN HAWKINS.]

John Hawkins, the second son of William Hawkins of Plymouth above
referred to, was born at Plymouth about the year 1520. His elementary
education was followed up in his early youth by assiduous study of
mathematics and navigation. Early in life he made voyages to Spain
and Portugal, and to the Canary Islands--the latter being considered
a rather formidable undertaking in those days. In his early life he
so diligently applied himself to his duties, and acquitted himself so
successfully in their discharge, as to achieve a good reputation, and
soon after the accession of Queen Elizabeth, an appointment in her
navy, as an officer of consideration. It is stated concerning him,
that as a young man he had engaging manners, and that at the Canaries,
to which he had made several trips, “he had, by his tenderness and
humanity, made himself very much beloved,” and had acquired a knowledge
of the slave trade, and of the mighty profits which even in those days
resulted from the sale of negroes in the West Indies. These glowing
accounts of a quick road to riches fired the ambition of the tender and
humane adventurer.

In 1562, when he had acquired much experience as a seaman, and was at
the best of his manhood’s years, he projected a great slave-trading
expedition. His design was to obtain subscriptions from the most
eminent London traders and other wealthy persons, to provide and
equip an adventure squadron. He proposed to proceed first to Guinea
for a cargo of slaves, to be procured by barter, purchase, capture,
or in any other way,--and the cheaper the better. With his freight
of slaves, his design was to proceed to Hispaniola, Porto Rico, and
other Spanish islands, and there to sell the slaves for money, or
barter them in exchange for sugar, hides, silver, and other produce.
He readily obtained, as his partners in this unscrupulous project, Sir
William Lodge, Sir William Winter, Mr. Bromson, and his (Hawkins’)
father-in-law, Mr. Gunson. The squadron consisted of the _Solomon_,
of 120 tons, Hawkins, commander; the _Swallow_, of 100 tons, captain,
Thomas Hampton; and the _Jonas_, a bark of 40 tons. The three vessels
carried in all one hundred men. The squadron sailed in October 1562,
and touched first at Teneriffe, from which they proceeded on to Guinea,
where landing, “by money, and where that failed, by the sword,”
Hawkins acquired three hundred negroes to be sold as slaves. These he
disposed of at enormous profits at Hispaniola and others of the Spanish
settlements, and returned to England,--to the enrichment, as the result
of his “famous voyage,” of himself and his unscrupulous co-proprietors.

“Nothing succeeds like success.” There was now no difficulty in
obtaining abundant support, in money and men, for further adventure,
on the same lines. Slave-trading was proved to be a paying pursuit, and
then as now, those who hasted to be rich were not fastidious, as to
the moral aspect and nature of the quickest method. Another expedition
was determined upon, and on a larger scale. Hawkins, the successful
conductor of the expedition, was highly popular. As eminent engineers
have taken in gentlemen apprentices in more modern times, Captain
Hawkins was beset with applications to take in gentlemen apprentices to
the art and mystery of slave-trade buccaneering. Among the youngsters
entrusted to his tutelage were several who afterwards achieved
distinction in the Royal Navy, including Mr. John Chester, son of Sir
Wm. Chester, afterwards a captain in the navy; Anthony Parkhurst,
who became a leading man in Bristol, and turned out an enterprising
adventurer; John Sparkes, an able writer on maritime enterprises, who
gave a graphic account of Hawkins’ second expedition, which Sparkes had
accompanied as an apprentice.

The squadron in the second expedition comprised the _Jesus of Lubeck_,
of 700 tons, a queen’s ship, Hawkins, commander; the _Solomon_; and
two barques, the _Tiger_ and the _Swallow_. The expedition sailed
from Plymouth on the 18th October 1564. The first endeavour of the
adventurers was to reach the coast of Guinea, for the nefarious purpose
of man-stealing, as before. An incident, that occurred on the day
after the squadron left Teneriffe, reflects credit on Hawkins in
showing his paternal care for the lives of his crew, although he held
the lives of Guinea negroes of little account, and in exhibiting also
his skill as a seaman. The pinnace of his own ship, with two men in
it, was capsized, and the upturned boat, with the two men struggling
in the water, was dropped out of sight, before sail could be taken in.
Hawkins ordered the jolly-boat to be let down and manned by twenty-four
able-bodied seamen, to whose leading man he gave steering directions.
After a long and stiff pull, the pinnace, with the two men riding
astride on the keel, was sighted, and their rescue effected.

The poor hunted savages sometimes sold their lives and liberties
dearly to their Christian captors. In one of his raids upon the
coast of Africa in this expedition, the taking of ten negroes cost
Hawkins six of his best men killed, and twenty-seven wounded. The
Rev. Mr. Hakluyt--affected with obliquity of moral vision it may
be--deliberately observes concerning Captain Hawkins and this disaster,
that “his countenance remained unclouded, and though he was naturally
a man of compassion, he made very light of his loss, that others
might not take it to heart.” A very large profit was realised by
this expedition, “a full cargo of very rich commodities” having been
collected in the trading with Jamaica, Cuba, and other West Indian
islands. On the return voyage another incident occurred illustrative
of Captain Hawkins’ punctilious regard to honesty in other directions
than that of negroes--having property rights in their own lives and
liberties. When off Newfoundland, which seemed to be rather round
circle sailing on their way home, the commander fell in with two French
fishing vessels. Hawkins’ squadron had run very short of provisions.
They boarded the Frenchmen, and, without leave asked or obtained,
helped themselves to as much of their stock of provisions, as they
thought would serve for the remainder of the voyage home. To the
amazement as much as the satisfaction of the Frenchmen, Hawkins paid
honourably for the salt junk and biscuits thus appropriated.

The squadron arrived at Padstow, Cornwall, on the 20th September 1565.
The idea of the brotherhood of man had not in that age been formulated,
and Hawkins was honoured for his achievements, in establishing a new
and lucrative branch of trade. Heraldic honours were conferred upon him
by Clarencieux, king at arms, who granted him, as an appropriate crest,
“a demi-moor bound with a cord or chain.”

[Illustration: ROCHELLE.]

In 1567 Hawkins sailed in charge of an expedition for the relief of
the French Protestants at Rochelle. This object was satisfactorily
effected, and he proceeded to prepare for a third voyage to the West
Indies. Before this expedition sailed, Hawkins, while off Cativater
waiting the queen’s orders, had an opportunity, of which he made
prompt and spirited use, for vindicating the honours of the queen’s
flag. A Spanish fleet of fifty sail, bound for Flanders, passed
comparatively near to the coast, and in sight of Hawkins’ squadron,
without saluting by lowering their top-sails, and taking in their
flags. Hawkins ordered a shot to be fired across the bows of the
leading ship. No notice was taken of this, whereupon he ordered another
to be fired, that would make its mark. The second shot went through the
hull of the admiral, whereupon the Spaniards struck sail and came to
an anchor. The Spanish general sent a messenger to demand the meaning
of this hostile demonstration. Hawkins would not accept the message,
or even permit the messenger to come on board. On the Spanish general
sending again, Hawkins sent him the explanation that he had not paid
the reverence due to the queen, that his coming in force without
doing so was suspicious; and he concluded his reply by ordering the
Spanish general to sheer off, or he would be treated as an enemy. On
coming together, and further parley, Hawkins and the Spaniard arrived
at an amicable understanding, and concluded their conferences in
reconciliation feasts and convivialities, on board and on shore.

The new expedition sailed on the 2nd October 1567. The squadron
consisted of the _Jesus of Lubeck_, the _Minion_, and four other
ships. As before, the adventurers made first for Guinea, the favourite
gathering-ground for the inhuman traffic, and collected there a crowd
of five hundred negroes, the hapless victims of their cupidity. The
greater number of these they disposed of at splendid prices, in money
or produce, in Spanish America. Touching at Rio Del Hacha, to Hawkins’
indignant surprise, the governor, believing it to be within his right,
refused to trade with him. Such arrogance was not to be submitted
to, and Hawkins landed a storming party, who assaulted and took the
town, which, if it did not exactly make things pleasant, compelled
submission, and, for the invading adventurers, a profitable trade.
Having made the most he could of Hacha, Hawkins next proceeded to
Carthagena, where he disposed, at good prices, of the remainder of the
five hundred slaves.

The adventurers were now (September 1568) in good condition for
returning home with riches, leaving honours out of consideration, but
the time had passed for their having their own will and way. Plain
sailing in smooth seas was over with them; storm and trouble, and
struggle for dear life, awaited them. Shortly after leaving Carthagena
the squadron was overtaken by violent storms, and for refuge they
made, as well as they could, for St. John de Ulloa, in the Gulf of
Mexico. While in the harbour, the Spanish fleet came up in force, and
was about to enter. Hawkins was in an awkward position. He liked not
the Spaniards, and would fain have given their vastly superior force
a wide berth. He tried what diplomacy would do. He sent a message to
the viceroy that the English were there only for provisions, for which
they would pay, and he asked the good offices of the viceroy, for the
preservation of an honourable peace. The terms proposed by Hawkins were
assented to, and hostages for the observance of the conditions were
exchanged. But he was dealing with deceivers. On Thursday, September
23rd, he noticed great activity in the carrying of ammunition to
the Spanish ships, and that a great many men were joining the ships
from the shore. He sent to the viceroy demanding the meaning of all
this, and had fair promises sent back in return. Again Hawkins sent
Robert Barret, master of the _Jesus_, who knew the Spanish language,
to demand whether it was not true that a large number of men were
concealed in a 900-ton ship that lay next to the _Minion_, and why it
was that the guns of the Spanish fleet were all pointed at the English
ships. The viceroy answered this demand by ordering Barret into irons,
and directing the trumpet to sound a charge. At this time Hawkins
was at dinner in his cabin with a treacherous guest, Don Augustine
de Villa Nueva, who had accepted the _rôle_ of Hawkins’ assassin.
John Chamberlain, of Hawkins’ bodyguard, detected the dagger up the
traitor’s sleeve, denounced him, and had him cared for. Going on deck,
Hawkins found the English attacked on all sides; an overpowering
crowd of enemies from the great Spanish ship alongside was pouring
into the _Minion_. With a loud voice he shouted, “God and St. George!
Fall upon those traitors, and rescue the _Minion_!” His men eagerly
answered the call, leaped out of the _Jesus_ into the _Minion_, and
made short work with the enemy, slaughtering them wholesale, and
driving out the remnant. Having cleared the _Minion_ of the enemy, they
did equally effective service with the ship’s guns; they sent a shot
into the Spanish vice-admiral’s ship that, probably from piercing the
powder-room, blew up the ship and three hundred men with it. On the
other hand, all the Englishmen who happened to be on shore were cut
off, except three who escaped by swimming from shore to their ships.
The English were overmatched to an enormous extent, by the fleet and
the attack from the shore. The Spaniards took the _Swallow_, and burnt
the _Angel_. The _Jesus_ had the fore-mast cut down by a shot, and
the main-mast shattered. The Spaniards set fire to two of their own
ships, with which they bore down upon the _Jesus_, with the desire
of setting it on fire. In dire extremity, and to avert the calamity
of having their ship burnt, the crew, without orders, cut the cables
and put to sea; they returned, however, to take Hawkins on board. The
English ships suffered greatly by the shots from the shore, as well as
from the fleet, but inflicted, considering the disparity in strength of
the combatants, much greater damage than they sustained. The ships of
the Spanish admiral and vice-admiral were both disabled,--the latter
destroyed; four other Spanish ships were sunk or burnt. Of the Spanish
fighting men,--fifteen hundred in number at the commencement of the
battle,--five hundred and forty, or more than a third, were killed or
wounded. The _Jesus_ and the _Minion_ fought themselves clear of the
Spaniards, but the former was so much damaged as to be unmanageable,
and the _Minion_, with Hawkins and most of his men on board, and the
_Judith_, of 50 tons, were the only ships that escaped. The sanguinary
action lasted from noon until evening. The wreckage to such an extent
of Hawkins’ fleet involved, of course, a heavy deduction from his
fortune.

After leaving St. John de Ulloa, the adventurers suffered great
privations. Their design to replenish their failing stock of provisions
had been frustrated, and Hawkins was now threatened with mutiny among
the crew, because of the famine that seemed imminent, and which he was
powerless to avert. They entered a creek in the Bay of Mexico, at the
mouth of the river Tampico. A number of the men demanded to be left on
shore, declaring that they would rather be on shore to eat dogs and
cats, parrots, rats, and monkeys, than remain on board to starve to
death. “Four score and sixteen” men thus elected to be left on shore.
Job Hortop, one of the crew, who left a narrative of the voyage, states
that Hawkins counselled the men he was leaving to “serve God and love
one another, and courteously bade them a sorrowful farewell.” On
the return voyage, Hawkins and the remnant with him, sustained great
hardships and privations. At Vigo, where he touched, he met with some
English ships, from which he was able to obtain, by arrangement, twelve
stout seamen, to assist his reduced and enfeebled crew, in the working
of his ships for the remainder of the homeward voyage. He sailed from
Vigo on the 20th January 1569, and reached Mount’s Bay, Cornwall,
on the 25th of the same month. Thus ended his third eventful and
disastrous expedition to El Dorado.

The poor fellows, left on shore in Mexico, entered upon a terrible
campaign of danger and suffering. The first party of Indians that
the castaways fell in with, slaughtered a number of them, but on
discovering that they were not Spaniards, whom the Indians hated
inveterately, spared the remainder, and directed them to the port of
Tampico. It is recorded of two of their number, Richard Brown and
Richard Twide, that they performed the wonderful feat, under such cruel
disadvantages and difficulties, of marching across the North American
continent from Mexico to Nova Scotia,--from which they were brought
home in a French ship. Others of the wanderers fell into the hands of
the Spaniards, who sent some of them prisoners to Mexico, and others
to Spain, where, by sentence of the Holy Inquisition, some were burnt
to death, and others consigned for long terms to imprisonment.
Miles Philips, one of the crew, reached England, after many perilous
adventures and hair-breadth ’scapes, in 1582. Job Hortop and John
Bone were sentenced to imprisonment for ten years. Hortop, after
twenty-three years’ absence from England, spent in Hawkins’ fleet, and
in wanderings, imprisonment, and divers perils, reached home in 1590,
and wrote an interesting account of the voyage, and of his personal
adventures.

[Illustration: SIR JOHN HAWKINS PURSUING THE SHIPS OF THE ARMADA.]

In his last expedition Hawkins had returned with impaired fortune, but
without dishonour. He had, indeed, added to the lustre of England, and
to his personal renown, by the skill and valour he had displayed in the
affair of St. John de Ulloa,--in which the glory was his, and infamy
attached to the treacherous Spaniards, whose immense superiority in
strength should have enabled them to extinguish their enemy, instead
of being beaten by him. In recognition of his valour, Hawkins was
granted by Clarencieux, king at arms, further heraldic honours, in an
augmentation of his arms; he was also appointed Treasurer to the Navy,
an office of great honour and profit.

Hawkins’ next great public service was rendered, as commander of Her
Majesty’s ship _Victory_, in the actions against the Spanish Armada in
1588. The commanders of the English squadrons in the Armada actions
and pursuit were the Lord High Admiral, and Sir Francis Drake, and
Sir John Hawkins, rear-admiral. Sir John was knighted by the Lord
High Admiral for his distinguished services; as was also Sir Martin
Frobisher. Sir John Hawkins shared largely in the dangers and honours
of the actions, and, in the pursuit of the Spaniards, he rendered
extraordinarily active and successful service, for which he was
particularly commended by Queen Elizabeth.

In 1590 Sir John Hawkins, in conjunction with Sir Martin
Frobisher,--each with a squadron of fifty ships,--was sent to harass
the Spanish coast, and to intercept and capture, if possible, the
Plate fleet. Suspecting this intention, the Spanish king contrived
to convey intelligence to India, ordering the fleet to winter there,
instead of coming home. Hawkins and Frobisher cruised about for six or
seven months, with no more definite result than humiliating Spain, and
detracting from its dignity and influence as a naval power.

Sir John Hawkins was next appointed in a joint expedition against Spain
with Sir Francis Drake. The design of the expedition, which sailed
from Plymouth on the 28th August 1595, was to burn Nombre-de-Dios, and
to march thence overland to Panama, and appropriate there the Spanish
treasure from Peru. The design proved abortive, partly from tempestuous
weather, but partly also from disagreement between the commanders. On
the 30th October, at a short distance from Dominica, the _Francis_, a
bark of 35 tons, the sternmost of Sir John Hawkins’ fleet,--and a long
way in the rear of the others,--was fallen in with by a squadron of
five Spanish frigates, and captured. This misfortune, in conjunction
with other depressing circumstances, and the hopelessness of the
enterprise, so much affected Sir John Hawkins as to cause his death on
the 21st November 1595--of a broken heart, it was believed.

The expeditions of Sir John Hawkins to the West Indies, his services
in connection with the Spanish Armada, his joint expeditions with
Frobisher and Drake, fall far short of filling up the story of his
life, or the measure of his usefulness as a public man. Of his home
life they tell nothing.

Sir John was twice married, and was three times elected a member of
Parliament, twice for Plymouth. He was a wise, liberal, and powerful
friend and supporter of the British Navy. He munificently provided,
at Chatham, an hospital for poor and distressed sailors. The “Chest”
at Chatham was instituted by Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis
Drake,--being a provident fund, formed from voluntary deductions from
sailors’ pay, applied to the relief of disabled and indigent comrades.
Sir John Hawkins was the author and promoter of many beneficial rules
and regulations for the government of the navy. He was an accomplished
mathematician, a skilful navigator, a courageous combatant; as
Treasurer of the Navy he proved an able administrator; and to these
qualities he added the enterprising spirit of a merchant prince,--he
and his brother William being joint owners at one time of a fleet of
thirty good stout ships. It was said of him by a contemporary that
he had been graceful in youth, and that he was grave and reverend in
advanced life. He was a man of great sagacity, unflinching courage,
sound judgment, and cool presence of mind, submissive to authority,
courteous to his peers, affable and amiable to his men, by whom he was
much beloved. His active life embraced a period of forty-eight years,
during which he, for longer or shorter periods, acted as a commander
at sea, including twenty-two years, during which he held the office of
Treasurer of the Navy.

Richard Hawkins, of the third generation of eminent navigators, and
son of Sir John Hawkins, was born at Plymouth about the year 1570. He
had a strong predilection for naval service, and when only a lad in
his teens had the command of a vessel, and was vice-admiral of a small
squadron commanded by his uncle, William Hawkins, Esq., of Plymouth,
that was employed in a “private expedition” to the West Indies--really
to “pick and steal” what they could from the Spaniards. He had an
early opportunity of showing his courage and confidence in his own
powers. The captain of one of the ships of the fleet, the _Bonner_,
complained that his ship was not seaworthy, and recommended that his
crew and himself should be shifted into a better ship, and that the
_Bonner_ should be sunk. Young Hawkins protested against the sacrifice
of the ship, and offered, if a good crew were allowed him, to carry
the _Bonner_ through the cruise, and then home. His success would, of
course, have disgraced the captain, who withdrew his recommendation,
and remained in his ship,--which justified young Hawkins’ protest by
continuing seaworthy for many years.

[Illustration: CHATHAM, 17TH CENTURY.]

In 1588 young Hawkins was captain of the queen’s ship _Swallow_, which
suffered most of any in the actions with the Spanish Armada. A fire
arrow that had been hid in a sail, burnt a hole in the beak-head of the
_Swallow_. Richard afterwards wrote an able account of the actions,
with a judicious criticism and defence of the strategy of the Earl of
Nottingham, Lord High Admiral,--in not laying the Spaniards aboard.
This Hawkins held would have been a dangerous course, from the greater
height of the Spanish ships, and from their having an army on board. By
keeping clear, the English ships could also take advantage of wind and
tide for manœuvring round the enemy. He held that, by lying alongside
of the Spaniards they would have risked defeat, and that the free
movement and fighting gave them a better chance of humiliating the
enemy.

In 1590 Richard Hawkins commanded the _Crane_, of 200 tons, in the
expedition of his father and Sir Martin Frobisher against Spain. The
commander of the _Crane_ did excellent service in the pursuit of
the Spanish squadron employed in carrying relief to the forces in
Brittany; and afterwards he so harassed the Spaniards at the Azores,
as to incite the merchants there to curse the Spanish ministers who
had brought about (or permitted) a war with such a powerful enemy as
England.

On returning from this expedition, Hawkins commenced preparations for a
bold buccaneering project against Spain. He built a ship of 350 tons,
to which his mother-in-law--who had assisted with funds--obstinately
persisted in giving the ominous name of the _Repentance_. Richard
Hawkins could not stand this name, and sold the ship to his father. The
_Repentance_, in spite of the name, did excellent service, and had very
good fortune. On return from an expedition, while lying at Deptford,
the _Repentance_ was surveyed by the queen, who rowed round the ship
in her barge, and graciously--acting probably upon a hint from Sir
John or his son Richard--re-named it the _Dainty_, whereupon Richard
bought back the ship from his father for service in his projected great
expedition. His plan included, in addition to plundering the Spaniards,
visits to Japan, the Moluccas, the Philippines, passage through the
Straits of Magellan, and return by the Cape of Good Hope. His ambitious
prospectus secured the admiration and approval of the greatest men of
the time, including the lord high admiral, Sir R. Cecil, Sir Walter
Raleigh, etc. On the 8th of April 1593, the _Dainty_ dropped down
the river to Gravesend, and on the 26th arrived at Plymouth, where
severe misfortune overtook the little squadron, consisting of the
_Dainty_, the _Hawk_, and the _Fancy_,--all of them the property of
Richard Hawkins, or of the Hawkins family. A tempest arose in which the
_Dainty_ sprang her main-mast, and the _Fancy_ was driven ashore and
knocked to pieces before the owner’s eyes. This misfortune magnified
the fears, and intensified the tender entreaties, of his young wife
that he would abandon the perilous enterprise,--but he was not to be
dissuaded. He said that there were “so many eyes upon the ball, that
he felt bound to dance on, even though he might only be able to hop at
last.”

On the 12th June 1593, Hawkins left Plymouth Sound, with his tiny
squadron of the _Dainty_ and tender. Before the end of the month
he arrived at Madeira, and on the 3rd July passed the Canaries,
and shortly after the Cape de Verd Islands, all well, and without
anything notable occurring to the squadron. Later, however, when
nearing the coast of Brazil, scurvy of a malignant type broke out
among the crew. Hawkins gave close attention to the men stricken,
personally superintended their treatment, and made notes,--from which
he afterwards wrote an elaborate paper on the disease, its causes,
nature, and cure. At a short distance south of the Equator he put in to
a Brazilian port for provisions. He sent a courteous letter, written in
Latin, to the governor, stating that he was in command of an English
ship, that he had met with contrary winds, and desired provisions, for
which he would gladly pay. The governor replied that their monarchs
were at war, and he could not supply his wants, but he politely gave
him three days to do his best and depart. The three days’ grace were
promptly taken advantage of to lay in a supply of oranges and other
fruit, when he again sailed southward. On the 20th November he arrived
at the Island of St. Ann, 20° 30’ south latitude, where--the provisions
and stores having been taken out of the _Hawk_--that vessel was burned.
He touched at other parts of the coast for provisions and water.
Hawkins had a difficult part to play in dealing with his crew, who were
impatient for plunder. Robert Tharlton, who commanded the _Fairy_,
and who had proved a traitor to Captain Thomas Cavendish, in the La
Plata, drew off a number of the men, with whom he deserted before they
reached the Straits of Magellan. Notwithstanding the discouragement
of Tharlton’s treachery and desertion, Hawkins courageously proceeded
with his hazardous enterprise. Sailing along the coast of Patagonia,
he gave names to several places, amongst others to Hawkins’ Maiden
Land,--because discovered by himself in the reign of a maiden queen.

In the course of his voyage southward, he made a prize of a Portuguese
ship. He found it to be the property of an old knight who was on
board, on his way to Angola, as governor. The old gentleman made a
piteous appeal to Hawkins, pleading that he had invested his all
in the ship and its cargo, and that the loss of it would be his
utter ruin. His petition was successful, and Hawkins let him go. On
the 10th February he reached the Straits of Magellan, and, passing
through, emerged into the South Pacific Ocean on the 29th March
1594. This was the sixth passage of the straits--the third by an
Englishman. He wrote an excellent account of the passage through the
straits, which he pronounced navigable during the whole year, but
the most favourable--or, it should rather perhaps be put, the least
unfavourable--seasons for the at best unpleasant voyage were the months
of November, December, and January. On the 19th April he anchored
for a short time under the Isle of Mocha. Resuming his voyage along
the coast of Chili, he encountered, in the so-called Pacific Ocean,
a violent storm, that lasted without intermission for ten days. His
men were becoming desperately impatient, and they insisted that they
should attempt to take everything floating that they sighted. Every
vessel in those waters, they believed, had gold or silver in them.
At Valparaiso they took four ships, much against Hawkins’ wish. He
exercised discrimination, and wished to reserve their strength, and
prevent alarm on shore, by waiting till a prize worth taking came in
their way. They got from the prizes an abundant supply of provisions,
but very little gold, and only trifling ransoms for the prisoners.
The small amount taken added greatly to Hawkins’ difficulties and
embarrassments. His bold buccaneers demanded that the third part of
the treasure should, according to contract, be given up to them,--then
and there. He resisted the demand, urged that they could not expend
anything profitably here and now, and that they would only gamble with
their shares, which would probably lead to quarrels and the ruin of the
expedition. It was at last agreed that the treasure should be placed in
a chest with three locks,--one key to be held by Hawkins, one by the
master, and the third by a representative appointed by the men.

[Illustration: MOUNTAINS AND GLACIERS, STRAITS OF MAGELLAN.]

Arriving at Ariquipa, Hawkins ascertained by some means that Don Garcia
Hurtado de Mendoza, Viceroy of Peru, had received intelligence of
his being off the coast, and had sent out a squadron of six vessels
to capture him. Hawkins had in the _Dainty_, and in a little Indian
vessel he had taken, and which he had fitted up as a pinnace, a
combined crew of seventy-five men and boys--a lamentably small force
to resist a well-manned squadron of six men-of-war ships. About the
middle of May the Spanish squadron was sighted near Civite. Hawkins,
who was to windward, stood out to sea. The Spanish ships, under the
command of Don Bertrand de Castro, followed. The wind freshened
greatly; the Spanish admiral lost his main-mast, the vice-admiral split
his main-sail, and the rear-admiral’s main-yard tumbled down. The
Spaniards were thrown into utter confusion, and Hawkins escaped. On
returning to port with his damaged ships, and without the diminutive
enemy he had gone out to capture, De Castro and the other commanders
were received with humiliating and exasperating derision. De Castro’s
earnest petition to be allowed to go to sea again was granted, and he
sailed with two ships and a pinnace,--all fully manned with picked
men. On the 20th June the Spanish squadron came in sight. Hawkins’
ungovernable crew would have him chase everything they sighted; they
would have it that the armed cruisers were the Peruvian plate fleet,
laden with the treasure for which they had come, and for which they had
so long toiled and waited. They were soon undeceived by the Spanish
attack, which they met with dogged bravery. The Spanish ships were
manned by about thirteen hundred of the best men in the service,--and
it seems marvellous that Hawkins and his bull-dogs could have stood
out so long. The fight lasted for two whole days and part of a third.
Hawkins had received six wounds, two of them dangerous, and was at
last completely disabled. Besides the killed, there were forty of his
men wounded, and his ship was sinking. On the afternoon of 22nd June,
this was his deplorable plight:--the whole of his sails were rent,
the masts shattered, eight feet of water in the hold, and the pumps
rent and useless; scarcely a single unwounded man was left in the
ship, and all were so fatigued that they could not stand. Helpless
as was their plight, and desperate their condition, Hawkins was able
to obtain honourable conditions of surrender, namely, that himself
and all on board should have a free passage to England, as soon as
possible. De Castro swore by his knighthood that the conditions would
be faithfully observed, in token of which he sent his glove to Hawkins,
and took possession of the shattered _Dainty_, without inflicting the
slightest humiliation on his brave fallen enemy, or permitting his crew
to express triumph over them. On the 9th July, the Spanish squadron,
with Hawkins on board De Castro’s ship, arrived at Panama, which
was brilliantly illuminated in celebration of the “famous victory.”
Despatches, to allay apprehensions concerning the terrible enemy, were
sent off to the viceroys of New Spain and Peru. Hawkins was allowed to
send letters home to his father and other friends, and to the queen.
From Don Bertrand, Hawkins learned that the King of Spain had received
from England full and minute particulars, concerning the strength and
equipment of Hawkins’ little squadron before it sailed, showing that
the King of Spain had spies in England. The _Dainty_ prize was repaired
and re-named the _Visitation_, because surrendered on the day of the
feast of the blessed Virgin. Hawkins was long kept in captivity. He
was for two years in Peru and adjacent provinces, and was then sent
to Europe and kept a prisoner at Seville and Madrid. His release was
claimed on the ground of Don Bertrand’s knightly pledge, but the reply
was given that he had received his authority from the Viceroy of Peru,
not from the King of Spain, upon whom his engagement was not binding.
The Count de Miranda, President of the Council, however, at last gave
judgment, that the promise of a Spanish general in the king’s name
should be kept, and Hawkins was set at liberty, and returned to England.

During his captivity he wrote a detailed account of his voyage,
entitled _The Observations of Richard Hawkins, Knight, in his Voyage
into the South Sea, 1593_. It was published in London in 1622, the year
in which Hawkins died of apoplexy,--at somewhere near fifty years of
age.

Sir Richard Hawkins possessed powers that fitted him for great
achievements. With resources at command, and a fitting field for
their use, corresponding with his courage and ability, he would have
distinguished himself by mighty deeds. His ill-fated voyage to the
South Sea was like the light cavalry charge at Balaclava--it was
magnificent, but it was not war!




CHARLES HOWARD,

BARON OF EFFINGHAM, AFTERWARDS EARL OF NOTTINGHAM.

CHAPTER II.

“BORN TO SERVE AND SAVE HIS COUNTRY.”


Queen Elizabeth has been magniloquently designated the RESTORER OF
ENGLAND’S NAVAL POWER and SOVEREIGN OF THE NORTHERN SEAS. Under her
sovereignty Lord Charles Howard wielded supreme authority worthily
and well, on behalf of his country, during that naval demonstration,
which may be regarded as the most important, in its design and results,
of any that the world has known. Lord Charles was High Admiral of
England during the period of the inception, the proud departure, the
baleful course, and the doleful return to Spain, of the “most happy and
invincible Armada,” or rather--what was left of it.

[Illustration: EARL OF EFFINGHAM.]

Charles Howard, elder son of the Earl of Effingham, was born in the
year 1536, in the reign of Henry VIII. Charles served under his father,
who was Lord Admiral to Mary, in several expeditions. He did duty
as an envoy to Charles IX. of France on his accession. He served as
a general of horse in the army headed by Warwick, against the Earls
of Northumberland and Westmoreland, and, as a courtier, he rendered
various other services, not calling for particular notice. In 1572 he
succeeded his father, and in 1573 was made a Knight of the Garter. On
the death of the Earl of Lincoln, in 1585, the queen appointed Lord
Charles, High Admiral. This appointment gave great satisfaction to all
ranks, and was especially gratifying to seamen,--with whom Lord Charles
was highly popular.

Philip of Spain employed all the art he was possessed of to obtain
ascendency over Elizabeth, as he had done over her infatuated sister
Mary, and--irrespective of law, if any existed to the contrary--was
more than willing to marry his “deceased wife’s sister,” but Elizabeth
would neither marry, nor take orders from him, which exasperated Philip
greatly. His religious fanaticism and the influence of the Jesuits
made him determined to punish the queen and ruin her country. With
this amiable intention the great Armada was prepared. It consisted
of 130 ships, of an aggregate of about 60,000 tons. It was armed
with 2630 pieces of cannon, and carried 30,000 men, including 124
volunteers,--the flower of the Spanish nobility and gentry,--and
180 monks. Twelve of the greatest ships were named after the twelve
apostles.

The English fleet was put under the command of Lord Howard, with Sir
Francis Drake for his vice-admiral, and Sir John Hawkins for his
rear-admiral. Lord Henry Seymour, with Count Nassau, cruised on the
coast of Flanders, to watch the movements of the Duke of Parma, who
purposed, it was believed, to form a junction with the Spanish Armada,
or to aid it, by making a separate descent upon England.

The threatened invasion stirred the kingdom to the highest pitch of
patriotic fervour. The city of London advanced large sums of money for
the national service. Requisitioned to provide 15 ships and 5000 men,
the city fathers promptly provided 30 ships and 10,000 men.

The Armada encountered a violent storm, at almost the commencement of
the voyage northwards, and had to put back. The rumour was current
in England that the great expedition was hopelessly shattered. Lord
Howard consequently received, through Walsingham, Secretary of State,
instructions to send four of his largest ships into port. The admiral
doubted the safety of this course, and willingly engaged to keep the
ships out, at his own charge. He bore away towards Spain, and soon
obtained such intelligence, as confirmed him in the opinion he had
formed, and fully justified the course he had adopted.

On the 19th July, Fleming, a Scottish pirate, who plied his vocation
in the Channel and the approaches thereto, sailed into Plymouth in
hot haste, with the intelligence that the Armada was at hand. This
pirate did, for once at least in his life, an honest and incalculably
important day’s work. An ancient historian estimates it so highly as
to say that “this man was, in reality, the cause of the absolute ruin
of the Spaniards; for the preservation of the English was undoubtedly
owing to his providential discovery of the enemy.” At the request of
Lord Admiral Howard, the queen afterwards granted a pardon to Fleming
for his past offences, and awarded him a pension for the timely service
he had rendered to the nation.

“And then,” says Dr. Collier, “was played on the Hoe at Plymouth that
game of bowls, which fixes itself like a picture on the memory,--the
faint, hazy blue of the July sky, arching over sun-baked land and
glittering sea; the group of captains on the grass, peak-bearded and
befrilled, in the fashion of Elizabeth’s day; the gleaming wings of
Fleming’s little bark skimming the green waters like a seagull, on
her way to Plymouth harbour with the weightiest news. She touches the
rude pier; the skipper makes hastily for the Hoe, and tells how that
morning he saw the giant hulls off the Cornish coast, and how he has
with difficulty escaped by the fleetness of his ship. The breathless
silence changes to a storm of tongues; but the resolute man who loaded
the _Golden Hind_ with Spanish pesos, and ploughed the waves of every
ocean round the globe, calls on his comrades to ‘play out the match,
for there is plenty of time to do so, and to beat the Spaniards too.’
It is Drake who speaks. The game is resumed, and played to the last
shot. Then begin preparations for a mightier game. The nation’s life is
at stake. Out of Plymouth, along every road, men spur as for life, and
every headland and mountain peak shoots up its red tongue of warning
flame.”

The sorrows and sufferings of the crowd of Spaniards noble and ignoble,
of the nine score holy fathers, and the two thousand galley slaves,
who left the Tagus in glee and grandeur, in the “happy Armada,” with a
great design,--but really to serve no higher purpose, as things turned
out, than to provide, in their doomed persons, a series of banquets for
the carnivorous fishes in British waters,--need not be dwelt upon here,
being referred to elsewhere.

As commander-in-chief, it was universally felt and admitted that Lord
Charles Howard acquitted himself with sound judgment, consummate
skill, and unfaltering courage. The queen acknowledged his merits, the
indebtedness of the nation to the lord high admiral, and her sense of
his magnanimity and prudence, in the most expressive terms. In 1596 he
was advanced to the title and dignity of Earl of Nottingham, his patent
of nobility containing the declaration, “that by the victory obtained
anno 1588, he did secure the kingdom of England from the invasion of
Spain, and other impending dangers; and did also, in conjunction with
our dear cousin, Robert, Earl of Essex, seize by force the Isle and
the strongly fortified castle of Cadiz, in the farthest part of Spain;
and did likewise rout and entirely defeat another fleet of the King of
Spain, prepared in that port against this kingdom.” On entering the
House of Peers, the Earl of Nottingham was received with extraordinary
expressions and demonstrations of honourable regard.

[Illustration: LORD HOWARD’S DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH FLEET NEAR CADIZ.]

In 1599, circumstances of delicacy and difficulty again called for the
services of the Earl of Nottingham. Spain meditated another invasion.
The Earl of Essex in Ireland had entangled affairs, had left his post
there, and had rebelliously fortified himself in his house in London.
The Earl of Nottingham succeeded in bringing the contumacious earl to
a state of quietude, if not of reason, and had the encomium pronounced
upon him by the queen, that he seemed to have been born “to serve and
to save his country.” He was invested with the unusual and almost
unlimited authority of Lord Lieutenant General of all England; he was
also appointed one of the commissioners for executing the office of
Earl-Marshal. On her death-bed the queen made known to the earl her
desire as to the succession,--an unequivocal proof of her regard and
confidence,--the disclosure having been entreated in vain by her most
favoured ministers.

The accession of James did not impede the fortunes of the Earl of
Nottingham; he was appointed Lord High Steward, to assist at the
coronation; and afterwards commissioned to the most brilliant
embassy--to the court of Philip III. of Spain--that the country had
ever sent forth. During his stay at the Spanish court, the dignified
splendour that characterised the Embassy commanded the admiration
and respect of the court and people; and at his departure, Philip
made him presents of the estimated value of about £20,000,--thereby
exciting the jealousy and displeasure of the far from magnanimous
James I. Popularity and influence, enjoyed or exercised independently
of himself, were distasteful and offensive to his ungenerous nature.
James frequently reminded his nobles at court “that they were there, as
little vessels sailing round the master ship; whereas they were in the
country so many great ships each riding majestically on its own stream.”

The earl had his enemies, but he regained the confidence of the king,
and in 1613 assisted at the marriage of the Princess Elizabeth with
Frederick, the Elector Palatine. His last naval service was to command
the squadron that escorted the princess to Flushing. The infirmities of
age having disqualified him for discharging the onerous duties of the
office, he resigned his post of lord high admiral, after a lengthened
term of honourable and effective service. The distinguished career of
this eminent public man came to a calm and honourable close on the nth
December 1624--the earl having reached the advanced age of eighty-eight
years.




SIR MARTIN FROBISHER,

NAVIGATOR, DISCOVERER, AND COMBATANT.

CHAPTER III.

THE FIRST ENGLISH DISCOVERER OF GREENLAND.


Martin Frobisher had no “lineage” to boast of; he was of the people.
His parents, who had respectable connections, are supposed to have come
from North Wales to the neighbourhood of Normanton, Yorkshire, where
he was born about the year 1535. Frobisher seems to have taken to the
sea from natural inclination. He is said to have been bred to the sea,
but had reached the prime of life--about forty years of age--before he
came into public notice as a mariner. He must have been a man of mark,
and possessed of qualities that commanded confidence. His mother had a
brother in London, Sir John York, to whom young Frobisher was sent, and
by whom he was probably assisted.

In 1554 he sailed to Guinea in a small squadron of merchant ships under
the command of Captain John Lock, and in 1561 had worked his way up
to the command of a ship. In 1571 he was employed in superintending
the building of a ship at Plymouth, that was intended to be employed
against Ireland. For years he had been scheming, planning, and striving
to obtain means for an expedition in search of a North-West passage
from England to “far Cathay.” He was at last so far successful as to
get together an amusingly small squadron for such a daring project. He
was placed in command of the _Gabriel_ and the _Michael_, two small
barques of 20 tons each, and a pinnace of 10 tons, with crews of
thirty-five men all told, wherewith to encounter the unknown perils
of the Arctic seas. Captain Matthew Kindersley was associated with
him in the adventure. The expedition sailed from Gravesend on the 7th
June 1576, and proceeded northwards by way of the Shetland Islands.
The pinnace was lost on the voyage, and the other vessels narrowly
escaped wreck in the violent weather encountered off the coast of
Greenland, of which Frobisher was the first English discoverer. He
reached Labrador 28th July, and effected a landing on Hall’s Island, at
the mouth of the bay that bears Frobisher’s name. At Butcher’s Island,
where he afterwards landed, five of the crew were captured by the
natives, and were never again seen. The adventurers took on board
samples of earth,--with bright specks supposed to be gold. Compared
with subsequent Arctic expeditions, this was a small affair in length
of voyage and time occupied,--the mariners reaching home on the 9th
October.

[Illustration: SIR MARTIN FROBISHER.]

