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' iCJi. l9 TO THE , REV. H. D. M. SPENCE, M.A. VICAIt OF ST. PANCRA8 AND HOnAL J)KA\ HON. CANON OP ULorCESTKl! KXAMINIXG CHAPLAIN TO THE BISHOP OP fil-Ol-CESTKlf AN,, H.IISTOJ, ETC. THIS WORK If^ GRATEFULLY AND IlESPKOTFL'LLY DEDICATED St as to th aft (111 of He wa his PEEFACE. Frobisiier is a historical figure whicli has always stood behind Hawkins and Drake, and been hidden by them. Frobisher has come to be considered as an appendage of the other two Admirals ; and to ordinary readers of history is as an item in the multiplication table which can only be reached after repeating the column. But he had an indivi- duahty perhaps more clear and prominent than any of the other great mariners that served the Queen. He was something more than a privateer and a warrior. It is in the hope of bringing Frobisher out of his historical seclusion that this biography is issued. F. J. Forest Hill: 1878. Pre I, hi I Catl: Frob \ 1 t CONTENTS. -•o*- CHAPTER I. PAGE Frobisher's ancestors and birthplace — He is sent to London ; thence turned adrift — Becomes a captain — Privateering — He is examined on a charge of piracy — Fits out a ship against the Irish — Sir Humphrey Gilbert .... 1 AutJwrities. — Wainwright's * Yorkshire ; ' Hunter's * History of the Deanery of Doncaster ; ' Miller's ' History of Don- caster ; ' Fuller's « Worthies ; ' Harleian MSS., No. 4,630, p. 190; Cotton: Otho E, viii. fols. 41, 42, 43, 46; State Papers, Dom. Eliz., vol. xl., Nos. 1, 7 ; ditto, vol, Ixxx., Nos. 31, 54 ; Hakluyt, vol. iii. ; Frobisher's Will, Appendix. CHAPTER II. Cathay — The Monk Odoric's account — The search for it by the West — Sir Hugh Willoughby searches for it by the North- east — The Company of Moscovia .... AutJuyrities. — * Cathay and the Way Thither ; ' Pinkerton, vol. xii. ; Hakluyt, vol. i. CHAPTER III. Frobisher convinced of a passage by the North-west — Endea- vours to fit out an expedition — His hopes and disappoint- ments — Finds a patron in the Earl of Warwick — A digression to the Earl of Desmond ...... Authoi'ities. — Hakluyt, vol. iii. ; State Papers, Ireland, vol. xxxviii., No. 48. X Contents. CHAPTER IV. TAGK Opposition from the Muscovy Company— Frobisher overcomes it —Michael Lock's liberality— Getting ready for the North- west— Dr. Dee and Sir Humphrey Gilbert teach Frobisher . 14 Authonties.—QoWoxv: Otho E, viii., fols. 41, 42; Hak- luyt, vol, i. CHAPTER V. The 'Gabriel' and 'Michael' set forth— Tho variation of the needle— A storm, in which the pinnace is lost Authorities for the first voyage.— Narratives of George Best, and Christopher Hall, Hakluyb, vol. iii. ; and of Michael Lock ; Cotton : Otho E, vol. viii., fol. 46. 18 CHAPTER VI. The 'Michael' abandons the General— Owen Gryffyn's story — Greenland— The ' Gabriel ' goes on alone— Frobisher's promptness and skill save her . . . . .22 AutJwrities. — The same. CHAPTER VII. The ' Gabriel ' arrives on the American shore— The Queen's Fore- land—Hall's Island— The finding of the ' black stone '—The bark sails up Frobisher's Straits . . . .26 Autlwrities. — The same. it i ' CHAPTER VIII. P'robisher goes ashore — Natives in canoes look threatening — A parley and an exchange of hostages— Description of the Esquimaux — Frobisher's caution .... Anthvnties. — Tlie same. 29 Contents. xt CHAPTER IX. Reasons for thinking the Htraits to be the North- West Passage — The English are jjursued by the natives and regain their boat — Another exchange of hostages — A native pilot ; native trea- chery, and capture of the ' Gabriel's' boat, with a crew of five men. ........ Autluyrities. — The same. PAGR 33 CHAPTER X. The General's efforts to recover his men — The Esquimaux medi- tate an attack on the ' Gabriel ; ' but are afraid of the fal- conet — A stratagem, by which a native is captured — Fro- bishcr's great physical strength . . . . Authofities. — The same. 37 CHAPTER XI. Waiting in vain — A council, which adopts a resolution to return — The ' Gabriel ' sails for England — A man overboard saved by Frobisher- -Arrival in England .... AutJiorities. — The same. 42 CHAPTER Xn. The captive savage dies — Frobisher is sinking into oblivion ; when the ' black stone ' proves to be his philosopher's stone — It is reported to be gold — The assays Authorities. — Best's Narrative ; Memoir of Sir Philip Sidney ; Holinshed's ' Chronicles ; ' Cotton : Otho E, viii., fol. 45 ; State Papers, Dom. Eliz., vol. cxii., No. 25 ; Fro- bisher's letter, given in Chap. XXI. 44 CHAPTER XIII. More rumours about the gold — A second voyage is projected — The Company of Cathay — Frobisher appointed High Admiral injjartibus — The Queen's instructions . Authorities. — State Papers, Dom. Eliz., vol. ex., Nos. 21, 22 ; vol. cxi., Nos. 48, 41) ; vol. cxiii.. No. 12 ; vol. cxix., Nos. 31, 32, 33, 41. 48 XII Contents. CHAPTER XIV. Departure of the ships — The Lord's Supper administered at Gravesend — The Queen's scolding letter at Harwich — Fro- bisher avenges himself — The Orkneys — Greenland Autlwrities for tlie second voyage. — Captain Best's Nar- rative, in Hakluyt, vol. iii. ; Narrative of Dionise Settle (to be found in separate form and in Hakluyt, vol. iii.). PAGE 52 CHAPTER XV. The * Michael ' distressed — A determined man dies — A theory of the formation ( •" icebergs — The shijis enter Frobisher's Straits — A hunt for more of the ' black stone ' — The Queen's sovereignty proclaimed . . . , . .65 Authorities. — Tlie same. CHAPTER XVI. Traffic with the natives — An English stratagem defeated, and the General wounded — A native captured by a Cornish wrestler — A terrific storm ...... Authorities. —The cxviii., No. 40. same ; State Papers, Dom. Eliz., vol. 60 CHAPTER XVn. A fire on board the * Aid ' — A battle with the ice, in 'yhich Gcd is their best steersman — The General and his company come on board — Thanksgivin'j — Cliflfs of gold and a harbour — Security is near destruction — Charles Jackman . . . .63 AutJiorities. — Best and Settle. 1 1 CHAPTER XVIII. More gold mines found ; also a dead narwhal — The Queen's sove- reignty proclaimed over the southern shore — Discovery subordinated to gold-hunting — A miracle of deliverance wrought for the * Gabriel ' — The * Michael's ' hairbreadth Authorities. — The same. 66 Contents. Xlll CHAPTER XIX. PAOH Evidences of cannibalism — Dog harness — The Countess of War- wick's Sound and Island — All hands at work — An Esquimaux letter— The captive is shown a picture of the captive taken in the first voyage . . . . . .70 AutJiorities. — The same. CHAPTER XX. The * Aid ' has an experience — The ' Michael ' finds mementos of the five lost men — An attack upon an Esquimaux village ; a chase, a fight; desperate valour of the natives — Two women and ? babe taken ...... 