Here they stayed about a week, to clean their veffels, and fit them for a long voyage, determining to fet fail for England; and, that the faithful Symerons might not go away unrewarded, broke up their pinnaces, and gave them the iron, the most valuable prefent in the world to a nation whofe only employments were war and hunting, and amongst whom show and luxury had no place.

Pedro, their captain, being defired by Drake to ge through the fhip, and to choose what he most defired, fixed his eye upon a fcymeter fet with diamonds, which the French captain had prefented to Drake; and, being unwilling to afk for fo valuable a prefent, offered for it four large quoits, or thick plates of gold, which he had hitherto concealed; but Drake, defirous to fhew him that fidelity feldom is without a recompence, gave it him with the highest profeffions of fatisfaction and efteem. Pedro, receiving it with the utmoft gratitude, informed him, that by bestowing it he had conferred greatnefs and honour upon him; for, by presenting it to his king, he doubted not of obtaining the highest rank amongst the Symerons, He then perfifted in his refolution of leaving the gold, which was generously thrown by Drake into the common stock; for he faid, that thofe, at whofe expences he had been fent out, ought to fhare in all the gain of the expedition, whatever pretence cavil and chicanery might fupply for the appropriation of any part of it. Thus was Drake's character confiftent with itself; he was equally fuperior to avarice and fear, and, through whatever danger he might go in queft of gold, he thought it not valuable enough to be obtained by artifice or difhonefty.

They

They now forfook the coaft of America, which for many months they had kept in perpetual alarms, having taking more than two hundred fhips of all fizes between Carthagena and Nombre de Dios, of which they never deftroyed any, unless they were fitted out against them, nor ever detained the prifoners longer than was neceffary for their own fecurity or concealment, providing for them in the fame manner as for themselves, and protecting them from the malice of the Symerons; a behaviour, which humanity dictates, and which, perhaps, even policy cannot difapprove. He must certainly meet with obftinate oppofition, who makes it equally dangerous to yield as to refift, and who leaves his enemies no hopes but from victory.

What riches they acquired is not particularly related; but it is not to be doubted, that the plunder of fo many veffels, together with the filver which they feized at Nombre de Dios, muft amount to a very large fum, though the part that was allotted to Drake was not fufficient to lull him in effeminacy, or to reprefs his natural inclination to adven

tures.

They arrived at Plymouth on the 9th of Auguft, 1573, on Sunday in the afternoon; and fo much were the people delighted with the news of their arrival, that they left the preacher, and ran in crowds to the key with fhouts and congratulations.

Drake having, in his former expedition, had a view of the South fea, and formed a refolution to fail upon it, did not fuffer himfelf to be diverted from his defign by the profpect of any difficulties that might obstruct the attempt, nor any dangers that might attend

the

the execution; obftacles which brave men often find it much more easy to overcome, than fecret envy and domestick treachery.

Drake's reputation was now fufficiently advanced to incite detraction and oppofition; and it is easy to imagine that a man by nature fuperior to mean artifices, and bred, from his earliest years, to the labour and hardships of a fea life, was very little acquainted with policy and intrigue, very little verfed in the methods of application to the powerful and great, and unable to obviate the practices of those whom his merit had made his enemies.

Nor are fuch the only opponents of great enterprises there are fome men, of narrow views and grovelling conceptions, who, without the inftigation of perfonal malice, treat every new attempt as wild and chimerical, and look upon every endeavour to depart from the beaten track as the rafh effort of a warm imagination, or the glittering fpeculation of an exalted mind, that may please and dazzle for a time, but can produce no real or lafting advantage.

These men value themselves upon a perpetual fcepticism, upon believing nothing but their own fenfes, upon calling for demonftration where it cannot poffibly be obtained, and fometimes upon holding out against it when it is laid before them; upon inventing arguments against the fuccefs of any new undertaking, and, where arguments cannot be found, upon treating it with contempt and ridicule.

Such have been the moft formidable enemies of the great benefactors to mankind, and to thefe we can hardly doubt but that much of the oppofition which Drake met with is to be attributed; for their notions and difcourfe are fo agreeable to the lazy, the envious,

and

and the timorous, that they feldom fail of becoming popular, and directing the opinions of mankind.

Whatsoever were his obftacles, and whatsoever the motives that produced them, it was not till the year 1577, that he was able to affemble a force proportioned to his defign, and to obtain a commiffion from the queen, by which he was conftituted captain general of a fleet confifting of five veffels, of which the Pelican Admiral, of an hundred tuns, was commanded by himfelf; the Elizabeth, vice-admiral, of eighty tuns, by John Winter; the Marigold, of thirty tuns, by John Thomas; the Swan, fifty tuns, by John Chefter; the Christopher, of fifteen tuns, by Thomas Moche, the fame, as it seems, who was carpenter in the former voyage, and destroyed one of the fhips by Drake's di

rection.

These ships, equipped partly by himself, and partly by other private adventurers, he manned with 164 ftout failors, and furnished with fuch provifions as he judged neceffary for the long voyage in which he was engaged. Nor did he confine his concern to naval ftores, or military preparations; but carried with him. whatever he thought might contribute to raise in those nations, with which he should have any intercourse, the highest ideas of the politeness and magnificence of his native country. He therefore not only procured a compleat service of filver for his own table, and furnished the cook-room with many veffels of the fame metal, but engaged feveral musicians to accompany him; rightly judging that nothing would more excite the admiration of any favage and uncivilized people. Having been driven back by a tempeft in their first attempt, and obliged to return to Plymouth, to repair

the damages which they had fuffered, they fet fail again from thence on the 13th of December, 1577, and on the 25th had fight of Cape Cantire in Barbary, from whence they coafted on fouthward to the ifland of Mogadore, which Drake had appointed for the firft place of rendezvous, and on the 27th brought the whole fleet to anchor in a harbour on the main land.

They were foon after their arrival difcovered by the Moors that inhabited thofe coafts, who fent two of the principal men amongst them on board Drake's fhip, receiving at the fame time two of his company as hoftages. These men he not only treated in the most fplendid manner, but prefented with fuch things as they appeared most to admire; it being with him an eftablished maxim, to endeavour to fecure in every country a kind reception to fuch Englishmen as might come after him, by treating the inhabitants with kindnefs and generofity; a conduct at once juft and politick, to the neglect of which may be attributed many of the injuries fuffered by our failors in diftant countries, which are generally afcribed, rather to the effects of wickedness and folly of our own commanders, than the barbarity of the natives, who feldom fall upon any unless they have been first plundered or infulted; and, in revenging the ravages of one crew upon another of the fame nation, are guilty of nothing but what is countenanced by the example of the Europeans themfelves.

But this friendly intercourfe was in appearance foon broken; for, on the next day obferving the Moors making fignals from the land, they fent out their boat, as before, to fetch them to the fhip, and one John Fry leaped afhore, intending to become an hoftage as on

the