Practical mineralogy was in its infancy in those days, and the supposed
auriferous earth excited great expectations, but no attempt seems to
have been made to find out whether it was or was not what it seemed.
Pending analysis, the expedition was considered so far satisfactory and
successful, and a Cathay Company was straightway formed under a charter
from the Crown. Another expedition was determined upon; the queen lent
a ship of 200 tons, and subscribed £1000; Frobisher was appointed High
Admiral of all lands and seas he might discover, and was empowered to
sail in every direction except east. The squadron consisted of the
queen’s ship, the _Aid_, the _Gabriel_, and the _Michael_ of last
year’s voyage, with pinnaces and boats, and a crew of one hundred
and twenty men. The squadron sailed 28th May 1577, and arrived off
Greenland in July. More of the supposed precious earth was shipped, and
certain inhospitable shores were taken possession of in the queen’s
name, but no very notable discoveries were made. An unsuccessful search
was made after the five men lost in the previous expedition. The
_Aid_ arrived home at Milford Haven on 22nd August, and the others
later,--one at Yarmouth, and others at Bristol. Although no results had
been obtained from the “ore,” yet another and much larger expedition
was planned. Frobisher was honoured with the thanks of the queen, who
showed great interest in the expeditions. The new fleet consisted of
thirteen vessels of various kinds, including two queen’s ships of
400 and 200 tons, with one hundred and fifty men and one hundred and
twenty pioneers. For the other ships there was an aggregate crew of two
hundred and fifty men. The squadron sailed from Harwich on the 31st May
1578, and reached Greenland 19th June, and Frobisher Bay about a month
later. A considerable amount of hitherto unexplored area of land and
water was roughly surveyed in this voyage, including a sail of sixty
miles up Hudson’s Strait, and more would probably have been done, but
for dissensions and discontent among the crews. A vast quantity of the
golden (?) earth was shipped, and the expedition returned to England,
which was reached in October.

[Illustration: SIR MARTIN FROBISHER PASSING GREENWICH.]

Frobisher’s next public employment was of a different character.
In command of the _Primrose_, he accompanied Drake’s expedition to
the West Indies in 1585, and shared in the rich booty of which the
Spaniards were spoiled during that cruise. In 1588 Frobisher held a
high command, and with his ship, the _Triumph_, rendered distinguished
service in the actions with the Spanish Armada. The _Triumph_
was the largest ship in the English fleet, being of about 1000 tons
burthen, or the same as the floating wonder of Henry VIII., the
_Henry Grace à Dieu_,--but not so heavily armed. The _Henry_ carried
no fewer than one hundred and forty-one guns, whereas the _Triumph_
was armed with only sixty-eight guns. Frobisher proved well worthy
of his important command. For his skilful and courageous service, in
the series of actions against the Armada, he received the well-earned
honour of knighthood, at the hands of the lord high admiral. In 1591
he commanded a small fleet that cruised on the coast of Spain, with
hostile and plundering designs. He burned one rich galleon in the
course of this cruise, and captured and brought home another. Having
got the prize safely disposed of, the gallant old hero answered a
summons from the court of Cupid, and, after a short courtship, he
led the fair daughter of Lord Wentworth to the altar. The following
year, however, he was again afloat in command of a cruising fleet, as
successor to Sir Walter Raleigh, who had been recalled.

One of the most important and brilliant actions, among the many in
which Sir Martin had taken a leading part, was his next, and, alas!
his last,--the taking of Brest from the Spaniards. The place was
strong, well armed, and stubbornly defended, with obstinate valour.
Sir Martin first attacked from the sea, but, impetuous and impatient,
was dissatisfied with the result of his cannonade, and, landing his
blue-jackets, headed them in a desperate storming assault, which
compelled the surrender of the garrison. The surrender cost the
assailants a heavy price in the lives of many brave heroes, Sir Martin
Frobisher himself, their gallant leader, receiving a musket ball in his
side. His wound was unskilfully treated, and he died from its effects
at Plymouth two days after the action,--22nd November 1594. His body
was conveyed to London, and interred at St. Giles’s, Cripplegate.

Sir Martin Frobisher was a man of great and varied capabilities as a
navigator and commander; enthusiastic, enterprising, skilful, manly,
and of dauntless valour, but rather rough and despotic, and not
possessed of the polished manners, airs, and graces that adorn carpet
knights and make men shine in courts.




THOMAS CAVENDISH,

GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER.

CHAPTER IV.

THE SECOND ENGLISHMAN WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED THE GLOBE.


In the time of Queen Elizabeth it was not unusual for men of the
highest rank to devote their private fortunes and their personal
services to the advancement of what were considered national interests,
with the tacit understanding that the adventurers should consider
themselves at liberty to engage in operations fitted to serve their own
private interests, concurrently with those of the State. The morals of
the time were somewhat lax, and “sea divinity,” as Fuller terms it, was
taken to sanction extraordinary transactions in the appropriation and
treatment of property, especially such as was owned by the State or the
subjects of Spain. To spoil the Spaniards by all and every possible
means, seems to have been esteemed an object of honourable and
patriotic enterprise, in which Sir Francis Drake distinguished himself,
as he did also by much nobler and more disinterested service. Thomas
Cavendish was a contemporary of Drake, and in his wake plundered the
Spaniards, and he also followed him in circumnavigating the globe,--the
second Englishman who achieved that feat.

Thomas was a descendant of Sir William Cavendish; he was born at the
family mansion, Trimley, Suffolk, about the year 1560. His father died
while he was still a minor. Trimley, his birthplace, is situate on the
river Orwell, below Ipswich. The locality in which he spent his early
days probably induced a liking for the sea.

In April 1585, Cavendish accompanied Sir Richard Grenville in an
expedition to Virginia, its object being the establishment of a colony
as designed by Sir Walter Raleigh. The colony was a failure, and Drake,
as we have related in another place, subsequently brought home the
emigrants sent out to form it. Cavendish accompanied the expedition
in a ship that had been equipped at his own cost, and acquired
considerable nautical experience in the course of the voyage.

[Illustration: THOMAS CAVENDISH.]

On his return to England, Cavendish applied such means as he could
command to the equipment of a small squadron with which to commence
business as a buccaneer. He diligently got together all the existing
maps and charts accessible, and, through the influence of Lord
Hunsdon, he was so fortunate as to obtain a queen’s commission. The
“flag-ship” of Cavendish, admiral and commander, was the _Desire_, of
only 120 tons burthen; the others were, the _Content_, of 60 tons, and
the _Hugh Gallant_, a barque of 40 tons. The crews consisted of 123
officers, sailors, and soldiers, all told. The expedition sailed from
Plymouth on the 21st July 1586. The squadron first touched at Sierra
Leone, where they landed, and plundered and burned the town. Having
obtained supplies of water, fish, and lemons, the squadron sailed for
the coast of America, and reached in 48° S. a harbour on the coast
of Patagonia, in which they anchored, and which, in honour of the
admiral’s ship, they named Port Desire. Here the crews were enabled
to make an agreeable change in the ship’s dietary, by slaughtering
the sea-lions and the penguins that abounded on the coast; the flesh
of the young sea-lions, after a long course of salt junk, seemed to
the sailors equal to lamb or mutton. Towards the end of December the
squadron sailed southward for Magellan’s Straits, which were entered
on the 6th January 1587. At a short distance from the entrance, lights
were seen from the north shore that were supposed to be signals, and on
the morning following a boat was sent off for information. Unmistakable
signs were made, as the shore was approached, by three men waving such
substitutes as they could find for flags. It was found that they were
the wretched survivors of one of the colonies that the Spaniards had
attempted to plant, in order to intercept Drake on his expected return,
and to prevent, in the future, any buccaneer from ravaging the coast
as he had done. The crops of the perishing colonists had all failed;
they were constantly harassed by the natives, subject to unspeakable
hardships; out of four hundred men and thirty women landed by Pedro
Sarmiento, about seven years before Cavendish’s visit, only fifteen
men and three women survived. He offered the poor creatures a passage
to Peru. They at first hesitated to trust themselves with the English
heretic, but, after brief reflection on the misery and hopelessness
of their situation, eagerly accepted the offer,--but unhappily too
late. A favourable wind sprang up, of which Cavendish took advantage,
and set sail. Concern for the safety of his crew, desire to escape
as speedily as possible from the perilous navigation of the Straits,
and probably eagerness to make a beginning with the real objects of
the expedition--the acquisition of plunder--overbore any pity he may
have felt for the wretched colonists, whose heartless abandonment to
hopeless misery attached shame and infamy to the Spanish Government
responsible for sending them thither, rather than to the bold
buccaneer, with no humanitarian pretensions, who had come upon them
accidentally. He brought off one Spaniard, Tomé Hernandez, who wrote an
account of the colony.

On the 24th of February the squadron emerged from the Straits and
sailed northwards, reaching the island of Mocha about the middle of
March, but not before the little ships had been much knocked about, by
weather of extreme violence. The crews landed at several points, and
laid the natives under contribution for provisions. They were mistaken
for Spaniards, and were in some cases received with undisguised hatred,
in others with servility. On the 30th they anchored in the Bay of
Quintero, to the north of Valparaiso, which was passed by mistake,
without being “tapped.” Notice of the appearance of the suspicious
squadron seems to have reached some of the authorities. Hernandez,
the Spaniard, was sent ashore to confer with them. On returning, he
reported that the English might have what provisions they required.
Remaining for a time at their anchorage here, parties were sent ashore
for water and such provisions as could be obtained. In one of these
visits, the men were suddenly attacked by a party of two hundred
horsemen, who cut off, and took prisoners, twelve of the Englishmen.
Six of the English prisoners were executed at Santiago as pirates,
although, as has been said, with somewhat arrogant indignation, “they
sailed with the queen’s commission, and the English were not at open
war with Spain.”

Putting again to sea, the adventurers captured near Arica a vessel
laden with Spanish treasure. The cargo was appropriated, and the
ship--re-named the _George_--attached to the squadron. Several other
small vessels were taken and burned. One of these from Santiago had
been despatched to the viceroy, with the intelligence that an English
squadron was upon the coast. Before they were taken, they threw the
despatches overboard, and Cavendish resorted to the revolting expedient
of torture, to extort their contents from his captives. The mode of
torture employed was the “thumbikins,” an instrument in which the
thumb, by screw or lever power, could be crushed into shapeless pulp.
Having got what information he could wring out of his prisoners,
Cavendish burned the vessel and took the crew with him. One of them
was a Greek pilot, who knew the coast of Chili, and might be useful.
After a visit to a small town where supplies were obtained--not by
purchase--of bread, wine, poultry, fruit, etc., and some small prizes
taken, the adventurers proceeded to Paita, where they landed on the
20th May. The town, consisting of about two hundred houses, was
regularly built and very clean. The inhabitants were driven out, and
the town burned to the ground. Cavendish would not allow his men to
carry away as much as they could, as he expected they would need a
free hand to resist a probable attack. After wrecking the town and
burning a ship in the harbour, the squadron again sailed northwards,
and anchored in the harbour of the island of Puna. The Indian chief,
who lived in a luxuriously furnished palace, surrounded by beautiful
gardens, and the other inhabitants had fled, carrying as many of their
valuables with them as possible. The English visitors sank a Spanish
ship of 250 tons that was in the harbour, burned down a fine large
church, and brought away the bells.

[Illustration: PERILOUS POSITION IN THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN.]

On the 2nd June, before weighing anchor at Puna, a party of Cavendish’s
men, strolling about and foraging, was suddenly attacked by about
one hundred armed Spaniards. Seven of the Englishmen were killed,
three were made prisoners, two were drowned, and eight escaped. To
avenge this attack, Cavendish landed with as powerful a force as he
could muster, drove out the Spaniards, burned the town and four ships
that were building; he also destroyed the gardens and orchards, and
committed as much havoc generally as was in his power. Again proceeding
northwards to Rio Dolce, he sent some Indian captives ashore, and
sank the _Hugh Gallant_, the crew of which he needed for the manning
of the other two ships. On the 9th July a new ship of 120 tons was
taken; the sails and ropes were appropriated, and the ship burned. A
Frenchman, taken in this vessel, gave valuable information respecting
a Manilla ship, then expected from the Philippines. The record of the
proceedings of the squadron continues most inglorious, including the
burning of the town, the church, and the custom-house of Guatulco;
the burning of two new ships at Puerto de Navidad; capturing three
Spanish families, a carpenter, a Portuguese, and a few Indians,--the
carpenter and the Portuguese only being kept for present and future
use. On the 12th September the adventurers reached the island of St.
Andrew, where a store of wood and of dried and salted wild-fowl was
laid in, and the sailors, failing other supply, had a fresh meat
change in cooking the iguanas, which were found more palatable, than
inviting in appearance. Towards the end of September the fleet put
into the Bay of Mazattan, where the ships were careened, and water was
taken in. During October the fleet cruised, in wait for the expected
prize, not far wide of Cape St. Lucas. On the 4th November a sail was
sighted, which proved to be the _Santa Anna_, which was overtaken after
some hours’ chase, and promptly attacked. The Spaniards resisted with
determination and courage, although they had no more effective means
of defence than stones, which they hurled at the boarders, from behind
such defective shelters as they could improvise. Two separate accounts
of the action have been preserved, both written by adventurers who were
present. After receiving a volley of stones from the defenders, one
narrator proceeds: “We new-trimmed our sails and fitted every man
his furniture, and gave them a fresh encounter with our great ordnance,
and also with our small-shot, raking them through and through, to the
killing and wounding of many of their men. Their captain, still like
a valiant man with his company, stood very stoutly in close fights,
not yielding as yet. Our general, encouraging his men afresh, with the
whole voice of trumpets, gave them the other encounter with our great
ordnance and all our small-shot, to the great discouragement of our
enemies,--raking them through in divers places, killing and wounding
many of their men. They being thus discouraged and spoiled, and their
ship being in hazard of sinking by reason of the great shot which were
made, whereof some were made under water, within five or six hours’
fight, sent out a flag of truce, and parleyed for mercy, desiring our
general to save their lives and take their goods, and that they would
presently yield. Our general, of his goodness, promised them mercy, and
called to them to strike their sails, and to hoist out their boat and
come on board; which news they were full glad to hear of, and presently
struck their sails and hoisted out their boat, and one of their chief
merchants came on board unto our general, and, falling down upon his
knees, offered to have kissed our general’s feet, and craved mercy.”
It is satisfactory that this craven submission was not made by the
commander of the _Santa Anna_, who must have been a noble hero to
stand out, almost without arms of any kind, against the “great ordnance
and small-shot” of his enemy for five or six hours. The narrator
proceeds: “Our general graciously pardoned both him and the rest, upon
promise of their true-dealing(!) with him and his company concerning
such riches as were in the ship, and sent for their captain and pilot,
who, at their coming, used the like duty and reverence as the former
did. The general, out of his great mercy and humanity, promised their
lives and good usage.”

Cavendish and his crews must have been getting rather disgusted with
their hard and bitter experiences up to the time they fell in with the
_Santa Anna_. They were about sixteen months out from Plymouth; had
been much knocked about; had destroyed a great deal of property, but
had acquired very little. The _Santa Anna_ compensated for all their
hardships and disappointments. It was a ship of 700 tons burthen, the
property of the King of Spain, and carried one of the richest cargoes
that had ever floated up to that time. It had on board 122,000 pesos of
gold, _i.e._ as many ounces of the precious metal, with a cargo of the
finest silks, satins, damasks, wine, preserved fruits, musk, spices,
etc. The ship carried a large number of passengers, with the most
luxurious provision for their accommodation and comfort. The captors
entered with alacrity upon the unrestrained enjoyment of luxuries
such as many of them had never known before. Cavendish carried his
prize into a bay within Cape St. Lucas, where he landed the crew and
passengers,--about one hundred and ninety in all. He allowed them a
supply of water, a part of the ship’s stores, some wine, and the sails
of the dismantled prize to construct tents for shelter. He gave arms
to the men to enable them to defend their company against the natives.
He also allowed them some planks wherewith to build a raft, or such
craft as they might be able to construct for their conveyance to the
mainland. Among the passengers were two Japanese youths, both of whom
could read and write their own language. There were also three boys
from Manilla, one of whom, on the return of the expedition to England,
was presented to the Countess of Essex,--such an attendant being at
that time considered evidence of almost regal life and splendour. These
youths, with a Portuguese who had been in Canton, the Philippines, and
Japan, with a Spanish pilot, Cavendish took with him.

Much anger and discontent were excited in connection with the division
of the spoils, especially among the crew of the _Content_, who thought
Cavendish took more than a fair share for himself and the company
of the _Desire_--his own ship. The threatened mutiny was, however,
suppressed, and a grand gala was held on the queen’s day--17th
November, with eating and drinking, firing of guns, and a display of
fireworks, with as a grand set-piece the blazing _Santa Anna_, with all
of her precious cargo on board that the captors could not carry away
with them. They left the ship burned down to the water’s edge. After
they left the burning ship, the fire providentially freed the wreck
from the anchors, and the flood-tide carried her still burning into
the bay. The abandoned company were happily enabled to extinguish the
flames, and to save so much of the hull as with some fitting furnished
them with a means of escape from the inhospitable shore upon which they
had been cast.

After leaving Cape St. Lucas, the _Content_ fell behind, and was never
again seen by Cavendish, who set sail to cross the Pacific by a course
not very widely different from that taken by Drake.

In January 1588, Cavendish reached the Ladrone Islands, a few miles
from which an incident occurred that does not redound to his credit.
A fleet of fifty or more canoes surrounded the _Desire_ with cargoes
of fish, potatoes, plantains, etc., to exchange them, as they had been
accustomed to do with the Spaniards, for pieces of iron. The islanders
were importunate and rather troublesome, and, to get rid of them, “our
general” and five of his men fired a volley into them. The savages were
so expert as divers and swimmers that the sportsmen could not tell how
many they killed. These natives were of tawny colour, tall, stout, and
naked. Their canoes, six or seven yards in length, but very narrow,
were admirably made, and had carved figureheads. They had square and
triangular sails of a cloth made from rushes.

On the voyage, while in the vicinity of the Philippines, an important
secret oozed out. The Portuguese taken from the _Santa Anna_ let it
be known that the Spanish pilot had prepared a letter to be secretly
conveyed to the governor at Manilla, explaining how the _Desire_ might
be surprised and overpowered. The Spaniard was summarily hanged for his
patriotism. The further course of the homeward voyage was from Manilla
to the Moluccas, passed about the middle of February; Java; the Cape
of Good Hope; St. Helena, in June; to Plymouth, which was reached on
the 9th September 1588; Cavendish’s circumnavigation of the globe--the
third that had been accomplished--having been made in two years and
fifty days, a considerably shorter time than had been occupied by
either Magellan and his successors or Sir Francis Drake,--but mere
speed in getting back to a home port had not been an object with either
of the three distinguished navigators.

Accounts differ as to the style in which Cavendish made his return
entry into Plymouth. According to one account, he encountered, for four
days, a violent storm in the Channel, from which the tempest-tossed
adventurers happily escaped, and, says N. H., “on 10th September 1588,
like wearied men, through the favour of the Almighty, we got into
Plymouth, where the townsmen received us with all humanity.” Anyway,
his arrival, like that of Drake before him, caused a great sensation at
Plymouth.

[Illustration: ROUNDING THE CAPE DE BUENA ESPERANÇA.]

Cavendish was received as a hero, and appeared to consider himself
worthy of his fame and the honours conferred upon him. He had
acquired great wealth, albeit dishonestly, and his exploits had been
distinguished in many instances by wanton outrage and gratuitous
destruction of life and property. He, however, appeared to be
unconscious of having done anything to be ashamed of, and probably held
in accord with those avowed by the Rev. Dr. Thos. Fuller, prebendary
of Sarum, who, as apologist for Sir Francis Drake’s piratical
performances, considered that “his case was clear in sea divinity; and
few are such infidels as not to believe doctrines which make for their
own profit.” In a letter to his patron, Lord Hunsdon, he writes: “It
hath pleased Almighty God to suffer me to circumpass the whole globe
of the world, entering in at the Strait of Magellan, and returning by
the Cape de Buena Esperança; in which voyage I have either discovered
or brought certain intelligence of all the rich places in the world,
which were ever discovered by any Christian. I navigated along the
coast of Chili, Peru, and New Spain, where I made great spoils. I
burned and sank nineteen ships, small and great. All the villages and
towns that ever I landed at I burned and spoiled; and had I not been
discovered 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 California, which ship came from the Philippines, being one of
the richest of merchandise that ever passed those seas. From the Cape
of California, being the uttermost part of all New Spain, I navigated
to the islands of the Philippines, hard upon the coast of China, of
which country I have brought such intelligence as hath not been heard
of in these parts; the stateliness and riches of which country [China]
I fear to make report of, lest I should not be credited. I found out
by the way homeward the island of Santa Helena; and from that island
God hath suffered me to return unto England. All which services, with
myself, I humbly prostrate at Her Majesty’s feet, desiring the Almighty
long to continue her reign amongst us; for at this day she is the most
famous and victorious princess that liveth in the world.” Although
Cavendish contributed comparatively little to the sum of geographical
knowledge by accurate reports of any original discoveries he had made,
apart from the moral aspect of the principal incidents in his career,
he was indisputably a remarkable man, and rarely since the world began
has a young man of only twenty-eight years achieved such a record as he
had done, at the end of his circumnavigation, illustrative of daring
bravery, indomitable perseverance, and manly endurance.

The wealth with which Cavendish returned was considered sufficient to
have bought “a fair earldom”; but it was not to his taste to settle,
or found a family. His expedition had been undertaken to repair his
shattered fortunes, and had done so satisfactorily, but it was probably
“light come, light go” with him. The treasure of the _Santa Anna_ had
been put into “a bag with holes,” and what did not run through was
providently applied by Cavendish to fitting out another expedition
on an extended scale, which it was expected would do a much larger
business, and prove even a more pronounced success than the last. The
new squadron consisted of “three tall ships” and two pinnaces,--the
galleon _Leicester_, in which Cavendish sailed; the _Desire_, his old
ship, commanded by Captain John Davis; the _Roebucke_, the _Black
Pinnace_, and the _Daintie_. The expedition sailed from Plymouth on
26th August 1591, which was from the beginning a series of dreary,
unrelieved misery and disaster. The Straits of Magellan were reached
in April 1592, and passed through about half-way. Disagreements
arose among the crews, and Cavendish seemed to have lost his power
of command. He determined to return to Santos. The ships parted
company, and the last notice of Cavendish in the homeward voyage of the
_Leicester_ is his own notice of the death of his cousin John Locke in
8° N. latitude. Cavendish is supposed to have died on board a few days
later, the victim of grief and disappointment. While tossed about in
the _Desire_ after the ships had parted company, Captain Davis was, on
the 14th August 1592, “driven in among certain islands never before
discovered by any known relation, lying fifty leagues or better off the
shore, east and northerly from the Straits.” These were the Falkland
Islands, of which Captain Davis has certainly the honour of being the
original discoverer, although the discovery has been claimed by Sir
Richard Hawkins, and certain foreign navigators.[1] Several more or
less complete accounts of this last disastrous voyage of Cavendish
have been preserved; one of them, drawn up at sea by himself, is a most
affecting and depressing narrative. In this account he writes: “We had
been almost four months between the coast of Brazil and the Straits,
being in distance not above six hundred leagues, which is commonly run
in twenty or thirty days; but such was the adverseness of our fortune,
that in coming thither we spent the summer, and found the Straits in
the beginning of a most extreme winter, not endurable for Christians.
After the month of May was come in, nothing but such flights of snow,
and extremity of frosts, as in all my life I never saw any to be
compared with them. This extremity caused the weak men to decay; for,
in seven or eight days in this extremity, there died forty men and
sickened seventy, so that there were not fifteen men able to stand
upon the hatches.” Mr. John Lane, a friend of Captain Davis, writing
of their experiences in the middle of “charming May,” says: “In this
time we endured extreme storms, with perpetual snow, where many of our
men died of cursed famine and miserable cold, not having wherewith to
cover their bodies nor to fill their stomachs, but living by mussels,
water, and weeds of the sea, with a small relief from the ship’s stores
of meal sometimes.” He makes the shocking disclosure that “all the sick
men in the galleon” (Cavendish’s ship) “were most uncharitably put on
shore into the woods, in the snow, wind, and cold, when men of good
health could scarcely endure it, where they ended their lives in the
highest degree of misery.”

    [1] Captain John Davis achieved in this early age deserved
        celebrity as a navigator and discoverer. He made three
        voyages, under the sanction and authority of the English
        Government, in search of a North-West passage to the
        Pacific. In the first, in 1585, he pushed his way round
        the southern end of Greenland, across the strait that from
        then until now has borne his name--Davis Strait--and along
        the coast of what is now known as Baffin’s Land, to the
        Cape of God’s Mercy, which he thus named in the belief that
        his task was virtually accomplished. In the second voyage,
        1586, he made little further progress; in the third, 1587,
        he reached the entrance to the strait afterwards explored
        by, and named after, Hudson. Davis, after other important
        nautical services, was, when on his return from the East
        Indies, killed by pirates off the coast of Malacca. Davis
        was an author as well as a navigator.

Anthropology, natural history, or other scientific subjects, had no
attractions for the adventurers, whose attention, and such powers as
were left with them, were absorbed in their conflicts with storm and
tempest, cold, hunger, and nakedness. After parting company they never
again reunited, or in any of the separated ships made any attempt to
carry out the objects of the expedition. Almost all perished miserably.
It is stated that Davis, whom Cavendish charged with treachery and
desertion, did all that was possible to find and rejoin his leader,
but without success. Long after the separation of the fleet, Davis
returned to Port Desire, and three times attempted unsuccessfully to
pass through the Straits in search for Cavendish. Davis and a few more
survived their terrible hardships. Out of a crew of seventy-six men who
sailed from England, only a remnant of fifteen lived to return with
Davis, in misery and weakness so great that they could neither “take in
or heave out a saile.” Davis, with the distressed survivors, arrived
off Bearhaven, Ireland, on 11th June 1593, fully a year after the death
and burial of Cavendish at sea.

Cavendish was far from faultless. He was passionate and impetuous,
and was still young at the end of his adventurous life. He was a
University man, a bred aristocrat, a courtier, with a contempt for
humanitarian doctrines and practices. Society, as it was constituted
then, has to share the blame of his excesses, and especially his
recklessness of human life. It was a comparatively venial offence in
those days to fire into a crowd of South Sea Islanders with as little
hesitation as if they had been a flock of wild ducks. His high spirit,
courage, and intrepidity are, however, indisputable.




SIR WALTER RALEIGH,

QUEEN ELIZABETH’S FAVOURITE MINISTER.

CHAPTER V.

AMERICAN COLONISATION SCHEMES.


Endowed with a rare combination of high qualities and capability, Sir
Walter Raleigh may be pronounced one of the most distinguished men of
the Elizabethan era. He approved himself a brave soldier, an intrepid
sailor, and a thorough disciplinarian; in other directions he was a
learned scholar, a profound philosopher, an eloquent orator, and an
elegant courtier.

Raleigh’s family traced its lineage from before the Conquest, and
Walter could claim descent from, and connection with, three of the best
Devonshire houses--the Gilberts, the Carews, and the Champernouns. His
father, Walter Raleigh the elder, was the second husband of Catherine,
daughter of Sir Philip Champernoun of Modbury. By a former husband,
Otto Gilbert, this lady had two sons, Humphrey and Adrian, destined to
distinguish themselves as navigators and colonists, with whom Walter
Raleigh was intimately associated in their enterprises.

Walter Raleigh was born, according to Camden, in 1552, at Hayes Barton,
East Budleigh, a farmstead in Devonshire, pleasantly situated near the
coast.

Information touching Raleigh’s education and the early part of his life
is vague and meagre, few facts being on record concerning him prior to
1569, when, it is stated, he left Oxford, where he was first a resident
at Christ Church, from which he removed to Oriel. It is supposed
that he commenced at Oxford his acquaintance with Sir Philip Sydney,
Hakluyt, and Camden.

Camden states, in his _Annales_, that Raleigh was one of a hundred
gentlemen volunteers who proceeded to France with Henry Champernoun,
Raleigh’s cousin, to the assistance of the Huguenots. The service of
the English contingent appears to have commenced about the end of
the year 1569. References are made by Raleigh in his _History of the
World_ to the Huguenot troubles, and his own connection with them;
amongst others, to the conduct of the Protestants at the battle of
Jarnac, after the death of the Prince of Condé; and to the retreat at
Moncontour, of which he was an eye-witness. It is conjectured that
Raleigh spent about six years in France in active service.

[Illustration: SIR WALTER RALEIGH.]

It has been discovered by modern historians that in 1577 Raleigh was
attached in some capacity to Queen Elizabeth’s court, and that he was
also “of the Middle Temple,” but whether called to the Bar, or only
lodging in the Temple, or “eating his terms,” is not certain. He had
reached vigorous manhood, was twenty-five years of age, of cultivated
mind, active temperament, enterprising and ambitious. He was familiar
with the exploits of Hawkins and Drake, and was probably fired by
the romance of the Spanish Indies. His half-brother, Sir Humphrey
Gilbert, had made several voyages to the Gulf of Mexico and the country
afterwards called Virginia in honour of Queen Elizabeth, and it has
been considered probable that on one or more occasions Walter was his
companion. It is known that he was with Gilbert in an unfortunate
expedition to the St. Lawrence in 1578. In the following year he was
committed to the Fleet prison for a violent difference with another
courtier. He was released after a short confinement, however, and in
the same year was stopped when in the act of starting on a piratical
expedition against Spain.

At the close of 1579 the Spanish Catholics invaded Ireland. The
invading expedition, which came from Ferrol, first landed at Dingle,
but not feeling so secure there as they desired, they sailed four
miles farther west to Senerwick Bay, and built there the Fort del
Ore, upon a sandy isthmus, from which the invaders thought they
might easily, if pressed, escape to sea. The Earl of Desmond and the
Geraldines coalesced with their foreign co-religionists, casting off
their allegiance to Elizabeth. Raleigh was sent to take part with the
force then in Ireland upholding the queen’s power, and to assist in
exterminating the invaders.

Raleigh left London in January 1580, with one hundred foot soldiers.
At the Isle of Wight they were transferred into ships of the queen’s
fleet. On the 22nd February, Raleigh wrote from Cork to Lord Burghley,
giving an account of his voyage. His arrival was welcome, and timely,
to his friend Sir Warham Saint Leger, who was holding Cork with great
difficulty, with an insufficient garrison of only forty Englishmen.

It does not appear that Raleigh entered at once upon active duty,
as his pay only begins July 13, 1580; he probably served, however,
irrespective of this circumstance. In August he was associated with
Saint Leger, provost-marshal of Munster, in a commission to try the
younger brother of the Earl of Desmond, whom they sentenced to be hung.

In August, Lord Grey of Wilton arrived in Dublin, to relieve Pelham of
the chief command in Ireland. He had with him the afterwards famous
poet, Edmund Spenser, as his secretary. Raleigh remained in Ireland,
and thus were brought together two of the most gifted men of their
time; they naturally, as they became known to each other, entered into
a close friendship.

In the operations for the suppression of the rebellion that followed,
Raleigh took an active and influential part, and was for a time
practically governor of Munster. There was much hard work in the
campaign, and considerable scope for dash and military capability,
which Raleigh exhibited in a high degree, but there was little “glory”
to be derived from skirmishes, raids, and forays, or from scouring the
woods and ravines for hunted rebels, and it must have been a welcome
relief to Raleigh when a summons from London, to which he returned
in December 1581, put an end to his military service in Ireland. An
established reputation for military prowess had preceded him.

Raleigh, as before stated, was attached in some capacity to the court
in 1577, but had not then entered into personal relations, or become
a favourite, with the queen, who reappointed him a captain to serve
in Ireland, but decreed in connection with the appointment,--“That
our pleasure is that the said [Irish] land be, in the meantime, till
he [Raleigh] repair into that Our realm, delivered to some such as he
shall depute to be his lieutenant there.” “For that he is, for some
considerations, by Us excused to stay here.” The Duc d’Alençon, who had
at this time come from France to woo the queen, was not very favourably
spoken of by Her Majesty. He served probably as a foil to manly,
handsome Raleigh, who was now about thirty years of age, and described
as “having a good presence in a well-compacted person; a strong natural
wit, and a better judgment; with a bold and plausible tongue, whereby
he could set out his parts to the best advantage.” He was “about six
feet in height, with dark hair and a high colour, a facial expression
of great brightness, personable from the virile force of his figure,
and illustrating these attractions by a splendid taste in dress. His
clothes were at all times noticeably gorgeous; and to the end of his
life his person was commonly bedizened with jewels to his very shoes.”
The sprightly soldier-poet never lost his decided Devonshire accent,
which his royal mistress liked rather than otherwise. For several years
he basked in the almost perfectly unclouded sunshine of her smiles, and
received openly many distinguishing marks of the queen’s favour. Old
writers give some interesting illustrations of the little passages of
wit and gallantry that marked their intercourse. On one occasion, it
is related, when the queen, with Raleigh in attendance, had to alight
from her carriage into a puddle,--roads were bad in those days,--the
gay cavalier whipt off his dainty cloak of silk plush, and spread it
out as a foot-cloth to protect her feet from the mud. The sacrifice of
the cloak was highly appreciated, and proved to have been--although,
perhaps, not so designed on Raleigh’s part--an excellent investment.

The personal intimacy and intercourse between the queen and Raleigh
were as close as was permissible between a sovereign and a subject. Had
the queen given the Duc d’Alençon half the encouragement she gave to
Raleigh, his suit would have ended in a royal wedding. Sir Walter did
not dare, probably, to make the queen an offer of his heart and hand,
but he did not fail to give her an “inkling” concerning his feelings.
On a pane in the window of her boudoir or other apartment, he wrote
with his diamond ring--

    “Fain would I climb, but that I fear to fall.”

His royal inamorata, holding probably that “there is much virtue in an
‘if,’” replied--

    “If thy heart fail thee, then climb not at all.”

Raleigh did not go to Ireland to take over from his lieutenant command
of the company of infantry of which he was the nominal commander, but
had a confidential place by the queen’s side, and was her counsellor in
divers weighty matters.

In 1583, Raleigh came into possession, through the queen’s favour, of
the estates of Stolney and Newland, formerly possessions of All Souls’
College, Oxford. He was also favoured with letters patent for the “Farm
of Wines,” afterwards one of the principal sources of his wealth.
Under this grant each vintner throughout the kingdom had to pay twenty
shillings a year for a licence to sell wines. The grant also included
a share to Raleigh of fines accruing to the Crown, under previously
existing wine statutes. From his wine trade emoluments Raleigh realised
at one period about £2000 a year, equivalent to about £12,000 of our
money. From certain causes the amount of his receipts from this source
declined, and he afterwards resigned his patent to James I. for £1000
per annum.

Meantime, Raleigh’s half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had been
making, at great cost, persevering attempts to establish a colony or
colonies in North America, but unfortunately without success. Gilbert
had obtained a charter for his colonisation project extending for
six years from 1578. After repeated failures of his enterprises,
particularly in 1579, he gave up, for a time at least, their further
prosecution, and lent three of his ships to the Government for service
on the coast of Ireland.

[Illustration: “RALEIGH WHIPT OFF HIS CLOAK OF SILK PLUSH, AND SPREAD
IT OUT TO PROTECT THE QUEEN’S FEET FROM THE MUD.”]

Raleigh had always befriended his courageous relative, Sir Humphrey
Gilbert, and now used all his court influence in his favour. His
charter was about to expire. The queen was much importuned to renew
it, and reluctantly did so, but refusing permission to her favourite,
Raleigh, to take part personally in the enterprise. He expended,
however, a large sum in aid of the fresh expedition to North
America, which Sir Humphrey was resolved to undertake. One of the five
ships that constituted the fleet--the _Ark Raleigh_--was built and
fitted out entirely by Sir Walter, at a cost of £2000. The expedition
sailed June 11th, 1583, and met with a series of disasters, including
the death of its resolute and gallant commander. In this expedition
Newfoundland was touched at, and taken possession of by Gilbert in the
queen’s name.

Undismayed by Humphrey Gilbert’s repeated and disastrous failures,
Raleigh continued to believe in the ultimate success of these American
colonisation schemes, and he induced the queen to renew the charter,
to which the parties were Raleigh himself, as chief; Adrian Gilbert,
a younger brother of Sir Humphrey; and John Davis, a courageous and
experienced navigator. These three were incorporated as representing
“The College of the Fellowship for the Discovery of the North-West
Passage.” Realisation of the queen’s dream, and desire after a shorter
route _via_ the north-west to China, was the professed object of the
adventurers, but Raleigh was careful to secure subsidiary material
advantages, and the charter gave full powers to the adventurers to
inhabit or retain, build or fortify, at Raleigh’s discretion, any
remote lands that he might find hitherto unoccupied by any Christian
power.

Raleigh was financier and managing director, but not the personal
conductor of the next American expedition. In April 1584 a small
fleet sailed for the West, under the command of Captains Amadas and
Barlow. In May they passed the Canaries; in June they fell in with the
Bahama Islands. While still far out at sea, delicate odours, sweet
as those of “Araby the blest,” were wafted to them from Florida, at
which they touched; thereafter sailing northwards, they landed at,
and, in name of the queen, annexed the islands then called Roanoke and
Wokoken, with the mainland adjacent. In honour of Queen Elizabeth, the
newly-annexed country was named Virginia. An ancient writer pronounces
the name appropriate, from the country having been discovered in the
reign of the Virgin Queen, and also because the country seemed “to
retain the virgin purity and plenty of the first creation, and the
people their primitive innocence.” Early in 1585 Raleigh sent out a
second expedition to Virginia under Sir Richard Grenville; others
were afterwards sent, and, under Ralph Lane, settled for a time on
Roanoke, but failed to succeed as settlers, or to justify the sanguine
expectations of Raleigh, who was by this time very rich, and could
well afford to carry out his costly colonisation hobby. He was also
befriended by a success that befell his lieutenant, Sir Richard
Grenville, who, in returning to England, fell in with a treasure-laden
Spanish ship of an estimated value of £50,000, which he captured and
brought safely into Plymouth.

In addition to his other rich privileges and possessions, the queen
granted to Raleigh a liberty to export broadcloth. This fresh mark
of royal favour was disapproved by Lord Burghley, who estimated the
increase to Raleigh’s income from the woollen broadcloth trade at the
equivalent of £18,000 of our present money. It is to be said for Sir
Walter that his enormous wealth was not wasted in vice and debauchery,
although personal ambition had probably a good deal to do in directing
his expenditure. He probably aspired to the creation of a state in
the West, with himself as its chief, that for riches, dignity, and
power, would excel the possessions of Spain. His were not the views
or aims of the mere grubber after lucre for its own sake, or for his
own personal aggrandisement. He was not indifferent to any promise the
newly-found region might give of pearls or precious metals, but was
equally solicitous concerning its useful mineral, vegetable, and animal
products, and he appointed Mr. Thomas Hariot, an able scientific and
practical man, commissioner to collect trustworthy information.

At this time, 1584, Raleigh was very much in close attendance on the
queen, at one or other of her palaces, at Greenwich or Windsor. His
own residence was in the then rural village of Islington. The immense
revenue derived from his wine and broadcloth businesses enabled him to
indulge in such a scale of expenditure as could only be incurred by a
merchant prince or other opulent personage. He leased from the queen,
Durham House, situated on the river, in the locality now known as the
Adelphi. This was a vast palace, occupied at one time by the bishops
of Durham, and afterwards by Queen Elizabeth herself. This stately
building was Raleigh’s town house from 1584 to 1603.

In the year 1584, or the year following, Raleigh was knighted, and
advanced to various high dignities. He was appointed Lord Warden of
the Stannaries, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Vice-Admiral of Cornwall
and Devon, and he entered Parliament, as one of the two members for
Devonshire. He was no carpet knight or mere sinecurist, but to the
utmost of his ability discharged faithfully the duties devolving upon
him in these various offices, personally as far as possible, or by
competent deputies. As Warden of the Stannaries he effected important
reforms that greatly mitigated the hardships of the Cornish miners.
His discrimination, judgment, and resolution fitted him admirably for
judge, and director of administration of the affairs that came within
his jurisdiction.

Raleigh’s Virginian colony came to an inglorious end in 1586, but he
was successful in another less creditable enterprise. He had sent a
small fleet for undisguised predatory purposes to the Azores, that did
good business. Its commander captured and brought to England a Spanish
noble, Don Pedro Sarmiento, a colonial governor. While his ransom was
being collected, Raleigh entertained his illustrious guest in splendid
style in his grand town house. In 1587, Raleigh took possession of
vast estates in Ireland, assigned to his charge by the queen, as
gentleman-undertaker; they were part of the escheated lands of the
Earl of Esmond, and embraced forty-two thousand acres in the counties
of Cork, Waterford, and Tipperary. He did his best to re-people the
desolate regions, and brought over many West of England farmers and
farm labourers, but his energetic and well-meant efforts met with only
partial success.

Up to this time, 1587, Raleigh had been first favourite with the queen,
who had showered wealth and influence upon him. The queen had now,
however, other flutterers around her in addition to Raleigh. In 1587
one appeared on the scene, who seemed likely to cut them all out. The
queen had reached the mature age of fifty-four years; the young Earl
of Essex, the new royal favourite, was only twenty. Essex hated “that
knave Raleigh,” as he designated him, and did all he could to make
mischief between the queen and her favourite.