73 Authorities. — The same. CHAPTER XXI. The captured man and woman are brought together — Native modesty — The Countess's Island fortified — The Esquimaux undertake to deliver a letter from Frobisher to the captive five men ... . . ,• . 79 AutJioritics. —The same. CHAPTER XXII. The General exhorts to greater vigilance — Best's Bulwark — Native treachery — The two captives make attempts to escape — A marshalling of natives dispersed by the sound of a cannon — A clever native stratagem . , . .82 Autlwrities. — The same. CHAPTER XXIII. Preparations for returning — The fleet departs — The * Michael ' parts company with her consorts in a storm — A dream and its sudden fulfilment — The ' Aid ' and * Gabriel ' part — A season- able calm — Arrival in England . . , . Autfiorities. — The same. 87 ij XIV Contents. CHAPTER XXIV. Frobisher and his officers received at Court — The ore safely stored — The shareholders heavily assessed ; still others apply for shares ....... Authm'ities. — The same; State Papers, Dom. Eliz., vol. cxv., No. 35 ; vol. cxvi., Nos. 14, 24, 25 ; vol. cxix. No. 144 ; vol. exxii., Nos. 9, 10. PA.OK 90 CHAPTER XXV. Agnello and 8hutz assaying and melting the ore — New furnaces are built — English assayers cannot find gold in the ore — Dr. Burchard Kraurych determined to find more than all others — The assayers quarrel . . . . . .94 Authorities. — State Papers, Dom. Eliz., vol. cxii., No. 53 ; vol. cxviii., No. 43 ; vol. cxix., Nos. 8, 12, 46 ; vol. cxxii., Nos. 44, 61, 62 ; vol. cxxiii., Nos. 5, 7 ; vol. cxxxi.. No. 52. CHAPTER XXVI. Plans for a third voyage —A colony projected on Frobisher's Straits — The Queen's instructions — She hangs a chain of gold around the Admiral's neck — The fleet gathering at Harwich . 98 Autlwrities. —^toXQ Papers, Dom. Eliz., vol. cxxiii., Nos. 50, 51 ; vol. cxxiv.. No. 1 ; vol. cxxix., No. 36 ; Conway Papers. CHAPTER XXVII. The Admiral's instructions to the fleet— Departure from Harwich — A Frenchman chased — A plundered English ship found — Frobisher's humanity — Gulf Stream — First white man on Greenland — A ship kills a whale .... 102 Authorities for the third voyage. — Narrative of Captain Best, Hakluyt, vol. iii. ; Christopher Hall, Harleian MSS. 1 07, fol. 165 ; Edward Sellman Hak. Soc. Pub. ; Journal kept in the «.Tudith,' Har. MSS., 167, fol. 41 ; Keport of Thomas Wiars, passenger in the ' Busse,' Hakluyt, vol. iii. ; Narrative of Thomas Ellis, Haklu3rt, vol. iii. Contents. XV CHAPTER XXVIII. Frobisher's Straits found icebound— The Admiral tries to force an entrance — The ice in motion — The 'Dennis 'sunk — A terrible night — Esca|)e and thanksgiving— The fleet is swept south- ward through the fog by an unknown current— DiflFerence of opinion ........ A\dlvoritie8> — The same. PAOK 107 CHAPTER XXIX. Their bearings lost ; a consultation wherein Frobisher and Hall lose their temper — Frobislier is carried away by the love of discovery — The fleet sails up Hudson's Straits — The Ad- miral's reasons for believing that he had found the North- West Passage ....... Authorities. — The same. Ill CHAPTER XXX. The fleet returns towards the ocean — New perils are added to the old, and death impends over all — The Queen's Foreland proved to be an island — The perils through which the ' Ann Frances,' ' Thomas Allin,' * Busse,' and ' Francis of Foy ' had passed . . . . , . , .115 Authorities. — The same. CHAPTER XXXI. Discontent bordering on mutiny — Frobisher contents the crew with promise of rest — Another storm makes the fulfilment of it impossible — A desperate project that succeeds ; and Fro- bisher arrives at his port, in which are found the ' Michael ' and ' Judith ' . . . . . , .120 Axitlun'ities. — The same. CHAPTER XXXII. Negligence on board the 'Aid '—Edward Sellman covers himself with immortality and ridicule — More security brings more perils to the ' Aid ' — Master Wolfall, the missionary — Fro- bisher issues sanitary regulations .... 123 Aut/iorities. — The same ; State Papers, Dom. Eliz., vol. cxxx., No. 17. It XVI Contents. CHAPTER XXXIII. PAQR What the 'Michael ' and ' Judith ' had passed through — Master Wolf all's great spirit and courage— The scheme of colonisa- tion abandoned . . . , ,. ♦ , . 127 Authorities. — The same. CHAPTER XXXIV. The 'Ann Frances,' * Moon,' and 'Thomas of Ipswich' cannot reach their port — Some talk of returning home ; but Captain Best dissuades them — Suspicions of treachery Aut/unnties. — The same. 131 CHAPTER XXXV. The 'Thomas of Ipsvich ' deserts— Best in search of a harbour — ' Best's Blessing ' — The ' Ann Frances ' aground — Best's ingenuity in putting together a pinnace — Hatton's Head- land — Capture of a polar bear ... . . 136 Authm-ities. — The same ; State Papers, Dom. Eliz., vol. cxxvi., No. 33. CHAPTER XXXVI. Captain Best sails in the pinnace to seek the Admiral —Gabriel's Island— A curious alarm ends happily — The Countess of Sussex Mine — Best and Frobisher meet . . . 139 Atithoi^ities. — The same. CHAPTER XXXVII. Ore found on every hand — Deaths in the fleet — Fenton is irate at the Admiral — The difference settled by the council— A fruit- less attempt to surprise some natives — Best returns to his ship — A house and oven built — First administration of the Lord's Supper on land ...... Autlunnties. — The same. 142 CHAPTER XXXVIII. The beer falls short — An archipelago discovered — Preparations for returning home — The fleet at anchor off Beare's Sound — ssian Company to carry on the trade and ' the discovery of new trades.' This was understood to confer on them the monopoly of all discovery and adventure by Englishmen into every part of the world. When, therefore, Frobislier seemed to be likely to set his enterprise for discovering the North-West Passage on foot, the Muscovy Company objected on the ground that such an undertaking woidd be contrary to their privileges. Through the aid of his patrons, Frobislier obtained from the Privy Council a letter addressed to the Company, recommending them either to make the attempt them- selves or grant others a license to make an effort in that direction. The Court of the Company, on receiving this epistle, resolved to hold a conference with the person wishing to undertake such an enterprise, determined to talk as much as might be, but do nothing. At the conference Martin Frobisher represented himself and certain persons who were perhaps mythical. The Company was represented by Michael Lock and three more of their principal men. The couclusion arrived at on the part of the Company was to refuse either assistance or a license, on the ground that the whole affair was full of suspicious features, and evi- dently meant for other purposes than trade and discovery. There was here a suggestion of the charges brought against Frobisher on a former occasion. So they thought to snuff out Martin Frobisher. Had they known their man better, perhaps they would have gained themselves fame by granting