Turning to affairs more worthy of Raleigh’s nature and powers, the
public offices he held necessitated his frequent and rapid movements
from one distant locality to another, and withdrew him from court
connection and intrigues. His interest in his Virginian enterprise
had never flagged. A third expedition he had despatched had proved
disastrous; in May 1587 he sent out another, under Captain John White.
Another still, under Sir Richard Grenville, that attempted to follow,
was stopped by Government at Bideford. Undismayed and resolute, Raleigh
sent out from Bideford, in April 1588, two pinnaces, with help to the
unfortunate colonists. These fell into the hands of privateers, and
returned to England stripped and helpless. Raleigh had up to this
time used the most strenuous endeavours, and had spent a princely
fortune, in his attempt to found an American colony, but he was unaided
by court or other influence, and public affairs now required the
application of his energies in another direction. The advent of the
“invincible Spanish Armada” was at hand. Raleigh was one of the nine
commissioners appointed to consider the best means of resisting the
threatened invasion; two of his captains, Sir Richard Grenville and
Ralph Lane, were also on the commission, which implies that Sir Walter
was an important factor in determining the most important national
affairs. In anticipation of the arrival of the Armada he made all
necessary preparations for defence, and for assistance in attack, in
relation to the counties under his charge, as vice-admiral. He also
directed preparations to resist invasion on the east coast--notably
at Norfolk. In resistance of the Armada, and assistance in its pursuit
and destruction, Raleigh took a prominent part. His ship was amongst
those that chased the distressed Spanish galleons northwards. In proof
that he had rendered important service in connection with the memorable
events, it may be mentioned that on September 5th, 1588, to Raleigh and
Drake were consigned equal numbers of wealthy Spanish prisoners, whose
ransoms were to be the reward of the achievements of these commanders.
Raleigh so distinguished himself in the actions with the Armada by his
skill in naval tactics, and his genius for rapid action, as to excite
the admiration of Lord Howard, High Admiral, who ever after treated him
as a recognised authority in important naval affairs.

In 1589, Raleigh leased his patent rights, title, and interest in the
Virginia Colony to a company of merchants, reserving only a royalty
upon gold and silver ore that might be raised in the colony. It is
not recorded that he ever received profit from this reservation, or
from his costly efforts to colonise Virginia, extending over thirteen
years. In the settlement of America by Europeans he was the unpaid
pioneer. After the defeat of the Armada, Raleigh continued actively
occupied in the direction of important schemes in Devonshire, Cornwall,
Ireland, and other parts of the kingdom, and was interested also in
some privateering enterprises for which the King of Spain--“the natural
enemy of England”--and the Armada were convenient covering and excuse.
Raleigh’s rovers were not particular as to nationality of vessels
attacked; they sacked the English ship _Angel Gabriel_ of a cargo of
wine, and took sack and sugar and mace from other vessels, without
assurance that these were only reprisals against the Spaniards.

In 1589, Raleigh was associated with Sir Francis Drake in an expedition
to restore Dom Antonio to the throne of Portugal, from which he had
been ousted by Philip of Spain. Raleigh proceeded with the force up to
the walls of Lisbon. The object of the expedition was not achieved,
but a good deal of plunder was secured in its course,--Raleigh’s
share amounting to £4000. Some of the ships engaged were Raleigh’s
own property, amongst them the afterwards famous _Revenge_, the
_Crane_, and the _Garland_. These ships were employed as merchantmen
or men-of-war, as circumstances might require or interest suggest. The
sort of public service they rendered, led to the exploits of their
owners and crews being judged with a considerable degree of indulgence
by the national authorities, who sometimes overlooked acts of piracy,
and in some instances appropriated the proceeds. Raleigh’s men were
on this occasion so rash and inconsiderate as to capture two French
barques, which brought a sharp reprimand upon Sir Walter, because
France and England were at that time at peace with each other. In some
cases the cargo of the privateers was “taken over” wholesale by the
authorities.

[Illustration: EDMUND SPENSER, AUTHOR OF “THE FAERIE QUEEN.”]

The Earl of Essex, as a courtier and an admirer, had a great advantage
over Raleigh, thus so much out of the queen’s sight,--and he made the
most of it to his rival’s disadvantage. In August 1589, a contemporary
writes, “My Lord of Essex hath chased Mr. Raleigh from the court, and
hath confined him to Ireland”; but Raleigh contradicted the rumour
of his disgrace. However this may have been, he proceeded to Ireland
in 1589, and resided in his own house at Youghal,--his most intimate
friends and neighbours there being his cousin, Sir George Carew, who
lived at Lismore, and the poet, Edmund Spenser, who had been rewarded
for his services, as Clerk of the Council of Munster, with a gift of a
manor and ruined castle, Kilcolman, formerly the property of the rebel
Desmonds. With Spenser, Raleigh had much close, pleasant, sympathetic
intercourse. Much of Spenser’s admirable poetical work was done during
his comparative seclusion at Kilcolman, and there Raleigh also,
perturbed though his life had been, and unfavourable to cultivation of
the muses, exercised his extraordinary literary powers. Spenser had
nearly completed his great poem, _The Faery Queen_, the MS. of which
was read by Raleigh, who in turn submitted to the friendly criticism
of Spenser his _Lamentable Lay_, a eulogy on Queen Elizabeth, under the
name of Cynthia. Mr. Edmund Gosse, as a result of the most searching
inquiry into the circumstances and evidence, touching the intercourse
between Raleigh and Spenser at this time, says that the evidence is
conclusive that Raleigh had then written a poem or poems which Spenser
“set on a level with the best works of the age, in verse.”

But Raleigh was an energetic man of business as well as a poet, a man
of action more than of dreams, and, during his residence in Ireland,
he did much in various ways to promote the material prosperity of
the people. He defended the rights of the merchants of Waterford and
Wexford, and encouraged their export trade in barrel staves by putting
two of his own ships to a regular service between Waterford and the
Canaries. Traces of his beneficent work in Munster still remain. Sir
John Pope Hennessy says:--

“The richly perfumed wallflowers that he brought to Ireland from the
Azores, and the Affane cherry, are still found where he first planted
them by the Blackwater. Some cedars he brought to Cork are to this
day growing at a place called Tivoli. He also introduced a number of
plants, before unknown in England,--among others, the potato, which has
had such an influence--for good or evil--on the destinies of Ireland
and many other countries,--and the tobacco plant, which was not much
approved by the queen, and which he had to use very privately. The four
venerable yew-trees, whose branches have grown and intermingled into
a sort of summer-house thatch, are pointed out as having sheltered
Raleigh, when he first smoked tobacco in his Youghal garden. In that
garden he also planted tobacco.... A few steps farther on, where the
town-wall of the thirteenth century bounds the walls of the gardens of
the Warden’s house, is the famous spot where the first Irish potato
was planted by him. In that garden he gave the tubers to the ancestor
of the present Lord Southwell, by whom they were spread throughout the
province of Munster.”

Such were some of the precious gifts brought by Raleigh’s
wisely-instructed and zealous agents from across the Atlantic, and
conferred by the enlightened patriot upon his country--boons of
infinitely greater value than the plate and pearls of which the
Spaniards were deprived by the early English rovers.

About the end of 1589 Raleigh returned to England, taking Spenser
with him, whom he introduced to the queen, and he was instrumental in
obtaining for him, as the first poet-laureate, a pension of £50 a year.
Spenser’s _Faery Queen_ was published by royal command.

“The supplementary letter and sonnets to Raleigh express Spenser’s
generous recognition of the services his friend had performed for
him, and appeal to Raleigh, as ‘the Summer Nightingale, thy sovereign
goddess’s most dear delight,’ not to delay in publishing his own great
poem, the _Cynthia_. The first of the eulogistic pieces prefixed by
friends to the _Faery Queen_ was that noble and justly celebrated
sonnet signed W. R., which alone would justify Raleigh in taking a
place among the English poets.”--_Gosse_, p. 49.

In 1591, Raleigh’s first published work appeared, being an account
of the battle of the Azores, between the _Revenge_ and an armada of
the King of Spain. Raleigh sets forth enthusiastically the valour of
his gallant and faithful friend, Sir Richard Grenville, as displayed
in this contest, one of the most famous in English history, in which
Grenville, with one ship containing one hundred men, stood to his
guns against a fleet manned by fifteen thousand Spaniards. He ably
vindicated Grenville’s conduct, and following historians are agreed
that this action was “memorable even beyond credit, and to the height
of some heroical fable.” This report has been highly praised by
competent critics as attaining the highest level reached by English
narrative prose up to the period at which it was written.

About this time, 1591, Raleigh received another valuable gift from the
queen, in a long lease of Sherborne, an estate in Dorsetshire, formerly
the possession of the dean and chapter of Salisbury. This was, for the
future, Raleigh’s favourite country residence.

An expedition was planned at this time that seemed to promise
additional wealth and honours to Raleigh. Its objects were to capture
the rich fleet of Indian plate-ships, and to take possession of the
pearl fisheries of Panama, or to rifle the pearl treasuries. The queen
sanctioned and aided the project, and Raleigh threw his whole fortune
into it. He was to be admiral of the fleet of fifteen sail, and the
chief adventurer, with Sir Martin Frobisher as second in command. The
fleet was ready for sea in February 1592, but when the time for sailing
arrived, the capricious queen could not, or would not, part with
Raleigh, and the fleet sailed under the command of Sir John Burrough.

The courtship of Raleigh and Miss Elizabeth Throgmorton, afterwards
Lady Raleigh, a maid of honour of the queen, greatly exasperated his
royal mistress, and he was banished for four years from the queen’s
presence.

The privateering expedition before referred to, in which Raleigh
was so largely interested, proceeded to the Azores. The queen had
contributed two ships and £1800, and the citizens of London had given
£6000 in aid, but Raleigh retained by much the largest share. Sir John
Burrough divided his fleet, and left Frobisher with part of it on the
coast of Spain; with his own portion of the fleet he proceeded to
the supposed track of the expected richly-laden carracks, to await
their coming. The victims came as expected, and fell an easy prey to
the spoilers. The _Madre de Dios_, the largest of the treasure-laden
carracks, carried what was unprecedented in those days, the enormous
cargo of 1800 tons, valued at £500,000. The cargo included rubies,
pearls, ambergris, frankincense, ebony, sandalwood, cypress, ivory,
carpets, silks, sarsenets, cinnamon, nutmegs, and cloves, and stores of
the most costly productions of India. The unwieldy carrack offered a
feeble resistance to Raleigh’s more nimble and mischievous craft, the
_Roebuck_, which speedily overcame her. There had been considerable
leakage in the valuable cargo, which had been freely tapped at every
port called at, and before Sir John Burrough could get on board to take
personal command, his sailors had made the best possible use of their
opportunity to do a little privateering, each man for his own hand.
Even after these deductions, the _Madre de Dios_ was a prize of great
value. It was, after many trials and troubles from wind and weather,
and narrow escapes from foundering, safely brought into Dartmouth on
the 2nd September, being, as it happened, the queen’s birthday.

At this time Raleigh was a prisoner in the Tower, whither he had
been sent by the queen for his misconduct. The arrival of the _Madre
de Dios_ with such a store of plunder, awoke greed of gain in
all directions, and caused excitement and disorder that baffled the
authorities.

[Illustration: THE MADRE DE DIOS.]

Sir Robert Cecil, writing from Exeter, 19th September, reports that
“for seven miles everybody met on the London road smells of musk or
spice, and you could not open a private bag that had not seed pearls
in it”; he declares that “there never was such rich spoil.” Lord
Burleigh sent down Raleigh, in charge of a keeper, to look after his
property--if the term can be applied to plunder--and to restore order.
The disgraced favourite received quite an ovation: “His poor servants,
to the number of one hundred and forty goodly men, and all the
mariners, met him with shouts and joy.” Raleigh was greatly enraged to
find so much of the treasure devoured and dispersed. The residue of the
property was disposed of, according to the report of a commission of
inquiry, which included Sir Francis Drake, Sir Robert Cecil, and four
other persons.

From the settlement of the affairs of the _Madre de Dios_ at the close
of 1592, Raleigh was occupied with his own business concerns and the
discharge of various official duties; amongst others, with the exercise
of his judgment and authority, in attempting settlement of the quarrels
between English and French fishermen on the south coast, that were rife
then, and have continued intermittently, even until this day. He was
now about forty years of age, and although his health had suffered
from his imprisonment, he was at about the zenith of his vigorous
life. He was now married to a well-born lady, worthy of his affection
and esteem; he was possessed of a fair competence in wealth and
property, the wearer of high honours,--amongst others Lord Lieutenant
of Cornwall, Admiral of Devon and Cornwall, and Lord Warden of the
Stannaries. With these possessions and dignities an ordinary man would
have been content to settle down as a provincial magnate, but they did
not suffice for a man of Raleigh’s active and sanguine temperament, his
enterprising and ambitious nature. His life up to this point had been
enlivened by many and important stirring adventures and projects, that
had elevated him in position and influence, and made him famous. He had
proved himself alert, valorous, and capable alike as a soldier and as a
naval commander, and in the last-named capacity had rendered brilliant
service in connection with the defeat of the Spanish Armada. As a
pioneer colonist and a privateer, he had organised spirited and costly
projects, but had been prevented by circumstances from personally
conducting his enterprises. The desire to command personally in the
expeditions that had been successively fitted at his cost, and that
were conducted under his orders and directions, had always been alive
in his mind,--and now, as it would seem, the time had arrived for him
to realise his cherished dream. He hated the Spaniard as thoroughly as
Sir Francis Drake did, and had in common with that redoubtable sea-dog
the ruling passion and strong desire to shatter the Spaniard’s power,
and to appropriate the Spaniard’s treasure. He was in possession,
it may be supposed, of all the information existing and accessible
concerning Spanish discoveries and possessions in the West Indies and
South America, and touching the mineral wealth and other resources of
the settlements and resorts of the Spanish and other adventurers in
these quarters. Raleigh had probably by this time had enough of court
life and intrigues; he had the strong desire, “with God’s blessing,
and the queen’s permission, to sail into the sunset, and conquer for
England as much as he may of the fabled golden lands and cities of the
West.”

Early in 1594, Captain George Popham, a sea rover, sailing in one of
Raleigh’s vessels, made a prize at sea of a ship with letters to the
King of Spain, announcing that De Berreo, Governor of Trinidad, had
annexed Guiana to the Spanish dominions, under the name of the New El
Dorado. The despatches contained interesting particulars respecting the
country and its inhabitants. The documents were delivered to Raleigh,
in whom they excited lively interest, and they stimulated him to prompt
energetic action, which resulted in his sailing from Plymouth, bound
“Westward ho,” on the 2nd January 1595, with a squadron of five ships,
and an equipment of small craft for river navigation. On the voyage
out, two ships were captured, from one of which, laden with wine,
the ships of the expedition were stocked. In March they arrived off
Trinidad, the southern and western coasts of which were surveyed by
Raleigh in a boat,--the ships lying at anchor in the channel known as
the Serpent’s Mouth. In his _History of the World_, Raleigh describes
some of the natural curiosities he met with at Trinidad, including
oysters hanging to the branches of mangrove trees, and a curious liquid
pitch, a peculiar product of the island. At the first settlement
touched--the Port of Spain--some trading was done with the settlers,
and Raleigh endeavoured to worm out any information he could obtain
concerning Guiana, stating, with loose regard for veracity, that he
was on his way to Virginia, and that his inquiries were prompted by
mere curiosity. Very little information they did give him. This much he
found out, that De Berreo, the governor, had sent for reinforcements,
in anticipation of Raleigh’s arrival. Some of the Indians came on
board secretly, and gave harrowing accounts of the horrible cruelties
practised upon them by the Spaniards. Raleigh at once marched a part of
his force inland to St. Joseph, the capital of the island, which they
took by storm, with De Berreo in it. The reports of the Indians as to
the hideous cruelty of the governor were fully confirmed. It was a
pastime with him to baste the naked bodies of the Indians with boiling
fat. Five poor scorched chieftains were found in irons, and near the
point of death. They were released, and the town was burned.

Raleigh spared De Berreo, in the hope possibly that he might be
useful to him, but De Berreo did his best to bamboozle his captor.
The larger vessels of the expedition were left at anchor in the Gulf
of Paria, and with a galley, a barge, two wherries, and a ship’s boat
carrying a hundred men, with a stock of provisions, Raleigh entered
the Orinoco, the flotilla encountering at many points, and in divers
ways, formidable difficulties and obstacles in the navigation. Raleigh
thus describes the most painful and unpleasant voyage of four hundred
miles:--

    “We were 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 manner of furniture, wherewith the boats were so
    pestered and unsavoury, that what with victuals being most fish,
    and the wet clothes of so many men thrust together, and the heat
    of the sun, I will undertake there was 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 different.”

The provisions ran short, and hunger, added to other hardships, induced
a mutinous spirit, repression of which severely taxed Raleigh’s
oratorical powers. At length they approached the inner reach of the
vast flat delta, with its mud banks and brackish water. They next
came to banks, on which wholesome fruits were found. In the purer
water they caught edible fresh fish. The abundance and variety of
birds and the brilliancy of the plumage of many of them, excited
wonder and admiration. Deer came feeding down to the water’s edge; the
alligators, with which the river swarmed, were less pleasant objects of
contemplation. A handsome young Indian, who leaped into the water from
the galley was seized and devoured by these monsters, immediately he
touched its surface. Four canoes laden with excellent bread were met
with in the river. The Indians to whom they belonged deserted them on
the approach of the strangers.

On the fifteenth day, far-off mountain peaks gladdened the sight of
the voyagers. On the evening of the same day the flotilla anchored in
the main stream of the great river, at a point a little to the east of
San Rafael de Barrancas. Here a welcome change of fare was met with.
The eggs of fresh-water turtles were found in vast numbers on the
sandy islands. The mountain chains to the south, in the direction of
Essiquibo, now assumed defined forms, and furnished a grand feature
in the splendid panorama. Parties of the native Indians were met with
ashore, who entertained the adventurers hospitably with provisions and
the “wine” of the country, of which Raleigh’s captains partook with
“strict moderation,” yet in sufficient quantity to make them, as their
leader has it, “reasonable pleasant.” Raleigh had an elastic moral
code; he was far from being straitlaced or squeamish with regard to
either honesty or veracity when he had his own purpose to promote.
He did not hesitate to tap the cargo of an alien, or even an English
trader, for a gratuitous supply to his wine-cellar; if the governor was
fool enough to swallow the tale, he did not scruple to tell it, that
he had found Trinidad on his way from England to Virginia. Whatever
laxity in morals he may have shown in other directions, it must be said
to his credit that he was the chivalrous protector of women; his men
were given to understand, and they well knew that the penalty would be
inflicted if incurred, that death would be the punishment for violence
towards an Indian matron or maiden.

Geography was not a strong point with Raleigh and the adventurers. It
is scarcely possible for us to measure or appreciate the difference
between the state of geographical knowledge then and now, between their
dubious scraps and our full and accurate knowledge,--the contrast
between their darkness and our light. So crude were their geographical
notions, that it has been said of the explorers that they believed
that if they could only sail far enough up the Orinoco, they would
emerge into the Pacific on the western coast of South America! They
traversed about three degrees of west longitude, through a region until
then entirely unknown to Europeans, except Spaniards, who had already
planted settlements here and there, at vast distances apart. Raleigh’s
party passed one of these, but possibly ignored its existence, his
majestic idea being to annex the entire territory in the name of the
Queen of England. His intercourse with the Indians was everywhere
friendly and pacific, and he was assiduous in impressing them with the
danger and disadvantage that would result from their having anything
to do with the Spaniards otherwise than by driving them out of the
country; he strongly recommended England as a safe and benign protector.

[Illustration: RALEIGH ON THE ORINOCO RIVER.]

On the banks of the Orinoco, Raleigh and his company feasted on
pine-apples and other luscious fruits, and made acquaintance with the
armadillo and many other strange creatures. At the junction of the
Caroni, a southern tributary, with the Orinoco, Raleigh left the main
stream, and ascended the branch to the great cataract which stopped
his further progress. Raleigh’s description of the great cataract and
the adjoining country may be given as a fair specimen of his literary
style:--

“When we ran to the tops of the first hills of the plains adjoining to
the river, we beheld the wonderful breach of the waters which ran down
Caroni, 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 so desirous
to go near the said strange thunder of waters, that they drew me on,
little by 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 prospects; hills so raised here and there over the valleys, the
river winding into divers branches, the plains adjoining 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 stopped to take up promised either gold
or silver by his complexion.”

The expedition was not equipped with geologists’ hammers or prospecting
tools, but they nevertheless collected, and Sir Walter brought home, a
number of specimens, that he thought auriferous quartz richly charged
with gold. The white quartz brought home did contain gold, but in such
infinitesimal proportion as not to be worth extracting.

The friendly Indians, with whom Sir Walter had much familiar
intercourse, finding that he “with greedy ear devoured up their
discourse,” entertained him with many wondrous recitals--of pronounced
Munchausen flavour--concerning the gold and gems with which the country
abounded, and of the wonders in anthropology and natural history that
he would meet with, if he went a little farther on. These included
tribes of Indians away west, whose eyes were on their shoulders, and
their mouths below where their necks should be. In another direction
he would meet with men with heads of the form and fit-on of dogs, who
spent the day in the sea, and who spoke the Caril language. Sir Walter,
to do him justice, does not state that he saw or heard of any of these
marvels, except by report at second-hand. It should be remembered, too,
that the recitals, reaching Raleigh through interpreters, probably very
indifferently qualified, exposed them to the risk of distortion and
misapprehension, and conduced to exaggeration rather than accuracy.

The great cataract on the Caroni was the farthest point reached by
Raleigh in this exploration. He and his party had now been away from
the fleet for about a month. He gave up the hope of reaching Manoa;
and the terrific violence of the tropical rains, the sudden floods
to which the rivers were subject, and the general aspect of affairs,
admonished him to return to the ships with the utmost possible speed.
They were carried down at a tremendous pace, without need to use sail
or oar. At Morequito, Raleigh had a grave, private conference with an
ancient chief, Topiawari. Raleigh solemnly denounced Spain as the enemy
and England as the friend of Guiana, and entered into an alliance with
him, offensive and defensive, Topiawari to become the ally of England,
which would in turn aid him against certain Indians who had given the
chief grounds for complaint. The old chief and his people heartily
assented, and urged Raleigh to proceed farther inland, if not to Manoa,
to a rich city, Macureguari, about four days’ journey distant, where
they would find many “statues of gold.” The prospect was tempting,
but the adventurers had been, and were, suffering severe privations,
and Raleigh determined to hasten back. He exchanged hostages with the
chief, engaging to return next year; he took with him the chiefs son,
and left with the chief Goodwin, who learned the Indian language, and
was found by Raleigh, on his revisiting the country many years later,
when Goodwin had almost forgotten the English language.

In the course of their descent of the Orinoco, the adventurers
visited a lake where they met with the curious creature, the manatee,
or sea-cow. On an island in the Orinoco they had a feast, at which
armadillo meat was the principal dainty. After encountering much
violent weather in rain-floods, thunder-storms, and intermittent cold
winds, they reached the sea. Notwithstanding bad water, scanty food,
and weather hardships, only one life was lost in the course of the
voyage, that of the young Indian who was devoured by the alligator.

During Raleigh’s absence, his fleet, under the command of Captain Amyas
Preston, was active in spoiling the Spaniards, sacking and burning all
the towns he could get at, in Venezuela. They were able to do much
mischief, but to collect very little plunder. The visits of English
captains had waked up the inhabitants to the propriety of preparing
for their coming; they hid their most precious portable possessions
away among the hills inland, or shipped them off to Spain for safety
with the least possible delay. Among other towns devastated was Cumana,
concerning which Captain Amyas Preston felt provoked to make the
peevish complaint that he “found not the value of a single real of
plate.”

Having accomplished all that his resources and circumstances made
possible, and prepared the way for future operations, Raleigh brought
back his little fleet to England in the autumn of 1595, making a
quiet entrance into port,--Dartmouth or Falmouth,--that was in strong
contrast with the pomp and circumstance, and noisy enthusiasm, that
distinguished the return of Sir Francis Drake from his famous voyage.
Raleigh’s spirited achievements do not seem to have been appreciated.
He had, as he thought, returned bringing a gift to his queen of a rich
empire that would assure his restoration to favour, but he was met with
cold neglect, and left in doubt as to whether his report concerning
Guiana was to be accepted as a true history or passed by as an idle
tale. At this stage of his career he gave conclusive evidence of the
diversity of his gifts, the wide range of his capability, his restless
activity, and indomitable perseverance. He had distinguished himself
as a practical navigator and commander, and as an explorer of regions
before unknown. As a diplomatist he had established satisfactory
relations with foreign potentates--albeit uncivilised--as allies; he
had carried out with safety and success a perilous expedition, and had
laid a good foundation for future operations. He had full confidence in
his own ability to prosecute these operations successfully, and felt
certain that evil and failure would result from his being supplanted,
as he seemed to have reason to fear. Of himself and the Guiana chiefs
he says: “I rather sought to win the kings than to sack them; I know
what others will do when these kings come singly into their hands.”

No author of reputation, probably, who has written works which the
world will not willingly let die,--works which have not died,--has
done his literary work under greater disadvantages than Raleigh, or
has enjoyed so little of the tranquillity of retirement, favourable to
literary pursuits. It would appear from the date of publication, the
end of the year 1595, that he must have been engaged in writing a book
that became famous, while his expedition was actually in progress. In
November he submitted a manuscript account of his Guiana voyage and
travels, illustrated with a map, to Sir Robert Cecil. In a letter which
accompanied it, he expresses his disappointment and surprise at the
rejection of such a prize, as was never before offered to a Christian
prince. In magnifying the value and importance of the acquisition
within reach, he draws freely upon his imagination, and declares that
the golden statues with which the city of Manoa abounds--which he has
not seen--are worth at least £100,000 each! He urges that, whatever may
be done about Guiana, or whoever may be sent to do it, the enterprise
may not be soiled by cruelty, and plunder of the Indians. At the close
of 1595 his work was published under the somewhat ponderous title,
_The Discovery of the large, rich, and beautiful Empire of Guiana, with
a Relation of the Great and Golden City of Manoa, which the Spaniards
call El Dorado, and of the provinces of Emeria, Arromaia, Amapaia, and
other countries, with their Rivers adjoining_. The book became famous
throughout Europe. Two editions were published in England in 1596,
and a Latin translation in Germany. Raleigh’s literary contemporaries
at this period included such illustrious men as Shakespeare, Bacon,
Hooker, and Marlowe. His book on Guiana is admitted to occupy the
foremost place among the volumes describing voyages and discoveries,
that appeared towards the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the
seventeenth centuries, and has been republished in Hakluyt’s _Voyages_
and Purchas’s _Pilgrim_.




SIR WALTER RALEIGH,

SAILOR, SCHOLAR, POET.

CHAPTER VI.

NAVAL EXPEDITIONS--TRIAL AND EXECUTION.


The desirability of further crippling or arresting the reviving
power of Spain, engaged the continued attention of the queen and her
advisers, but there was much vacillation, on the part of the queen,
with regard to actual operations. In 1596 a commission was appointed to
act as a council of war, consisting of the Earl of Essex, Lord Charles
Howard, High Admiral; Sir Walter Raleigh, and Lord Thomas Howard.
Raleigh was treated with the highest consideration as an experienced
and skilful naval authority. As Admiral of the Counties, he sent to the
Council a valuable report on the defence of Cornwall and Devon. He was
appointed collector of levies for a projected hostile expedition to
Cadiz. In the prosecution of this work he displayed robust activity,
recruiting all round the southern and south-eastern coasts, flitting
about from place to place between Plymouth, Dover, Gravesend, and
Blackwall as occasion required. On 1st June 1596, the forces collected
put to sea, and on the 20th cast anchor in the Bay of San Sebastian.
The English fleet, in four divisions, comprised 93 ships; an auxiliary
Dutch squadron numbered 24 additional. The combined fleet had on board
about 13,000 English soldiers and sailors, and 2600 Dutchmen.

[Illustration: RALEIGH AS SAILOR, SCHOLAR, POET.]

This English Armada of 1596 was the “return match” for the “most happy
and invincible Armada” of Philip of Spain, that visited, and was for
the most part scattered, upon our shores in 1588. The English force,
although very imposing, was much smaller than the array which Spain had
made. As has been stated, the combined fleet consisted of 117 ships,
carrying 15,600 men. The Spanish Armada embraced 130 ships, some of
them of enormous size, carrying about 30,000 men all told, including
“124 volunteers of quality, and 180 monks.” The Spanish expedition
attracted the flower of the nobility of the nation, and the English
Armada, in like manner, enlisted the sympathy, fired the patriotism,
and inflamed the martial ardour of the flower of English chivalry.
The most distinguished men in both arms of the service accompanied
the expedition. Even amongst such associates in council and comrades
in arms, Sir Walter Raleigh came to the front simply by his native
force and merits; even in such a galaxy he shone the bright particular
star--he was pre-eminently the hero of the expedition.

At the beginning of the battle of Cadiz, Raleigh, in compliance with
the orders of the lord admiral, detached the ships under his charge
and the Dutch squadron from the main body, and took up a favourable
position for preventing the escape of Spanish ships from Cadiz
harbour. He was directed to watch, but not to fight unless attacked.
Lord Howard and the impetuous Essex, Raleigh being absent from their
council, determined to open the action by military, in preference to
naval operations--to land the soldiers and assault the town, leaving
the Spanish fleet alone for the time. Raleigh detected in this a false
and dangerous move, and despite his being a subordinate in command,
interposed with promptitude and courage. He came up with Essex in
the _Repulse_, when the embarkation of the soldiers was actually
in progress. There was a heavy sea running, making the landing an
enterprise to be attended with extreme difficulty and danger. He warmly
remonstrated with Essex, and declared that this course imperilled
their own lives, and risked the utter overthrow and ruin of the whole
expedition. Essex deferred to Raleigh’s superior experience, judgment,
and ability, and shifted the responsibility for the movement to the
lord admiral, to whom, on board the _Ark Royal_, Raleigh immediately
repaired,--now that he had boldly declared himself,--warmly supported
by the highest military officers of the expedition. Lord Howard was
converted to Raleigh’s views, which were in favour of immediate and
vigorous action, but on a different plan. From his own ship, the _War
Sprite_, Raleigh wrote a hurried letter to Lord Howard, advising the
order of battle, which included the attack by well-manned boats upon
the Spanish galleons, before they could be set on fire. Raleigh was at
his best in this crisis. He bore himself with graceful courtesy towards
his colleagues of the Council, and commanded, by his manifest grasp
of the situation, his skill, intrepidity, and genius for rapid and
vigorous action, their respect and admiration. Each of the four heads
of the force was eager to lead the van, but they generously conceded
the post of honour to Raleigh. Their final council before the action
was held late on the evening of June 20th. Cadiz was illuminated, and
its inhabitants carousing, and in the full enjoyment, as they supposed,
of perfect security. At daybreak on the 21st June, the splendid English
fleet swept into the harbour of Cadiz. Raleigh led in the _War Sprite_,
followed by Sir George Carew in the _Mary Rose_, Sir Francis Vere in
the _Rainbow_, Sir Robert Southwell in the _Lion_, Sir Conyers Clifford
in the _Dreadnought_, and another ship, the six being a considerable
distance in advance of the main body of the fleet. In front of them,
under the walls of Cadiz, were seventeen galleons that were the special
objects of attack. The forts and galleys opened fire upon the invading
squadron, making a target of the leading _War Sprite_. Raleigh answered
them not by shot from his guns, but, in contempt, by blasts from his
trumpets. In his account of the action, he says that “the _St. Philip_,
the great and famous ship of Spain, was the mark I shot at, esteeming
those galleys but as wasps.” The _St. Philip_ had a special claim upon
his attention. It was the _St. Philip_ and the _St. Andrew_ that had
been the principal actors in what Raleigh considered the murder of
his gallant friend and companion-in-arms, Sir Richard Grenville, who
in the fight at the Azores in 1591, in his ship the _Revenge_, with
a hundred men, faced in battle, and was crushed by, a Spanish fleet,
manned by fifteen thousand soldiers and sailors. Raleigh was determined
to avenge the death of his gallant friend and kinsman, or to perish in
the attempt. He came to anchor close to the galleons, and for three
hours the battle raged with great fury. Raleigh’s ship was suffering
severely, and he became impatient from the delay in the arrival of the
boats. He put on his skiff, and urged first Essex and afterwards the
admiral to make every possible effort to bring up the boats. During
this short parley, and Raleigh’s absence from his ship, some of the
other commanders, especially Sir Francis Vere in the _Rainbow_, had
attempted to supplant the _War Sprite_. Vere, the marshal, had a rope
attached from his own to Raleigh’s ship, to haul the _Rainbow_ abreast
of the leader. On Raleigh’s discovering this, he ordered the rope to be
thrown off, and for the remainder of the fight the _Rainbow_, excepting
a small part of the bows, was covered by the _War Sprite_. In Sir
Walter’s spirited description of the action, he says:--

“Having no hope of my fly-boats to board, and the earl and my Lord
Thomas having both promised to second me, I laid out a warp by the side
of the _Philip_ to shake hands with her, for with the wind we could not
get aboard; which, when she and the rest perceived, finding also that
the _Repulse_, seeing mine, began to do the like, and the rear-admiral
my Lord Thomas, they all let slip, and ran aground, tumbling into the
sea heaps of soldiers, as thick as if coals had been poured out of a
sack in many ports at once, some drowned, and some sticking in the mud.
The _Philip_ and the _St. Thomas_ burned themselves; the _St. Matthew_
and the _St. Andrew_ were recovered by our boats ere they could get
out to fire them. The spectacle was very lamentable on their side; for
many drowned themselves; many, half burned, leaped into the water; very
many hanging by the ropes’ end, by the ships’ side, under the water
even to the lips; many swimming with grievous wounds, stricken, under
water, and put out of their 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 a man had a desire to see hell itself, it was
there most lively figured. Ourselves spared the lives of all after the
victory, but the Flemings, who did little or nothing in the fight, used
merciless slaughter, till they were by myself, and afterwards by my
lord admiral, beaten off.”

In the action Raleigh received a serious wound in the leg, his flesh
was torn by splinters, which disabled him from taking part in the land
attack. Although his wound was excessively painful, he was unwilling
to be left behind, and had himself carried into Cadiz on a litter. But
a town in process of being sacked by soldiers freed from discipline
and restraint, grievously hurt as he was, and suffering the agony he
did, was no place for him, and he was speedily carried back to the
_War Sprite_. Early next morning, however, eager in spirit although
physically unfit for arduous duty, he went ashore again, and entreated
for leave to follow a fleet of richly-laden Spanish carracks, Indian
bound, that had escaped. The disturbance and excitement attending
the operations on land, prevented attention being given to Raleigh’s
request. In the interim of his waiting for authority, the Spanish
commander, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, settled the matter by burning
the whole fleet of rich argosies. Raleigh had the mortification of
witnessing the conflagration from the deck of the _War Sprite_. Of the
large fleet of Spain that had been completely defeated, only two ships,
the _St. Matthew_ and the _St. Andrew_, remained for the victors to
take home as prizes to England.

[Illustration: ENGLISH FLEET BEFORE CADIZ.]

Neither the lord admiral nor his colleagues on the Council concerned
themselves about sending home information about their proceedings. A
letter written by Raleigh to Cecil, dated 7th July, and taken home
by Sir Anthony Ashley, was the first news received in England of the
victory. An epidemic broke out in Raleigh’s ship, which could not be
effectively dealt with, and it was determined, 1st August, that he
should return with his ship to England, in company with two other ships
of the fleet. He arrived at Plymouth in six days. On the 12th he landed
at Weymouth, and proceeded to Sherborne for the rest and nursing of
which he stood so sorely in need. The remainder of the fleet returned
a few weeks later. Essex on the way home landed and pounced upon the
magnificent library of the Bishop of Algarve. He presented it to Sir
Thomas Bodley, to form the nucleus of the famous Bodleian Library,
which remaineth at Oxford until this day.

Of such glory as attached to the destruction of the Spanish fleet,
Sir Walter Raleigh was entitled to the chief share. There was much
plunder, great destruction and loss of property, but little or no prize
money resulted from the great victory. The “Council of Four” agreed
that if the property available for prize money realised as much, the
lord admiral and Essex should have £5000 each, and Raleigh £3000;
subordinate officers and men according to the amount that the treasure
would “pan out.” The Earl of Essex gallantly assigned his share to his
venerable and royal lady, but he might have saved himself the trouble,
for “the good Queen Bess,” without consultation, or “by’r leave,”
scooped up the whole. She further blamed the victorious chiefs of the
expedition for having failed to bring home the Indian carracks, and
adding to her coffers the treasure with which they were laden! Raleigh
did all he could to procure restoration to favour, but the queen
continued relentless towards him.

Raleigh’s hope and expectation of achieving credit and renown to
himself, and adding to the glory of his country, in connection with
“the large, rich, and beautiful empire of Guiana,” had slumbered while
other active enterprises engaged his energies, but they were now
revived. Towards the close of 1596 he sent out another expedition to
Guiana, under Captain Berrie, who brought back in the summer of 1597 a
glowing confirmation of Raleigh’s favourable report. About this time
he was received again at court, and appears to have been on the most
friendly terms with Sir Robert Cecil and the Earl of Essex.

Essex, high in authority, with the assent of the queen, it may be
supposed, and of the Privy Council and chiefs of the services, designed
another expedition against Spain, and needed Raleigh’s assistance,
which was heartily given. He fully approved the object, as may be
inferred from his _Spanish Alarum_, which he wrote expressly to
stimulate and warn the Government against its old enemy. He felt
assured that as soon as Philip should think his power sufficient,
he would attempt reprisals for the crushing losses and humiliating
indignities that had been inflicted upon him in the face of the
world. Raleigh was decidedly of opinion that it would be best not to
wait Philip’s coming, but to go to him at home, or on the high seas.
Restored to power, Raleigh proceeded energetically to victual and
equip a powerful fleet. The Dutch contributed a contingent of twelve
ships. On the night of Sunday, 10th July 1597, the fleet sailed from
the rendezvous in Plymouth Sound, but soon got separated by a violent
storm. Some of the ships were lost; the others got back as they could
to Falmouth, Plymouth, and Tor Bay. On 18th August the fleet again
put to sea. The _St. Andrew_ and the _St. Matthew_, Spanish prizes,
revisiting their native shores as enemies, were disabled in the Bay
of Biscay, and had to be left at La Rochelle. Raleigh’s ship also
sustained an accident, which required his detention for repairs off
Lisbon. Essex left directions for Raleigh to hasten after him to the
Azores. Raleigh rejoined the main fleet under Essex at Flores, on the
15th September. A pinnace from India, fallen in with, gave the news
that the homeward-bound Spanish fleet was changing its course this
year. The English fleet was, in consequence of this information, and
as the decision of a council of war, divided, and the ships of the
fleet assigned their several posts. Fayal was to be taken by Essex
and Raleigh, the other islands by different appointed commanders.
Essex sailed first, leaving Raleigh taking in provisions at Flores.
Essex, after he had left, sent a letter to Raleigh to come on at
once to Fayal, and do his victualling there. Raleigh had completed
his work, and sailed at midnight; he had perhaps a better ship than
Essex, or could handle it better, and thus headed his superior. When
Raleigh arrived at Fayal with the _War Sprite_ and the _Dreadnought_,
Essex had not come up. The inhabitants immediately began to construct
defensive works, and to remove their most valuable effects inland.
Raleigh waited, chafing insufferably with impatience, for three days.
On the fourth day his patience was exhausted; he leaped into a boat
at the head of a storming party, and scaled the cliffs. The Spaniards
contested every foot of the road, but were completely defeated, and
Raleigh at the head of his four hundred and fifty men, entered Fayal,
a “town full of fine gardens, orchards, and wells of delicate waters,
with fair streets, and one very fair church.”

Next morning Essex came creeping into the harbour. Raleigh went out
to meet and greet him. The impetuous earl felt mortified, doubtless,
at having been forestalled and eclipsed, and as he had those about
him envious of Raleigh, they would do what they could to inflame his
anger. Essex reproved Raleigh for breach of orders and articles, and
intimated that by taking Fayal without authority he had rendered
himself liable to the punishment of death. Raleigh defended himself,
and claimed that authority for what he had done had been given to him
by the queen’s letters patent. A reconciliation for the present was
patched up, and the fleet proceeded to St. Miguel, Raleigh being left
to watch the roadstead, in which he had not been posted long, ere an
Indian carrack of 1600 tons, laden with spices, unsuspectingly sailed
into what it took for a friendly Spanish fleet. Raleigh, at the head of
a party, made a prompt attempt to seize the vessel, but its commander
ran her ashore, enabled his crew to land, and set the ship on fire. It
was totally destroyed; he took, however, another carrack laden with
cochineal. Nothing else notable distinguished the voyage, in which
Raleigh, although not the highest in authority, was incontestably
the most prominent, active, and successful in action. He came home
in October, with his health greatly disordered and his strength much
impaired.

In 1598, Raleigh resumed his duties at court as Captain of the Guard.
Although his office brought him into personal contact with the queen,
and he had well proved his loyalty and valour, these claims failed
to benefit him. Essex had never been as patient and painstaking in
serving and endeavouring to please the queen as Raleigh had been,
yet nothing he might have asked from her in reason would have been
denied him; but to the faithful Raleigh she would give nothing. He
desired the office of Vice-Chamberlain, which had become vacant; he
thought it not unreasonable that he should be raised to the peerage;
he would have been a very fit man to have been made Lord Deputy of
Ireland; but from all these offices he was excluded, and Cecil, his
professed friend, prevented him from being sworn on the Privy Council.
Life at court became unpleasant from the jarring and bad blood that
prevailed. Essex had been so far left to himself as to personally
insult the queen, whose conditions he declared were “as crooked as her
carcass.” True friendship had never existed between Essex and Raleigh,
and their relations did not improve by closer contact,--very much the
reverse; their dislike grew into hate. About this time Raleigh formed
another friendship that was to have much to do in effecting his ruin.
This dangerous friend was Henry Brooke, afterwards Lord Cobham,
Lady Cecil’s brother, who, with his brother, George Brooke, were the
champions of Arabella Stuart, cousin of James I., daughter of Charles
Stuart, a younger brother of Darnley, whom they conspired to support
by secret intrigues as heir to the throne. Raleigh got unwittingly
entangled with them, to his ultimate, although long-deferred, ruin.
The closeness of his intimacy with Cobham may be inferred from the
following letter, of date--

                                                “BATH, _April 29, 1600_.