the license and i6 Life of Sir Martin Fro bis her. becoming his formal patrons. But they liad thrown away their opportunity. The indomitaHe captain turned once more to the Privy Council, and, in* spite of the evil character wliich the Muscovy Company would j^^ive his enterprise, obtained a second letter, which was no more a recommendation, but a command requirinj:^ the Company themselves to attempt the North-West Passage, or grant a license to Martin Frobisher and others for the undertaking of the same. During this controversy with the Company Frobisher had won over Michael Lock, their chief man, and a leading merchant of the City of London. Tliese two now set themselves diligently to work, selling shares in tlie venture. T^ock used his influence in the City, while the captain did the same with the nobles. After some months' toil the result was a paid-up capital of 875/. This was altogether insufficient for carrying out tlie project, and once again the heart of tlie great man sank. His friends at Court had not been illiberal ; many of tlie most fiunous of the merchants had contributed ; but it was manifest that everyone viewed his money as a gift to the cause of science, and not an investment that promised any gain. The love of money had not been enlisted, and men were loth to exchange solid gold for honour that comes only to him that is dead. At this point in the affair, when failure seemed to be the only fruit of thirteen years of the most arduous toil- sailing the wintry sea and grappling with dangers are not so arduous to the heroic soul impatient to execute great desio-ns as dancing atx^endance at the doors of patrons- Michael Lock, with a liberality worthy of lasting fame, camie to Frobisher's rescue, and, in addition to the money which he had already contributed to the venture, undertook all the obligations that might be incurred over and above to be I toil— Lre not gr eat rons — fame, loney ftook above f J!t Dr. Dee gives Advice. 17 the anioimt collected. Such sum proved to be almost ('(|ual to tlie whole of the capitul then paid up, viz., 738/. 19s. 3d In the monntime a year had been lost throu<];h the want of funds. Now the providinf^ for the enterprise l)e<;an, and Frobislier was happy. To work is joy and to wait torture when auythinj^ remains to be done. The autumn and winter of 1575 were spent in consultation and preparation. Ships were purchased, crews enlisted, and, evenin<^ after eveninj^, Frobislier and Lock pored over figures, plans, specifications, and contracts. At one of these conferences we learn how the two projectors met with Captain Christopher Hjdl, who afterwards sailed on tlie voyages with Frobislier ; Captain Stephen Burrough, and Dr. Dee, the famous astrolog(ir and mathematician of the time ; how the charts and books and instruments which Lock had been collecting for twenty years were laid out and oxaTiuned ; how all their expectations were recounted, and for what purpose the enterprise was set on foot. Here Lock 'it aside all Frobisher's ideas, for he laboured to show how > -lat by it great traffic of merchandise would be procured with Cathay, and this he asserted was his chief object. Moreover, granting that the passage by the north-west should prove a failure, yet the result of Cabot's discoveries in North America abundantly testified that all the coast along Labrador would yield a lucrative trade in furs, hides, wax, tallow, oil, &c. Dr. Dee had been brought there that evening to be convinced, for his opinion seems to have been highly esteemed on all matters touching cosmography. He was convinced, and in consequence gave valuable aid to the expedition, for he went down to the docks and spent all the spring of 1576 on board the ships, instructing the masters, mates, and boatswains in geometry, geography, C ! ^. t :... i8 Life of Sir Martin Fro bis her. and the use of instruments. Besides, he gave the mariners many wise suggestions as to how they should proceed in the case of accidents and in narrow straits of fortune. Sir Humphrey Gilbert also gave them the results of all his studies, helping and advising them. Many great officers of state residing at Court (then held at Greenwich) came on board, counselling and '^ jcouraging. CHAPTER V. The fifteen years' undaunted labours were at last about to bear fruit. By the t^Tne the spring of the year 1576 opened, the ships of the expedition were anchored at Blacicwall, ready to drop down the river with the first tide. Accustomed as we are to steamers whose measurement is reckoned by thousands of tons, it creates a startling sensation akin to horror to be told what was the burthen of Frobisher's vessels. That brave hearts should have been allowed by England's niggardliness to sail in such • cockleshells ' among Arctic seas, buffeting with tempests and fields of ice, tempts one to condemn his forefathers while admiring the courage of those who were so reckless of life for honour and country. The two ships or barks lying at anchor opposite KatclitFe were named the ' Gabriel ' and the ' Michael.' Papists named their ships after saints, the Virgin, the Trinity. The Protestants took the archangels. The measurements of the ships are given, variously ranging, the 'Gabriel' from fifteen to twenty tons, and tlie ' Michael ' from twenty to tvventy-five tons. Attached to them was a pinnace, given as from seven to ten tons, which The two Barks off Greenwich. 19 was for employment in the examination of new coasts, and to go in advance as a pioneer when sailing along int .icate channels or among any other of the various dangers in- cident to passing along uncharted shores. The aggregate of tlie crews, officers, men, and boys, was thirty-tive. An extract from the account of the cost of the voyage may be of assistance in realising the meaning of t-ese facts : — For the hull of the new shipp Gabriel For the new pynnasse of vij ton For the shippe Micliael, with old takle and furnyture For new takling and rigging them all ... /I. 83 20 120 229 16 10 Of this Lilliputian fleet Martin Frobisher was appointed admiral and pilot. Christopher Hall was master of the 'Gabriel," and Owen Gryffyn master of the 'Michael.' The latter was an unfortunate appointment. He wa.s, as his name signifies, a Welshman, and exhibited the national cljaracteristics of zeal without perseverance. On Jime 7 they set sail from Blackwall ' in the name of Grod ' and departed. But they had not advanced on their way beyond Deptford when the pinnace came into eoUision with a ship sailing up the river, in which she lost her bowsprit and foresail. The damage having been repaired by the following day, they sailed as far as Green- wich. The Queen and her Court were there, so the little fleet came to anchor opposite the palace and fired oif their cannon, making the best show they could. The display was of a very humble kind ; for we must bear in mind that the largest of the ships would hardly be considered a fishing smack in our day, and lay so low in the water that a man standing in a boat alongside would have his head and slioulders level with Iter deck. During this display on board the fleet the C^ueen was standing at an open window of the palace, waving lier hand at her adventurous subjects in token of encourage- c 2 Hi 1 1 n ill' 20 Life of Sir Martin Fro bis her. ment and farewell. Presently a messenger from Her Majesty came on board to say that she had ' good liking of their doings,' and to invite the admiral to visit the Court next day, that he might take his leave of her. Per- haps the sagacious woman, perceiving what manner of craft they had for braving so many dangers, thought if she would ever set eyes on the captain this was her last opportunity. The same evening came one of the Queen's secretaries and, in the name of Her Majesty, charged the crews to be obedient to their officers and to be diligent in all things, and that their sovereign wislied them ' happy success.' Thus Queen Elizabeth used to honour her people, though unknown and as yet untried in great matters. She recognised great and daring spirits ; and at only the cost of a smile, a wave of the hand, a word of commendation and good wishes sent them forth to brave all the terrors of unploughed seas, feeling that they had been compensated for all their sufferiu'^s. From Gravesend Frobisher sailed northwards along the German Ocean on June 12. Before leaving the mouth of the river, he had taken an observation and found the variation of the needle to be eleven degrees and a half. The apparent waywardness of the magnet was a subject that greatly interested the scientific mind of the captain, wlio seems to have held regarding this phenomenon that the only sure way of obtaining a rule was by observation at each point, inasmuch as the mystery passed the reach of natural philosophy. Opposite Harwich they met with violent contrary winds, and were compelled to run into the harbour for refuge. A first attempt to put to sea was unsuccessful ; a second attempt met with the same fate ; a third attempt, and they were again driven back by the violence of the tempos their d omen 1 wrougt nothing enough On successi lands i] arrival j The ^ G; consequ coastinp and tak Tronion Having in the £ enabled hour, a r eonsidere were not This and on tl blowing ] barks drii the last n It was a I for dfrngei They sou^ tlie thirty Deparhire 07i the First Voyage. 21 tempest. The sailors brought to mind that tlie day of their departure from Deptford was Friday, that day of evil ometi throughout all Christendom ; and some were so far wrought upon by their superstitions as to prognosticate nothing but disaster to the expedition. They found enough before their return to justify their prophesyings. On June 18, the wind having shifted, the admiral successfully got his fleet to sea, and arrived off the Shet- lands in eight days. During the day previous to their arrival a fresh gale had been hi,) wing from the north-west. The * Gabriel ' had been much strained, in this gale, and in consequence troubled with a leak. Many hours were spent coasting in search of a roadstead wherein to repair damage and take in a supply of fresh water. The Sound of St. Tronion offered such a refuge, and here they anchored. Having succeeded according to their desires, they departed in the afternoon with a strong favourable breeze, which enabled them to make as much as a league and a half an hour, a rate of speed which the master of the ' Gabriel ' considered very good, and worth mentioning. Their ships were not clipper-built. This favourable breeze increased in power day by day, and on the last of June had grown to be a furious storm blowing from the south. For nine days and nights the barks drifted under bare poles towards the nortli, and on the last night of the storm the pinnace was lost sight of. It was a great blow to the expedition. She was the pilot for divngerous waters and searching the line of new coasts. Tliey sought for her in vain. the thirty-five perished. And thus four men out of 22 Life of Sir Martin FrobisJicr. CHAPTER vr. All hope of finding the little pinnace had been abandoned before the gale liad altogether passed ; so they put on sail as soon as the weather permitted and sh ned their course to the north-west ; but the ' Gabriel ' was sailing alone. It was now perceived that the ' Michael ' had also dis- appeared. For their own sake and for the honour of their country it would have been better had Owen Gryffyn and his men shared the fate of the pinnace. Deatli is not the greatest calamity that can befall a man. There are worse things than death, and one of them is dishonour. The * Michael ' had deserted. This stormy clime and icy sea had affected their weak spirits. ' They mistrusted the matter,' they said afterwards. The love of novelty and the pleasure of being counted valiant men had made as fair a show as courage and honour while they were on the smooth waters of the Thames and free from danger. But when they came to sail im known seas after a man who, tliey knew, would prefer the ships should be sunk to the bottom or locked in evei'lasting ice to returning home without accomplishing his purpose, tlien their hearts failed them. On their return to London, in the beginning of September, they told an apparently fair story. But the fruits of their treachery began already to ripen. No one believed what they said. Their story was that during a ten-ibie storm first the pinnace went down, and then the • Gabriel,' with Captain Frobisher on board. Being thus left to their own devices, Gryffyn called together his men and advised with them as to what was best to do. The determination of this conference, accoiding to their account, Owen Gryffyns Story. 