    “Here we attend you and have done this se’enight, and we still
    mourn your absence, the rather that we fear your mind is changed.
    I pray let us hear from you at least, for if you come not we will
    go hereby home, and make but short tarrying here. My wife will
    despair ever to see you in these parts, if your Lordship come
    not now. We can but long for you and wish you as our own lives
    whatsoever.--Your Lordship’s everest faithful, to honour you most.

                                                            W. RALEIGH.”

At intervals Raleigh did much good work in connection with his offices
as Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Warden of the Stannaries; affairs in
Ireland also engaged much of his attention.

Sir Anthony Paulet, Governor of Jersey, died in August 1600, and
Raleigh was appointed his successor. He “entered into residence” in
October, Lady Raleigh and their little son Walter, now six years old,
witnessing his departure from Weymouth. As Governor he discharged his
duties with a breadth of view and a spirit of enterprise not often
manifested by such officials. From considerations of policy his first
intention was to destroy the castle of Mont Orgueil, but he was not an
iconoclast; its stately architecture and commanding position so charmed
him as to induce him to appoint a military guard for its preservation.
He established a trade communication for interchange of products
between Jersey and Newfoundland. In many ways he lightened the burdens
and improved the condition of the people, whom he ruled with wisdom,
justice, and beneficence.

Essex was tried and executed in 1601. The friends of Essex stigmatised
Raleigh. A trap was laid for him by Sir Christopher Blount and others,
who attempted, but unsuccessfully, to assassinate Raleigh when he kept
an appointment on the river, off Durham House, to which they lured him.
Four shots were fired at him from a boat manned by Blount and some of
Essex’s servants. Raleigh escaped unhurt. Blount confessed having taken
part in this treachery, and on the scaffold asked pardon from Raleigh,
which was freely granted. Touching his enmity with Essex, Raleigh
states that he “shed tears for him when he died. I confess I was of a
contrary faction, but I knew he was a noble gentleman. Those that
set me up against him, did afterwards set themselves against me.”

[Illustration: ST. HELIER, JERSEY.]

In 1601, Raleigh had much trouble in connection with Meeres, bailiff
of the Sherborne estates, who was first aggressive and overbearing,
and when brought to account, insolent, malicious, and audacious;
clever enough to make much mischief, and cause his abused employer
much vexation and annoyance. He made himself amenable to the law, and
confessed that he had wrongously maligned Sir Walter. He was pardoned,
but pardon was not followed by repentance, and he continued as vicious
and troublesome as before.

In September 1601, Henry IV. of France being at Calais, sent a
complimentary embassy, consisting of the Duke de Biron and a large and
brilliant retinue, to pay respect to Queen Elizabeth. The queen was
not in London at the time, and the remnant of her court left behind
were unequal to the duty of fitly entertaining the French chevaliers.
Raleigh happened, most opportunely, to pay a visit to London, and
exercised his accomplishments to good purpose in the entertainment of
the distinguished visitors, whom he escorted to Westminster, and to the
Bear Garden by way of variety. After “doing London,” he accompanied the
party, “by royal command,” to Hampshire, where the queen was the guest
of the Marquis of Worcester. In anticipation of the visit, and by the
queen’s desire, Raleigh wrote to Lord Cobham to join him, and assist
in entertaining the visitors. Raleigh’s letters to Cobham show that
they were on terms of intimate friendship.

In November the Duke of Lennox visited London, with a delicate
diplomatic commission from James of Scotland touching the succession
to the English throne. Amongst others he saw Raleigh and Cobham, both
of whom he found unfavourable to the claims of the Scottish king. In
the complications which resulted from this important question of State
policy, Cecil, never a warm friend of Raleigh, became more unfriendly
and even hostile, and accused him of ingratitude.

In 1602, Raleigh sent out commissioners to look after, and, if
possible, more firmly settle the colony of Virginia, which had now
occupied his attention for above a dozen years. His representatives
were his nephew, Bartholomew Gilbert, Captain Gosnoll, and Samuel
Mace. No definite results followed their expeditions, beyond their
supplying a link establishing Raleigh’s claim to be the founder of the
still inchoate colony. At home Raleigh devoted his time and attention
to the discharge of his numerous and onerous official duties. He was
at this time in poor health, very depressed in spirits, and pestered
by legal proceedings taken by his dismissed steward Meeres, with whom
Lord Thomas Howard, now Lord Howard of Bindon, Raleigh’s brother
commander in the Cadiz expedition, meanly and maliciously conspired.
Towards the close of 1602, Raleigh had what has been supposed his last
interview with Queen Elizabeth, who asked for his counsel with respect
to Irish affairs. He advised that the leaders of the malcontents
should be treated with rigorous severity. In the same year he sold
his great estates in Ireland to Boyle, Earl of Cork. Queen Elizabeth
died 30th March 1603. The loss of his protector and patroness was to
Raleigh ruinous and irreparable. His career up to this point--he was
now fifty-one years of age--had not been distinguished by unclouded
sunshine,--henceforth it was to be marked by unrelieved gloom. Of his
well-earned title to honour and fame he could not be wholly stripped,
but it was in the power of his enemies to deprive him of offices,
property, peace, and other conditions that made life worth living. He
entered now upon his decline and fall.

King James received Raleigh roughly, and at once superseded him as
Captain of the Guard; Cecil was raised to the peerage as a mark of
favour. In May 1603, Raleigh, in terms of a royal warrant, was required
to surrender Durham House to the Bishop of Durham. He had expended
large sums upon the “rotten house” to which, as was now stated, he
had “no right.” The order to quit was most arbitrary and unjust. He
had received no notice, and was required in the space of a few days
to clear out his retinue of forty persons and twenty horses, with the
provision laid in for them.

James was favourable to Spain and the Catholics; Raleigh never
repressed or concealed his hostility to both. Raleigh became involved
with Lord Cobham and George Brooke, brothers-in-law of Cecil, in an
alleged treasonable plot, the lines and objects of which it would be
difficult to define. Raleigh was arrested on 17th July, and immured in
the Tower on the information of his dastardly and dangerous friend,
Lord Cobham, the Judas who should have been consigned to the dungeon,
in place of his too confiding and credulous friend. In his depression
and desperation he attempted suicide. Anticipating death, he wrote an
extremely touching letter to his wife:--

“Receive from thy unfortunate husband,” he writes, “these last
lines.... That I can live never to see thee and my child more! I
cannot! I have desired God and disputed with my reason, but nature and
compassion have the victory. That I can live to think how you are both
left a spoil to my enemies, and that my name shall be a dishonour to
my child! I cannot!... Unfortunate woman, unfortunate child, comfort
yourselves, trust God, and be contented with your poor estate. I would
have bettered it, if I had enjoyed a few years.

“What will my poor servants think, at their return, when they hear I
am accused to be Spanish, who sent them, at my great charge, to plant
and discover upon his territory! O God! O intolerable infamy!... For
the rest I commend me to thee, and thee to God, and the Lord knows my
sorrow to part from thee and my poor child, and let him know his father
was no traitor. Be bold of my innocence, for God--to whom I offer life
and soul--knows it.... And the Lord for ever keep thee and give thee
comfort in both worlds.”

On 21st September, Raleigh, Cobham, and George Brooke were indicted at
Staines. The charge was “of exciting rebellion against the king, and
raising one Arabella Stuart to the crown of England.” This Arabella
Stuart was first cousin to James, being the daughter of Charles Stuart,
fifth Earl of Lennox, Darnley’s elder brother. Raleigh’s bitter enemy,
Lord Thomas Howard, afterwards Lord Howard of Bindon, and yet again
created Earl of Suffolk, had powerful influence amongst the higher
powers, and exercised his influence virulently against Raleigh to the
full extent of his power. Raleigh was repeatedly examined, and on
Thursday, 17th November 1603, put upon his trial before a Court of
King’s Bench, the court-room having been fitted up in the old episcopal
palace at Winchester. Lord Chief Justice Popham presided, and had with
him on the bench as commissioners, Sir Robert Cecil, Sir W. Wood, the
Earl of Devonshire, and Howard of Bindon, Earl of Suffolk, with judges
Anderson, Gawdy, and Warburton. Sir Edward Coke, Attorney-General,
prosecuted, with Serjeant Hale as his “junior.”

The indictment against Raleigh was in effect--

That he did conspire, and go about to deprive the king of his
government, to raise up sedition within the realm, to alter religion,
to bring in the Roman superstition, and to procure foreign enemies to
invade the kingdom. That the Lord Cobham, the 9th of June last, did
meet with the said Sir Walter Raleigh in Durham House, in the parish
of St. Martins in the Fields, and then and there had conference with
him, how to advance Arabella Stuart to the crown and royal throne of
this kingdom, and that then and there it was agreed that Cobham should
treat with Aremberg, ambassador from the Archduke of Austria, and
obtain of him 600,000 crowns to bring to pass the intended treasons. It
was agreed that Cobham should go to Albert the Archduke to procure him
to advance the pretended title of Arabella, from thence, knowing that
Albert had not sufficient means to maintain his own army in the Low
Countries, Cobham should go to Spain to procure the king to assist and
further her pretended title.

It was agreed, the better to effect all this conspiracy, that Arabella
should write three letters, one to the Archduke, another to the King
of Spain, and a third to the Duke of Savoy, and promise three things:
first, to establish a firm peace between England and Spain; secondly,
to tolerate the popish and Roman superstition; thirdly, to be ruled by
them in contracting of her marriage.

[Illustration: SIR WALTER RALEIGH CONFINED IN THE TOWER.]

And for the effecting these traitorous purposes, Cobham should return
by the Isle of Jersey, and should there find Sir Walter Raleigh,
Captain of the said isle, and take counsel of him for the distributing
the aforesaid crowns, as the occasion or discontentment of the subjects
should give cause and way.

That Raleigh must be found guilty was a foregone conclusion. The
trial was a cruel mockery of the accused; a flagrant outrage upon
the spirit, even the mere name, of justice. One of the judges at
least--Gawdy--confessed on his death-bed that the procedure had
violated and “degraded the justice of England.” Coke attacked the
apparently deserted and friendless defendant with uncontrollable
ferocity, with a shameless abuse of his office. Instead of attempting
to prove his case by admissible evidence and legitimate arguments, he
discharged upon the defendant a torrent of coarse invective, that was
utterly disgraceful in the public prosecutor in a State trial. His
case was doubtless aggravated by the feeling that the man whom he was
privileged with permission to abuse was his superior, and bore himself
with a self-command and dignity of demeanour that Coke could appreciate
in another, but to which it was not given to himself to attain.

The sole evidence(?) against Raleigh consisted of the alleged
declarations of persons with whom he was not confronted, as he
demanded to be. Coke, in successive speeches, denounced the defendant
with insensate rage, and in disgustingly clumsy phrases, as the
“notoriousest traitor,” the “vilest viper,” the “absolutest traitor
that ever came to the bar.” Raleigh had great difficulty in obtaining
a hearing, in checking the rushing stream of violent abuse. “You try
me,” said he, “as by the Spanish Inquisition, if you proceed only
by the circumstances, without two witnesses.” He pleaded that “by
the statute law and by God’s word it was required that there be two
witnesses. Bear me if I ask for only one; the common law is my support
in this. Call my accuser before my face, and I have done. All I hear
against me is but this accusation of Cobham. Which of his accusations
has he subscribed to or avouched?” Cobham, it appears, had made eight
different confessions, each conflicting in some points, or varying from
all the others. Coke’s answer to Raleigh’s reasonable plea was to heap
more violent, utterly irrelevant abuse upon him,--“Thou art the most
vile and execrable traitor that ever lived. I will make it appear that
there never lived a viler viper on the face of the earth than thou. I
want words to express sufficiently thy viperous treasons.” “You want
words, indeed,” interposed Raleigh, “for you have spoken one thing half
a dozen times; you speak indiscreetly, barbarously, and uncivilly.”

Raleigh defended himself with signal ability, but in vain. Popham
summed up strongly against him, and the packed jury found him guilty.
The rumours in circulation against Raleigh had been accepted, and
before the trial popular fury raged against him. The effect of the
trial, the cruel, crushing injustice with which he was treated, caused
a reaction in his favour. So gross and palpable was the injustice done
to him, that even in the High Court, Popham was hissed and Coke was
hooted, by the portion of the public present during the proceedings.
The revolting terms of the sentence are too hideous to be recited. Many
weary years elapsed between Raleigh’s sentence and his execution.

A number of persons really concerned in the conspiracy were tried
and condemned about the same time as Raleigh, and were executed.
The execution of others, including Raleigh, was stayed by the king,
although Raleigh had no knowledge of this. The Bishop of Winchester,
who was appointed to prepare him for execution, gave him no hope.
Believing himself at death’s door, he wrote a touching farewell letter
to his wife, in which he says:--

“Know it, dear wife, that your son is the child of a true man, and
who, in his own respect, despiseth death and all his misshapen and
ugly forms. I cannot write much. God knows how hardly I stole this
time, when all sleep; and it is time to separate my thoughts from the
world. Beg my dead body, which living was denied you; and either lay
it at Sherborne, if the land continue yours, or in Exeter Church, by my
father and mother. I can write no more. Time and death call me away.”

From Wolvesley Castle, in which Raleigh was confined after his trial,
he was, after having received the announcement that his life was not
to be taken, removed to the Tower of London on the 16th December 1603,
and remained there a State prisoner for twelve years. He, of course,
lost his various offices and sources of income, excepting Sherborne,
which was coveted and greedily desired by court favourites and others.
Ultimately the estate was taken by the king, and £8000 paid as
purchase-money for the benefit of Lady Raleigh and her children. Many
of Raleigh’s voluminous writings were composed during the period of his
confinement in the Tower.

The queen, who made the acquaintance of Raleigh about the year 1606,
was very favourably disposed towards him, as was also Prince Henry, a
most promising prince, who became warmly attached to the illustrious
prisoner, and would probably have been successful in obtaining his
release, had he been spared. He obtained from the king, indeed, a
promise of Raleigh’s release, but died before the stipulated date
had arrived. Influence on Raleigh’s behalf continued to be used with
the king, who at last gave way to the importunities of the captive’s
friends, and a warrant for his release from the Tower was signed by
James on the 30th January 1616.

An express condition involved in Raleigh’s liberation was that he
should proceed at once to undertake preparations for, and to personally
conduct, another expedition to Guiana. This he set about with
promptitude and energy, investing in it the whole of what remained of
his fortune. Raleigh and his friends contributed to the enterprise an
aggregate of about £15,000. Raleigh was by royal commission appointed
commander of the expedition, which consisted of the _Destiny_, of 440
tons, which was built under Raleigh’s personal direction, and six
smaller vessels.

The fleet sailed in March 1617. It could not be regarded with hopeful
confidence. Raleigh’s description of the _personnel_ of the expedition
is decidedly unsatisfactory. “A company of volunteers who for the most
part had neither seen the sea nor the wars; who, some forty gentlemen
excepted, were the very scum of the world, drunkards, blasphemers,
and such others as their fathers, brothers, and friends thought it
an exceeding good gain to be discharged of, with the hazard of some
thirty, forty, or fifty pound.” Raleigh was commander of the fleet,
and his son Walter captain of the _Destiny_. Various delays occurred.
On the 12th June the fleet left Plymouth, but soon got separated by
stormy weather, and some of the ships turned back to Falmouth. The
fleet reassembled in Cork harbour, and remained there waiting for a
favourable wind for nearly six weeks. While thus detained, Raleigh
disposed as completely as possible, and on the best terms he could
command, of his remaining Irish leases and other interests in Ireland.
The fleet called at the Canaries and the Cape Verde Islands. After
encountering much rough weather, they sighted, on the 11th November,
Cape Orange, the most northerly point of the coast of Brazil; on the
14th they anchored at the mouth of the Cayenne River; and Raleigh, who
had been struck down by fever, was conveyed from the choky cabin to his
barge. From this place he writes to Lady Raleigh: “To tell you I might
be here King of the Indians were a vanity; but my name hath still lived
among them. Here they feed me with fresh meat and all that the country
yields; all offer to obey me. Commend me to poor Carew, my son.” Here,
also, Goodwin, the English lad left as exchange hostage on the occasion
of his first visit, twenty-two years before, came to do homage to his
old master. He was voluble in the Indian tongue, but had almost lost
ability to express himself in English.

The state of his health incapacitated Raleigh from conducting the
expedition on the Orinoco and searching for the expected mines of the
precious metals--gold more especially. He despatched a party under the
command of Captain Keymis; his son Walter, and George Raleigh, his
nephew, accompanied the expedition. Its result was disastrous. Keymis
attacked a Spanish settlement--San Thomé; and young Walter Raleigh lost
his life in the fight. Keymis, with a remnant of the men left with
him, fled in the belief that a powerful Spanish force was in pursuit.
When Raleigh and Keymis met, the admiral was severe in his reproof,
and required from him such explanation of his conduct as he could give
for the satisfaction of His Majesty and the State. Keymis, in great
dejection, committed suicide. The crews mutinied, and became quite
unmanageable; and the ships returned, each as the crews could find
their way, to English ports. On the 21st May, Raleigh in the _Destiny_
reached Kinsale harbour, and on the 21st June arrived at Plymouth,
infirm in body, broken in spirit, penniless, dejected, and destitute.

Intrigues against Raleigh were originated and stimulated by Gondomar,
the Spanish ambassador. He was beset with spies, who ensnared him into
acts and confessions--to be employed against him. Sir Lewis Stukely, a
cousin of Raleigh, an infamous wretch, was the traitor of the miserable
drama. Again the grand old man had to stand his trial; the charge now
was, of having abused the king’s confidence by setting out to find gold
in a mine which never existed, with instituting a piratical attack upon
a peaceful Spanish settlement, with attempting to capture the Mexican
Plate fleet, although he had been specially warned that he would take
his life in his hands, if he committed any one of these three faults.

Raleigh was tried before the Commissioners on 22nd October. He denied
having had any intention of stirring up war between England and Spain,
and declared that he had confidently believed in the existence of the
gold mine. He confessed that in case of his failing to find the mine,
he would if he could have taken the Mexican fleet. At the close of the
examination, Lord Francis Bacon, in the name of the commissioners, said
that he was guilty of abusing the confidence of King James, and of
injuring the subjects of Spain, and that he must prepare to die,--being
already civilly dead. Execution was ordered upon the Winchester
sentence of 1603. On the 28th October 1618 he was roused from his bed
in the Tower, where he lay suffering from a severe attack of ague. The
order of movement was so hurried that the barber remarked that his
master had not had time to comb his head. “Let them comb it that are to
have it,” said Raleigh. He had been brought first to Westminster Hall
from the Tower, and from the Hall was taken to the Gate House. On the
way he told his old friend, Sir Hugh Beeston, “to secure a good place
at the show next morning, adding that he (Raleigh) was sure of one.”
His cousin, Francis Thynne, suggested that he should be more serious,
lest his enemies should report his levity. Raleigh rejoined, “It
is my last mirth in this world, do not grudge it to me.” The good Dr.
Tounson, Dean of Westminster, a stranger to Raleigh, was puzzled by his
conduct, but confessed his admiration. After the execution, he reported
“he was the most fearless of death he had ever known, and the most
resolute and confident, yet with reverence and conscience.”

[Illustration: LORD FRANCIS BACON.]

It was late, on the evening before the date fixed for execution, when
Lady Raleigh knew that the end was so near. She hastened to the Gate
House, and remained till midnight with her husband, from whom she had
been so much parted involuntarily, and from whom she was to be so soon
finally separated in this life.

In the morning the dean visited Raleigh in the Gate House, and
administered the Eucharist. He ate a hearty breakfast, and smoked a
pipe of tobacco. The servant brought him a cup of sack, and, after he
had drunk, asked if the wine was to his liking. “I may answer you,”
said Raleigh, “as the fellow did on his way to Tyburn. ‘It is good
drink, if a man might stay by it.’” As they passed through the dense
crowd that had assembled, Raleigh noticed a very old man bareheaded. He
pulled off the rich laced cap that he was wearing, and, throwing it to
the old man with the remark, “Friend, you need this more than I do,”
passed on himself bareheaded.

On the scaffold he delivered an ingenious and eloquent speech that
occupied nearly half an hour. At the windows of an adjacent house
he noticed a number of noblemen and gentlemen with whom he had been
connected in his foreign adventures, or associated in public affairs.
Amongst others were the Earls of Arundel, Oxford, and Northampton. He
seemed anxious that they should hear his vindication of his conduct,
and apologised for the weakness of his voice, whereupon they came
down, solemnly embraced him, and took their places around him on the
scaffold. He prayed that the company might bear with him, because
this was the third day of his fever, which might cause him to show
weakness. “I thank God,” he said, “that He has sent me to die in the
light and not in darkness. I also thank God that He has suffered me to
die before such an assembly of honourable witnesses, and not obscurely
in the Tower, where for the space of thirteen years together I have
been oppressed with many miseries. And I return Him thanks that my
fever hath not taken me at this time, as I prayed to Him that it might
not, that I might clear myself of such accusations unjustly laid to my
charge, and leave behind me the testimony of a true heart both to my
king and country.”

His speech was ingenious and eloquent, and well fitted to move the
sympathy of his hearers. He closed his address--

    “And now I entreat that you will all join me in prayer to the great
    God of heaven, whom I have grievously offended, being a man full of
    all vanity, who has lived a sinful life in such callings as have
    been most inducing to it; for I have been a soldier, a sailor, and
    a courtier, which are courses of wickedness and vice; that His
    almighty goodness will forgive me, that He will cast away my sins,
    and that He will receive me into everlasting life.--So I take my
    leave of you all, making my peace with God.”

His friends lingered on the stage after visitors had been asked to
quit, and Raleigh himself requested them to leave, saying smilingly, “I
have a long journey to go, and must take my leave of you.” Turning to
the headsman, he asked to see his axe. “Let me see it, I prithee,” he
said, as the executioner hesitated. “Dost thou think that I am afraid
of it?” Feeling its keen edge, he turned to the sheriff, to whom he
said with a smile, “’Tis a sharp medicine, but one that will cure me
of all my diseases.” The executioner, greatly moved, begged Raleigh to
pardon him for this cruel duty his office imposed. Raleigh answered him
by a kindly touch on the shoulders and assuring words. Turning to the
people, to whom he bowed right and left, Raleigh cried aloud, “Give me
heartily your prayers.” He then lay down, and gave the directions to
the headsman, “When I stretch forth my hands, despatch me.” After a
brief space, in which he was supposed to be engaged in silent prayer,
he put out his hands, but the man was completely overcome, and could
not perform his office. Again he repeated the signal, and yet a third
time, saying, “What dost thou fear? Strike, man, strike!” At last he
did strike, and with two rapidly delivered blows completely severed
Raleigh’s head from his body. According to custom, the head was held
up in view of the people, but it is not recorded that they were called
upon to behold the head of a traitor!

“All Europe,” says a biographer of last century, “was astonished
at the injustice and cruelty of this proceeding; but Gondamor, the
Spanish ambassador, thirsted for his blood, on account of his having
been the scourge of Spain during the reign of Queen Elizabeth; and
King James durst not refuse him the life of a man who, as a soldier,
a scholar, and a statesman, was the greatest ornament to his country.
This mean-spirited prince, to his eternal infamy, soon after ordered
Cortington, one of the residents of Spain, to inform the Spanish Court
how able a man Sir Walter Raleigh was, and yet to give them content,
he had not spared him, though, by preserving him, he would have given
great satisfaction to his subjects, and had at his command, upon all
occasions, as useful a man as served any prince in Christendom.”




THE PLANTING OF THE GREAT AMERICAN COLONIES.

CHAPTER VII.

“TO FRAME SUCH JUST AND EQUAL LAWS AS SHALL BE MOST CONVENIENT.”


After the accession of James to the throne of England in 1603, very
little happened of interest in connection with naval affairs, except
the unfortunate expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh already referred to.

In 1617 there was an important sea-fight with the Turks, near Cagliari.
Towards the close of December 1616 the ship _Dolphin_, Captain Edward
Nicholl, left Zante, one of the Ionian Isles, with a full cargo for
the Thames. She was a craft of 220 tons, with a crew of thirty-six men
and two boys, and armed with nineteen pieces of cast ordnance and five
“murderers,”--a name given to small pieces of cannon made to load at
the breech. On the 8th January 1617 she sighted Sardinia. There was a
west wind, and at nine in the morning she stood inshore for Cagliari.
About noon she was close to two watch-towers from which cannon were
fired, as a signal that the guard wished to speak with the crew. The
object, not clearly understood, was to warn them that Turkish war
vessels were cruising off the coast. Early on 12th January they saw
a large vessel steering towards them. She was manned by armed men.
Soon five other vessels were descried. The ports were open, and they
were evidently bent on hostility. Preparations were accordingly made
for battle, when the captain thus addressed his men: “Countrymen and
fellows, you see into what an exigency it has pleased God to suffer us
to fall. Let us remember that we are but men, and must of necessity
die--where, and when, and how, is of God’s appointment; but if it be
His pleasure that this must be the last of our days, His will be done;
and let us, for His glory, our soul’s welfare, our country’s honour,
and the credit of ourselves, fight valiantly to the last gasp. Let us
prefer a noble death to a life of slavery; and if we die, let us die to
gain a better life.”

The crew responded by a loud assent and cheers. The leading Turkish
vessel had fifteen hundred men on board. After a tremendous struggle,
in which one after the other of the enemy attacked the _Dolphin_,
she got safely into Cagliari, with the loss of seventeen men. The
captains of three of the Turkish war vessels were Englishmen.

[Illustration: THE MAYFLOWER.]

But the chief event of this period was the establishment of the great
English Colonies in North America. The first region colonised was
Virginia--so called, as has been stated, in honour of Queen Elizabeth.
A belt of twelve degrees on the American coast--from Cape Fear to
Halifax--was set apart to be colonised by two rival companies. The
first of these was composed of noblemen, gentlemen, and merchants in
and about London; the second of knights, gentlemen, and merchants in
the west of England. On the 19th December 1606, a squadron of three
vessels, the largest not exceeding 100 tons burden, sailed for “the
dear strand of Virginia, earth’s only paradise.” Michael Drayton, the
patriot poet of “Albion’s glorious isle,” cheered them on their voyage
in the following lines:--

    “Go, and in regions far,
    Such heroes bring ye forth
    As those from whom we came;
    And plant our name
    Under that star
    Not known unto our north.”

A severe storm carried the fleet, which had sailed by way of the
Canaries and the West India Islands, into the magnificent bay of
Chesapeake. A noble river was soon entered, which was named after
King James, and on the 13th May 1607, the peninsula of Jamestown was
selected for the site of the colony. After many early struggles the
colony became settled, and in 1619 a Legislature was constituted.
The Church of England was established as the Church of Virginia. All
persons were to frequent Divine service upon the Sabbath-days, both
forenoon and afternoon. Penalties were appointed for idleness, gaming
with dice or cards, and drunkenness. And excess in apparel was taxed in
the church for all public contributions. Gradually the colony, which
was nurtured by a most influential company in London, became settled,
and it soon increased in prosperity.

The New England Colony was founded about the same period. A Puritan
community in the north of England, being persecuted at home, fled to
Amsterdam in 1608. Their minister, a man of high character and great
ability, was John Robinson. The Dutch made them large offers to settle
in their colonies, but the pilgrims were attached to their nationality
as Englishmen, and to the language of their country. A secret, but
deeply-seated love of country led them to the resolution of recovering
the protection of their country, by enlarging her dominions. They
resolved to make a settlement of their own. They at first thought
of joining the colony of Virginia, but, after consultation with the
English Government, religious liberty was refused them. At length
they resolved to sail at their own hazard, and made ready for their
departure from Leyden. The ships which they had provided--the
_Speedwell_ of 60 tons, and the _Mayflower_ of 180 tons--could hold but
a minority of the congregation, and Robinson was therefore detained
at Leyden; while Brewster, the governing elder, conducted “such of
the youngest and strongest as freely offered themselves.” There were
solemn instructions given them, and there was much prayer. They soon
reached Southampton, and on the 5th August 1620 sailed from thence
for America. The _Speedwell_ put back, as unfit for the voyage, and
the _Mayflower_ at length, on 6th September, set sail alone with 102
on board,--men, women, and children,--without any warrant from King
James. After a boisterous voyage of sixty-three days they cast anchor
in the harbour of Cape Cod. Before they landed they formed themselves
into a body politic by a solemn voluntary compact “to frame such just
and equal laws as shall be thought most convenient,” and they pledged
themselves to submission and obedience. They had to encounter terrible
difficulties in seeking for a secure harbour, in the midst of a cold
and stormy winter; but at length, on 11th December, they chose a spot,
which they called Plymouth. When a body of Indians was discovered
hovering near, the colony assumed a military organisation, with Miles
Standish as the captain. Again in April the _Mayflower_ sailed for
Europe; and in autumn new emigrants arrived. In the summer the bay of
Massachusetts and harbour of Boston were explored. The supply of bread
was scanty; but, at their rejoicing together after the harvest, the
colonists had great quantities of wildfowl and venison. They had many
difficulties, but conquered them all, and soon became a strong, free
community, of high moral character and devoted piety, though intolerant
in some of their laws, according to the spirit of the age. They became
a centre of attraction to many of the Puritans in England, and their
number thus increased rapidly. This colony laid the basis of the
principles of the United States constitution,--adopted a century and a
half later. It was the true foundation of the great American nation.




OLIVER CROMWELL AND THE SEA-POWER OF ENGLAND.

CHAPTER VIII.

A LONG INTERVAL IN NAVAL WARFARE ENDED.


Cromwell, with his great grasp of mind, saw at once the vast importance
of the English navy, which, during the civil wars, had been neglected,
and bent all his energies, not only to make it effective, but to give
it the supreme command of the seas. The Dutch had become, through
the long discords in England, the great traders of the world; they
now aimed at nothing less than securing naval supremacy. It was this
that brought about the fierce conflict between the two nations, both
Protestant, and both at the time liberal,--which lasted for several
years. The Dutch were unwilling to pay deference to the English
Commonwealth by showing the wonted respect to the English flag in
British waters. They probably thought that England was almost defunct
as a sea-power, and they knew little the ruler with whom they had
to deal. Cromwell had ulterior views, as to crushing the religious
despotism which, with Spain as its chief instrument, had been long
attempting to stamp out all Christian liberty. He could not proceed,
however, with his plans, while Holland lay behind him as a possible
enemy. Had the Dutch taken at the time a statesmanlike view of the
position, they would have hailed the English Commonwealth as fighting
the very battle which they themselves had fought,--and there might then
have been a union of the naval forces of the two nations, for the good
of the world, as afterwards, in the time of William III. But the Dutch
looked only to their passing commercial interests. It was they that,
by their exhibition of contempt for the English flag, originated the
war. The battles during this war were about the fiercest ever fought
on the seas. The result seemed uncertain for a time, but in the end
England gained the day, and Holland had to succumb. Then, with Holland
powerless, Cromwell was free to carry out his great policy, as to
Spain and the Catholic powers. The navy entered the Mediterranean,
where England had before no position at all, and swept everything
before it, under its brave and godly commander, Blake, who felt, as
did Cromwell, that he was fighting the universal battle of liberty of
conscience. When Piedmont massacred numbers of her subjects, belonging
to the ancient Vaudois Church, in the Alpine valleys, Cromwell was
in a position, through his navy in the Mediterranean, to _command_ the
cessation of the persecution, and he thundered forth in the ears of
astonished Europe, by his immortal secretary John Milton, such threats
as alarmed the whole array of persecutors, and compelled submission to
his demands,--for England now commanded the seas, and could sweep the
coast of Italy, and all Mediterranean territory. To the foresight and
statesmanship of Oliver Cromwell, John Milton, and Robert Blake is due,
in great part, the position which England has occupied ever since, as
the leading maritime power of the world.

[Illustration: O Cromwell]




ROBERT BLAKE, THE GREAT ADMIRAL OF THE COMMONWEALTH.

CHAPTER IX.

HE ACHIEVED FOR ENGLAND THE TITLE, NEVER SINCE DISPUTED, OF “MISTRESS
OF THE SEA.”


To designate some of the naval heroes of early times gallant “sea
dogs,” is not disrespectful to these worthies. Dashing courage,
indomitable perseverance, and open-handed generosity, were the
qualities, by which they were chiefly distinguished. But to apply such
an epithet to Robert Blake, “Admiral and General at Sea,” would be
altogether unsuitable.

Grave, scholarly, courageous, generous, disinterested, wise in counsel,
valiant in war, Admiral Blake occupied a high place among the men of
his time. He has been pronounced one of the most perfect characters of
his age.

Robert Blake was born at Bridgewater, Somersetshire, in 1598, the
year before that in which Oliver Cromwell first saw the light. His
father, Humphrey Blake, was possessed of landed property, and was also
a merchant adventurer. He belonged to what Fuller, in his _Worthies_,
calls the “middle-sized gentry.” The first portion of his education
he received at the Bridgewater grammar school. When sixteen years
of age he entered St. Alban’s Hall, Oxford, and afterwards shifted
to Wadham College. He remained at Oxford for nine years, and had
probably a stronger inclination to follow a scholastic life than for
the adventurous career he passed through. He felt drawn into the great
struggle of his time by his position and his sense of duty; the hurry
and distracting influences of the life of after years never took away
either the taste, which had made him learned, or the earnestness which
had made him a Puritan.

In the year 1625, Robert was recalled home on account of the illness
of his father, whose business affairs were in a very unsatisfactory
condition. The father died in embarrassed circumstances, and upon
Robert devolved the charge of his widowed mother and a large family,
with a somewhat straitened income. He discharged his duties as head
of the family with fidelity and success, and conducted himself in an
exemplary manner in his domestic, social, and business relations. His
brothers and sisters made their way in the world, married, and settled
respectably.

At the time of Blake’s return to Bridgewater, State affairs and the
relations between the sovereign and his subjects were causing much
excitement and turmoil. Charles I. was at war with his Parliament, and
wringing taxes illegally from his people, which many of them resisted.
The king’s Catholic consort, Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV.
of France, hated the Puritans, and urged Charles to the exercise of
absolute power, in resisting their reasonable demands. His first
and second Parliaments refused the supplies he demanded. His third
Parliament wrung from him assent to the famous “petition of right,”--a
second Magna Charta,--which he nominally granted, but in practice
resisted. From 1629 to 1640 there had been no meeting of Parliament; in
1640, when the Short Parliament, as it was called, was summoned, Blake
was returned as representative for Bridgewater. In 1645 he was elected
for Taunton to serve in the Long Parliament.

Oxford was not a likely nursery for Puritans, but Blake was a man
of independent mind, and of resolute character. He considered the
dissolution of the Short Parliament a declaration of defiance to the
people on the part of the king, and took it as a signal for action,
and declared for the Parliamentarians. He raised a troop of dragoons,
who were among the first of the Parliamentary army that took the
field; they were engaged in almost every action of importance in
the western counties. Blake, although himself only a raw, untrained
volunteer, distinguished himself above all the men about him, in the
“marvellous fertility, energy, and comprehensiveness of his military
genius”--evidence of native superiority. It has been stated that
Prince Rupert alone, in the Royalist force, could be compared to him
as a commander and leader. Blake distinguished himself by his gallant
defence of Prior’s Hill fort, at the siege of Bristol in 1643, which
he would have held, but for the surrender by his chief, Colonel
Fiennes. In his next command, Blake had not a pusillanimous commander
to overrule him, and showed conclusively the stuff he was made of. He
had won the confidence of the Parliament, and was appointed to the
Somerset Committee of Ways and Means, and to the lieutenant-colonelcy
of Popham’s regiment, a body of stalwart Roundheads, fifteen thousand
strong. He made an entry into Bridgewater, with the intention of
seizing the castle, but finding that the attempt would be foolhardy,
he desisted, and marched with his regiment to Lyme, where he was
wanted for the defence of the place. He had a sad memory to carry
away from this visit to the familiar scenes of the home of his youth.
His younger brother Samuel, who was with his force, strayed from
headquarters, and boldly attacked a Royalist recruiting party he fell
in with. He was slain in the fray. When the news reached the town,
the officers were greatly distressed. Colonel Blake suspected from
their grave conferences that there was something wrong, of which
they were reluctant to tell him. He demanded information, which was
given reluctantly in the communication, “Your brother Sam is killed,”
explaining how the thing came to pass. The colonel’s grave response
was, “Sam had no business there.” Retiring, however, to the Swan Inn,
he shut himself up in a room, and mourned bitterly the loss of his
brother.

Colonel Blake’s defence of the “little vile fishing town” of Lyme, as
Clarendon contemptuously calls it, was a brilliant service. It was
besieged by Prince Maurice after he had failed in an attempt to take
Plymouth by storm. It was a small place, with a population of about
a thousand inhabitants. The natural defences were very weak. The
Cavaliers in descending from the heights behind the town, drove in
Blake’s outposts, charged with horse, and a shower of hand grenades.
The prince summoned Blake to surrender, but the summons was only
answered by a fire that emptied many saddles, threw the attacking force
into confusion, and compelled them to retire. Day after day, from week
to week, the attack was renewed by siege trains and storming parties,
in which many gallant Cavaliers were slain. Charles was at Oxford,
where he and his court waited in anxious expectation the defeat of
Blake and the fall of Lyme, the successful defence of which seemed a
marvel and a mystery. Instead of receiving the welcome news of Blake’s
defeat, they had the mortifying intelligence, that his spirited defence
was rousing and rallying the dispersed Parliamentary party in those
parts. After a protracted siege, Warwick’s fleet arrived, in time to
save Colonel Blake and his besieged heroes from being starved out. The
siege was raised, after a loss to the Royalists of two thousand men,
many of them of noble and gentle blood,--Blake’s fire having been more
deadly, and the cause of heavier loss, than all the actions in the West
since the commencement of the war.

Blake’s name and fame were now established, and he had proved his
capacity sufficiently to be trusted to cut out his own work. All
over the western counties the Cavaliers had strong fortresses, and
consequently a line of communication. Blake saw that the possession
of Taunton by his party would be of vital importance. He made a
rapid march upon it, and carried it almost without encountering
resistance. This was on the 8th of July 1644, six days after Cromwell
and the Scots had defeated Prince Rupert at the battle of Marston
Moor. The possession of Taunton was as important to the Cavaliers as
it was to the Parliamentarians, and troops poured round the lines
that had been formed for the defence of the inland town. Blake, who
had been invested with office as Governor of Taunton, was summoned
to surrender, but a deaf ear was turned to the summons. Again, the
Governor of Bridgewater, Wyndham, sent an earnest entreaty to his old
neighbour and fellow-townsman to accept the liberal terms of surrender
offered, but Blake was influenced by a sense of public duty with which
considerations of friendly ties or his own personal safety and comfort
could not be allowed to interfere. Appeals to the patriot were made in
vain, and so the siege began.

[Illustration: ADMIRAL BLAKE.]

Governor Wyndham, who had charge of the attack, formed a blockade,
barricading the roads with trees. A clever German officer who joined
Blake made a dashing attack on Wyndham’s line, and broke it, which gave
a short relief; but Goring’s forces came up from Weymouth to join in
the attack, their track marked by every horror that can accompany civil
war. Many of the inhabitants, to escape slaughter, fled before Goring
to the besieged town, as to a sanctuary. Taunton excited the king’s
party to fury; numerous councils were held, and various plans proposed,
to effect its speedy subjugation. Their whole power was brought to
bear upon it. Blake’s defence exhibited a rare combination of civil
and military genius. The spectacle was one of the most remarkable ever
presented in the history of battles and sieges. An inland town, without
walls for defence, or any natural protection, surrounded by strong
castles and garrisons, and invested by an enemy numerous, watchful,
and well supplied with artillery,--the defenders successfully resisting
the attacks persistently made upon it for months. This stubborn
resistance paralysed the king’s power, and gave to Cromwell the
opportunity, of which he took full advantage, of remodelling his army.
The besieged town was surrounded, as by a wall of fire. The suburbs
were burned and pillaged, and the outer houses of the town crumbled
into rubbish before the continuous shower of cannon balls. The brave
defenders suffered the pangs of famine, but Blake’s zeal sustained
their drooping courage and continued resistance. One of his answers,
during a parley, to a repeated summons to surrender, was that he had
four pairs of boots left, and would eat three pairs of them before
he would give in. Another time, when threatened that when the town
surrendered, unless it surrendered now, all but seven persons found in
it would be put to the sword, his reply was, that he wanted the names
of the seven, and their bodies would be sent out. He and his brave
comrades were almost in the last stage of suffering and peril when
Fairfax sent four regiments to his relief, and the siege was raised on
the 11th May 1645.