23 was, that inasmuch as they had nearly the whole summer before them, and could not be far from the coast of Labrador, wliich Cabot had sailed along, and inasmuch as their com- missions were in that direction, why — they would perform their duty as best they could and go forward in the path of discovery. This resolution, if ever made, was another in-- stance to prove that Grryffyn's nature was unstable as the sea on which he sailed ; was brave in words and good in- tentions now that the gale had passed, but would prove unequal to carrying them into effect should any peril intervene. To the performance of duty courage is as necessary as integrity. After this council (so their story ran) they sailed west- wards for four days, when they came in sight of the coact of Labrador, but found it so compassed with monstrous high islands of ice, floating with resistless force before the wind, that they durst not draw near with their ship nor even land with their boat. If this four days' run westwar*! really took place the land which they saw was Greenland. At any rate, and according to their own account, their next proceeding again proved them unequal to the task of discovering new lands, and that the courage which possessed them while resolving did not survive long enough to see the execution. The next day, after sighting the new land, in ' great discomfort,' as they said, they cast their ship about and set her course back again to London, hoping doubtless that Frobisher had either reached that port before them or found rest in the ocean's depths, from whence he could not come to accuse them, at least in this world. And so Owen Gryffyn passes out of history. The expedition was now reduced to one bark of from fifteen to twenty tons burthen, havicg eighteen men on 24 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. board, officers, gentlemen, mariners, and boys. After three days' sail the * Gabriel' came in sight of Greenland.' Frobisher did not commit the mistake of supposing it to be any part of the American continent. The admiral having ordered a boat to be lowered, entered it and was rowed in shore by four of his men ; but the ice lay so thick along the land that they failed to carry out their intention, and after many vain attempts to find a landing- place returned on board. They were lying several leagues north of Cape Farewell, on the eastern coast. And now, to their great surprise, a thick fog suddenly enveloped them. The icebergs were beginning to drift down from the Arctic regions, and the little ship was in great danger of being crushed by them. But they had no sooner shaped their course southwards to double the lower extremity of Greenland tlian a furious gale sprang up, and driving them down among the icebergs, the expedition was nearer being brought to a close than at any time in the fifteen years during which Frobisher had toiled at it. The * Gabriel ' was open at the waist, and lay so low in the water that in our day she would have been prevented by Act of Parliament from sailing even upon a coasting voyage. The storm came upon them so suddenly that the bark was thrown on her beam-ends, and the water rushing in at the open waist rapidly filled her. It was found impossible to steer her or get her head before the wind. The ship, lying in the trough of the sea, began to settle. All on board were standing at their wits' end and despairing of life. But at this juncture Frobisher came on deck, and, seeing their state, he ran along the channels as the ship lay on her side and cast off the ' It is assumed throughout that the Island of Frifeseland mentioned in the Chronicles was identical with the southern part of Greenland. Tlie latitude given is decisive of the question. The * Gabriel ' 07i her Beam-ends. 25 weataer-leech of the foresails, and in consequence the foreyard broke sharp off. His next movement was to run aft, and seizing an axe he cut away the mizen-mast. As the ship rose with the next wave she partially righted. Some of the crew, seeing the success that came of the captain's actions, would have cut away the mainmast and perhaps all the rigging of the ship ; but Frobisher, perceiv- ing tlieir design, confronted them with offer of violence ; and though he stood axe in hand yet he barely restrained these small spirits from a base and ruinous imitation of the in- spired action of genius. The ship now rolled heavily, but with every roll disgorged herself of the water, which in this manner flowed out of the open waist, carrying with it many things besides. Her head was at length put before tiie wind. But the storm still raged so violently that her mainmast was sprung the following night, and her main- top blown overboard. This damage was partially repaired next day, when the fiuy of the tempest had expended itself. During this time Frobisher had been entertaining some hope of finding the ' Michael ' ; but when the gale had passed and the sea had been scamied in vain he concluded that she and the pinnace had both gone down. The expedition was now reduced to a half-wrecked bark, with a mast and a half, carrying eighteen officers, men, and boys. Something like a council was held on board the ' Gabriel ' ; not to discuss, but that one man might ex- hort and command the rest. The ' great spirit and bold courage ' never shone more illustriously. Dangers did not affect Frobisher in the same way they did Gryffyn ; for, though the expedition had been reduced to eighteen men and a half-wrecked bark, he declared that he was as ever determined to make a sacrifice of his life unto God rather than to return home without discovering a north-west ' 1 ' 1 i ( 26 Lz/e of Sir Martin Ff obis her. passage to Cathay. Having thus once again made solemn declaration of his firm purpose, he set his water-logged ship, with her mast and a half, on her course towards liabrador. Crews had many times mutinied under less trying circumstances, but Frobisher's men had caught something of the spirit of their commander; and though it was obviously a matter of life and death to follow so deter- mined a leader, yet they proceeded on the voyage with cheerfulness, willing to sink or swim in the company of so valiant a captain. Having rounded Cape Farewell, they sailed away to the north-west, the land they were leaving behind them being ' marvellous high, and full of high ragged rocks all along the coast, and some of the islands of ice were near it of such height as the clouds hanged about the tops of them, and the birds that flew about them were out of sight.' In this last sentence the chronicler has undoubt- edly indulged in a figure of speech. CHAPTER Vir. For ten days they continued on tlie same coarse, their voyage being ' by fair and by foul.' There is great diver- sity of dates as to the day on which they first sighted the American coast. The log of the ' Gabriel ' gives July 28, and in a matter of figures that must be correct. The morning was foggy, and the sea rough. After waiting some time the fog rose and the coast-line was clearly made out above the ice. Here again, as at Grreenland, they found on sailing in towards the land, that the shore was full of high islands and mountains of ice floating and driving ^ Hall lands in America. ^ 27 with the winds and tides and streams, so they dared not attempt to draw nearer witli the ship, and failed to land even with thefr boat. This was the coast of Labrador ; and Frobisher, remem- hering the white hand wliich had waved at the little fleet out of the palace-window at Greenwich, and which he had heen privileged to kiss, named this land Elizabeth Fore- land. Their course was now ENE., sometimes sailing within a mile of the shore, sometimes compelled to put five leagues out on account of the drifting ice. On August 2, Christ oplier Hall, the master of the ' Gabriel,' was, as on many previous days, toiling