The country around Taunton was terribly devastated, and almost
completely depopulated, and the spectacle presented by the town
inexpressibly shocking. This remarkable siege, which lasted a year,
attracted the attention and admiration of foreign military critics,
who did Blake the honour of pronouncing Taunton the modern Saguntum.
Goring, the Royalist commander, had sworn fiercely that he would take
the town, or leave his body in the trenches. He did neither, but beat a
sullen retreat.

Blake’s victory was a great triumph for Parliament, which voted him
thanks, and a gift of £500. Although elected to sit in Parliament for
Taunton, and now regarded as a distinguished national hero, he did not
attend Parliament, or put himself in the way of the popular ovations
that many would have courted rather than avoided. It is believed that
he had no sympathy with the regicides, and reported, indeed, concerning
his feelings on this subject, that he would “as freely venture his
life to save the king as he had ventured it to serve the Parliament.”
He was a practical and a moderate man, and a gentleman, and had only
opposed the king, because the king’s policy and conduct had been, as he
considered, unjust, and dangerous to Protestantism and the State. With
the king in prison, and his cause defeated, Blake was satisfied.

It was not desirable, Cromwell and his party probably thought, that
a man possessing, deservedly, such commanding influence, of such
independent mind, and holding opinions so moderate, should be near the
centre of affairs or intrigues. Some such considerations may have led
to his being appointed to the chief naval command. He possessed in an
eminent degree the higher qualities necessary in a naval commander, but
their cultivation was commenced at an unprecedentedly late period in
life. If he had commenced his nautical training early, and continued it
during the whole of his life, he could scarcely have achieved higher
fame than he did, though his naval career began at fifty years of age.
He vacated his comparatively quiet post of Governor of Taunton--his
chief duties connected probably with the rebuilding of the town--to
assume office as “General and Admiral at Sea,” a title afterwards
changed to “General of the Fleet,” and again to “Admiral of the Fleet.”

Blake’s career and history are unique; among its greatest men, the
world has rarely seen an accomplished scholar, a famous general, and
still more famous admiral, with such a splendid record, united in
one and the same man. The scope of his powers, the strength of his
character, his wonderful ability to adapt himself to his position and
surroundings, the rapidity with which he acquired knowledge,--in a
word, his master mind, were abundantly displayed in the command of a
force, that employed a language and conducted operations with which he
had been previously entirely unacquainted.

It has been conjectured that the Blakes of Somersetshire came
originally from Northumberland, and that the “forbears” of the
Northumbrian Blakes, Blackes, or Blaks, a Scandinavian name, hailed
from Norway or Denmark.

Blake joined the fleet on the 18th April 1649, eight months after the
revolt of a part of the fleet to the Royalists. His first expedition
was against his old adversary, Prince Rupert, who had also taken to
the sea, and whose exploits were not of a very dignified character,
consisting of picking up merchant ships in the Channel, and conveying
them to Kinsale harbour, on the south coast of County Cork. Blake
blockaded the prince for a long time, but he contrived to escape,
with the loss of three ships, and made for Portugal, whither Blake
followed, and again blockaded him in the river Tagus. Here Blake seized
the Brazil fleet of the King of Portugal, and afterwards pursued and
harassed Rupert, hither and thither, in the Mediterranean. Blake
destroyed the principal part of the prince’s fleet at Carthagena,
and Rupert escaped with three ships to the West Indies. He had been
sheltered for a time at Toulon, which Blake avenged by taking several
French ships. This first cruise in the Mediterranean by Admiral Blake
was the beginning of our maritime influence and ultimate ascendency in
those important waters.

The admiral’s maritime operations were watched with lively interest at
home, and the result of his first cruises to Ireland, Portugal, and the
Mediterranean was to fairly inaugurate his naval fame. It had seasoned
him in his new profession, and made him every inch a sailor. He very
soon commanded the confidence of the men,--became among them, indeed,
an object of almost affectionate adoration. The naval system of the
time stood greatly in need of reform, and no man could have been found
more capable and willing to effect needed reforms than Blake. His care
for the wellbeing of the men, and his progressive reforms, commenced
at once with his going on board. It has been said concerning him that
“he was from first to last England’s model seaman. Envy, hatred, and
jealousy dogged the steps of every other officer of the fleet.” The
Council of State conferred upon him almost unlimited powers, which he
exercised with masterly success, startling officials and others by
his bold and independent action, and contempt for established routine
and red-tape, when they stood in the way of what he considered the
best means for attaining desired ends. With but slender resources he
performed extraordinary exploits. He effectually suppressed Prince
Rupert, and put an end to his freebooting performances, and next
directed his attention to Sir John Grenville in the Scilly Isles,
and Sir George Cartaret in Jersey, who were seizing and plundering
homeward-bound traders. It had been an axiom before Blake’s time that
ships were not expected to attack, and should not waste power in
attacking, castles. He had no respect for the restriction, and brought
down the strongholds that the piratical Cavaliers had established in
Scilly, Guernsey, and Jersey. The unfortunate Cavaliers whom the civil
war had ruined, who had found refuge in these islands, and occupation
in plundering at sea, were thus dispersed. For his services Blake was
again thanked by Parliament, and voted a thousand pounds. He was also
honoured with the appointment of Warden of the Cinque Ports.

In the year 1652, Blake had reached the age of fifty-three, but
was still young and inexperienced as commander of a fleet. Able or
otherwise, competent or incompetent, he was forced into conflict with
the most thoroughly experienced, courageous, and competent naval
commander, and the most powerful navy of the time--that of Holland.
It had to be settled, whether England or Holland was to be sovereign
of the seas. The foes that Blake had hitherto encountered at sea,
such as Prince Rupert, Grenville, and Cartaret, were comparatively
insignificant; he was now called upon to defeat, or be defeated by,
such redoubtable and experienced naval commanders as Van Tromp, De
Witt, and De Ruyter. Van Tromp, who of the trio named was Blake’s first
antagonist, was the son of a famous sea-captain, and had been afloat
since he was ten years old.

Blake’s first encounter with Van Tromp was caused by an act of
defiance on the part of the Dutch. During the civil wars in England
they had acquired great naval power and commercial prosperity. They
wished to combat, therefore, the long maintained supremacy of the
English flag in the narrow seas, where foreigners were accustomed to
strike their colours on meeting our flag. Van Tromp, with a fleet of
forty-five men-of-war, appeared in the Downs, where Blake was lying.
Blake had only twenty ships with him, but, on the approach of the Dutch
admiral’s ship, he fired three shots across his bows, to require him
to show the usual respect to the flag, in seas considered to be under
British dominion. Van Tromp answered with a broadside, and hung out the
red flag as a signal for an engagement. Blake, in a vehement passion,
curling his whiskers, as he used to do when angry, answered in kind,
and for some time stood alone in his flag-ship against the whole force
of the enemy, when, the rest of the squadron coming up, the battle went
on from four P.M. till nine,--the Dutch then retreating, and leaving
two of their vessels in his hands.

Blake continued to master the Channel. All pretence of reserve being
thrown away, in consequence of the late engagement, he exerted all
his power to harass the enemy’s trade, and to fit out such vessels
as had fallen into his hand for immediate service against them. His
cruisers brought prizes into port almost daily during the latter part
of May and June. One day he received intelligence that a Dutch fleet
of twenty-six traders, convoyed by three men-of-war, was coming up the
Channel. They were all captured, traders and convoy, and the latter
immediately manned and fitted for service. In less than a month, to
the surprise and ecstasy of the Londoners, he had sent into the river
more than forty rich prizes, captured in open sea from their vigilant
and powerful enemy. The Dutch merchants were compelled to abandon the
Straits. Their argosies from the south of Europe, and from the East
and West Indies, had either to run for safety into French ports, and
send their cargoes overland at an immense loss, or make the long and
dangerous voyage round by the north. This brilliant success vivified
the Council of State with new life. Orders were given to strengthen
Dover pier. Forty sail were added by a vote to the fleet. At Blake’s
suggestion, six additional fire-ships were prepared. The seamen’s wages
were raised; and the vice-admirals of all the maritime stations from
Norfolk to Hampshire were requested to summon together all mariners
between the ages of fifteen and twenty, young, ardent, docile, and
engage them in the State’s service. The Council of State, of which
Blake was a member, resolved that the entire fleet should be raised to
250 sail and 14 fire-ships. At the end of one month from the fight off
Dover, the energetic admiral could count with patriotic pride no less
than 105 vessels, carrying 3961 guns under his flag.

[Illustration: BATTLE BETWEEN BLAKE AND VAN TROMP,

_Off Dover, 10th December 1652._]

“The Dutch preparations for the campaign were also made ‘on the
grandest scale.’ In a few weeks their renowned admiral, ripe in age,
honours, and experience, saw himself at the head of 120 sail of
ships--a power more than sufficient, in the opinion of every patriotic
Dutchman, to sweep the English navy from the face of the earth.”

Blake proceeded to the North Sea, in the _Resolution_, of sixty-eight
guns, accompanied by a squadron of smaller vessels, to disperse the
great herring fleet of the Dutch. While in the North Sea on this
service, Van Tromp followed him with a large fleet; but a tremendous
storm scattered the Dutch forces, shattering on the rocks some of the
vessels, and dispersing the others, so that the Dutch admiral had to
return home to refit his vessels. Blake had kept his fleet together
under shelter of the mainland of the Shetland Islands, and although
he had not escaped without serious injury to many ships, he had not
suffered nearly so much. He hung in the rear of the disabled Dutch
ships, ravaged the coasts of Zealand, and reached Yarmouth with prizes
and nine hundred prisoners. Clamorous at a reverse in a fleet from
which victory had been expected, a Dutch mob insulted Van Tromp, and,
in a fit of disgust, he laid down his commission, and retired into
private life.

We may note here Van Tromp’s career. At ten years old, he was present
in his father’s ship at the famous battle fought against Spain under
the walls of Gibraltar in 1607. Shortly after that memorable event,
he was captured by an English cruiser, after a brisk engagement, in
which his father lost his life. Two years and a half he was compelled
to serve in the menial capacity of cabin-boy on board the captor,--and
thus were the seeds of hatred to England and the English sown in his
proud and passionate heart. Once planted, this hatred grew with his
growth, and strengthened with his strength. For a long time his life
was passed on board fishing-boats and merchantmen; but his nautical
genius was irresistible, and he fought his way through legions of
obstacles to high command. At thirty years old he was confessedly
the ablest navigator in Holland. More than twenty years he had now
commanded his country’s fleet with success against Spain,--and had done
more than any other individual to humble the pride and reduce the power
of that extensive empire.

The States-General of Holland associated De Ruyter with De Witt in the
supreme command of the Dutch navy; Blake and Ayscue were associated
in the command of the force which was to meet the next attack to be
delivered by the Dutch against the English in English waters. Meantime
Blake, with characteristic judgment and promptitude, delivered a blow
in another direction. He overhauled and defeated a French squadron on
its way to relieve Dunkirk from the siege of the Archduke Leopold.
Blake’s intervention was completely successful, and ensured prevention
of the use of Dunkirk by the Dutch against the English, with the
connivance of the French Government. This prompt action on Blake’s part
was evidence of his genius and of his keen perception as a commander,
and of the confidence reposed in him by the Commonwealth.

Much more imposing events in Blake’s career than any hitherto recorded
were now pending. It had to be determined whether the English or Dutch
were to be “Mistress of the Seas.” On the 28th September 1652, the
Dutch fleet were off the North Foreland under De Witt, De Ruyter, and
Evertsen. Blake, in the _Resolution_, at about four o’clock in the
afternoon, bore down upon them, signalling the ships of his squadron
to reserve their fire for close quarters,--and a murderous fire it was
at close quarters till nightfall,--when the Dutch drew off, but still
fighting. Two of the Dutch ships went down in the action, and two were
carried, by boarding. Next morning, De Witt would have continued the
fight, but De Ruyter and Evertsen refused to renew the action, and the
Dutch fleet, terribly cut up, went home. Blake pursuing, was received
with scorn and contempt; but his return was hailed with enthusiasm by
his grateful countrymen.

The States, with wonderful energy and rapidity, got together another
great fleet to sweep English waters of any power that might dare
to oppose it. It was commanded by Van Tromp, De Ruyter, Evertsen,
and Floritz. Blake’s commission was renewed as General and Admiral
of the Fleet, with General Monk and Colonel Deane as colleagues.
Not anticipating a renewed attack in force by the Dutch, Blake had
separated his force for a number of duties to different destinations,
and had only retained a fleet of thirty-seven ships, including
frigates, in the Channel. With this small force he had to meet Van
Tromp at the head of a hundred Dutch men-of-war. Notwithstanding the
enormous disparity of force, Blake did not flinch, but stood to his
guns, and for once, as was not to be wondered at, had the worst of the
fight. In evidence that he had swept the sea, Van Tromp cruised along
the south coast with a broom at his mast-head. Blake was dissatisfied
with the conduct of some of his commanders, and asked to be relieved
of his command. His proffered resignation was not accepted; on the
contrary, the Council of State thanked him for his conduct in the
engagement. Blake’s own brother Benjamin had not conducted himself to
the admiral’s satisfaction, and he was sent ashore,--no excuse he could
offer availing to avert the disgrace.

In February 1653, Blake was again at sea with a fleet of sixty ships,
with Monk and Deane and a force of soldiers on board. With him were
Penn as vice-admiral, and Lawson as rear-admiral. On the 18th,
Van Tromp was sighted near Cape de la Hogue; he was in charge of a
considerable convoy of merchantmen. As if eager for the fray, he left
them to windward, and bore down upon the English. The leading ships of
the English, in which were the three admirals, were considerably ahead
of Monk and the main body of the fleet, for whom, however, they did not
wait. Van Tromp in the _Brederode_ passed on the weather-side of the
_Triumph_, into which he poured a broadside, which he repeated from
under the lee. The rearward ships of the English fleet came up with all
speed, and a terrific general action ensued. The incessant roar of the
guns was heard with exciting interest on both sides of the Channel,
proclaiming the fierce struggle between the sea giants. In the action
itself and around it, startling evidence abounded of its destructive
character, and the resolute purpose and fierce valour of the combatants
on both sides. Here, a ship on fire belching its towers of lurid flame
into the cold wintry sky; there, two opposing ships crashing against
each other; in another place, the wild shouts of the boarders, making
headlong charges, met, repulsed, and renewed with varying fortune. The
battle commenced in the forenoon; Monk, with the white division of the
English fleet, came up at noon, and the whole of the forces continued
engaged during the remainder of the day. The day’s action cost the bold
and bellicose Van Tromp eight of his ships by destruction or capture.
Sorely crippled and deeply wounded, but not subdued, he retreated, only
to look after the merchantmen of his convoy that looked to him for
protection. Several of Blake’s fleet had been boarded, but recaptured;
one of his ships, the _Sampson_, had the captain and a large number
of the men killed; those who remained were transferred to Blake’s
own ship, the _Triumph_,--and the _Sampson_ was allowed to drift to
leeward. The _Triumph_ and her crew suffered greatly in the action;
Ball the captain was killed, the men were mown down at their guns,
Blake himself was wounded in the leg, and the decks ran red with blood.
The long night was spent in sending away, and otherwise caring for, the
wounded, and in preparing for a renewal of the conflict on the morrow.

Enclosing his convoy in such position as he thought would best enable
him to protect them, Van Tromp sailed up channel with them in the
morning with a light breeze. Blake followed him up, and a running fight
was kept up throughout the second day, at the close of which Van Tromp
had lost five more of his ships, and he retreated towards Boulogne.
It was the Dutch commander’s misfortune to be clogged by subordinates
who were unworthy to serve under such a courageous leader. Some of
his cowardly captains who advised retreat were indignantly ordered
to retire, and did so during the night. On the morning of the third
day, Blake renewed the attack upon Van Tromp’s reduced forces,--the
gallant Dutchman suffering grave disadvantage from the encumbrance
of his convoy, as well as from the demoralisation of a part at least
of the officers and men of the fleet. He endeavoured to send off
the merchantmen to Calais, but the wind was against them, and the
merchantmen and fighting ships got mixed up, hindering his effective
action. Blake, of course, made legitimate use of his advantages, and,
pressing him hard, drove the defeated Dutch admiral--the broom no
longer at his mast-head--to take shelter with the remnant of his fleet
on the French coast. In the morning it was found that Van Tromp had
departed, carrying the news of his own defeat. So ended this famous
battle, in which the English loss was great and grievous, but that
of the enemy much more disastrous. The flag-ship _Triumph_ suffered
greatly in its encounters with Van Tromp’s ship, the two commanding
admirals and their respective ships being much engaged in close
encounter with each other. Captain Ball of the _Triumph_ was shot dead;
Mr. Sparrow, Blake’s secretary, fell at his feet while taking his
orders; a hundred of the crew were killed, and about as many wounded;
the _Fairfax_ had a hundred men killed, the _Vanguard_ and other ships
also suffering severely. Van Tromp’s ship was disabled, and the greater
part of its officers slain. Eight men-of-war and a large number of the
Dutch merchantmen fell into the hands of the English. The Dutch loss in
the three days’ engagement has been stated at eleven men-of-war, thirty
merchantmen, fifteen hundred killed, and as many wounded. The English
only lost one ship, the _Sampson_, which, as stated, was allowed to
drift and founder, after the crew were taken off. Blake made effective
use of the soldiers on board, this being one of the earliest occasions
of the many upon which the marines, as they are now called, have highly
distinguished themselves in action.

Blake’s great victory caused much jubilation in London; a national
thanksgiving was appointed, and a Patriotic Fund was formed for the
benefit of the widows and children of the men who had fallen in the
conflict. Blake remained for a time at St. Helen’s, refitting and
preparing for what might next happen in the way of a Dutch attack.
Learning that Van Tromp was again preparing for sea, Blake proceeded to
the Texel, where he did not exactly flourish a broom in sight of the
enemy, but treated him with like provocation, without effect, however;
and he next proceeded with a small squadron, with which he cruised
for a time off the east coast of Scotland, where he was on 20th April
1653, when Cromwell came down to the House of Commons, drove out the
Rump Parliament, locked the door of the House, and put the key in his
pocket. Admiral Blake did not personally figure as a politician in
these important State events. As a commander of the State forces, he
held that it was not his “business to mind State affairs, but to keep
foreigners from fooling us,” and he remained afloat at his post.

[Illustration: ADMIRAL VAN TROMP.]

In June the Dutch again made a marine parade in the Channel, with
a hundred and twenty ships of war, carrying four admirals. Admiral
Lawson of the blue squadron first fell in with them, and engaged De
Ruyter on the forenoon of the 2nd June. The ships of both fleets came
up promptly, and a desperate broadside engagement at close quarters
ensued. The fight was continued to the close of the long summer day,
and after a few hours’ interval and some manœuvring, was renewed with
unabated fury in the morning. Blake, who had joined the Channel fleet
with his squadron from the North, had with him his nephew, also a
Robert Blake, a young hero who distinguished himself by breaking the
Dutch line, amid the roaring cheers of the men of the English fleet.
Van Tromp was furious, and his men on board the _Brederode_ performed
desperate feats of valour. They boarded Admiral Penn’s ship, the
_James_, but were repulsed and followed to the _Brederode_, the sacred
quarter-deck of which was reached by the men of the _James_. This
was more than Van Tromp could stand, and he threw a firebrand into
the magazine, which blew up the decks and effectually dispersed the
boarders. The Dutch admiral’s own life was saved as if by miracle,
but belief that he was killed brought the crisis of the battle. The
Dutch fleet broke into wild disorder, and sheered off, each taking
its own course, the English in hot pursuit, sinking one after another
of the fugitives. Van Tromp got away, but his defeat was crushing and
final. The Dutch had eight men-of-war destroyed, eleven captured, and
a very heavy loss in officers and men. The English ships were terribly
battered and damaged, but the loss in killed and wounded was much less
than that sustained by the enemy.

Hard work, hard living, and high pressure conquered, in their combined
attack, on Admiral Blake’s health and strength, and he was reluctantly
compelled to go ashore, ill with a complication of disorders, including
the sailor’s peculiar distemper, scurvy, fever, and threatened dropsy.
While the great commander was thus disabled, and involuntarily off
duty, it devolved upon Admirals Penn and Lawson and General Monk to
conduct the last grand encounter with the naval power of the Dutch
Republic. Van Tromp, De Ruyter, and Evertsen, were again the opposing
commanders. Again the battle lasted for three days, and again the
English were completely victorious, and achieved for England the title,
never since disputed, of being “Mistress of the Seas.” On the last of
these three days, the great Van Tromp received a bullet in his heart,
which, we feel sure, caused him much less pain, than he would have
suffered, had he been spared to cherish the bitter memory of his defeat.

During his temporary retirement from the navy, Admiral Blake attended
in his place in Parliament, transacted important business with the
Navy Commissioners, dined occasionally with Oliver Cromwell, and gave
energetically his personal attention and labours to the important
work of reform, not of the navy and its administration,--in these he
had already effected great reforms,--but of other important public
institutions. He aspired, even, to “purging the churches of England
of ignorant, scandalous, and inefficient pastors.” Blake was a man
among ten thousand, and was doubtless equal to the efficient discharge
of even this delicate and difficult duty. It may be noted that he
was a great student of the Bible, and regularly conducted the family
devotions in his own house.

The naval supremacy that Admiral Blake had done so much to achieve was
not to remain inert or valueless. Proud, priest-ridden Spain, the enemy
of truth, righteousness, and freedom of worship, had to be crippled
and humbled. A new naval force was created and organised in 1654, and
Blake, at the head of a fleet, sailed from England, with sealed orders,
towards the end of that year. He first visited Cadiz, whence he sailed
in pursuit of the Duke of Guise, who was understood to have gone to
Naples with hostile intent. The duke was not there, and Blake next
proceeded to Leghorn, where he demanded and obtained from the Grand
Duke of Tuscany a large sum of money as compensation to the owners of
ships, that had been sold there by the Princes Rupert and Maurice. The
admiral’s name and fame had preceded him, and his irresistible power
caused consternation among the states bordering on the Mediterranean.
Having settled with the Duke of Tuscany, he next sent in his account
against the sovereign pontiff, Alexander VII., for ships sold by the
same princes, in ports under the sovereignty of His Holiness. The
admiral did not object to foreign coin in payment, and accordingly
received on board the sixty-gun ship _George_, the sum of twenty
thousand pistoles, in whole or part payment of his Roman account. He
next sailed southwards, with the desire of bringing the piratical
powers of North Africa to a better state of mind and behaviour. The
Bey of Tunis resisted Blake’s overtures, and left the admiral the only
alternative of battering his forts and burning all the corsair ships he
could get at, both of which he did. He visited in succession Tripoli,
Venice, Malta, and Versailles, and was received at some places with
honour,--at others with fear and constrained hospitality. He may be
regarded as the pioneer, the first of the long line of English admirals
that entered with pride the noble bay of Valetta, as an English
possession. At Algiers he ransomed, for a moderate sum, a number of
Englishmen who had fallen into the hands of the Algerine corsairs. A
cheery illustration of the good heart of the jolly tars of the time was
given while the squadron lay off Algiers. A number of captives, pursued
by Moors, swam from the shore to the English ships, and were readily
hauled on board, and found to be Dutchmen. The English sailors raised
a subscription for them,--many of the men giving a dollar out of their
wages,--and the Dutchmen were sent home happy and grateful.

Admiral Blake next touched at Malaga, and reached the Bay of Cadiz in
June. By this time his ships were getting much in need of overhauling
and repair, and stores were run out, particularly water, renewed supply
of which was often obtained with difficulty; and, most distressing
of all, the hero’s health and strength were failing greatly, which
naturally caused sore depression of spirits. In a touching letter to
Cromwell, dated “Aboard the _George_ in Cascaes Road, August 30, 1655,”
he writes, after stating some of the difficulties he was encountering:
“Our only comfort is that we have a God to lean upon, although we
walk in darkness and see no light. I shall not trouble your Highness
with any complaints of myself, of the indisposition of my body or
the troubles of my mind; my many infirmities will one day, I doubt
not, plead for me, or against me, so that I may be free of so great a
burden, consoling myself meantime in the Lord, and in the firm purpose
of my heart with all faithfulness and sincerity, to discharge the trust
while reposed in me.”

Although sick and broken, and having well earned his rest, his great
heart quailed not nor failed. Cromwell had lost a number of his
principal commanders by death or defection, and Blake honoured the
draft upon such powers as remained with him. He superintended the
operations in the dockyard and arsenal when ashore. At the end of
February 1656, he was again afloat in the _Naseby_. He took on board
as his colleague Edward Montague, afterwards Earl of Sandwich. The
departing fleet sailed down channel, westward. In the waning light of
the bleak brief day, the grave, grand, and heroic patriot took his last
look of the hills and vales and rock-bound shores of old England--the
country that he had served so well, and that was honoured in having
such a son.

His first duty after leaving England was of a diplomatic nature, being
to effect, if possible, a satisfactory permanent treaty with Portugal.
He left a part of his squadron to watch Cadiz, and came to an anchor
with the remainder of the fleet at the mouth of the Tagus. He kept a
lookout for the homeward-bound Spanish argosies, and had his patience
severely tried. The squadron suffered greatly from a succession of
violent gales. Running short of provisions and water, the admiral
proceeded northwards to Portugal for supplies, leaving the watching
squadron of seven ships under the command of Captain Stayner. They
had not long parted company ere the expected fleet was sighted--four
splendid Spanish galleons, and two Indian merchant ships, laden amongst
them with products rich and rare, in gold and silver, pearls and gems,
indigo, cochineal, tobacco, etc. It was on the evening of 8th September
that the homeward-bounds caught sight of Stayner’s frigates, which
they at first mistook for a protecting guard that was to convoy them
into port in safety and glad triumph. They were speedily undeceived
by Stayner swooping down upon them. They resisted desperately, and
there were six hours of hard fighting, in which heavy loss in life and
treasure was sustained. The treasure ships had on board as passengers
high dignitaries and members of some of the proudest families of Spain
and its possessions; one of the ships plundered first, was afterwards
the burning tomb of a viceroy and his family who had sailed in it.
Montague took home the prizes. The treasure was forwarded to London in
thirty-eight heavily-laden waggons, many of them freighted with gold
and silver. Under strong military escort, it passed along the streets
to the Tower, amid the ringing cheers of the crowd who turned out to
welcome its arrival.

Blake, amid hardships and trials that he was now ill fitted to stand
against, kept faithfully his post off Cadiz. In the spring of 1657
he made a run to Tetuan, and gave a salutary word of warning to the
Barbary pirates, that had a restraining effect upon these marauders.
“From information received,” but from what source is not communicated,
Admiral Blake had reason to believe that another bullion fleet had
crossed the Atlantic, and had taken shelter somewhere about the Canary
Islands: hither he repaired with his squadron. It was even so, the
silver fleet had taken shelter in the strongly fortified harbour of
Santa Cruz, in the island of Teneriffe. The spacious harbour is of
horse-shoe shape, and was dominated by a strong castle above the
inner portion of the area, flanked on each side by a series of forts,
connected with earthworks, available for musketry. The water was
so deep that the ships could lie close under the forts. The castle
and forts were well supplied with guns. The galleons also had their
broadsides turned to the narrow entrance of the harbour. To an enemy
the harbour entrance seemed the veritable jaws of death. The governor
believed his position impregnable, and the precious fleet in the
harbour unassailable and absolutely secure. The redoubtable admiral was
prostrate from illness, but, with indomitable spirit, he rose from his
couch to preside at a council of war. The plan of attack decided on
was, for the admiral to lead and direct the bombardment of the castle
and the forts, and for Captain Richard Stayner to direct his force
against the galleons. Blake and Stayner had twenty-five ships between
them. For his second’s share in the action Blake chose the innovation,
as some authorities considered it, that he had introduced, of attacking
strong castles and forts from the floating wooden walls of Old England.
The attacking ships were received by a tremendous simultaneous volley
from the whole of the guns of the castle, the forts, and the galleys,
that could be brought to bear upon them.

It was a battle of gunnery, of weight of metal, of rapidity and
precision of delivery. In these particulars the English had the
advantage. The forts were knocked about the ears of the gunners that
manned them, and silenced one after another. That morning the ships’
companies had prayers before breakfast, and the terrible day’s work
commenced immediately after. About noon, Blake had disposed of the
land forces so satisfactorily as to be at liberty to assist Stayner
in completing the destruction of the galleons, which would have been
brought out and carried away as prizes, had this been possible. About
two o’clock the work of destruction had been completed. Two of the
Spanish ships went down in the course of the attack, and the whole of
the others were burned. A favourable change in the wind carried the
victors out with flying colours, leaving the costly contents and strong
defences of the harbour utterly wrecked. The English only sustained
the almost incredibly small loss of about fifty killed, and about three
times that number wounded. Of this action the historian Clarendon says:
“The whole action was so miraculous that all men who knew the place
wondered that any sober man, with what courage soever endowed, would
ever undertake it; and they could hardly persuade themselves to believe
what they had done, whilst the Spaniards comforted themselves with the
belief that they were devils, and not men, who had destroyed them in
such a manner.”

This brilliant and daring feat of arms caused the highest degree of
admiration and delight at home. Cromwell ordered a day of public
thanksgiving for the victory; a ring of the value of five hundred
guineas was voted to Blake by Parliament; and a gratuity of one
hundred pounds to the captain who had brought the intelligence; thanks
were also voted to the officers, sailors, and soldiers who had been
concerned in the action.

[Illustration: THE DEATH OF ADMIRAL BLAKE.]

It was the great admiral’s last battle with mortal foes! He was
approaching to close quarters with “the last great enemy.” On his way
home he paid a visit to Morocco, where he exercised his influence, in
further restraining the Sallee rovers, and in procuring the deliverance
of some of their Christian captives. He was completely successful in
his negotiations, and at last, suffering much, wearied and worn-out,
he turned his prow towards “home.” Cromwell’s letter, the thanks of
Parliament, and the jewel of honour met him on the way, but he was past
saving by such solace. While crossing the Bay of Biscay, his illness
increased rapidly without check. When England was sighted he was dying,
and while others were delighting in the vision of the long-looked-for
shores, his noble spirit passed away. He died on board his ship, the
_St. George_, on the 17th August 1657, when he was just entering his
sixtieth year. “The _St. George_,” says Mr. Hepworth Dixon in his _Life
of Blake_, “rode with its precious burden into the Sound; and just as
it came into full view of the eager thousands crowding the beach, the
pier-head, the walls of the citadel, or darting in countless boats
over the smooth waters between St. Nicholas and the docks, ready to
catch the first glimpse of the hero of Santa Cruz, and salute him with
a true English welcome,--he, in his silent cabin, in the midst of his
lion-hearted comrades, now sobbing like little children, yielded up his
soul to God.”

His body, embalmed, and enclosed in lead, was carried by sea to
Greenwich, where it lay in state for several days. Thence the remains
were conveyed in a splendid barge to Westminster Abbey for interment.
The imposing river procession embraced a large number of mourners
of wide variety in rank and condition, including his relations and
servants, Cromwell’s Council, the Commissioners of the Navy, admirals
and generals, the Lord Mayor and aldermen of London, and a large
number of persons of distinction, in their barges and wherries,--the
whole marshalled by the heralds at arms. At Westminster, the body had
a guard of honour of several regiments of foot, and was landed amid
salvoes of artillery. The remains were deposited in a vault in Henry
Seventh’s Chapel. A few years later, after the Restoration, Blake’s
remains, among those of some others, were rejected from the Abbey,
and buried in the Abbey yard, where they have since, it is believed,
remained undisturbed. “To their eternal infamy,” says his biographer,
“the Stuarts afterwards disturbed the hero’s grave.... Blake had ever
been for mild and moderate councils. He had opposed the late king’s
trial.... The infamy belonged to Charles himself. Good men looked
aghast at such atrocity....” Blake “had laid the foundations of our
lasting influence in the Mediterranean, and, in eight years of success,
had made England the first maritime power in Europe.”

Blake exhibited a combination of high excellences of character and
disposition, and capabilities that are rarely met with in one man. As a
leader and commander he was undauntedly brave, fertile in expedients,
irresistible in action. Anxious only for the glory and interest of his
country, he took no care for personal aggrandisement. “His contempt
for money, his impatience with the mere vanities of power, were
supreme. Bribery he abhorred in all its shapes. He was frank and open
to a fault; his heart was ever in his hand, and his mind ever on his
lips. His honesty, modesty, generosity, sincerity, and magnanimity
were unimpeached. The care and interest with which he looked to the
wellbeing of his humblest followers made him eminently popular in the
fleet. He was one of England’s simplest, truest, bravest captains, one
of her greatest naval heroes, and he was truly a knight _sans peur et
sans reproche_.”




GEORGE MONK, K.G.,

DUKE OF ALBEMARLE.

CHAPTER X.

THE FRIEND OF CROMWELL, AND THE RESTORER OF CHARLES II.


Among the distinguished heroes of the seventeenth century, men born
to command, and qualified above their fellows, to achieve renown in
the “profession of arms,” as general in the army or as admiral of the
fleet, a foremost place has to be assigned to General and Admiral Monk.

George Monk, son of Sir Thomas Monk, was a scion of an ancient and
honourable family, that had even by the female line been related to
royalty, a pedigree being in existence that shows a descent of the
family from Edward IV. The family were established at Potheridge,
Devonshire, where George was born on the 6th December 1608. His
father’s means were very limited; and, having no fortune to divide
amongst his family, he designed George for a soldier of fortune,
and proceeded to equip him with a “sword” with which to open “the
world--his oyster.” His education was intended to prepare him for
following the art of war. In his seventeenth year he joined, as a
volunteer, a fleet that sailed to Cadiz with hostile intent, under
the command of Lord Wimbledon. Two years later he accompanied an
unfortunate expedition under Sir John Burroughs to the Île de Rhé.
His earliest experiences in warlike adventure were the reverse of
encouraging.

Sir Thomas had intended his son George to be a soldier rather than a
sailor, but circumstances, that may be glanced at, diverted the young
man’s course. Charles I., at the beginning of his reign, visited
Plymouth to inspect the naval preparations in progress in view of an
expected war with Spain. Sir Thomas wished to pay his duty to the
king, and took this opportunity for carrying out his loyal purpose.
His financial affairs were in a most unsatisfactory condition. So he
sent a considerable present to the under-sheriff of the county, who,
in return, gave him a promise of freedom from “molestation” while he
paid his duty to the king. The creditors of Sir Thomas, having heard of
this arrangement, sent a more considerable present to this official,
who unblushingly arrested the old gentleman whom he had betrayed.
George, his devoted and plucky son, proceeded to Exeter to expostulate
with the sheriff, and procure, if possible, his father’s release. He
employed his rhetorical powers with much energy, but scant patience.
His arguments and appeals were made in vain, and, finding that no
redress was to be obtained, he proceeded to give the sheriff a thorough
beating, and, without wasting time in leave-taking ceremonies, escaped
to Cadiz.

Monk remained connected with the navy till 1628, when he went to
Holland, and served with valour under the Earl of Oxford. He returned
to England, and from 1641 did military duty in Ireland. In 1643, when
the disputes between Charles I. and the Parliament were at their
height, Monk was arrested by Fairfax, and imprisoned in the Tower. The
king sent to Monk from Oxford a hundred pounds in gold as an expression
of his esteem; considering the king’s circumstances, the gift in coin
was certainly evidence of his generosity.

[Illustration: GENERAL MONK.]

Early in 1647, the royal cause being hopeless, Monk obtained his
liberty by accepting a commission to serve under his relative Lord
Lisle, who was appointed by Parliament to the government of Ireland.
He incurred the displeasure of Parliament by entering into a treaty
with Owen O’Neile. This he had felt to be the only means by which he
could save the remnant of troops left under his command, and preserve
the interest of the Parliament in the country. In 1650, Monk accepted
a commission to serve under Cromwell in Scotland. These engagements
seem to have been inconsistent in a loyalist. He was only, it may be,
keeping his hand in as a combatant, until the king should “enjoy his
own again.” Leaving out of consideration his inconsistency, it may be
said with truth that, in Scotland Monk rendered Cromwell most important
service, by counsel as well as action.

The Dutch war gave occasion for removing Monk, now a general, from his
command in Scotland, to give him employment on board the fleet. He was
now forty-five years of age, which seems an advanced period of life for
entering upon a profession, for which he had not been designed. The
case of Blake, who was older than Monk when he changed from military
to naval service, was similar. Both of these distinguished commanders
were capable of playing, worthily and well, a variety of parts. At
the beginning of his career Monk had been connected with the navy,
although he had not had any experience fitting him for high command.
His remarkable natural powers and strength of character had to make up
for slender experience.

In May 1653 he was afloat, in joint command with Admiral Deane, of a
fleet that had been prepared for conflict with the Dutch. Both of the
admirals were on board the _Resolution_. On the 2nd June they fell in
with the Dutch fleet, and immediately attacked them with desperate
vigour. The English fleet consisted of ninety-five men-of-war and five
fire-ships. The Dutch fleet consisted of ninety-eight men-of-war and
six fire-ships; it was commanded by the famous Admirals De Ruyter, De
Witt, and Van Tromp.

Early in the course of the action Admiral Deane was killed by a chain
shot.[2] Monk was close by, and, with admirable presence of mind,
threw his cloak over the mangled body of his colleague, the sight of
which would have had a dispiriting effect upon the crew. After a few
turns and encouraging the men in the action, he had the body removed,
quickly and quietly, to his cabin. No intimation of the loss that had
been sustained was made to the fleet, and Monk, now sole commander,
continued the action with undiminished energy. The action, which
commenced at about eleven o’clock, was continued with great fury till
late at night. A forty-two gun ship of the Dutch fleet was sunk, and
another large ship, commanded by Van Kelson, was blown up in the course
of the action. Admiral Blake arrived at night with a squadron of
eighteen ships.

    [2] The invention of this murderous missile is attributed to
        the Dutch Admiral De Witt.

Van Tromp would have avoided renewal of the conflict next morning had
his honour permitted, but it was forced upon him. Fire was opened about
eight o’clock, and the battle raged with great fury till about noon,
when the Dutch fell into great confusion, and got away as well and as
fast as they could, escaping with difficulty to Zealand. Six of the
Dutch ships were sunk, two blown up, and eleven taken. Six of their
captains were made prisoners, and upwards of fifteen hundred men. The
English had Admiral Deane and a captain killed, and a comparatively
small number of men, and did not lose a single ship.

The Dutch, undismayed by defeat, fitted a fresh fleet of upwards of
ninety ships, that were afloat ready for renewed action in a few weeks.
On the 29th July 1653, the hostile fleets came in sight of each other.
Monk, in the _Resolution_, and a squadron of thirty ships, came up with
the Dutch fleet, and boldly charged and dashed through their line.
Darkness ended the action. The following day was so foul and windy,
and the sea ran so high, that fighting would only have been wasting
ammunition. Sunday, 31st July, the weather being more calm, witnessed
a renewal of the deferred battle. The action raged with terrible fury
for about eight hours. De Ruyter’s ship was so severely injured that it
had to be towed out of the fleet; the brave admiral, however, did not
leave with his ship, but went aboard another to continue the action.
The brave Van Tromp was shot through the body. His fall was to his
countrymen a paralysing disaster, that seemed to take the heart out
of them, and utterly quench what was left of their drooping spirit.
The Dutch had only one flag left flying,--Van Tromp killed,--all going
against them! Again they sought refuge behind the sandbanks on the
coasts of their country, whither the victors followed, as closely as
their knowledge of the navigation would permit. In the pursuit of the
flying foe, the lightest of the English ships took the most prominent
part. The Dutch admiral, perceiving that they were only frigates that
pursued him, turned upon them, but heavier ships coming up, he was
not permitted to sink his tenacious tormentors, but had his own ship
captured before he reached the Texel.

This battle was a terrible blow to the Dutch. Twenty-six of their ships
were burned or sunk. Five of their captains were taken prisoners, and
between four and five thousand men killed. Such is the statement of
the historian, which should perhaps be taken with a deduction; for the
celerity with which the Dutch provided new fleets and fresh crews,
after such disastrous losses, was wonderful. The English are reported
to have lost two frigates--the _Oak_ and the _Hunter_, and had six
captains and about five hundred seamen killed. The Dutch Admiral De
Witt, in a report to the States, confesses to a heavy loss in ships,
and to his having been compelled to retreat, for which he assigns two
reasons--that the best of their ships were much shattered, and that
many of his officers had behaved like poltroons, by “retiring out
of the reach of the enemy’s cannon, as well in this engagement as
formerly.” He adds, with conclusive force: “If they had been hanged for
behaving so before, they had not had it in their power to have acted
the same parts over again.”

In this important action a number of merchant ships were engaged. To
prevent their making concern, for the safety of their owners’ ships and
cargoes, their paramount consideration, and a curb upon their fighting
energy, Monk astutely placed the captains in other ships than those to
which they were respectively attached. This expedient fully justified
itself in the result,--the merchant ships and their captains behaving
admirably. Monk also issued orders at the beginning of the fight that
quarter was neither to be given nor taken. This order was not given
from wanton recklessness of life, but because the taking of ships and
conveying them to harbour occupied much time, diverted needed strength,
and risked opportunities of advantage. There is no reason to believe
that General Monk was displeased with the English crews taking about
twelve hundred Dutchmen out of the sea, while their ships were sinking.
The “no quarter” order was doubtless intended to apply to ships, not
men.

General Monk exhibited, personally, unresting energy and steadfast
bravery, from first to last of the battle. Of five Dutch admirals’
flags displayed at the commencement of the action, Monk brought down
three--those of Van Tromp, Evertsen, and De Ruyter. Monk’s own ship,
the _Resolution_, was so shattered that it had to be towed out of the
line; all of the great ships, indeed, were so leaky and unseaworthy as
to compel them to give up, lest they should sink, and return home for
repair.

Parliament, on the 8th August 1653, ordered gold chains to be sent
to Admirals Blake and Monk, in token of appreciation of their
services; also to Vice-Admiral Penn and Rear-Admiral Lawson, and to
the flag-officers, and medals to the captains. The 25th of August was
appointed as a day of solemn thanksgiving. At a great banquet in the
city, Oliver Cromwell put the chain of honour on Monk, with grave words
of commendation for his public services.

The war had lasted two years, in which time the English had taken
from the Dutch seventeen hundred prizes, valued at sixty-two million
guilders, or six millions sterling. The prizes taken by the Dutch did
not amount to a fourth, in number or value.

A treaty of peace with Holland was made, 4th April 1654. Cromwell
had declared himself Lord Protector, and, feeling the weight of
governing three kingdoms, he sought out competent officers to share
the labour with him. General Monk was appointed to Scotland as a
sort of Lord Lieutenant, and commenced his duties in April 1654. He
made his residence at the house of the Countess of Buccleuch, at
Dalkeith. He is said to have governed the country more absolutely,
than many of its monarchs had done. His private life was quiet and
unostentatious,--husbandry and gardening being his chief amusements.

[Illustration: DEFEAT OF THE DUTCH FLEET BY MONK.]

General Monk’s loyalty to Cromwell was doubted, although his zeal for
the Protectorate seemed more effusive, during his tenure of office
in Scotland, than it had ever been before. He set a price upon the
heads of the principal Royalists in the North, and erected magazines
and garrisons for maintaining the Protectorate throughout Scotland,
and governed it absolutely, yet with much wisdom,--the effects of his
government conducing greatly to the welfare of the Scottish nation.
Certain Parliamentarians plotted to take Monk’s life, as a traitor to
their cause. Oliver Cromwell himself suspected Monk’s _bonâ fides_. A
short time before his death, Cromwell wrote a long letter to Monk, that
ended with the following remarkable postscript: “There be that tell me
that there is a certain cunning fellow in Scotland, called George Monk,
who is said to be in wait there, to introduce Charles Stuart. I pray
use your diligence to apprehend him, and bring him up to me.”

Cromwell died 3rd September 1658, and Monk at once proclaimed his son
Richard. Uncertain what turn the public mind would take, he thought
it prudent to affect for the present attachment to the Protectorate
carefully,--meanwhile, securing his own power. Richard Cromwell’s
incapacity to rule soon showed itself, as Monk probably foresaw. Monk
possessed powerful influence in the direction of public affairs, and
employed it in promoting the restoration of the king. There has been
more than one “Vicar of Bray” in the domestic and national history of
England, and the species will never probably become extinct.

General Monk’s adherence to the two opposing parties in the State,
Parliament and the Royalists; his service of the two masters, Cromwell
and King Charles; his motives, and his talents, have been much
discussed, and his merits hotly disputed by historians and critics.
Monk has been credited with having been mainly instrumental in
initiating, promoting, and consummating the Restoration. Up to this
point in Monk’s career he had proved himself a valiant and skilful
captain in Ireland, a firm and wise governor in Scotland, an able
admiral in the war with Holland, and it is not too much to claim for
him that he had proved himself to be also a profound statesman.

On the 23rd of May 1660, an English fleet brought Charles II. and his
court from Holland. The king reached the Palace, Whitehall, on the 29th
of the same month. On resuming the kingly dignity, almost the first
use the king made of the royal prerogative was to elevate Monk to the
peerage, as Duke of Albemarle, to invest him with the order of the
Garter, and to appoint him Vice-Admiral of England under James, Duke
of York.

Passing over a few years, in which the Duke of Albemarle was a
prominent personage in the king’s Government, we come to renewed war
with Holland.

The dissolute life and extravagant habits of the king kept him in
constant want of money, and to fill his purse he did many mean things,
amongst them, marrying Catherine of Portugal, for her dowry of half a
million sterling. He also favoured the sale of Dunkirk to the French
king for the beggarly sum of five thousand livres. He also plunged
into a war with Holland. The Duke of Albemarle and Prince Rupert were
associated in the command of the fleet that had been equipped against
the Dutch. They went aboard in April 1666. Prince Rupert, with the
white squadron, was detached to go in quest of a French contingent,
reported to be hastening to join the Dutch. The duke was left with a
fleet of about sixty sail. On the 1st June the Dutch fleet of about
ninety men-of-war came in sight. The duke called a council of war, at
which it was resolved that, notwithstanding their manifest numerical
inferiority, and that several of their ships were not fully manned or
ready, refusal to fight the Dutch was not to be thought of,--and the
fleet was accordingly made ready to fall into line. The battle lasted
throughout the day, and notwithstanding their greatly superior power
the Dutch gained no important or decided advantage. A furious battle
was fought between the flag-ships of Albemarle and De Ruyter, the
Dutch admiral, which was maintained with dogged obstinacy for many
hours,--but neither side could claim a victory. Both of the ships were
greatly crippled by its adversary.

The bravery and skilful handling of their ships by the English
commanders was above all praise, but their ships were badly
provisioned. King Charles, to his shame, recked not that the lives of
the bravest of his subjects should be sacrificed, if he could indulge,
unchecked, the career of a Sybarite and profligate. It has been written
by the careful historian that--“The money voted by Parliament for the
war was squandered by the king in his wicked pleasures; and ships leaky
and badly rigged were sent out to contend with the splendid fleets of
Holland.”

Albemarle discreetly sought the decision of a council of war before
renewing the action on the second day. What his own feeling was may
be gathered from the reported gist of the address he delivered to the
assembled commanders: “If we had dreaded the number of our enemies we
should have retreated yesterday; but though we are inferior to them
in number of ships, we are in other things superior. Force gives them
courage; let us, if we need it, borrow resolution from the thoughts
of what we have formerly performed. Let our enemy feel that, though
our fleet is divided, our spirit is united. At the worst it will be
more honourable to die bravely here on our own element than to be made
spectacles to the Dutch. To be overcome is the fortune of war, but to
fly is the fashion of cowards. Let us teach the world that Englishmen
had rather be acquainted with death than with fear.”

Much terrible damage was again done by the belligerents to each other,
but no decisive victory could be claimed by either power. On the 3rd
of June, the duke, on a survey of the condition of his fleet, felt
compelled to burn three of his disabled ships. He sent away, in the
van, the ships that had suffered most, and, covering them in the rear,
drew off. On the 4th of June, Albemarle’s spirits revived, and his
strength was materially increased by the arrival of Prince Rupert
with his squadron. Thus strengthened, he again sought the enemy, and
came up with them about eight in the morning. Five times the English
charged through the enemy’s line, firing into them right and left.
The conflict, fiercely sustained on both sides, lasted till seven in
the evening, when, as if by tacit agreement or sheer exhaustion, the
wearied, worn-out warriors desisted from their murderous activity.

The loss was calamitous on both sides. Amongst the brave officers who
fell, mention must be made of Sir William Berkeley, vice-admiral
of the blue, whose squadron led the van in the first day’s action.
Towards the close of the day, Sir William’s ship, the _Swiftsure_,
a second-rate, and two others were cut off from the English; hemmed
in and overwhelmed by greatly superior force, Sir William fought
desperately. The following account of his gallant death-struggle
is given by Lediard: “Highly to be admired was the resolution of
Vice-Admiral Berkeley, who, though cut off from the line, surrounded
by his enemies, great numbers of his men killed, his ship disabled
and boarded on all sides, yet continued fighting almost alone, killed
several with his own hand, and would accept of no quarter, till at
length, being shot in the throat by a musket ball, he retired into the
captain’s cabin, where he was found dead, extended at his full length
upon a table, and almost covered with his own blood.” To their honour,
the Dutch treated the hero’s remains with the utmost respect. The body
was embalmed and deposited in the chapel of the great church at the
Hague by order of the States, and a message was sent to King Charles
for his orders for the disposal of the remains. This brave officer,
a scion of an ancient and honourable family, had not reached his
twenty-seventh year.

[Illustration: SEA FIGHT WITH THE DUTCH.]

Another distinguished hero who fell in the action was Sir Christopher
Myngs, vice-admiral, who led the van of Prince Rupert’s division
on the fourth day of the fight. Myngs also was a young officer of
proved vigilance, valour, and capacity. In this his last action,
while fighting with desperate bravery, he received a musket ball in
the throat. No persuasion could prevail with him to retire to have it
dressed or to leave the quarter-deck; for nearly half an hour he held
his finger in the wound to stop the flow of blood. Another musket ball
in the neck, and the hero fell, and so finished his gallant career.

The Dutch claimed the victory, but admitted that if the English
were beaten, they deserved honour in their defeat, and had proved
incontestably their invincible courage.

On the 25th July 1666, the English fleet under Albemarle and Prince
Rupert, and the Dutch fleet under Admirals Evertsen and De Ruyter,
again came into conflict; a long and bloody battle ended in a complete
and indisputable victory to the English. This was the last great naval
action in which Albemarle took part. While he is taking the leading
part in this bloody drama on the high seas, king and people alike want
him urgently at home, for help and guidance in a time of sore trouble,
from an unprecedented calamity. London is ablaze with the great fire;
who among men has heart, head, and hand, tender, clear, and strong,
fitting him to be a comforter, guide, and shield at such a time? The
king recalled Albemarle from his naval duties to direct, deeply
distressing, domestic affairs; the people wail piteously, perhaps not
wisely, “If the duke had been here, London had not been burned.” Such
was the confidence reposed in his wisdom and strength.

A vast amount of life and work had been crowded into his years, and the
great man was wearing out. In 1667 he wisely exerted himself in warding
off renewal of hostilities with the Dutch, and gave attention to his
own much neglected domestic affairs. On the 3rd January 1669, he died
peacefully while sitting in his chair, aged sixty-two years. By order
of the king, his body lay in state for some time at Somerset House, and
was interred in Westminster Abbey.

George Monk was a man distinguished by great personal valour. His
zeal in the public service was indefatigable. He was wise in counsel,
fearless in battle; as a commander a strict disciplinarian, but also
the stern enemy of oppression and tyranny, on the part of naval and
military officers. Few men have ever attained to the influence and
power he wielded, with less of personal ambition.

He was commanding in person, robust in constitution, an early riser,
and a hard worker; loyal, faithful, and affectionate, in his public,
social, and domestic relations.




EDWARD MONTAGUE,

EARL OF SANDWICH.

CHAPTER XI.

NAVAL CONFLICT BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND THE DUTCH.


Remarks, by persons of mature age, are not uncommon, in our time, upon
the precocity of the rising generation. It is alleged that we have no
boys and girls nowadays, that they are too forward, know too much for
their years, and are men and women before their time. Edward Montague,
afterwards Earl of Sandwich, furnishes a notable illustration of
precocity, in his generation.

Edward was the only surviving son of Sir Sidney Montague, and was a
grandson of Lord Montague of Boughton, a staunch Royalist. Sir Sidney
also adhered firmly to Charles I., and submitted to expulsion from the
House of Commons, of which he was a member, rather than subscribe to
an oath of allegiance to the Earl of Essex “to live and die with him,”
in his conspiracy against the king.

Edward Montague was born 27th July 1625, the year of Charles I.’s
accession to the throne, and of his marriage with Henrietta Maria,
daughter of Henry IV., King of France. Some years before he reached
his majority, young Montague entered the whirl of domestic and State
affairs. When only seventeen years of age he married Jemima, daughter
of Lord Crewe of Stene. In the following year, 1643, he received a
commission from the Earl of Essex,--whom his father had refused to
support,--to raise a regiment of horse, to serve against the king, to
whom his father adhered. Such was the influence at the command of the
young chief, and the ardour with which he entered upon the execution of
his commission, that in six weeks he was ready to take the field at the
head of his regiment, and he entered immediately upon active service.
He assisted at the storming of Lincoln in May 1644, and also exhibited
great bravery, at the battle of Marston Moor, in the July following.
In 1645 he had a great deal of stirring service, fighting at Naseby
in July, and taking part in the storming of Bridgewater. In September
he commanded a brigade in the attack on Bristol, and subscribed the
articles of the capitulation of that city by Prince Rupert. With
Colonel Hammond he was deputed to carry the intelligence of this
important success, to the Parliament in London.

While yet under age, so prominent a character was he in connection
with public affairs, as to be elected, or more properly appointed, by
those who had the power, a member of Parliament for Huntingdonshire.
It is stated concerning his conduct as member of Parliament, that the
plottings and contests of parties were distasteful to him, and that
he shunned these,--as he did also intrigues and cabals in the army.
His opinions were sought after and valued, and notwithstanding his
youth, he exercised considerable influence in the direction of affairs.
Cromwell affected to despise nobility and family lineage, but he had
a keen eye for the men fitted to promote his objects, could fully
appreciate their value, and was skilful and effective in his methods
of attaching them to his person and cause. Montague had rendered
distinguished service, but he was a supporter of a very different stamp
from the ordinary Roundheads,--and his allegiance was held by a more
uncertain tenure. His social and family relations probably drew him
in a different direction. Cromwell was solicitous to have Montague
fully committed to his cause; he extolled his valour, discretion, and
independence, and snared him into a seat, at his Treasury board.

Montague rendered effective service at the Treasury, but was not in
his element in the civil service, from which he obtained release
in 1656, when, at the request of Admiral Blake, he was appointed,
in conjunction with that distinguished commander, to the command of
the fleet in the Mediterranean. Montague found great discontent with
the service, prevailing among the officers of the fleet. Exercising
patience and discretion with the disaffected, he succeeded in allaying
their discontent, and the fleet sailed under the direction of its
distinguished commanders, who cherished magnificent projects,--to be
accomplished ere they returned to England. One of these was to fall
upon the Spanish fleet in Cadiz harbour, which, however, on careful
survey, they concluded it would be foolhardy to attempt. Another
project designed was the reduction of Gibraltar. Montague doubted
the success of an attack by sea, and decidedly favoured attack by a
land force,--approaching by the isthmus. However, the attack was not
then made, and, after cruising about for a time, the fleet made for
the opposite coast of Barbary, the intention of the commanders being
the chastisement of the Tripoli and Salee rovers. Notwithstanding the
terror that Blake had inspired by a former visit, the pirates had
become as troublesome, daring, and destructive to traders as they had
been before.

[Illustration: EARL OF SANDWICH--DUKE OF YORK.

BATTLE OF SOUTHWOLD OR SOLE BAY.]

Montague had experience in his early life, as a combatant, in
successful land attacks, and seems to have had a decided preference for
that method, which he again recommended in the conflict with the
pirates, who were doubtless difficult to get at,--and who were not to
be subdued by ordinary means. He was decidedly of opinion that forcible
possession should be taken of a position on shore, as the best means of
operating against the pirates, and protecting our trade in the Levant.
Instructions from home, restricting rather than extending the powers
of the admirals, prevented Montague’s design from being carried into
effect.

The fleet was ordered back to Cadiz, to give the Spaniards an
opportunity of engaging, if they would. While the main body lay off
Cadiz, three ships were despatched to a bay along shore to take in
fresh water, and obtain what provisions they could. On this expedition
the detached squadron fell in with eight galleons, returning from South
America, and promptly pounced upon them. One of the galleons was sunk,
another burned, two were forced ashore, and others taken, on board of
which were found treasure to the value of six hundred thousand pounds.
In writing to Secretary Thurloe, Admiral Montague gives the following
account of the silver taken in the galleons: “There have been some
miscarriages by our ships that took the ships of Spain; I judge the
best way to improve mercies of this kind is to look forward: however,
that is my business at this time. The silver they brought is on board
this ship, and in the vice-admiral: in the admiral we have five
hundred and fifty bars of silver, and boxes of plate, and nine pieces
of silver, not well refined, like sugar loaves. In the vice-admiral
there are a hundred and twenty-four bars of silver, all of which we
judge may produce nearly two hundred thousand pounds. I hope that it
will make much more. In the galleons, also, there is a space between
the main-mast and the bulkhead of the bread-room, not yet rummaged.”

Montague was charged with instructions to bring the treasure to
England, and he requested that some trusty persons might be sent to
Portsmouth to receive the silver. Great pains were taken to impress
the public with a sense of the magnitude of the prize. When the silver
reached London, it was placed in open carts and ammunition waggons, and
conveyed in a triumphal procession through Southwark to the Tower to
be coined. To show their confidence in the people, a guard of only ten
soldiers accompanied the treasure. The intention of these arrangements
was fully realised, and greatly increased Cromwell’s popularity.
Montague also, although he had really had nothing to do with the actual
capture of the treasure, but had only conveyed it home in safety,
became quite a popular hero. Cromwell loaded him with praise, and
Parliament thanked him formally, through the Speaker.

Montague was on the most intimate terms with Cromwell, and held in high
esteem by the Protector, but he does not appear to have been cordially
attached to his public employment, or satisfied with the instructions
under which he was called to act.

In 1657, Montague was appointed to the command of a fleet in the Downs,
the objects of which were--to keep a strict watch upon the Dutch, and
to carry on the war with Spain. In his command of the fleet in the
Downs he found no opportunity for useful action, and he chafed under
the enforced stagnation; when called upon to act, he was not satisfied
as to the justice of following the line the authorities wished him
to take, or that it was compatible with manly honesty and safety to
himself. His letters to Cromwell show the difficulties in which he
felt himself placed, and also that the Protector expected him to
follow his own course, although in doing so he might be unable, after
the event, to justify himself, by official sanctions. A letter from
Richard Cromwell to Montague illustrates the policy of the Protector,
and the danger to which it exposed his admiral. He was commanded in
express terms to insist upon honour to the flag, within the British
seas, from all nations,--the writer stating, at the same time, that he
did not know what were the limits of the British seas, and that the
admiral must execute his orders with caution,--as peace or war might
depend upon his acts. It was extremely difficult to obey such equivocal
instructions, without incurring blame from one side or the other.
Montague displayed great sagacity and prudence in the discharge of his
delicate and difficult duties, but did not escape bitter complaints
from the Dutch, because of the diligence he displayed in searching
their vessels.

In 1658 Denmark and Sweden were at war. The Dutch believed it to be
their interest to help Denmark; Cromwell thought that the defeat of
Sweden would be a calamity to England,--and a powerful fleet was
despatched to the Baltic under the command of Admiral Montague, with
the avowed intention of negotiating an honourable peace between the
belligerents. In the midst of these great events Oliver Cromwell
died at Whitehall on the 3rd September 1658, and his son Richard was
proclaimed ruler in his stead.

Although Montague was nominally in command of the Baltic fleet, three
commissioners had been sent to conduct the negotiations, and control
his actions. Before he had left home, Montague had suffered what
seemed an unprovoked indignity, in being disjoined from his regiment
of horse. He had never at any time, probably, been a very hearty
Cromwellian,--and this treatment operated sharply in alienating him
from the Parliamentary party. Montague had powerful personal influence
in the fleet. The three commissioners--Colonel Algernon Sidney, Sir
Robert Heywood, and Mr. Thomas Boon--regarded him as a disaffected
subordinate, and the relations, between the commissioners and the
admiral commanding, were the reverse of cordial. Montague’s colleagues
were at Copenhagen, when he determined upon decisive action. He called
a council of the flag-officers of the fleet, and, submitting to them
a plain statement of the impossibility of doing anything for the
honour of their country, by remaining where they were;--not having any
authority to fight, and being therefore useless,--he suggested the
necessity of returning home, which want of provisions, indeed, would
soon compel them to do, as they had scarcely enough left to carry them
to England. There was no dissent in the council, and the admiral at
once issued orders to weigh anchor, set all sail, and shape course for
England. Montague’s diplomatic colleagues had the mortification of
witnessing, from the shore, the procession of the homeward-bound fleet.
The rapidity of the movement was fortunate, as these diplomats had in
their possession secret instructions to arrest Montague on board his
own ship, and to place the command of the fleet in other hands. The
worst they could do now was to send a strongly condemnatory despatch
to the Parliament, charging Montague with treachery and desertion.
Without waiting for a summons, he presented himself before Parliament,
to give an account of his conduct. He had the unanimous support of
his flag-officers, and presented such an unanswerable vindication,
that Parliament had to be content with accepting his resignation, and
letting him go. He retired from public life and service for a time, to
his estate in the country.

A time of turbulence and anarchy ensued, which led to the restoration
of Charles II. in the year 1660. In full accord and friendship with
General Monk, Duke of Albemarle, Montague returned to the public
service, and resumed naval command. He went with Monk to the Hague
to bring over the king. After completion of certain ceremonials at
the Hague, Montague conveyed the king to England,--the Duke of York
being Lord High Admiral under the restored royal ruler. Two days after
the king’s landing, he sent to Montague, by Garter king at arms, the
Garter, in acknowledgment of his eminent services. He was also, as soon
as the court was established, created by letters patent, Baron Montague
of St. Neots, Viscount Hitchinbroke in Huntingdon, and Earl of Sandwich
in Kent. He was sworn a member of the Privy Council, appointed Master
of the King’s Wardrobe, Admiral of the Narrow Seas, and Lieutenant
Admiral to the Duke of York.

[Illustration: DUNKIRK.]

As Admiral of the Narrow Seas, the duty devolved upon Lord Sandwich
of conveying or escorting all persons of distinction, passing between
England and foreign countries. He gave much attention to State affairs,
and was a constant attender at meetings of the Privy Council,
especially when questions of foreign policy were under consideration,
and, ere long, was regarded as one of the king’s most capable and
deservedly influential and trusted advisers.

An important question, in the settlement of which he took a
leading part, was the disposal of Dunkirk, which had been taken by
Cromwell from the Spaniards. The Commonwealth being at an end, the
Spaniards claimed the restoration of the place; the question for the
determination of the Privy Council was whether Dunkirk should be sold
or kept. The matter caused lively and protracted discussion, and has
been treated very fully by Clarendon, Burnet, and others. For advising
or sanctioning the sale or surrender of Dunkirk, some historians have
condemned, while others have defended, Lord Sandwich.

The Earl of Sandwich had courtly duties to perform in his capacity of
Admiral of the Narrow Seas. In September 1660, with a squadron of nine
ships of war, he proceeded to Helvoetsluys to bring over the Princess
of Orange, the king’s sister. When the fleet returned, the king and the
Duke of York went on board the _Resolution_, the admiral’s ship, where
they passed the night, and they reviewed the squadron on the following
day.

In 1661 an imposing fleet was equipped, with the several objects of
bringing home the Infanta of Portugal to be married to the king,--of
securing Tangier against the Moors,--and of punishing the Barbary
and Algerine pirates, who, since the death of Admiral Blake, and in
disregard of the terms which that powerful commander had imposed
upon them, had resumed their rapacious, destructive attacks upon the
merchant ships of England, as also upon those of Holland and France.
The fleet consisted of eighteen men-of-war ships, and two fire-ships;
it was placed under the command of the Earl of Sandwich and Sir John
Lawson. The fleet sailed from the Downs on the 19th June, and was
before Algiers on the 29th July. A council of war was held under
the presidency of Lord Sandwich, which determined to require--as an
article in any treaty with the Algerines--an undertaking that, for
the future, English ships were not to be liable to search, upon any
pretext whatever. Captain Spragge and Mr. Brown, the English consul,
were deputed to attempt negotiation of a treaty with the Algerian
Government, who professed willingness to enter into a treaty, but
refused point-blank to give up their right of search, and insolently
followed up their refusal by opening fire upon the fleet. The strength
of the land batteries greatly preponderated over the power of the fleet
for either attack or defence, and Lord Sandwich prudently withdrew from
range of the guns, but did not abandon the purpose of crippling the
pirates. Sir John Lawson was left with a strong squadron to cruise in
the Mediterranean, for the protection of English merchantmen and the
chastisement of the pirates. Sir John swept as many of the pirates
off the seas as he could get at,--and at Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunis,
made such imposing demonstrations as compelled the barbaric powers to
renew their treaties with England. At Algiers, however, he had much
difficulty in arriving at a satisfactory settlement. He obtained the
release there of one hundred and fifty slaves,--English, Irish, and
Scottish sailors, who had been captured by the pirates. These men he
sent home, with several captured ships, but the Algerines stopped
short at surrender of the goods in the ships that had been captured.
Lawson continued hostilities, seized an Algerine corsair of thirty-four
guns, and sold the Turks and Moors by which it was manned to the
French admiral, who was then cruising in the Mediterranean. Lawson was
called home, and the duty of suppressing the pirates taken up by his
successor, Sir Thomas Allen, who replaced him with twelve ships of
war, and, acting with great energy and skill, compelled the Algerines
to accept a satisfactory treaty. The Earl of Sandwich, in accordance
with his instructions, proceeded to Tangier, of which he obtained
possession from the Queen Regent of Portugal,--as part of the dowry of
the Infanta, affianced to the King of England. After manning Tangier
with English soldiers, and settling affairs, Lord Sandwich set sail
for Lisbon, to take on board the royal bride. His reception at Lisbon
was all that he could have desired; house, equipage, and appointments
on a scale befitting his dignity, as an ambassador extraordinary
to the queen. But the “business” entrusted to him presented a most
unsatisfactory aspect. The dowry of the Infanta had been fixed, and his
instructions were explicit; he was to ask for no more, but to take no
less, than the sum that had been agreed upon, and to take payment only
in “hard cash.” Tangier had already been secured, as part of the dowry,
but the part to be paid in specie was not forthcoming. The queen-mother
pleaded poverty, and asked for “time.” She averred that “the straits
and poverty of the kingdom were so great that there could at this time
be paid only one-half of the queen’s portion; that the other half
should infallibly be paid within a year, with which she hoped the king,
her brother, would be satisfied; and that, for the better doing it,
she resolved to send back the ambassador, who had brought so good a
work, with God’s blessing, to so good an end, with her daughter to the
king.” The situation was further awkward, in this, that it was proposed
to make the half payment in kind, not in cash--in jewels, sugar, and
other commodities. The earl had no difficulty about taking off the
young lady, but the “goods” were a serious embarrassment; his royal
master he knew right well wanted cash badly, but he did not suppose
him to be solicitous about “goods consignments.” The earl proved equal
to the occasion. He distinctly refused to accept goods of any kind,
at any “quotation” as regards price or value, but he would permit
them to be shipped,--to be received and accounted for by some person
in London, who should be appointed to transact the business. This
difficulty was got over, and the goods were satisfactorily converted
into cash, through the instrumentality of Diego Silvas, a wealthy Jew
of Amsterdam, who accompanied the goods to London. Lord Sandwich gave a
receipt for any denomination of money paid on account of the Infanta’s
dowry, and took from the queen-mother a special promise to pay the
balance, within the year following date of agreement. The Infanta and
her retinue were safely landed at Portsmouth in May 1662.

In the great naval conflict between the English and the Dutch in
1664–65, the Earl of Sandwich highly distinguished himself. The English
fleet was made up of 114 men-of-war and frigates, 28 fire-ships and
ketches, and about 21,000 sailors and soldiers. It was divided into
three squadrons; the first, under the red flag, was commanded by the
Duke of York, and with him Admirals Penn and Lawson; the white squadron
was commanded by Prince Rupert, and the blue squadron by the Earl of
Sandwich. The fleet arrived at the Texel on the 28th April 1664, and
cruised off the Dutch coast for about a month. Towards the end of May
the Dutch fleet was descried near the Dogger Bank. Accounts vary as
to the strength of the Dutch fleet. One careful historian puts it at
121 men-of-war, besides fire-ships, yachts, etc. Other writers give
lower estimates of the strength of the fleet. It carried 4869 guns, and
upwards of 22,000 men. It was divided into seven squadrons, commanded
by valiant and skilful admirals, some of them of the highest renown.
They were, Admirals Baron Opdam, Evertsen, Cortenaer, Stillingwerth,
Van Tromp, son of the famous old fighting admiral, Cornelius Evertsen,
and Schram.

It was said that neither the king nor the Duke of York approved the
policy of this war, and it was believed that influences were at work
to diminish the zeal and enthusiasm of the Dutch. De Witt, who was the
ruling spirit in the States, sent a letter to Opdam of a peremptory
character, ordering him to attack at once. Opdam and his officers were
agreed that the time was inopportune, and would have delayed, for a
brief space at least, until the wind and other circumstances were more
favourable, but his orders were imperative, and he felt that his honour
demanded prompt action upon them. The Dutch admiral came in sight of
the English fleet not far from Harwich, in the early morning of the 3rd
June. He bore down upon the duke’s ship with the intention of boarding.
At the commencement of the action the English had the advantage in the
weather-gage. The two fleets charged through each other’s lines with
great fury and intrepidity. Critics have given the opinion that
the English, having the wind in their favour, ought to have contented
themselves with meeting the attack of the enemy, without changing
their relative position more than could be avoided. For nine hours the
onslaught was terrible and sanguinary, without either party having
gained any decided advantage. About mid-day a brilliant movement was
executed by the Earl of Sandwich, that greatly improved the prospects
of the English. With his blue squadron compactly arranged, Lord
Sandwich broke through the enemy’s centre, and threw the whole Dutch
fleet into confusion and dire disorder.

[Illustration: CASTLE OF TANGIERS.]

Opdam’s determination from the beginning of the fight, to board the
English admiral, had never slumbered. In the midst of the consternation
caused by the dashing action of the Earl of Sandwich, Opdam, in the
_Eendract_, of eighty-four guns, was engaged in a fierce contest with
the Duke of York in the _Royal Charles_, of eighty guns. The fight
was close and deadly--yard-arm and yard-arm. The Earl of Falmouth,
Lord Muskerry, Mr. Boyle, son of the Earl of Burlington, and a number
of others, the duke’s attendants, were killed by a chain-shot, when
quite near His Grace’s person. In this terrific onslaught, either by
accident or by a grenade from the _Royal Charles_, the gun-room of the
_Eendract_, the Dutch admiral’s ship, was ignited, and the ship blown
up. Five hundred men perished in this terrible catastrophe, including
the noble and valiant Baron Opdam, and a number of volunteers
belonging to some of the best families in Holland.

The greatest confusion prevailed among the Dutch ships; they fell foul
of, and burned each other. The whole Dutch fleet seemed to be ablaze,
and the cries of the wretched men perishing by fire and water were
even more frightful and hideous than the noise of the cannon. The
shelter of night permitted the shattered remnant of the Dutch fleet to
escape. Had the light held out a little longer, the entire remainder
of the armament would have been captured or destroyed. In addition to
Opdam, Admirals Stillingwerth and Cortenaer were killed, upwards of
four thousand of the Dutchmen perished, and two thousand were taken
prisoners. Eighteen of the largest Dutch ships were taken, and fourteen
more were sunk or burned. The English had one ship taken, had two
hundred and fifty men killed, and three hundred and forty wounded. The
fight lasted without intermission from three o’clock in the morning,
till seven o’clock in the evening.

The Duke of York was severely blamed by some critics for his failure to
secure the full advantages that might have been gained by this decisive
victory. Clarendon says apologetically, that “the duke had received
so many blows on his own and the other ships, that it was necessary
to retire into port, where they might be repaired.” Bishop Burnet’s
account of the duke’s conduct after the fight puts His Grace in an
unenviable light and position. Burnet, in his circumstantial style of
minute narration, says: “After the flight of the Dutch vessels, the
duke ordered all the sail to be set on to overtake them. There was
a council of war called to concert the method of action, when they
should come up with them. In that council, Penn, who commanded under
the duke, happened to say that they must prepare for hotter work, in
the next engagement. He knew well the courage of the Dutch was never
so high as when they were desperate.” Burnet adds that “the Earl of
Montague, a volunteer, one of the duke’s court, said to me it was
very visible, that made an impression. All the duke’s domestics said
he had got honour enough,--why should he venture a second time? The
duchess had also given a strict charge to the duke’s servants, to do
all they could, to hinder him from engaging too far. When matters were
settled, they went to sleep; and the duke ordered a call to be given
him, when they should get up to the Dutch fleet. It is not known what
passed between the duke and Brounker, who was of his bed-chamber, and
was then in waiting; but he came to Penn, as from the duke, and said
the duke ordered sail to be slackened. Penn was struck with the order,
but did not go to argue the matter with the duke himself, as he ought
to have done, but obeyed the order. When the duke had slept, he, upon
his waking, went out on the quarter-deck, and seemed amazed to see the
sails slackened, and that thereby all hope of overtaking the Dutch
was lost. He questioned Penn upon it; Penn blamed Brounker, who said
nothing. The duke denied having given any such order, but he neither
punished Brounker for carrying it, nor Penn for obeying it. He put
Brounker out of his service, but durst do no more, because he was so
strong in the king’s favour. Penn was more in his favour after that
than even before,--which favour was continued to his son after him,
though a Quaker; and it was thought that all that favour was shown to
oblige him to keep the secret. Lord Montague did believe “that the duke
was struck, and that he had no mind to engage again, and that Penn was
privately with him.” Other accounts of the affair have been given,--but
none of them are a satisfactory vindication of the duke’s valour, or
evidence that he followed up his advantage, as a brave and capable
commander should have done.

The fleet returned home, and was refitted with expedition, and in less
than a month was again ready for sea. Sixty ships sailed from Southwold
Bay on the 5th July 1665, under the command of the Earl of Sandwich.
The fleet sailed northwards, and at Bergen engaged in a series of
tangled manœuvres and operations,--complicated by the part necessarily
taken by the Danish authorities. In the course of his cruise, the
earl, on the 4th September, fell in with four Dutch East Indiamen and
several merchantmen in the North Sea. They were protected by a strong
convoy. Lord Sandwich promptly attacked the Dutch, and, after a severe
conflict, captured eight of the Dutch men-of-war, two of the richest
of the East Indiamen, and several of the merchant ships;--the others
were scattered by the storm, and escaped. On the 9th of September,
four men-of-war, two fire-ships, and thirty merchantmen, losing their
courses in the fog, joined the English fleet by mistake, and were all
taken, with upwards of a thousand prisoners. The Earl of Sandwich
brought home his fleet in triumph. The contribution to the Treasury
from this expedition was most acceptable, and much needed to provide
for further costly naval operations, necessary to maintain England’s
“sovereignty of the seas.”

The valiant Earl of Sandwich, like most other eminent and successful
men, had his enemies and detractors, and foremost among these was
Sir William Coventry, the secretary to the Duke of York; “a sullen,
ill-natured, proud man, whose ambition had no limits, nor could be
contained within any.” He had prevented Prince Rupert from being
associated with Lord Sandwich in the command of the fleet, not to
favour the earl, but to mortify the prince. Clarendon pronounced him
a man “who never paid a civility to any worthy man, but as it was a
disobligation to another, whom he cared less for.” Without provocation
he proceeded to pluck the earl of the honours he had taken part in
conferring upon him. Coventry did his utmost to have the earl dismissed
from the service.

In 1666 the Earl of Sandwich was appointed to an office of great trust
and dignity--Ambassador Extraordinary, to mediate and negotiate a peace
between England and Spain and Portugal. He accomplished his delicate
mission with signal success, and in the course of a year brought
the complicated negotiations to an amicable conclusion. He arrived
at Madrid on the 26th May 1666, and a treaty of forty articles was
signed, on the 13th May 1667. Having been successful with Spain, he
next proceeded to Lisbon, and successfully arranged the conditions of a
treaty with Portugal, which was signed on the 13th February 1668.

The Earl of Sandwich achieved a high reputation by the manner
in which he conducted these important affairs of State. His
despatches were pronounced models of sound judgment, dignity, and
patriotism,--remarkable alike for accuracy of expression and honesty
of purpose. In Spain and Portugal he produced a highly favourable
impression, tending powerfully towards the cultivation of friendly
relations with England. The king and the Duke of York sent Lord
Sandwich autograph letters complimenting him highly upon the skill
and success with which he had fulfilled his mission. On his return to
England he was received with marked favour, and admitted to greater
confidence at court than he had ever, up to that time, enjoyed.

The earl was, on the 3rd August 1670, sworn in President of a
newly-appointed Council in Trade and Plantations, to whom the
government of the Colonies was entrusted. As Vice-Admiral, Privy
Councillor, and President of the Council of Trade, he had many
opportunities of rendering important public services. He availed
himself of these with great zeal, and exercised his authority in the
most impartial spirit. He set his face against all factions, and in
doing so, made for himself some bitter enemies. The Cabal did all they
could to thwart and undermine him. He introduced a new system into the
navy, founding promotion upon meritorious services. He was idolised by
the fleet, but hated by the hunters after rank, who had no better claim
to promotion than connection or private interest.

In 1672 war with the Dutch again broke out. The interval that had
elapsed, since the close of the former hostilities, had been diligently
employed by the Dutch in refitting their navy, and they turned out
a powerful fleet of ships, improved in construction, well equipped,
and commanded by the distinguished Admiral De Ruyter. The naval force
of France acted in conjunction with that of England. The Duke of
York, although his conduct in the former actions had been at least
questionable, again assumed the chief command of the English fleet, in
the red squadron which took the centre. The Earl of Sandwich commanded
the blue squadron, and Count D’Estrées, the French vice-admiral, the
white squadron. A trustworthy writer has given the strength of the
united English and French fleets as sixty-five line of battle ships,
exclusive of frigates and all necessary attendant vessels, making up
the total force, including the French contingent, to something above
one hundred sail. The Dutch fleet consisted of seventy-five large
ships, and forty frigates and fire-ships, commanded by De Ruyter as
chief, by Bancquert in the van, and Van Ghent in the rear. These
divisions corresponded with those of the combined fleet.

[Illustration: ACTION BETWEEN THE EARL OF SANDWICH AND ADMIRAL DE
RUYTER.]

After cruising about from the first week in May till the 28th, the
Dutch fleet was descried at break of day, approaching with great speed.
The utmost haste was needed in the English fleet to prepare for battle;
and many of the ships had to cut their cables to get away and form in
order. The blue squadron, commanded by the Earl of Sandwich, in his
flag-ship the _Royal James_, of one hundred guns, commenced the action
by a hot attack on the squadron of Van Ghent. The earl’s object in his
attack was partly to give the vessels of the combined fleet time to
form. In this he was completely successful. Captain Brackel, in the
_Great Holland_, made a furious attack upon the _Royal James_, but got
much the worst of the fight, and was, with several others of the Dutch
men-of-war, disabled by their powerful antagonist, which also sank
three of the Dutch fire-ships. The white squadron, under D’Estrées, the
French vice-admiral, withstood for a time the fierce onslaught of the
Dutch, but soon sheered off,--keeping aloof from the engagement during
the remainder of the day.

The Duke of York and De Ruyter were warmly engaged against each other
for several hours. The main-mast of the _St. Michael_, the duke’s
ship, was shot down, and it sustained such serious damage as to compel
him to change into the _Loyal London_. The most desperate part of the
battle was that in which the Earl of Sandwich was engaged. Soon after
he was attacked by the _Great Holland_, which had grappled with him
for an hour and a half, when the whole of Van Ghent’s squadron bore
down upon him. He was completely surrounded by Dutch men-of-war and
fire-ships. In the midst of this tremendous struggle Van Ghent fell.
The _Great Holland_ was shattered, and became a wreck; Brackel, the
commander, was wounded, and almost all the other officers were killed
or wounded. In this unequal contest, which had lasted for more than
five hours, the Earl of Sandwich defended his ship with the most heroic
and dauntless bravery, and--although he had not received from the rest
of the squadron the support he had a right to claim and expect--he
succeeded in so far repulsing the enemy as to break through their wall
of fire, and continue his daring conflict with them from the outer
side. He carried on, against fearful odds, the struggle for victory.
In his desperate strait, the vice-admiral, Sir Joseph Jordan, might
have assisted him, had the duke demanded his assistance, but he sailed
past, heedless of the condition of the wrecked flag-ship, and the
claims upon a brave comrade, its gallant commander. When the earl saw
Jordan pass unheeding, he exclaimed, “There is nothing left for us now
but to defend the ship, to the last man.” The situation was appalling.
Of one thousand men on board the _Royal James_ at the commencement
of the action, six hundred lay dead upon the deck. The devastation
continued,--men dropped rapidly,--and the ship was so shattered that it
was impossible to carry her off. A fourth fire-ship grappled the doomed
_Royal James_, and accomplished its mission of destruction. The gallant
ship was speedily in flames. The earl entreated his captain, Sir
Richard Haddock, his servants, and all who could, to get into the boats
and save themselves, which at last they did. Haddock was afterwards
taken out of the sea alive, but severely wounded in the thigh. The
attempts to extinguish the fire by the few sailors who remained on
board were utterly vain, and about noon the _Royal James_ blew up, and
all who had remained in the ship perished, including the brave Earl of
Sandwich and one of his sons. The body of the earl was not recovered
till a fortnight after the terrible event. The following announcement
appeared in the _Gazette_ of 10th June 1672:--

                                                  “HARWICH, _10th June_.