in the ship's boat in search of an entrance through the floes to an anchorage, sounding as he passed. Being near a gigan- tic iceberg he diligently sought a passage for the bark in vain. And just as he had ordered the crew to pull away, the iceberg fell asunder with a noise as if a great clit!' had fallen into the sea. It was a narrow escape ; \)vX those men recognised throughout that ' the marvellous work of God's great mercy' carried them through all. Still Hall continued his searching and sounding day hy day, for the August sun was slowly overcoming even those great mountains of ice. Some days subsequently to the overt\u'ning of the iceberg the master of the * Gabriel ' attained his desire and reached an island. This was the lirst land they had set foot upon since leaving the Shet- lands, though they had been in sight of land many days together. It was called Hall's Island, after the name of the bold mariner who had first touched there. Frobisher appears, during these vain endeavours to approach the shore, to have entertained some doubts as to the possibility of ever finding a way for his bark through the ice. Two weeks had passed since the American coast iu ' T ' t'^ ^H 28 Life of Sir Martin Fr obis her. ;!,; I i 1 i was first siglited. He had, therefore, commanded liis company that, if by any means they should reach the shore, they were to brin^ to him wh:itsoever thing they could first find, whether it was livinf)^ or dead, stock or stone, in token of Christian possession which lie would thereby take in behalf of the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, thinking tliat thus he might justify the havinven with the clearest brain. Fro jisher himself had not yet set his foot on land ; and so, having anchored under an island which they called Rutcher's Island, after the mariner who had first espied it, tlie captain made preparations for going ashore. ■j CHAPTER VIII. In pursuance of this resolution he entered the ship's boat with eight men, Christopher Hall acting as boatswain, and rowed ashore. It was August 19, the morning fair, and the sea calm. On landing, Frobisher, having left two men in charge of the boat, with the others climbed a high mountain that rose above them. The first sight that Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. w astonished them was ' mighty deer that seemed to l)e mankind,' whatever that expression might mean. IJiit, liowever vague such a description is, they were very em- phatic in declaring that they had to employ stratagem and woodcraft besides some force to escape from these animals. From the summit of the island they could see tlie waters all around. On the eastern side far out they saw what at first tliey supposed to be seals or some kind of strange fish. As they drew nearer and rapidly, Frobisher made them out to be seven canoes fleeting over the waters. Being ignorant of the character of the natives, the captain and his men made use of all the speed they could com- mand, Frobisher bearing in his hand a halberd. The natives had in the meantime outsped them. So that when the Englishmen approached the landing-place they found the Esquimaux were so drawn up as to cut off their return. Whether the natives meant war or parley Fro- bisher did not stop to inquire, for levelling his halberd he soon taught them how to open a way between him and liis boat. The conduct of the Englishmen under the circumstances may seem to have been dictated by too much caution for brave men ; but Frobisher had only tliis one boac left him ; the loss of it were the ruin of his plans ; and out of eighteen men and boys lie could not offer up one in proof of bravery. Frobisher, having returned on board, set about devising cautiously for bringing the natives to a parley. Five men were sent in the boat, with orders to row warilv towards the rtrangers, and to wave a white flag in token of peace- able intentions as soon as they should come in sight of them. For the bark was anchored around a headland. No sooner did the natives see the boat returning around Professions of Friendship. 31 the point than, having recovered from their surprise at the sight of white faces and the tlireatening halberd, one of their large canoe? advanced boldly. The Englishmen, in obedience to order, retresied. The natives, rightly inter- preting the movement as evidence that the invaders were afraid of them, pursued in hot haste. Presently the point was doubled, and the bark came in full view. This new wonder took away their eagerness for the capture of the boat, so they forthwith landed. Hall, the master, now took charge of the boat. When in sight of the savages on shore he made many signs of <»oodwill. The others answered in the same spirit, and would have persuaded our countrymen to land and rest themselves. Hall was bold as cautious. So he accepted their invitation and went ashore, but not out of the reach of his boat. Profuse professions of friendship were made on both sides ; and the professions were perhaps then in a fair way of producing a real understanding between tlie white men and the red. The master of the ' Gabriel,' having gone thiv^ugh the routine of giving trifling presents to each of the natives, so won upon their confidence that thy agreed to a temporary exchange of hostages. Hall took his native on board, having been completely success- ful in his mission. Had all the Englishmen imitated the conduct of the master in their subsequent dealings with the savages it would have been better for all engaged. The happy effect of fear had thus far led a long way to- wards friendship. Frobislier once more highly commended Vuc conduct of his chief officer, and ordered that the savage should be given to taste of the ship's meat and drink and wine. With the American Indian's imperturbability lie showed no pleasure or surprise. But when certain trinkets were presented him, especially a small bell, his self-command ii( 32 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. i : broke down and his astonishment was great. After this he was taken back to his people, and the sailor whom they held as hostage peacefully surrendered. Frobisher had been attentively studying this new member of the human family, and displayed his keen knowledge of human nature in that he concluded the tiibe to be of a kind given to fierceness and rapine. Subsequent events fully corroborated this opinion. • The savage having shown his people the Englishman's presents, and related to them the treatment he had received on board, many others came to the ship, altogether nine- teen men and women. It was observed that both sexes were dressed alike in costumes of sealskin, the only difference between them being that the women had blue streaks down their cheeks and around their eyes. To these nine- teen presents were given ; in return for which they brought salmon and raw flesh and fish. In explanation of their manner of life they greedily devoured the same uncooked. This had an unpleasant effect upon the Englishmen, for they at once concluded that the natives were cannibals. Perhaps they w^ere not wrong even in this conclusion. The savages also displayed great agility in climbing the ship's ropes. It was all good-will now between the mariners and the natives. A considerable traflBc was established ; bells, looking-glasses, and other trinkets being exchanged for coats of seal and bear-skins. Frobisher shared in none of this confidence displayed by his men. On first seeing the savages he had begun to put his ship in a state of defence ; now he redoubled his efforts in preparing for an attack ; and as an additional security he moved away from his present anchorage ainl passed round to the east side of the island. Of his eighteen ^ "^n several were worn out with toil and others laid up with sickness. Such were the events of August 19. A Hurried Survey. 