    “This day the body of the Right Honourable Edward, Earl of
    Sandwich, being, by the order upon his coat, discovered floating
    on the sea by one of His Majesty’s ketches, was taken up and
    brought into this port, where Sir Charles Littleton, the governor,
    receiving it, took immediate care for its embalming and honourable
    disposing, till His Majesty’s pleasure should be known concerning
    it; for the obtaining of which His Majesty was attended at
    Whitehall the next day by the master of the said vessel, who, by
    Sir Charles Littleton’s order, was sent to present His Majesty with
    the George found upon the body of the said Earl, which remained,
    at the time of its taking up, in every part unblemished, saving by
    some impression made by the fire upon his face and breast; upon
    which His Majesty, out of his great regard to the deservings of the
    said Earl, and his unexampled performances in this last act of his
    life, hath resolved to have his body brought up to London; there
    at his charge, to receive the rites of funeral due to his great
    quality and merits.”

Reverting to the terrible contest, it is stated that the battle raged
with incessant fury from a little after seven in the morning until nine
o’clock in the evening. Tremendous losses were sustained by both the
English and the Dutch, on whose side their admirals, Evertsen and Van
Ghent, with many of their chief officers, were killed, and De Ruyter
was wounded. The English also lost many officers, besides the brave
Earl of Sandwich,--and vast numbers of men fell in both fleets. Victory
was claimed by both sides, but it seems to have been gained by neither.
They fought as long as a remnant of fighting life and strength were
left in either of them. At the end of the dreadful day’s work the Dutch
sailed away, which does not look like victory. The English did not
pursue them, which looks also as if they had had enough of it.

The body of the deceased earl was conveyed from Harwich to Deptford
in one of the king’s yachts. The _Gazette_ of 4th July informs us
that the body was at Deptford on the 3rd July 1672, “laid in the
most solemn manner in a sumptuous barge, and conveyed to Westminster
Bridge,[3] attended by the King’s barge, His Royal Highness the Duke of
York’s, as also with the several barges of the nobility, Lord Mayor,
and the several companies of the city of London, adorned suitably to
the melancholy occasion, with trumpets and other music that sounded
the deepest notes. On passing by the Tower, the great guns there
were discharged, as well as at Whitehall; and about five o’clock in
the evening, the body being taken out of the barge at Westminster
Bridge, there was a procession to the Abbey church, with the greatest
magnificence. Eight earls were assistant to his son Edward, Earl of
Sandwich, chief mourner; and most of the nobility, and other persons
of quality in town, gave their assistance to his interment.” In this
order they proceeded through a double line of the King’s Guards drawn
up on each side of the street, to the west end of the Abbey, where the
dean, prebends, and choir received them, and conducted them into Henry
Seventh’s Chapel, where the remains of the Earl of Sandwich were most
solemnly committed to, the Duke of Albemarle’s vault,--which done, the
officers broke their white staffs, and Garter proclaimed the titles of
the most noble earl deceased. The great earl perished in the prime of
life, having only reached his forty-seventh year.

    [3] A causeway so called at that time.

The high character and noble qualities of the Earl of Sandwich are so
clearly revealed in his life, as to render comment upon his character,
or enumeration of his qualities, superfluous. He took no share in
intrigues, either under the Commonwealth or the Monarchy, both of which
he served. His life was a continuous series of public services. He
was brave, wise, just, and generous,--the advocate of no party. His
highest ambition was to be instrumental in promoting the prosperity of
his country, and maintaining its honour among the nations.




PRINCE RUPERT,

NAVAL AND MILITARY COMMANDER.

CHAPTER XII.

THE DUTCH DISCOVER ENGLISH COURAGE TO BE INVINCIBLE.


Some heroes of the olden time played many parts, which are in these
later days assigned to distinct and separate performers. The division
of labour was not then so well understood and appreciated,--and
specialists were more rare. Prince Rupert, like Blake, his great
antagonist, with whom he repeatedly came into conflict upon land
and at sea, distinguished himself highly as a military as well as a
naval commander. He was, in addition, an accomplished chemist and
metallurgist, and in general scientific culture and attainments much in
advance of his age. Rupert was endowed with a degree of native energy
that swept aside temptations to indulge in luxurious idleness, and
made effeminacy impossible. He was preternaturally restless, active,
and impetuous; so much so, as to have made his name a proverbial
adjective, expressive of these qualities. This was illustrated in the
case of a distinguished deceased statesman, Earl Derby, who was fitly
pronounced “the Rupert of debate.”

[Illustration: PRINCE RUPERT AT EDGEHILL.]

Prince Rupert was the third son of Frederick, Elector Palatine, King
of Bohemia, and Princess Elizabeth, eldest daughter of King James I.,
and sister of Charles I., King of England,--to whom he was accordingly
nephew. He was born at Prague, 18th December 1619. He was probably
educated and trained, as most German princes were then,--and have
continued to be since,--with a view to his following the profession of
arms. In 1630 he was a student at Leyden, and proved himself an apt
scholar, particularly in languages. Military studies, even as a boy,
he prosecuted with much zest. In 1633, a lad of fourteen years, he
was with the Prince of Orange at the siege of Rheneberg, and served
as a volunteer against the Spaniards in the Prince’s Life Guards.
In 1635 he was at the English court, and in the following year took
the degree--or had it conferred upon him--of M.A. at Oxford. In 1638
he was again at the Hague, and took part in the siege of Breda, at
which he exhibited his characteristic reckless bravery. He was taken
prisoner by the Austrians, and was confined for three years at Linz.
Overtures were pressed upon him, which he steadfastly resisted, to
change his religion, and take service under the emperor. In 1642 he
was released, and returned to the Hague, proceeding shortly afterwards
to England, where he was made Master of the Horse, otherwise commander
of the king’s cavalry, when only twenty-three years of age. He joined
the king at Leicester in August 1642, and was present at the raising
of the royal standard at Nottingham. He was about that time admitted
to the dignity of Knight of the Garter. He introduced important
improvements in cavalry movements and general military administration.
He displayed great activity and bravery, in the actions at Worcester
and Edgehill. He was opposed in his march to London, and led valiantly
in some desperate fighting. In 1643 took Cirencester for the king,
but failed in his attempt to take Gloucester. He had a number of
stirring military actions and adventures in different parts of the
country, and amongst them a conflict with John Hampden at Chalgrove
on the 18th June, in which the patriot was slain. Throughout the war
Rupert exhibited unwavering intrepidity. In token of appreciation of
his services, the king raised him to the dignity of a peer of England,
under the title of Earl of Holderness and Duke of Cumberland, and
appointed him Generalissimo of the army. In the course of events,
during the contest between the king and the Parliament, Rupert achieved
some victories, but sustained also many reverses, which culminated
in the defeat of the king’s forces, at the battle of Naseby. Rupert
was regarded with envy, jealousy, and dislike by a large party of the
courtiers, who intrigued against him, and sought to diminish or destroy
his influence. The queen was also against him. From Naseby the king and
his shattered army fled to Bristol, which Rupert engaged to hold for
four months, but surrendered in three weeks,--not from lack of bravery,
but from impatience, and inability to endure an inactive life--he was
as a caged lion. A contemporary critic says of him that he was “the
boldest _attaquer_ in the world for personal courage, but wanted the
patience and seasoned head to consult and advise for defence.” Although
impetuous and courageous to a fault, he was not utterly reckless,--and
his view of the situation, estimate of forces, and calculation as to
probabilities, led him to counsel the king to endeavour to come to
terms with the Parliament.

A brilliant incident in Rupert’s career, in which the heroism of
a noble lady shines resplendent, merits a brief reference. Lathom
House, the seat of the Earl of Derby, was left in charge, during the
absence of the earl on public affairs, of his countess, Charlotte de
la Tremouille. The Parliamentary forces demanded possession, which the
countess promptly and uncompromisingly resisted, although confronted
with an army ten times the strength of her garrison. The siege
commenced on the 24th February 1644. The fortress was bombarded by
chain shot, bars of iron, stone balls of thirteen inches diameter,
weighing eighty pounds, and all sorts of terrible missiles. The
artillery of the assailants slackened for a time, and the beleaguered
garrison made a gallant sortie; they slew thirty of the enemy, and took
from them “forty guns and a drum.” Although suffering great privations,
the answer of the countess to the repeated demands to capitulate was,
that they would never be taken alive, but would burn the place and
perish in the flames rather than surrender. Prince Rupert and his
gallant cavalry arrived on the 27th May, put the besiegers to the
rout, and relieved the long-suffering, noble countess and her gallant
garrison.

The civil war was virtually ended with the battle of Naseby, June 14,
1645. Rupert applied to Parliament for a pass to go abroad, which they
would only grant upon conditions that he could not accept. He was
taken prisoner by Sir Thomas Fairfax, the Parliamentary commander. On
the demand of the Parliament, Rupert proceeded to France, where he
was made a marshal in the French army, and commenced at once active
service. He sustained a wound in the head at Armentières in 1647.
Part of the English fleet, that had adhered to the king, sailed to
Holland, whither Rupert went also, to commence his career as a naval
commander. In conjunction with the Prince of Wales, to whom part of
the Parliamentary fleet had revolted, he assumed the command of the
fleet; the sole command, very soon after, devolved upon Prince Rupert.

He set out upon a piratical expedition, inflicted considerable injury
upon English trade, and after relieving Grenville at the Scilly
Isles, sailed for the coast of Ireland, with the desire to assist, if
possible, the king’s nearly hopeless cause. Rupert took the harbour and
fort of Kinsale, but not for use or according to his own pleasure, for
his old antagonist Blake was upon him, with a powerful squadron, which
the prince must either engage or remain blocked up in Kinsale. With
his characteristic dashing bravery, he attempted to force his way out
of port, and did so, but at the loss of the _Roebuck_ and the _Black
Prince_, two of Rupert’s best ships, which were sunk in the encounter.
Rupert sailed for Portugal, and was well received by the king, but
Blake followed hard after him, and blockaded him in the Tagus. Again
the gallant Rupert broke through, and sailed for the Mediterranean. He
refitted at Toulon, and did a good deal of not altogether unprofitable
piratical work in a cruise about Madeira, the Canaries, the Azores,
Cape de Verd, and the West Indies. Blake, however, followed him
whithersoever he went, and attacked him on every opportunity. Rupert
was greatly overmatched, and his strength continuously reduced.
Having lost most of his ships, with the remainder shattered and unfit
for sea, at the close of 1652, he took the remnant and such prizes as
he had made, and been able to keep, to Nantes, where he sold them,
and with the proceeds paid the wages of his faithful crews, whom he
discharged,--and then laid aside his command as an admiral.

Louis XIV. invited Rupert to Paris, and made him Master of the Horse
in the French army. The restless energy of the prince prevented his
settling,--and he travelled in France for a time, returning to Paris
in 1655. About this time he took a turn of work in the laboratory,
and completed a series of experiments, in which he succeeded in very
greatly increasing the explosive force of gunpowder. He prosecuted
his studies and researches in relation to other arts also, including
mezzotint engraving, of which he was the reputed inventor.

On the restoration of Charles II. in May 1660, Prince Rupert was sent
for by the king, and appears to have been connected with the court for
a few years. In 1661 the prince, in company with a number of noblemen
and persons of rank and eminence, was called to the Bar of the Inner
Temple. In the following year he was sworn as a member of the Privy
Council, and was also declared a Fellow of the Royal Society, which was
then founded, the king subscribing the statutes as founder and patron.

In 1664, Prince Rupert was appointed admiral of a fleet, that had been
equipped to watch the movements of the Dutch. He hoisted his flag on
board the _Henrietta_, and afterwards on the _Royal James_. He took
part, as admiral of the white, in the great sea-fight between the
English and Dutch fleets, off Lowestoft, in June 1665. The English
fleet was commanded by H.R.H. James, Duke of York, afterwards James
II., King of England; the Dutch were commanded by Admirals Opdam and
Van Tromp. The English got the weather-gage of the Dutch, and about
three o’clock on a fine summer morning, commenced the action, awaking
the inhabitants of Lowestoft by the thunder of their artillery. The
contest was desperate, victory trembling in the balance during many
hours. About noon the Earl of Sandwich came up with a reinforcement,
and fell upon the Dutch centre, which threw them into the confusion
that ended in their defeat. The Duke of York in his flag-ship, the
_Royal Charles_, of eighty guns, and the Dutch Admiral Opdam in the
_Eendracht_, of eighty-four guns, were engaged closely, ship to
ship, yard-arm and yard-arm, when about noon the _Eendracht_ blew up
with a tremendous explosion, the disaster attributable, probably, to
careless management of the powder magazine, and distribution of the
ammunition. Admiral Opdam and five hundred men perished; many of them
were volunteers belonging to some of the best families in Holland, with
a number of Frenchmen, whose lives were the price they paid for the
gratification of their curiosity to witness a sea-fight. Only five of
the crew escaped. The explosion was one of a succession of misfortunes
that befell the Dutch. A number of their best ships ran foul of each
other, and were burnt by the English fire-ships. With a greatly reduced
fleet, the gallant Van Tromp doggedly continued the unequal contest,
and retreated fighting. The Duke of York was much censured for his
failure to pursue his advantage, and terminate, at least for a time,
the contest with Holland, as some authorities thought he might have
done. This we have already referred to.

[Illustration: TOULON.]

The impetuosity that had characterised Rupert in his earlier actions,
and had detracted from the value of his services, was now tempered and
subdued, and made him what he was not before, a safe commander. In the
action with Opdam’s fleet, the prince rendered most important service,
that encouraged the belief that he would achieve high distinction as
a naval commander. On the 24th June, Prince Rupert again attacked the
Dutch, pursued them to their own coast, and blocked them up in their
harbours. Again, in the autumn of the same year, having the sole
command of the English fleet, Prince Rupert, learning that the Dutch
were endeavouring to form a junction with a French squadron of forty
sail, followed them so closely into Boulogne Roads as to place them in
imminent danger. A violent storm compelled the prince to return to St.
Helen’s Bay, and prevented him from following up his advantage. Sir
Thomas Allen did so shortly afterwards.

Prince Rupert on his return was warmly welcomed by the king and the
nation, with whom he was becoming a popular favourite. He was now
associated with the Duke of Albemarle in the command of the English
navy.

In the spring of 1666 the duke and Prince Rupert were afloat with
a fleet that had been equipped for operations against the Dutch.
It was unfortunate that their power should have been divided, by
detaching Prince Rupert with a squadron, to look for the French and
thwart their naval operations. The duke had a fleet of sixty ships.
On the morning of the 1st of June he got sight of the Dutch fleet,
under Admirals Evertsen, De Ruyter, and Van Tromp,[4] which was found
to consist of ninety-one ships, many of them first-rates, with a
number and weight of guns greatly superior to those of the English
fleet. Lord Albemarle, without hesitation, gave battle. The fight was
carried on with desperate bravery during the whole of that day, and
resumed on the day following. The action is described in our notice
of the Duke of Albemarle. Prince Rupert could find no trace of any
French fleet destined to assist the Dutch, and returned to his home
station. On the 3rd June he came up with the Duke of Albemarle,
whose greatly overmatched squadrons had been so knocked about and
reduced, as to necessitate retreat, which he conducted with great skill
and undiminished courage. In joining forces with the duke, a great
misfortune happened to Prince Rupert’s squadron. The _Royal Prince_,
commanded by Sir George Ayscough, the largest and heaviest ship in the
fleet, ran aground on the Galloper Sands; being without hope of relief,
it was surrendered, and Ayscough, its commander, taken prisoner.

    [4] Cornelius Van Tromp, second son of the great admiral killed
        in 1653.

On the morning of the 4th June, the combined squadrons of Albemarle and
Rupert, although still greatly inferior in power to the Dutch, started
after them in pursuit,--the Dutch being almost out of sight. About
eight in the morning they again commenced their onslaught upon each
other. Five times the English fleet charged through the Dutch line,
firing into it, right and left. Rupert’s ship became disabled, and that
of Albemarle terribly shattered, and the injuries on both sides were
most disastrous. About seven in the evening the hostile fleets drew
off from each other,--their commanders appearing to agree, tacitly, in
thinking that they had enough of it, for the present.

This, which may be pronounced a drawn battle, has been regarded as
the most terrible action fought in this, or perhaps in any other
war. So the Dutch admirals also considered it. De Witt says of it:
“If the English were beat, their defeat did them more honour than
all their former victories; all that the Dutch had discovered was,
that Englishmen might be killed, and English ships might be burned,
but English courage was invincible.” It is not easy to say who were
victors on the whole, and what the losses were of the victors and the
vanquished respectively. Dutch historians compute our loss at sixteen
men-of-war, of which ten were sunk and six taken. Our writers put
the Dutch loss at fifteen men-of-war, twenty-one captains, and five
thousand men. The Dutch themselves admit that they lost nine ships,
and had a prodigious number of men slain. Discounting even the lowest
estimates, it seems impossible to realise the scenes that produced such
ghastly results.

Only a short breathing-time was taken by the combatants, and a brief
space for a hurried repair of damages. Before the end of June the Dutch
fleet was again at sea, and was met by an English fleet of eighty
men-of-war of different sizes, and nineteen fire-ships, divided into
three squadrons. The command was again with the Duke of Albemarle
and Prince Rupert. The Dutch fleet of eighty-eight men-of-war, and
twenty fire-ships, was also in three squadrons, commanded by Admirals
De Ruyter, John Evertsen, brother to the admiral who was killed in a
former engagement, and Cornelius Van Tromp.

About noon the hostile fleets came into contact off the North Foreland.
Rupert and the duke, who were in the same ship, made a desperate
attack upon De Ruyter’s ship, which was in the centre of the Dutch
fleet. After fighting for about three hours, their ship had sustained
such serious injuries as to force them to betake themselves to another.
The most dogged bravery was displayed on both sides, but the English
had the best of the battle. The Dutch retreated. All that night Prince
Rupert and the duke followed in pursuit of De Ruyter. When the gallant
Dutchman found himself so hard pressed, and his fleet in such imminent
danger, he is said to have cried in despair, “My God, what a wretch
am I! Is there not one of these thousands of bullets to put me out of
pain?” He reached, however, the shallow coast of Holland, where the
English could not follow him. Prince Rupert sent a small shallop, with
two small guns on board, close up to De Ruyter’s ship,--the men rowing
it into position,--and opened fire upon the admiral. A return shot
proved convincing to the assailants that this was too dangerous, and
the shallop was rowed back.

This, it is stated, was the most decided and unquestioned victory
gained during the war. The Dutch were completely defeated, and the
two great admirals, De Ruyter and Van Tromp, could only attempt their
defence by angry recriminations. The Dutch lost twenty ships in the
action; four of their admirals, and a great many captains, and about
four thousand men were killed, with as many wounded. The English lost
one ship burnt, had three captains and about three hundred men killed.

From 1666 till 1672 there was an interval of peace, during which
Prince Rupert applied himself to scientific pursuits. On the death
of the Earl of Sandwich in 1672, Rupert was appointed to succeed him
as Vice-Admiral of England, and when the Duke of York shortly after
retired from command of the fleet, Prince Rupert was appointed Lord
High Admiral of England.

Prince Rupert commenced his active duties with the new dignity in April
1673. He effected an important change in naval spirit and method. The
Dutch had hitherto come to us, Rupert went to them. The Hollanders
were rather surprised to find an English fleet at their doors in
the middle of May 1673. De Ruyter was riding within the sands at
Schonebeck, and occupied a very advantageous position, from which it
was desirable he should be drawn. About nine in the morning of the 28th
a squadron, consisting of thirty-five frigates and thirteen fire-ships,
were accordingly detached to lure the enemy from his anchorage. The
ruse was successful, and the action commenced at noon. The advanced
detachment engaged Van Tromp, and the prince attacked De Ruyter. The
contest was obstinate, and the contending ships inflicted tremendous
punishment upon each other. Van Tromp shifted his flag four times,--and
his English antagonists, Spragge and the Earl of Ossory, had to do
the like. Rupert, on his part, did all that could be expected from a
wise and valiant commander. Towards the close of the battle, which
lasted till night, Rupert’s ship had taken in such quantities of water
as to throw out of use the lower tier of guns. The Dutch retreated
behind their sands, which averted what would have been their defeat.
In reporting on the action to the Earl of Arlington, Prince Rupert
writes: “Had it not been for the shoals, we had driven them into their
harbours, and the king would have had a better account of them.”

[Illustration: W. THOMAS.

ADRIAN DE RUYTER.]

With the advantage of recruiting immediately, being at home,--the Dutch
were again at sea at the beginning of June. Suspicious that the enemy
meant to take us by surprise, Prince Rupert went on board the _Royal
Sovereign_ on the evening of 3rd June, and watched during the whole of
the night. On the morning of the 4th the Dutch were seen bearing down
upon our fleet. Rupert, more than willing to meet them, ordered his
cables to be cut. The action lasted from about four in the afternoon
till dark, but no great damage was done, and there was no fighting at
close quarters. Between ten and eleven at night the Dutch bore away to
the east.

Considerably strengthened, the hostile fleets came together again
in August, when Prince Rupert encountered De Ruyter for the third
time. The French were in this action our allies, but Rear-Admiral De
Martel was the only commander in the French contingent that was, in
honesty and earnestness, a combatant. Rupert had to trust to himself,
and to Sir Edward Spragge, for such help as he might be able to get
from him. Against Prince Rupert and his squadron that occupied the
centre of the English line of battle, the attack was concentrated.
The English fleet consisted of about sixty men-of-war, and the French
of thirty. The Dutch fleet had about seventy ships, but the numerical
superiority of Rupert’s force was illusory. With the exception of De
Martel, none of the French commanders rendered any assistance,--they
were mere spectators. They deserted their own countryman,--the brave
Martel,--and looked on with craven stare as he bore unaided the
combined attack of five Dutch ships,--one of which he disabled, and
made the others sheer off. The contest was furious and protracted, but
indecisive. The conduct of Prince Rupert throughout the action was
resolute, courageous, judicious, and worthy of the highest admiration.
The pusillanimity of the French, and the disobedience or misconception
of orders, on the part of his subordinate admirals and commanders,
prevented the action from being a signal victory.

Soon after this action Prince Rupert retired from public life, although
he did not resign his Admiralty commission till 1679. The years of
his retirement were passed chiefly at Windsor Castle, his time being
much given to literary and scientific studies and pursuits. He was an
active member of the Board of Trade, and a governor of the Hudson’s Bay
Company. Reference has already been made to his skill as an engraver,
and to his improvement in the composition of gunpowder. He was the
inventor of a method of treating plumbago,--converting it into a
tractable fluid. Amongst his other inventions were the amalgam, named
after him prince’s metal, for sheathing ships; a screw applied to a
quadrant at sea, which prevented shifting, either from the unsteadiness
of the observer’s hands or from the ship’s motion; a rapid discharging
gun; an engine for raising water; an improved method of blasting in
mines; a quick and accurate method of drawing in perspective.

Prince Rupert died in his house in Spring Gardens, London, on the 29th
November 1682, in the sixty-third year of his age. He was interred in
the Chapel of Henry VII., in Westminster Abbey, with the honour and
respect due to his rank and character.

Throughout life he was eminently brave. He had natural and acquired
powers, that lifted him high above the run of common men. He was
thoroughly straightforward, detested cabals and intrigues, and kept
entirely aloof from them, although he suffered from them,--especially
as a naval commander. He never meddled with affairs of State or Cabinet
or matters that were not his business. In religion he was a steady
Protestant; to the State a zealous and faithful servant; to his king a
loyal and devoted subject. It is not too much to say of him that he was
an honest, wise, and brave man.




SIR EDWARD SPRAGGE,

ONE BORN TO COMMAND.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE DUTCH AVOW SUCH FIERCE FIGHTING NEVER TO HAVE BEEN SEEN.


Those who are “born great” enjoy favourable conditions for also
achieving greatness, provided they are possessed of the necessary
qualifications. On the other hand, there have been many instances of
men who have proved themselves “born to command,” whose forebears have
left no trace of their existence. The naval heroes of the later half
of the seventeenth century belonged to all classes, princes of the
blood royal, scions of ancient and honourable houses, and many without
any early records. The brave Sir Edward Spragge belongs to the last
category.

Sir Edward Spragge, in 1661, was captain of the _Portland_, and
afterwards, in succession, the _Dover_, the _Lion_, the _Royal
James_, and the _Triumph_, which he commanded in the great battle
with the Dutch off Lowestoft, on the 3rd June 1665. The mighty Dutch
fleet in this battle comprised a hundred and three men-of-war, eleven
fire-ships, and seven yachts. It was in seven squadrons, commanded
by Admirals Opdam, Van Tromp, John Evertsen, Cornelius Evertsen,
Cortenaer, Stillingwerth, and Schram. In this important action,
referred to in the sketch of Prince Rupert, Spragge and Van Tromp made
each other’s acquaintance as antagonists. Amongst many devoted heroes
on both sides, Spragge distinguished himself highly by his conspicuous
bravery, which procured him the honour of knighthood, conferred on the
24th June of the same year.

In 1666, Sir Edward was promoted rear-admiral of the white, and again,
vice-admiral of the blue. As commander of the _Dreadnought_, he took
a distinguished part in the four days’ battle with the Dutch in June
1666,--his brave and skilful conduct attracting the particular notice
of the Duke of Albemarle. On the 24th July, Spragge, carrying his flag
in the blue squadron, again engaged Van Tromp; he completely disabled
Tromp’s vice-admiral, killed his rear-admiral, and ruined the rigging
of his ship,--thus contributing greatly to the success of the action.

In the following year Sir Edward was appointed to an onerous duty, by
the Duke of Albemarle--the defence of the fort at Sheerness, threatened
by the Dutch. On the 10th June 1667, the Dutch attacked the fort. The
place was really incapable of effective resistance, its sole defence
consisting of a platform on which fifteen iron guns were mounted. He
bravely continued to resist for a time the combined fierce attack of
about thirty men-of-war. Continued resistance, however, would have
resulted in the inevitable destruction of his gallant garrison, and he
skilfully made good his retreat.

The appearance of the Dutch fleet in the Thames, and the capture of
Sheerness, created a panic in London and in England generally, and
brought many reproaches on Charles II.,--stirring up remembrances of
Cromwell and the Commonwealth, under whose auspices the dignity and
honour of the country had always been maintained. The fort of Sheerness
was destroyed. The Dutch (who had received very little damage), it was
feared, might at the next tide sail up the Thames, and extend their
hostilities even to London Bridge. Thirteen ships were in consequence
sunk at Northfleet and four at Blackwall; platforms were raised in many
places, and furnished with artillery; the trained bands were called
out, and every place was in violent agitation.

Spragge collected such naval force as he could, and retreated up the
Medway, with a squadron of five frigates, seventeen fire-ships,--an
extraordinary proportion!--and a few tenders. He took his station near
the battery at Gillingham, opposite Upnor Castle, where he gave the
Dutch, under Admiral Van Ness, a very warm reception, as they attempted
to force their way up the river. The Dutch retreated, and, after paying
a hostile visit to Harwich, returned again to the Medway, and on the
23rd July sailed up to near the Hope, where a squadron, slightly
reinforced, and placed under the command of Sir Edward Spragge, awaited
them. When the Dutch came up, Sir Edward unfortunately had not arrived
to take the command, and the enemy were very near snatching a victory.
Hostilities were renewed on the second day, under Sir Edward’s personal
command. The enemy were attacked with great vigour and effect, and
the Dutch sheered off, with Spragge in hot pursuit. By dexterous
management he contrived so to tow his fire-ships as to burn twelve of
the enemy’s, with an expenditure of six of his own fire-ships. On the
25th, at daylight, the Dutch had dropped down as far as the buoy at the
Nore. Sir Edward following them was compelled by the tide coming up
against him, to come to an anchor at a point a little below Lee. At one
o’clock, the flood being spent, the Dutch fleet got under way, and our
squadron resumed pursuit. The fleets opened fire upon each other, but
at too great a distance for the guns, such as they were at that period,
to be effective. On the 26th, Sir J. Jordan arrived from Harwich
with a reinforcement. He contrived to pass the Dutch fleet, which lay
between him and Spragge, and joined in the attack upon the Dutch; on
the 27th the Dutch were out of sight, without having given Sir Edward a
chance of closing with them. This was the last action in that war with
the Dutch.

[Illustration: THE DUTCH FLEET CAPTURES SHEERNESS.]

In 1668, Sir Edward was appointed an envoy to the Constable of Castile,
who had recently been made Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Sir
Edward’s function was to compliment the governor on his appointment,
and to complete further negotiations in relation to certain State
measures in which Sir Edward was interested, and with which he was
conversant. The estimation in which Sir Edward was held may be inferred
from the following extract from a letter of Lord Arlington to Sir
William Temple. It is dated London, December 11, 1668. “The bearer, Sir
Edward Spragge, is sent by His Majesty to the Constable of Castile, to
compliment His Excellency upon his arrival in Flanders; where it is
possible you may either meet him, according to your late credential, or
send to him, in order to something in His Majesty’s service, I thought
I could not do less than, in a few lines, let you know that he is a
brave man, and hath long served His Majesty faithfully (particularly
with much gallantry in the last Dutch wars); that you may on all
occasions put that value upon him which is his due, and which shall be
always acknowledged by,” etc. Sir Edward returned to Whitehall from his
embassy on the 29th of January following.

While the Dutch and English had been fighting each other, they had
given a golden opportunity, of which an enemy common to both--the
Algerine corsairs--had taken full advantage. These pirates infested the
Mediterranean, and were the scourge of the traders of Western Europe.
Expeditions had been repeatedly sent against them by both the English
and the Dutch. They had been often punished in skirmishing actions, and
cowed for a little while,--but never crushed. They entered readily into
treaties, binding them to better behaviour, but broke the treaties, and
their promises, before the negotiators of the other part reached their
respective home ports. The merchants complained loudly of their heavy
losses at the hands of the corsairs, and of the ruinous risks, incurred
in the conduct of foreign commerce. The king and his advisers, unable
to deny that the complaints were well grounded, selected Sir Edward
Spragge to command a squadron to be sent against the pirates, in the
hope that he would be successful in his operations, and especially that
he would follow up and establish his success more effectively than had
been done hitherto. Sir Edward had the character at court of possessing
a sound judgment, resolute purpose, daring courage, and withal a
captivating address, and the most polished manners.

Sir Edward sailed from England in the spring of the year 1671, with
five frigates and three fire-ships, in the expectation of being joined
by other ships on the way, so that he might have a fleet of about
twelve sail in all. Misfortunes befell the squadron on the way. The
_Eagle_ fire-ship became disabled in a storm, and another ship sprang
her main-mast, and had to leave for repair. The _Eagle_ had such
refitting as could be done, and the squadron held on its way, and
about May Day 1671, entered the Bay of Boujeiah, or Bugia, in a brisk
gale. The intention was to fire the ships of the Algerines, and a
night attempt was made upon them by the men and boats of the squadron,
but was frustrated by the premature lighting of the fire-ship that
was to have carried the flames into the midst of the Algerines. They
took alarm, and in haste unrigged their ships, and for defence made a
strong boom of the spars, lashed together, and buoyed up with casks.
The discharge of a pistol by a drunken gunner set light to a second
fire-ship, which was destroyed, leaving only one more, the _Little
Victory_, which unfortunately drew too much water to approach the part
of the bay where the Algerines lay.

On the 8th May 1671, a body of horse and foot were seen on shore; they
were an escort to a large supply of ammunition, that had been sent from
Algiers for their ships. On its safe arrival, the Algerines fired off
their cannon, as a joyous salute. Sir Edward Spragge, uncertain as
to future reinforcements, concluded that prompt energetic action was
the most hopeful course to pursue. He directed the _Little Victory_
to be lightened, so that she might not draw above eight feet. About
noon a fine breeze sprang up, and the admiral gave the signal for the
men-of-war to draw into line, and bear into the bay. The ships bore
in as directed. The admiral came to an anchor in four fathom water,
and was a mark within range for the castle guns, which directed their
fire upon him for two hours. His own pinnace and those of the _Mary_
and the _Dragon_ were manned with crews told off for the honourable
and dangerous service of cutting the boom, which they did gallantly,
although not without loss in killed and wounded. In the admiral’s
pinnace there were seven men killed, and all the rest wounded, except
Mr. Harman, who commanded. Lieutenant Pierce, of the _Dragon_, with
ten of his men, were wounded, and one man killed. Lieutenant Pinn, of
the _Mary’s_ boat, was wounded, and eight of his men besides. The boom
being cut, the fire-ship went in, and, getting up athwart the bowsprits
of the Algerine ships,--the _Little Victory_ being thoroughly well
alight,--set fire to, and destroyed the whole of the enemy’s ships.
Captain Harris, who commanded the fire-ship, his master’s mate, a
gunner, and one of the seamen, were badly wounded, and the well-planned
attack might have failed in execution, but for the forethought of
the admiral in appointing a deputy commander to act in case of need.
This was Henry Williams, master’s mate, who had formerly commanded
the _Rose_ fire-ship. As deputy and acting commander, he performed
admirably, with unflinching courage, the duties thus devolving upon
him. The Algerine ships destroyed were--the _White Horse_, the _Orange
Tree_, the _Three Cypress Trees_, each of thirty-four guns; the _Three
Half Moons_, twenty-eight guns; the _Pearl_, twenty-six guns; and the
_Golden Crown_, and _Half Moon_, each of twenty-four guns.

This loss to the Algerines was almost irreparable. These picked
men-of-war ships had been specially selected to fight Sir Edward
Spragge. They were armed with the best brass guns that could be brought
together, taken from their other ships. They were manned by about
nineteen hundred picked men, and commanded by their most courageous
and experienced admiral. Nearly four hundred of the Algerines were
killed. The castle and town were greatly shattered, and a large number
of people in them killed and wounded. The personal suffering was
greatly aggravated from the surgeons’ chests having been burned with
the ships,--thus cutting off the surgical aid and relief that might
otherwise have been given. In addition to the ships enumerated, there
were destroyed with them (of necessity, not willingly) a Genoese ship,
a small English prize, and a settee.

In this memorable and important engagement, Sir Edward Spragge had
seventeen men killed and forty-one wounded; a loss extraordinarily
small, when it is borne in mind that his fleet was exposed to the fire
of the guns of the fortress on land, as well as of the ships.

The internationally interesting fact is worthy of mention here, that
in all our wars with the Algerines, the Spaniards allowed us the free
use of the harbour of Port Mahon,--the English being regarded as the
champions of civilisation and the protectors of the commerce of the
Mediterranean. Sir Edward accordingly repaired to the harbour of Port
Mahon, and there refitted sufficiently to enable him to bring his ships
home. He returned in triumph.

In the subsequent Dutch wars Sir Edward Spragge took a prominent part,
and discharged his duties with consummate skill and invincible courage.
He acted as vice-admiral of the red in the battle of Solebay, and was
afterwards appointed to succeed the Earl of Sandwich as admiral of the
blue. Between this time and the war conducted by Prince Rupert, Sir
Edward was sent to France on an embassy, which he conducted with sound
judgment, to the entire satisfaction of the court.

His Royal Highness the Duke of York having resolved to resume command
of the navy, the duty was assigned to Sir Edward Spragge to make all
necessary preparations for his reception.

At the Solebay fight, 28th May 1673, Sir Edward Spragge took an active
part, and distinguished himself greatly. It is stated that when he
received his appointment from the king for this particular service,
he promised that he would bring to the king, Van Tromp, dead or
alive,--or lose his own life in the attempt. Spragge’s contest with
Van Tromp, ship to ship, lasted for seven hours, in the course of
which the gallant Dutchman was so assailed by his antagonist as to be
compelled to shift from the _Golden Lion_ into the _Prince_, again
into the _Amsterdam_, and yet again, into the _Comet_. In this last
ship, Spragge would have, in part at least, redeemed his promise to
the king, and have done his adversary to death or captivity, but for
Admiral De Ruyter coming to his assistance. Sir Edward’s ship was also
so much damaged as to force him to shift into another, and again into a
third. Prince Rupert and Spragge had had a quarrel, some time previous
to this action, and the breach had not been healed, but this did not
prevent the prince from bearing frank and honourable testimony to Sir
Edward’s bravery. In a letter to the Earl of Arlington, he says: “Sir
Edward Spragge did on his side maintain the fight with so much courage
and resolution, that their whole body gave way to such a degree that,
had it not been for fear of the shoals, we had driven them into their
harbours.” Sir Edward had the advantage of Van Tromp in this action;
Dutch writers admit the extraordinarily pertinacious bravery of Sir
Edward, and Van Tromp himself admits that he was forced to retreat
before it was dark.

[Illustration: ATTACKING A PIRATE OFF ALGIERS.]

A third battle was fought between these redoubtable combatants on
the 11th August 1673. Sir Edward, with the blue squadron, was in the
rear as the fleet neared the enemy. He had engaged to keep closely
in company with Prince Rupert, but with lynx eye detecting what
he considered a provocation on the part of Van Tromp, he laid his
fore-topsail to the mast to wait for him, and, having engaged his
squadron, maintained a hot contest for many hours, at a distance of
several leagues to leeward of the main body of the fleet. Sir Edward,
at the beginning of the action, fought on board the _Royal Prince_;
Van Tromp was in the _Golden Lion_. It is recorded that Van Tromp
avoided--and that Spragge strove to get to--close quarters; however
this may be, after a terrible onslaught on each other for some time,
both of the flag-ships became so much disabled as to compel the two
admirals to change to other ships, Sir Edward to the _St. George_, and
Van Tromp to the _Comet_. Having got on board these ships, the fight
was renewed with, if possible, increased fury, and with determination
on both sides to end it, with either death or victory. Again the
_St. George_, Sir Edward’s flag-ship, was so battered that he was
fain to leave it and take to the _Royal Charles_. This movement, alas!
resulted in a fatal disaster. He had not been rowed many yards from
the _St. George_ when a shot struck the boat. The crew made every
possible exertion to get back to the ship they had just left, but
failed to reach it, and thus this brave commander perished miserably by
drowning. Sir Edward sank with the boat, and, when it rose again, he
rose with it, clutching it by the gunwale, with his head and shoulders
above water, but--dead. How deplorable that this courageous commander
should have been conquered in a trial out of which the dusky, untutored
child of a South Sea Island savage would have come in safety; the hero
could fight from early morn till dewy eve, could possess his soul in
patience on the water for voyages lasting many weeks, covering many
leagues,--but he could not swim a few yards.

In the history of his own times, Bishop Parker thus refers to the last
gallant fight and death of Sir Edward Spragge:--

“There was a remarkable fight between Spragge and Van Tromp; for these,
having mutually agreed to attack each other, not out of hatred, but
from a thirst of glory, engaged with all the rage, or, as it were,
the sport, of war. They came so close to one another that, like an
army of foot, they fought, at once with their guns and their swords.
Almost at every turn, both of their ships, though not sunk, were bored
through,--their cannon being discharged within common gunshot range;
each ship pierced the other as if they had fought with spears. At
length, after several ships had been shattered, as Spragge was passing
from one ship to another, the boat was overturned by a chance shot, and
that great man, being unable to swim, was drowned, to the great grief
of even his generous enemy, who, after the death of Spragge, could
hardly hope to find an enemy equal to himself.” The author of the _Life
of De Ruyter_, referring to this fierce conflict, says: “The Dutch avow
the like never to have been seen; their own two ships (the ships of
Tromp and Spragge) having, without touching a sail, strangely endured
the fury of three hours’ incessant battery.”

It is difficult to get at anything approaching an adequate conception
of the horrible scenes of carnage that must have been presented by
this sanguinary conflict. Some particulars respecting Sir Edward’s
flag-ship, the _Royal Prince_, with which he went into action, may
assist in forming an idea of the dreadful devastation. The _Royal
Prince_ was a first-rate, of 1400 tons burthen, armed with one hundred
pieces of brass ordnance, and carrying seven hundred and eighty men.
She was well built, in perfect condition in all respects, and as fine
a ship as any in either of the fleets. Before Sir Edward Spragge
left the _Royal Prince_, the masts had all been shot away, most of
the guns on the upper tier were disabled, four hundred men had been
killed, and the ship was almost a helpless wreck. In this lamentable
condition a large Dutch man-of-war, with two fire-ships, bore down
upon the miserable object,--the Dutch commander resolving to burn,
sink, or capture the _Royal Prince_. The first lieutenant, considering
continued resistance hopeless, ordered the colours to be struck, and
bid the men shift for themselves as they could. Richard Leake, the
heroic master gunner, could not accept any such finish to the fray; he
boldly took the command, ordered the lieutenant to go below, sank the
two fire-ships, compelled the Dutch man-of-war to sheer off, and, wreck
as it was, brought the _Royal Prince_ into port. This hero, father of
the famous Sir John Leake, was afterwards appointed Keeper of Ordnance
Stores, and Master Gunner of England.

Sir Edward Spragge was highly distinguished for skill and bravery as
a naval commander. To urbane and polite manners he united a resolute
and daring spirit. He was beloved by his men, idolised by his
friends, feared yet honoured by his enemies. His achievements in life
commanded the enthusiastic admiration of his countrymen; his death was
universally mourned.




SIR THOMAS ALLEN.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE PROMOTED PRIVATEER.


The martial and naval heroes of England have been recruited from all
classes, patrician and plebeian, with a large contribution from the
class intermediate, to which Allen belonged. Some commanders rendered
eminent service, to each of the great parties in the State, about the
middle of the seventeenth century, who contended for supreme power--the
Royalists and the Parliamentarians. Allen was not of these; he and his
family were always steadfast in their adhesion to the royal cause.
He is supposed to have been the son of a merchant and shipowner of
Lowestoft, Suffolk. He rendered effective service as a privateer in the
North Sea, before receiving a commission in the Royal Navy.

At the Restoration, Allen was rewarded for his fidelity, by being
appointed to the command of the _Dover_, which was one of the first of
the ships commissioned by the Duke of York. In the two following years
he was in succession appointed to the command of the _Plymouth_, the
_Foresight_, the _Lion_, and the _Rainbow_. In 1663 he was appointed
commodore and commander-in-chief of the fleet in the Downs, and was
allowed the special distinction of flying the Union flag at his
main-top,--the _St. Andrew_ being his flag-ship. In August 1664 he was
appointed commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, in succession to
the gallant Sir John Harman, who was ordered home. He seems to have
been entrusted with diplomatic as well as naval functions, which may
be inferred from Pepys recording, in his _Diary_, under date Nov. 28,
1664, “certain news of the peace made by Captain Allen at Tangier.”
Specific instructions were given to him, however, to take in tow or
destroy any Dutch men-of-war he might fall in with, and especially to
capture their Smyrna fleet. He had a squadron of seven ships, which
he posted so as to command the Straits of Gibraltar. His patience in
waiting was not greatly strained. The Dutch Smyrna fleet--forty sail
in all--hove in sight about the time expected, the escort consisting
of four men-of-war. England had declared war against the Dutch
States-General, and Allen attacked--it was in spring of 1665--without
hesitation. The contest was obstinate; the Dutch, as usual, brought
the stoutest of their merchant ships into the line of battle. Brackel,
the Dutch commodore, was killed; the line was broken; several of the
Dutch ships were sunk, and four of the richest were captured, but one
of these was so much damaged in action that it foundered on the passage
to England. Its cargo was valued at more than £150,000. A portion of
the Dutch fleet took shelter in Cadiz, where they were blockaded by
Allen, until the state of his supplies compelled his return to England,
when the Dutchmen were allowed to come out. This important victory
was not gained without loss on the part of the English, including two
ships, the _Phœnix_ and the _Nonsuch_, which were so much damaged as
to become unmanageable; other two, the _Advice_ and the _Antelope_,
were also much injured. The Dutch men-of-war did a great deal of firing
at comparatively long range; Allen did not fire a shot, until the
antagonists were within pistol shot. The Dutch commodore, Brackel, was
killed in the action. The fight was close in shore, and was watched by
crowds of Spaniards, who, it is stated, laughed to see the alacrity
with which the Dutch made for refuge. On his return to England, Allen
was made admiral of the blue, and had also a special commission to act
as vice-admiral of the fleet, then under the command of the Earl of
Sandwich. On the 24th June 1665, the honour of knighthood was conferred
upon him. In the following year he was appointed admiral of the white,
and hoisted his flag on board the _Royal James_, which Prince Rupert
made his flag-ship,--Allen remaining on board, however, as captain of
the fleet. The prince, with a squadron, proceeded down the Channel on
the lookout for a French naval force, which was expected to join the
Dutch. Prince Rupert, in conjunction with Monk, Duke of Albemarle,
commanded the Channel fleet. While Prince Rupert, with Sir Thomas
Allen, were thus looking out for the expected hostile French fleet,
Albemarle, greatly out-numbered,--sixty sail against ninety-one,--was
engaged with the splendid Dutch fleet, commanded by the three famous
admirals, De Ruyter, Evertsen, and Van Tromp. The fight had lasted
for three days, and would probably have resulted in the defeat of
Albemarle, but for the timely arrival, 4th June, of Allen’s white
squadron, which compelled the Dutch to withdraw. On the 25th July the
hostile fleets again met, both eager to renew hostilities. Sir Thomas
Allen had the post of honour. He led the van, and commenced the battle
by a furious attack on Admiral Evertsen, who commanded the Friesland
and Zealand squadrons. The carnage was awful, and the Dutch loss
crushing. Evertsen, chief in command of the combined squadrons, was
killed, as were also his vice-admiral, De Vries, and his rear-admiral,
Koenders. The _Tolen_, commanded by Vice-Admiral Banckart, was taken
and burned, with another large man-of-war. The defeat of the Dutch was
decisive. Their fugitive ships were pursued to the shores of Holland.
There was great rejoicing in London on receipt of the news of the
victory. On the 29th July the following notice was read from the pulpit
at Bow: “The Dutch have been totally routed; fourteen ships taken,
twenty-six burnt and sunk, two flag-ships taken, and with them, twelve
hundred men,--six thousand men taken in all. Our ships have blocked up
the Zealanders in Flushing, and ride before them top and top-gallant.
The Dutch fleet are got into the Texel, and we ride before the same.
The Lord Mayor ordered thanks--to be given this forenoon throughout
the city.” On the 18th September a valuable prize fell into Allen’s
hands in the Channel--a French ship, quite new, and considered the
finest in the French navy, the _Ruby_, of fifty-four guns. De la Roche,
commander, mistook Allen’s white squadron for a squadron of the French
navy, and was captured before he could make more than a faint show of
resistance.

[Illustration: AN ALGERINE CORSAIR.]

The Duke of York, desirous to commemorate the victories over the Dutch,
commissioned Sir Peter Lely, the court painter, to paint a portrait
group embracing the “flag men” and heroes of the fleet. The Duke of
York had himself commanded at the brilliant action off Lowestoft
on the 3rd June 1665, when the Dutch, under Admirals Opdam and Van
Tromp, sustained a total defeat. The picture by Lely included the
principal naval commanders of the time;--and the number of figures
shows conclusively that the age was rich in naval heroes. Among the
subjects in this historical painting are the Duke of York, Lord High
Admiral; Prince Rupert; George Monk, Duke of Albemarle; Montague,
Earl of Sandwich; Admirals Sir Thomas Allen, Sir George Ayscough, Sir
Thomas Teddiman, Sir Christopher Myngs, Sir Joseph Jordan, Sir William
Berkeley, Sir John Harman, Sir William Penn, and Sir Jeremy Smith.

In November 1666, Allen had the honour conferred upon him of being
elected an Elder Brother of the Trinity.

The Dutch war being apparently over, the naval authorities were left
at liberty to prosecute more civilising, although not purely pacific,
enterprises. In the autumn of 1668, Allen sailed in command of a
squadron to repress the Algerine pirates, who had taken advantage
of the war to ply their nefarious occupation against all such
merchant ships as came in their way which they considered worth
rifling,--killing and destroying with ready ferocity where they could
not rob. Nationality was with them no object. The Dutch suffered as
well as the English, and the whilom enemies were united in seeking
redress for their common grievance. The Dutch sent a squadron under
Admiral Van Ghent, with the same object in view as England had, in
sending Allen. The united squadrons drove the corsairs on to their own
shores. Large numbers of English and Dutch prisoners made slaves, who
had formed the crews of ships captured by the pirates, were released
and exchanged by Allen and Van Ghent.

Ere he returned home, Allen visited Naples and Florence, and was
received with great honour at both places. After paying these visits
he returned to Algiers, where he received fresh assurances that the
terms of the treaty for the suppression of piracy would be scrupulously
observed. He returned to England, but as soon as he had left, the
corsairs resumed their depredations. Allen returned to Algiers, and
inflicted summary vengeance on the persons and property of the pirates,
destroying a large number of their vessels. In 1670 he was recalled at
his own request, and on his return home was appointed Comptroller of
the Navy. In 1678, war with France appearing imminent, he was again
appointed to a command at sea. Happily, the occasion for his active
service did not arise, and he passed the few closing years of his life
at Somerleyton, an estate that he had purchased near his native place.
He lived there in quiet privacy, respected by all who knew him, in the
enjoyment of what he had well earned--Peace with honour.




SIR JOHN HARMAN.

CHAPTER XV.

“BOLD AS A LION, BUT ALSO WISE AND WARY.”


Of the early life of this gallant commander there are no records
extant. It is known that in 1664 he commanded the _Gloucester_, of
fifty-eight guns, and in the following year the _Royal Charles_. He
received the honour of knighthood for his distinguished services.

In the action with the Dutch on the 1st June 1666, Sir John Harman’s
bravery was most conspicuous. He led the van of the fleet under the
Duke of Albemarle. He boldly dashed into the centre of the Zealand
squadron, and was the object of a concentrated attack by a number of
their best ships. His ship, the _Henry_, becoming disabled, Evertsen,
the Dutch admiral, offered Sir John quarter, which he bluntly and
promptly refused, saying, “It was not come to that--not yet.” Sir
John’s ship was grappled by a fire-ship on the starboard quarter,
and in great danger of being destroyed, and probably would have been
captured or burned but for the heroic conduct of Lieutenant Thomas
Lamming, who swung himself into the fire-ship, and by the light of
the fire found the grappling-irons, cast them loose, and swung back
to his own ship.[5] A second fire-ship was sent against the _Henry_,
and grappled on the larboard quarter. This attack was more successful
than that of the assailant Lamming had cast loose. The sails of the
_Henry_ caught fire, and a panic took possession of the crew, a number
of whom leaped overboard. With drawn sword, Sir John Harman commanded
the remainder of the crew to their duty, and threatened with death the
first who should attempt to leave the ship or fail to exert himself to
put out the flames. The fire was got under, but a third fire-ship was
sent against the _Henry_. Happily, before the fire-ship could get to
close quarters, a volley from the guns of the _Henry’s_ lower deck was
so well directed as to sink it--while a broadside directed against the
Dutch flag-ship included in its terrible effects the death of Evertsen,
the brave admiral.

    [5] For this gallant act, Lamming was promoted to the command
        of the _Ruby_.

Harman did not escape severe personal injury in the conflict. During
the hottest part of the fight, some of the burnt rigging fell upon
him and broke his leg, but he did not retire. He took the _Henry_
into Harwich for such repairs as could be effected in a few hours.
Notwithstanding his broken leg, he rejoined the fleet,--no entreaties
could dissuade him,--to take his part in the continuation of the battle.

Arriving at the scene of conflict, although eager for action, Rupert
and Albemarle, in consideration of his unfit and suffering condition,
absolutely forbade his pursuing his determination, and insisted on his
retiring for the rest essential to his recovery.

In March 1667, Sir John Harman sailed in command of an expedition to
the West Indies. His squadron consisted of seven men-of-war and two
fire-ships. He had permission to carry the Union flag at the main-top
of his flag-ship, the _Lion_, of fifty-eight guns, as soon as he got
out of the Channel. At Barbadoes he added four men-of-war to his
squadron, and sailed thence to Nevis, where he arrived on the 13th
June. He learned there that the French fleet, consisting of twenty-four
men-of-war, was at anchor under Martinique. This information he laid
before a council of war, and it was determined to attack the French.
When he came up with the French, he found them so posted as to preclude
the possibility, with the wind as it was, of forcing them to engage.
Sir John was bold as a lion, but was also wise and wary, and felt his
responsibility for the lives of his crews. On the 25th, the wind being
favourable, he attacked the French fleet, albeit double the strength
of his own. His success was complete. Eight of the French fleet were
soon on fire, a number of others were sunk, and only three or four
escaped.

A curious circumstance is recorded concerning the bearing of Sir John
during this action. He had not fully recovered from the accident he
had sustained in the preceding year, when he had his leg broken. He
was also suffering from a severe attack of gout, and was very lame.
On bearing in on the enemy’s fleet, he got up, walked about, and gave
orders, as if in perfect health, till the fight was over, when he again
became as lame as before.

He after this made a voyage to the Straits under Sir Thomas Allen, and,
although suffering much from physical infirmities, conducted himself
with characteristic bravery and discretion. The spirited action at
Solebay, and the second battle in 1672, between Prince Rupert and De
Ruyter, in which Harman rendered most effective service, were the last
actions of importance in which he was engaged. He had attained to the
rank of admiral of the blue when bodily infirmity compelled him to
retire reluctantly from the service.




ADMIRAL BENBOW.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE KING SAID, “WE MUST SPARE OUR BEAUX, AND SEND HONEST BENBOW.”


John Benbow is represented to have been born at Shrewsbury about the
middle of the seventeenth century, and to have been apprenticed to a
butcher, but to have broken his indentures and joined the _Rupert_,
under Captain Herbert, in 1678. His first active service was in
connection with a small squadron sent to redress the wrongs that had
been sustained by English merchants and the mercantile marine, and to
suppress the perpetrators--the pirates of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli,
that infested the Mediterranean.

Benbow so conducted himself in action as to secure the goodwill of his
superior officer, Captain Herbert (afterwards Earl of Torrington), and
speedy promotion. He was, in 1679, appointed master of the _Nonsuch_.
In 1681, Benbow had an experience that was not pleasant. In conflict
with an Algerine corsair, the British ship _Adventure_ got the worst,
and had to sheer off. The Algerine was taken in hand by the _Nonsuch_,
and captured. Some crowing and chaffing on the part of the men of the
_Nonsuch_ at the expense of the crew of the _Adventure_, led to Benbow
being tried by court-martial on the complaint of Captain Booth of the
_Adventure_. Benbow was sentenced to forfeit three months’ pay (£12,
15s.), which was to be used for the benefit of the wounded men of
the _Adventure_. He was also required to apologise to Captain Booth,
which he did, declaring that he had only repeated the words of others,
without any malicious intention.

The _Nonsuch_ was, shortly after the _Adventure_ affair, paid off,
and Benbow next comes into view in connection with a ship named
after, and owned and commanded by himself--the _Benbow_ frigate. The
merchants on Change, among whom Benbow was well known and highly
esteemed, may have assisted him in the acquisition of such a valuable
property,--but, however this may be, we find him in 1686 acting as
sole owner and responsible commander. In that year, in a passage to
Cadiz, a Salee rover, greatly an overmatch in number of fighting men,
attacked the _Benbow_, whose crew made a valiant defence. The Moors
boarded the _Benbow_, but were beaten off, with the loss of thirteen
of their number. Captain Benbow ordered their heads to be cut off,
and thrown into a tub of salt pickle. On arriving at Cadiz, he went
ashore, followed by a negro servant carrying the pickled heads in a
sack. The tide waiters, spying the sack, asked if he had “anything
to declare,” that is, anything subject to import duty. He answered,
only salt provisions for his own use, and affected indignation that,
well known as he was, he should be suspected of running goods. The
officers replied that they could not grant him a dispensation from
search, but the magistrates, who were sitting close by, might do so if
they would. The party proceeded in formal order to the custom-house,
Captain Benbow leading,--the negro, with the suspected contraband
goods, following,--and the revenue officers bringing up the rear. The
magistrates received Benbow with great civility, and assured him that
the custom-house officers had not exceeded their duty in requiring him
to show the contents of the sack, and in conducting him hither. They
politely asked him to satisfy them, as he could do so easily. Benbow
answered, with real or assumed sternness, “I told you they were salt
provisions for my own use. Pompey, show the gentlemen what you have
got.” Whereupon the negro, nothing loth, tumbled out the baker’s dozen
of Moors’ heads, to the astonishment of the Alcalde and his colleagues,
who were assured by Benbow that the heads were quite at their service.
An account of Benbow’s valiant exploit in defeating, with his small
force, a number much larger of the fierce and ruthless barbarians who
were the scourge and terror of the seas, was forwarded to the court of
Madrid. Charles II., then King of Spain, expressed a desire to see the
bold Benbow, whom he received with honour, presented with a handsome
testimonial of his respect, and entrusted with a letter to King James
of England, warmly recommending Benbow, as worthy of the king’s
confidence and favour.

The _Benbow_ frigate was, it may be supposed, paid off, or otherwise
disposed of, and its late owner rejoined the King’s Navy in 1689, as
lieutenant in the _Elizabeth_, of seventy guns. He was soon after
appointed in succession, as captain, to the _York_, the _Bonaventure_,
and the _Britannia_. His rapid promotion was probably, in part at
least, attributable to the influence exercised on his behalf by his
former commander, Herbert, now admiral, and a high authority in
naval affairs. It has been conjectured that during the time of the
Revolution, Benbow was attached to the fleet under Admiral Herbert’s
command, and was its pilot, in landing William at Torbay.

From the _Britannia_ Captain Benbow was appointed Master Attendant
of Chatham Dockyard, and afterwards to a like office in Deptford
Royal Dockyard, which he held for about six years. During this
period, on several occasions, he was told off for special service.
In the unfortunate action between the united English and Dutch
and the French fleets off Beachy Head, in June 1690, Captain
Benbow, of the _Sovereign_, served under the Earl of Torrington,
commander-in-chief, as Master of the fleet. Benbow’s evidence in
the trial of Lord Torrington by court-martial had great weight in
leading to his acquittal. Continuing master of the _Sovereign_, Benbow
again discharged the important duties of Master of the fleet at the
battles of La Hogue and Barfleur in 1692, under Admiral Russell. In
acknowledgment of the value of his special services as Master of the
fleet, his pay as Master while afloat was added to his pay for his
dockyard office.

Benbow was next employed, 1693 to 1695, in the command of flotillas
of bomb vessels and fire-ships in attacks upon St. Malo, Dunkirk, and
other localities on the French coast. At Dunkirk he saved the Virginia
and West Indian fleets from falling into the hands of the French
privateers, and for this service received the thanks of the merchants.
He was by this time so well known as to be sometimes referred to as
“the famous Captain Benbow.” So well satisfied were the Admiralty
authorities with his services, as to order that he should be paid
as rear-admiral during the time he had been employed on the French
coast, as a reward for his good service. In 1696 he was promoted to
the substantial rank of rear-admiral. After cruising service, directed
to the protection of English and Dutch traders, he was appointed,
in 1697, commander-in-chief of the king’s ships in the West Indies,
with special orders to suppress the pirates. By a threat to blockade
Carthagena, he obtained the restoration of two English merchant ships,
which the governor had detained to form part of a projected expedition
against the ill-fated Scottish colony at Darien. Benbow’s action
stopped the intended raid.

[Illustration: ADMIRAL BENBOW.]

In 1700 the admiral returned to England, and was for a time in command
in the Downs, and served for some months as vice-admiral of the blue in
the grand fleet under Admiral Sir George Rooke. In 1701 it was again
thought necessary to send a strong squadron to promote and protect
the national interests in the West Indies. Benbow was proposed by the
ministry, but the king claimed for him that he had only just returned,
and had been subjected to great difficulties in his West Indian
command, and that it was but fair that some other officer should have
a turn. Several officers were named and consulted, but they all with
one consent made excuse--“health,” “family affairs,” etc. “Well, then,”
said the king, in conference with his ministers, “we must spare our
_beaux_, and send honest Benbow.” Asked if he was willing to go, Benbow
answered bluntly that he did not understand such compliments as were
paid to him; it was not for him to choose his station. If His Majesty
thought fit to send him to the East or West Indies, or anywhere else,
it was for him to cheerfully obey orders. He sailed with his new
command in September 1701, with ten ships,--Sir George Rooke, admiral
of the fleet, convoying him as far as Scilly with a strong squadron.
For action in the West Indies, the French were also making extensive
preparations. A squadron, consisting of five ships of the line and
several large vessels, laden with arms and ammunition, sailed from
Brest in April 1701, under the command of the Marquis de Coetlogon.
Count de Chateau Renaud also sailed with fourteen ships of the line
and sixteen frigates, and in addition to these, M. du Casse, Governor
of St. Domingo, sailed also with a squadron, Admiral Benbow the while
having received no fresh supplies or reinforcements, and being in
danger apparently of being utterly crushed by the superior power of
his enemies. He had made on arrival wise and skilful dispositions and
arrangements for securing our own trade and crippling the enemy. The
French saw with amazement the defeat of the schemes they had been able
to mature from the possession of earlier intelligence of intended
war. Even after the arrival of Marquis Coetlogon, the French had to
confine themselves to acting on the defensive, and found all their
grand projects for attacking Jamaica and the Leeward Islands entirely
frustrated. The Dutch accounts of the state of affairs at the time
state that, notwithstanding all the bluster of the French, Admiral
Benbow, with a small squadron, remained master of the seas, taking many
prizes, giving all possible support to the private trade carried on by
the English on the Spanish coasts.

The situation changed for the worse for Benbow and his small fleet.
Renaud, he learned, had arrived at Martinique with a squadron much
stronger than his own. This had been joined by the squadron of
Coetlogon from Havannah. The inhabitants of Barbadoes and Jamaica were
excessively alarmed by the approach of a hostile fleet, which the
English had no force capable of resisting.

Notwithstanding most of his ships being short of their complements
of men, Admiral Benbow concluded it to be his best course under the
circumstances to put to sea and cruise between Jamaica and Hispaniola.
He sailed with this intention on the 8th May 1702, and was joined
about this time by Rear-Admiral Whetstone. In cruising on the coast
of St. Domingo, he received news of the French fleet having gone to
Carthagena and Porto Bello. On the 19th August he sighted it near Santa
Marta. It consisted of four ships of from sixty to seventy guns, one of
thirty guns, and four frigates, all under the command of M. du Casse.
The English force consisted of seven ships of from fifty to seventy
guns, but the ships were much scattered, and their commanders showed
no disposition to close up for action. Late in the afternoon there
was a scrambling action that was closed by nightfall. Admiral Benbow,
in the _Breda_, of seventy guns, closely followed by Captain Walton
in the _Ruby_, of fifty guns, kept company with the enemy through the
night, and was well up with them at daybreak, but the other English
ships kept aloof during the whole day. The 21st and three following
days brought no more worthy resolution to the captains of the English
squadron. Walton of the _Ruby_, only, and Vincent of the _Falmouth_,
supported the admiral in his persistent and resolute attempts to bring
Du Casse to action, and for some time these three sustained the fire
of the whole French squadron, while the other ships held aloof. The
_Ruby_ was disabled on the 23rd, and ordered to make the best of her
way to Port Royal. For five days, against such overpowering odds, brave
Benbow maintained the desperate conflict, sustained by the devoted
loyalty and unflinching courage of his officers and men. On the 24th
the brave commander had his right leg shattered by a chain shot. After
the surgical operation below, the lion-hearted hero had himself carried
up again to the quarter-deck to direct the continued action. Captain
Kirby, of the _Defence_, came on board, and urged the hopelessness of
the conflict and chase. All the other captains being summoned, eagerly
expressed their concurrence with Captain Kirby, and reduced their
finding to writing. The morally and physically depressed, shattered,
and exhausted commander could contend no longer or further, and was
thus compelled to return to Jamaica. A noble letter from his late
enemy, Du Casse, would have been enough as a suggestion for inquiry
into the conduct of the captains of his squadron. It was as follows:--

    “SIR,--I had little hopes on Monday last but to have supped in your
    cabin; but it pleased God to order it otherwise. I am thankful for
    it. As for those cowardly captains who deserted you, hang them up,
    for, by ----, they deserve it.--Yours,

                                                           DU CASSE.”[6]

    [6] Campbell’s _Lives of the Admirals_, vol. iii. p. 524.

At Jamaica a court-martial was assembled by order of Admiral Benbow.
Captains Kirby of the _Defence_, and Wade of the _Greenwich_, were
condemned to be shot; and Captain Constable of the _Windsor_ to be
cashiered. Captain Vincent of the _Falmouth_, and Captain Fogg of the
flag-ship, who had signed the protest, were sentenced to suspension
during the sovereign’s pleasure. Kirby and Wade were shot on board the
_Bristol_ in Plymouth Sound, 16th April 1703.

Benbow was careful to secure such promotion and advantage as was in
his power to the officers who had supported him in the engagement, as
well as to bring the deserters to justice. He had a leg amputated after
the action; fever supervened, and he died in Jamaica, after about a
month’s painful illness, sustained with much fortitude, on the 4th
November 1702, and was buried in St. Andrew’s Church, Kingston. His
portrait, by Sir Godfrey Kneller, is in the Painted Hall, Greenwich.

Benbow’s bravery has not, we believe, been questioned, but his tact and
temper were not, some of his critics have alleged, of as good quality
as his courage, and the disaffection of his subordinates in the action
with Du Casse has been attributed to defects in this direction.




SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE SHOEMAKER WHO ROSE TO BE REAR-ADMIRAL OF ENGLAND.


Cloudesley Shovel was born at or near Cley, a small town on the
north coast of Norfolk, about the year 1650. At that time Cley,
which is about ten miles west from Cromer, had a good harbour, and a
considerable shipping trade; but the harbour has been since silted up,
and the rising generation of the place in this age are not brought so
directly into contact with ships and maritime affairs as young Shovel,
who was named Cloudesley in homage to a rich relative from whom the
family had great expectations, which were not realised.

The boy was sent to learn the art and craft of shoe-making and
mending, which did not accord with his inclination, and, from which
he ran away,--and, offering his services to Sir John Narborough, was
accepted by that famous seaman, and served as his cabin-boy. Sir John
had himself commenced his naval career as cabin-boy to Sir Christopher
Myngs, and probably took kindly to the runaway youngster, from that
fellow-feeling which makes one wondrous kind. The lad showed great
affection and respect to Sir John, who had him thoroughly instructed in
navigation and other branches of useful knowledge. He proved an apt and
diligent pupil, and became in due time an able and thoroughly capable
seaman.

Sir John Narborough was the ever-ready and generous patron of
merit, and had sufficient influence to obtain for his apprentice a
lieutenant’s commission. Shovel served in this rank at the close of the
second Dutch war.

[Illustration: SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL.]

The pirates of Algiers and Tripoli greatly harassed the traders of our
own and other countries with the Levant, and a squadron was sent out
in 1675, under the command of Sir John Narborough, to chastise their
insolence, and, if possible, put an end to their predacious practices.
Sir John found the corsairs in great force, and ready to give him a
warm reception. The Algerines and the Tripolines combined in their
defence, had their war ships in position, protected by the guns of the
fort. Sir John had been instructed to try negotiation in preference
to force, and, in view of the strength of the confederates, thought
it might be well to at least attempt to obtain treaty promises of
amendment by diplomacy, although he had little hope of a satisfactory
result from this method. He despatched Lieutenant Shovel to the Dey
of Tripoli as his representative. The Dey, despising the youthful
ambassador, treated his message with contempt, which Shovel duly
reported to his commander. He was sent back with a second message,
and was received with even greater discourtesy than on the first
occasion. He bore all patiently, however; appearing to be quite cool
and unobservant, at the same time noting the number and disposition
of the pirate ships. Returning to Sir John, he duly reported the
insolent reception he had received, and added to the report a strong
recommendation that a night attack should be made upon the enemy, with
the object of burning their ships, stating his readiness to conduct the
expedition. His recommendation was adopted, and at midnight on the 4th
March, Lieutenant Shovel at the head of the boats of the English fleet,
well manned, and well supplied with inflammable materials, put off,
with muffled oars, from their own ships, and, stealthily approaching
the pirates, boarded and set them on fire,--leaving them a blaze to
light them back to their own vessels. This brilliant service Shovel
accomplished without suffering the loss of a single man on the English
side. The corsairs destroyed included the _White Eagle_ of fifty guns,
the _Mirror_ of thirty-six guns, the _Sancta Clara_ of twenty-four
guns, and another ship of twenty guns, besides smaller vessels. The
Tripolines were struck with amazement by this successful action, and
sued for peace. When an attempt to treat was made, however, they
refused to accede to the proposed terms, so far as regarded making good
the losses that had been sustained by the English. Sir John cannonaded
the town, but produced little effect. He drew off to a place about
twenty leagues distant, where he destroyed a vast magazine of timber,
stored for shipbuilding, but still failed to reduce the pirates, and
sailed to Malta, whence, after staying a short time, he returned
suddenly, and renewed his attack with so much spirit and success that
the enemy were glad to conclude a peace on the terms that Sir John had
proposed. Shortly after this, a number of the corsairs’ ships that
had been at sea plying their nefarious vocation, returned to port.
They repudiated his treaty and deposed the Dey for having made it, and
continued the perpetration of their lawless practices. Again Sir John
returned, this time with a force of eight frigates, which arriving
before Tripoli, commenced a vigorous cannonade, and so battered the
place as to make the inhabitants eagerly sue for peace. Peace was, for
the time, concluded, and the authors of the late disturbances were
brought to punishment. Lieutenant Shovel took a leading part in these
actions.

In 1676, Shovel, whose conduct was warmly reported upon and commended
by Sir John Narborough, was given the command of the _Sapphire_, and
not long after of a larger ship, the _James Galley_, in which he
continued till the death of Charles II.

Captain Shovel was not a pronounced politician, but such leaning as
he had was in the opposite direction to the Jacobite side. King James
thought it to his interest, doubtless, to conciliate and employ such an
able commander, and appointed him to the command of the _Dover_, which
he held when the Revolution took place in 1688. He closed heartily with
the new Government, to which he rendered active and successful service,
that brought him rapid promotion. He was in the first naval action in
this reign, the battle of Bantry Bay, in 1689, in which he commanded
the _Edgar_. In this action his valour and activity were so conspicuous
as to lead the king to confer upon him the honour of knighthood.
During the winter of 1689 he was employed in cruising on the coast of
Ireland, to prevent the enemy from landing recruits. Here he received
advice that several ships of war, French and Irish, were in Dublin Bay,
where, at low water, they lay on the sands. Sir Cloudesley immediately
stood for the bay, in which he noticed an English ship of good size, a
French man-of-war, and several other ships filled with soldiers. These
forces were not sufficient to deter Sir Cloudesley, who determined to
destroy the ships, in sight of King James’s capital and of a powerful
garrison. He left the flag-ship, and went on board the _Monmouth_
yacht. At a little more than half-flood, with the _Monmouth_, two hoys
belonging to men-of-war, a ketch, and the pinnaces, he passed over
the bar with dashing bravery. The Irish fleet cut their cables, and
sailed as close in shore as the sands would permit, and fired a few
shots at the threatening force, calling also for assistance from the
Dublin garrison. Sir Cloudesley, despite the fire of the ships, and
the shower of bullets from King James’s militia, pressed forward, and
as soon as he was near enough, signalled the fire-ship to advance. The
soldiers deserted the largest ship, and those on board the others ran
them aground. Sir Cloudesley ordered the boarding of the largest ship,
the _Pelican_, of twenty guns, and directed her load to be lightened,
which was done, and the ship was towed away, to the confusion of the
witnesses ashore. The _Pelican_ was the largest man-of-war then in King
James’s possession. It had been taken by the Scots the previous year
from the French, on the occasion of their having conducted forces to
the assistance of the Highlanders, then in rebellion. In turning out of
the bay, the wind, which had veered, drove one of the hoys aground. At
the lowest ebb the hoy was upon dry ground; thousands of people crowded
the strand, King James and his guards amongst them. Cloudesley’s crews
remained in their boats, ready for any encounter. The Irish battalions
discharged a volley or two, which were warmly returned. As soon as the
rising tide permitted, the English left the bay with their prize, very
much to the chagrin of King James and his adherents.

In June 1690, Sir Cloudesley was appointed to convey King William and
his army to Ireland. In this service he had command of five men-of-war,
six yachts, and a large number of transport vessels. Unfavourable
weather was encountered, but the landing of the whole force at
Carrickfergus, on the 14th June, was successfully accomplished. The
king was so highly pleased with the skill and dexterity displayed by
Sir Cloudesley in this difficult transport service, as to promote him
to be rear-admiral of the blue, and he delivered the commission with
his own hands.

On the 10th July the king received information that the enemy intended
to send a fleet of frigates into St. George’s Channel to burn the
transport ships, and Shovel was ordered to cruise off Scilly, or in
such other station as he should think best for frustrating this design,
and to send scouts east and west to gain intelligence respecting the
movements of the French fleet. Nothing remarkable came of this cruise.
The remainder of 1690 was spent by Sir Cloudesley chiefly in cruising,
till he was appointed to join Sir George Rooke’s squadron, which
escorted the king to Holland in January 1691. All the services of Sir
Cloudesley were not alike brilliant, but all were well intended, and
his courage and sincerity were never questioned. His promotion by
the king, in the spring of 1692, to be rear-admiral of the red, gave
general satisfaction. On his return from Holland in that year, Sir
Cloudesley joined Admiral Russel with the grand fleet, and had a great
share in the danger, and a deserved share in the glory attaching to the
famous naval battle off La Hogue.

The combined fleet sailed from Spithead on the 18th May 1692. Admiral
Russel, in the red squadron, had his flag on board the _Britannia_ of
100 guns; his vice and rear admirals were Sir Ralph Delaval in the
_Royal Sovereign_ and Sir Cloudesley Shovel in the _London_, each of
100 guns. The blue squadron was commanded by Sir John Ashby in the
_Victory_ of 100 guns; his vice-admiral was Sir George Rooke in the
_Windsor Castle_ of 90 guns, and his rear-admiral, Richard Carter,
in the _Albemarle_ of 90 guns. The English fleet comprised 63 ships
carrying 4504 guns and 27,725 men, to which was united a Dutch fleet of
36 ships under Admiral Allemonde, carrying 2494 guns and 12,950 men.
Total, 99 ships, 6998 guns, 40,675 men. The French fleet consisted
of 63 ships of war, of which 55 carried from 104 to 60 guns each,
and 8 from 58 to 50 guns each. In addition the French had 7 smaller
vessels, 26 ships _armée en flute_, and 14 others; in all, 110 vessels.
The design of the French was the restoration of James to the English
throne.

[Illustration: CARRICKFERGUS CASTLE.]

On the 18th May the fleet sailed from Spithead, the most powerful,
probably, that had ever assembled in the reign of the wooden walls of
England. On the morning of the 19th the French fleet was sighted to the
westward. At 8 A.M. the line of battle was formed, the Dutch in the
van, Admiral Russel in the centre, and Sir John Ashby in the rear. At
11.30 the French flag-ship, the _Soleil Royal_ of 104 guns, opened fire
upon the English admiral’s flag-ship, the _Britannia_. The light air
of wind having died away, the rear division was prevented from closing
with the enemy; the red division bore accordingly the brunt of the
battle. The _Soleil Royal_ was so shattered as to have to cease firing,
and was towed out of the action. About noon a dense fog came on, and
the firing consequently ceased. The fog continued till the evening,
and the weather being calm, the ships drifted with the tide, and got
considerably mixed, friends and foes, so as to make firing dangerous as
touching unintentional billets for the bullets. The rear of the English
fleet became partially engaged from about 7 till 9.30 P.M. After the
day’s action the allied fleet stood to the north-west, and on the
following day proceeded in chase of the enemy. The ships that escaped
capture or destruction took refuge in the harbour of La Hogue, which
gave the name to the glorious action. Sixteen French sail of the line
were captured or destroyed by the English. In the action on the 19th,
and the subsequent pursuit of the defeated enemy, Sir Cloudesley’s
activity and valour were conspicuous; his ship fought in superb style,
and he was entitled to the principal share of such credit as attached
to burning the French ships of war.

The next notable action in which Sir Cloudesley took part was one
of the few that have detracted from England’s glory and renown as
“mistress of the seas.” In the battle of Beachy Head the glory was
appropriated by the Dutch; if shame attached to any party in the
contest it was to the English; but for mismanagement or failure Sir
Cloudesley was in no degree responsible. He was responsible for the
handling and fighting of the ships under his command, but had to take
the orders of his admiral for the plan of action. In June 1690 the
French fleet, under the Count de Tourville, embracing seventy-eight
men-of-war, chiefly of large size, and carrying an aggregate of four
thousand seven hundred guns, with twenty-two fire-ships, sailed from
Brest, with the intention of creating a diversion in favour of King
James, and, with this view, made a descent upon the coast of Sussex.
Intelligence having reached Spithead of the enemy’s approach, the
British fleet, under the Earl of Torrington, put to sea on the 21st
June, and soon came in sight of the French. The English were joined
by a Dutch squadron of twenty-two large ships, under Vice-Admiral
Evertsen. On the 30th, at daylight, Admiral Torrington signalled to
bear up in line abreast; and the Dutch in the van bore down with their
characteristic bravery, and did not bring to until closely engaged with
the French van at about 9 A.M. The blue squadron, following the example
of their allies, gallantly attacked the rear of the French; but the
centre, under the command of Lord Torrington, hung back, and did not
close with the enemy. The French, taking advantage of the backwardness
of the red division, kept their wind, and, passing through the wide
opening in the line, completely cut off the Dutch squadron, that still,
however, kept up the fight with dogged bravery. The fight lasted
throughout the day, and at 5 P.M. the allied fleets anchored, but at
9 weighed anchor, and retreated eastward. One English ship, and three
of the Dutch ships, were destroyed or sunk. The Earl of Torrington was
tried by court-martial for his conduct of this action, and acquitted.

In September 1694, Sir Cloudesley sailed with a frigate squadron for
an attack on Dunkirk. Commodore Benbow was in command of the smaller
ships of the squadron, and had with him a Mr. Meesters, and a number
of infernal machines invented by him; he had also a number of Dutch
pilots. On the 12th September, the fleet, consisting of thirteen
English and Dutch men-of-war ships, two mortar vessels, and seventeen
machines, and small craft, arrived before Dunkirk, and on the 13th
commenced the attack with the boats, and two of the machines, which
were to be directed by the engineer, assisted by the pilots. The first
machine took fire before it had reached near enough to damage the
enemy, and the second machine was caught by piles the French had driven
to obstruct the approach. Sir Cloudesley found Dunkirk too strong for
the appliances at present at his command. He sailed for Calais, which
he shelled, and destroyed a large number of houses. He was interrupted
in this occupation by a gale of wind, and returned with his fleet to
the Downs.

In 1703, Sir Cloudesley was sent on special service to Vigo, to look
after and bring home the spoil of the French and Spanish fleets that
fell to Sir George Rooke in the previous year. In this action, seven
French ships, with 334 guns and 2030 men, were burnt and otherwise
destroyed, and ten ships were taken by the English and Dutch, the total
loss of the French being seventeen ships, carrying 960 guns and 5832
men, and, in addition, some Spanish galleys. Sir Cloudesley, left in
charge of the prizes, succeeded in rescuing a large portion of the
treasure from the sunken galleons, and recovered the _Dartmouth_, a
fifty-gun ship, that had been captured in the previous war. He also
took out of some of the French ships, which were lying aground severely
damaged, fifty brass guns, and a larger number of guns from the shore
defence. Before leaving the port (Vigo), he completed the destruction
of every ship he could not tow away.

In 1704, Sir Cloudesley served under Sir George Rooke in the
Mediterranean, and in 1705 was promoted to be Rear-Admiral of England,
and shortly afterwards made Commander-in-chief of the British fleets.
In 1705 he co-operated with the Earl of Peterborough in taking
Barcelona.

Sir Cloudesley, having determined to open the passage of the bar, where
the French were strongly entrenched, directed Sir John Norris, with
four English and one Dutch ship, to sail into the river. They advanced
to within musket-shot of the enemy’s works. He opened a well-directed
fire, and the cavalry, with the greater portion of the infantry, taken
by surprise, and quite unprepared for the sudden attack, quitted the
camp. Sir Cloudesley, noticing this, ordered Sir John to land with
the sailors and marines, and attack the French in flank. This service
was effectively performed, and the French fled in confusion from the
entrenchments, clearing the way for the Duke of Savoy, our ally, who
passed up the river without meeting with any resistance.

On the 17th July 1707 an attempt was made upon Toulon by the combined
English and Dutch forces, assisted by the fleet under the command of
Sir Cloudesley Shovel. A hundred guns were landed from the ships for
the batteries, with seamen to serve them; Sir Thomas Dilkes also
bombarded the town from the fleet; but the attack did not prevail,
and the attacking forces withdrew, not without having inflicted
heavy damage and loss upon the French; eight of their largest ships
were burnt; several magazines, and more than a hundred houses, were
destroyed. Sir Cloudesley was greatly annoyed and disappointed by the
partial failure of this expedition, and departed for England upon his
last and fatal voyage. He left a squadron to blockade Toulon, under the
command of Sir Thomas Dilkes.

The fleet had got so near home as the Scilly Isles, when, in the night
of 22nd October 1707, Sir Cloudesley’s ship, the _Association_, and two
others, struck the rocks known as “The Bishop and his Clerks.” Not a
soul of the eight hundred on board with Sir Cloudesley was saved. The
catastrophe was seen from on board the _St. George_. The _Association_
went down in less than five minutes after striking the rock. Sir George
Byng, in the _St. Anne_, had a very narrow escape. With Sir Cloudesley,
on board the flag-ship, were his two stepsons, sons of Lady Shovel
and Sir John Narborough, his brother James, Mr. Trelawney, eldest son
of the Bishop of Winchester, and other persons of distinction. Sir
Cloudesley’s body was cast ashore, and recovered next day. His remains
were deposited, with the honourable and solemn ceremony due to his
worth, in Westminster Abbey.


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Transcriber’s Notes


Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a
predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they
were not changed.

Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation
marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left
unbalanced.

Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs
and outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support
hyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to
the corresponding illustrations.

Some prices in the Book Catalog have been repositioned.



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