33 CHAPTER IX. Hoping to be now free from the natives, of whom he had learned enough for the present, Frobisher, together with Christopher Hall and four men, landed for the purpose of discovery. They climbed another high mountain, from which they saw, to the south-east, the two headlands that marked the entrance into the Straits. Looking to the north-west, they saw the sea still extending to the horizon. The tides and currents, too — so the great navigator had observed — set in from that direction ; and thus everything went to corroborate his conclusion that this was another Magellan's Straits. Having enjoyed his grand day-dream for a time, gaziug along the north-west passage to the Western Ocean and Cathay, he descended the mountain-side. The little band of explorers on reaching the lowlands found twelve deserted houses, which they supposed to have been work- shops where the natives had been dressing leather, trying- out seal, whale, and other oils. Doubtless they were but the winter residences of the natives, and what appeared to them to be the traces of handicraft were but the foul re- mains of the people's food and fuel left to cleanse them- selves when the savages emerged from the cellar-like domiciles in which they had hybernated to live their brief summer in tents of skin. Farther on the explorers, having climbed a ridge, saw, as it were under them, in the bottom of a narrow valley, three of the native wigwams or summer liouses. By the tents they saw two dogs and other signs of life. Once more the great captain and his men put inglorious trust in their speed. It was for the boat, not woimds, that they cared. i I i i i ii ■" 1 ■ th 34 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. The courage of the Esquimaux and their speed on the water were to be tested another time ; but in fleetness of foot they were already proved inferior to the Euglish. Frobisher and his men had a long run for it, and re- gained their boat. For a moment they thought their haste thrown away, for not a native was in sight. But they had not pulled a dozen strokes before they came ic view of a large canoe fully manned. It was too late for the natives. A large low-lying rock separated the two boats, and would have secured for the English a good start in the case of flight and pursuit. The savages, seeing their opportunity gone, at once betook themselves to the old signs of peace ; then they would lay their hands on the sides of their heads and assume an attitude meant to be expressive of sleep. This was understood to be an invita- tion to come ashore and rest. The captain was full of curiosity to see the internal arrangements of their houses and their manner of life therein ; but his discretion was as keen as ever. So, employing the same gestures as themselves in token of amity, he added that he preferred they shoidd come to visit him on board his ship. To this the natives demurred. Then Frobisher proposed an exchange of hostages. To this the others consented with a mental reservation. The savages acted as though they had been taught diplomacy by Philip II. Frobisher at once sprang ashore, and the native hostage entered the boat, which the captain com- manded should be pulled out to a safe distance. The natives on shore advanced to meet their visitor in the friendliest manner, and one that seemed to be their chief took "^robisher by the hand and proceeded to lead him towara., their dwellings. They had advanced but a short distance when the captain's watchful eye detected ma- nifestations of treachery One of the natives walking A Pretended Pilot. 35 with him began to address the hostage in the boat, iind made certain signs which "^ere interpreted to mean that the latter sho'ild suddenly spring overboard and dive in to- wards shore. Frobisher was bearing in his hand, as a sort of combination of sceptre and weapon, a long gilded partizan or halberd. This he instantly levelled at the breast of the native, giving him very clearly to understand the fruit of treachery. Having commanded his men to have a strict care of their charge, he went on with his savage com- panions. He entered their houses and saw their food and manner of life, which the chronicler briefly and strongly designates as ' very strange and beastly.' After a time Frobisher came back, the hostage was delivered up, and all was well. The mariners continued to show such confidence in the natives as to elicit more than one caution from the captain. The traffic of trifles for sealskins was so profit- able also that he was continually called upon to watch over and restrain his men. As the boat was on the point of putting back to the ship one of the natives came forward boldly and offered to enter. The captain accepted him. On board Fro- bisher and the savage held such conversation as any two men could who did not understand a word of each others language. This ended in a bargain between the two, which was to the effect that the savage should go ashore, get into his skin canoe and row in front of the bark, thus piloting her along the Straits towards the Western Sea, which he assured the captain they would reach in two days' rowing. Such at least was the Englishman's understand- ing of a conversation of which the words and aentences were certain movements and grimaces. For his services the savage was to receive divers gifts which were exhibited to him by the captain. The interview was then brought I) 2 \ 1^ i 36 Life of Sir Martini Fr obis her. to a close ; and the barbarian, having received presents of a bell, knife, and cloth as an earnest of his coming re- wards, was placed in the ship's boat to be taken ashore. Frobisher was trying to make up his mind as to the extent to which he might trust liis strange pilot among unknown rocks and islands. He thought it time to exhibit less fear of treachery, for he had continued this spirit almost to the verge of cowardice. In the meantime the boat was alongside, making ready to take the savage ashore. Five of his best men formed the boat's crew. And, as he looked over the ship's side, he perceived that his men were taking with them many articles intended for exchange. All his caution returned upon him, and he gave them a strict injunction to abstain from anything of the kind. To ensure obedience to the command,he pointed out to the boatswain a certain rock which ran well out from the land and was in full sight of the ship, while the landing-place of the savages was farther on, around a point and hidden from view. On that rock the boatswain was to land his passenger, which being accomplished he was immediately to pull off. This order was literally obeyed as far as it went. The savage was dexterously landed on the appointed rock, and the boat went away with the returning wave. But, the next moment, Frobisher seems to have been rendered speechless by astonishment at seeing the boat swiftly rounding the point and dis- appearing towards the landing-place of the savages. For a few minutes the boat was lost sight of. After that time it was seen once more rowing out, with only two men. The others had landed, and thought to secure safety by imitating the captain's precaution of sending the boat out of danger. When these two had reached what they supposed & Bafe distance, they lay on their oars in full view of the ship, waiting while the profitable exchanges Iff- Disasirotis Disobedience. i7 were being made and a boat's load of sealskins got ready. Tbere was no otber boat to send eitlier to their aid or to bring them back to punishment. The loss of tlie pinnace had never been felt so much as at this moment. Frobisher was standing in the chains. He saw that it was a time for action and not regrets, so he commanded his remaining men to raise a great shout, to draw the attention of the two men in the boat, who were gazing at the landing- place. In this he was successful. Tlien he made signs that they should instantly return for their comrades and come back to the ship. The two men at once bent to their oars, and as they drew near to the landing-place were lost to view. Frobisher stood waiting for their return in wrathful mood, devising the punishment that was meet for such breach of discipline, by which the possession of their only boat, the lives of five of the most active of his exhausted crew, and the success of the whole expedition had been endangered. But he waited in vain and devised punishments in vain. Such were the events of August 20. CHAPTER X. Early the next morning the ' Grabriel ' stood in for the shore, and, having approached as near as tliey could with safety, they fired off their falconet, or cannon, carrying a pound and a half shot, over the Esquimaux village, but not with the intention of doing any damage. Then they blew a trumpet. These things were done that the lost men might know their captain was in search of them, shoidd they be still within hearing. Nowhere did they see anything of the boat or her crew, neither did they catch i 38 Life of Sir Martin Fr obis her. sight of any of the natives, thou<^h they were heard among the rocks close by the water, laugliing and jeering. This insult so greatly enraged the captain that he instantly determined either to carry on war against them or sail away to another village of the same tribe and there capture as many natives as he might, whom he would exchange for his men. But he had no means to do either of these things. Cunning, the strength of the weak, was the only force left at his disposal. The place where his captured crew had landed he called ' The Five M^n's Sound.' That day was spent in waiting and sounding the trumpet ; but, no answer having been elicited, he drew away late in the evening and anchored some distance from the shore. That night snow fell, and in the morning it was found lying on the hatches to the depth of twelve inches. Early in the day they sailed back to ' The Five Men's Sound,' and were surprised to find that the sealskin tents had been removed. Frobisher now admitted that it appeared hopeless to recover his men or boat, and without them any further progress towards Cathay was impossible. The intended pilot who was to lead him to the ocean called Pacific in two days had, perhaps, not disappointed the admiral very greatly in not returning. The moment of giving up is anguishing to a courageous mind, yet that seemed to have come at last. To add to his mortification there came the thought that he should arrive in England without any evidence of his having ever discovered new lands. He made no account of the black stone which he had thrown aside among other unconsidered trifles, and which was to become so celebrated. Others before him had impoverished themselves to procure means for sailing unknown seas and finding undiscovered lands ; had faced many dangers and put their life often in peril of savages A Threatened Attack, 39 only to be doubted on their return and asked to furnish proofs — who were accused of having made apocryphal discoveries and seen imaginary wonders I All this time the ' Gabriel ' had been lying-to in ' The Five Men's Sound,' with her commander ' more ready to die than to live.' But hereupon a sudden danger arose, and Frobisher was restored to himself. Fourteen boats fully manned were espied paddling around a point near at hand, and advancing with the evident intention of attacking the ship. In the largest of the boats were counted twenty men. The whole of Frobisher's force, including invalids and boys, was thirteen. The admiral was more pleased than alarmed with this demonstration. Full of til e 'great spirit and bold courage' of happier days, he made his arrangements for a conflict. Canvas was nailed over the old-fashioned deep channels, over the shrouds, and over every projection which the enemy might take hold of in boarding. It must be borne in mind that the ship lay so low that a native could spring out of his canoe on board with the help of a hand-hold. In the waist of the bark he placed his falconet. Frobisher's mind was filled with the happy idea that he need not go in search of some distant village to make captives, for the village was now coming to him. With a view to carrying out bis design, he pointed the falconet at the boat which held twenty men, resolved at the first attack to send a shot through her, and then, while her men were struggling in the water, to run the ship among them and make captive of as many as he found alive. But the natives had obtained a fair idea of the destructive power of the falconet on the previous day, when the piece was fired over their village. So now a ludicrous feature was introduced into the affair. Wherever the falconet was pointed, from that place the canoes paddled away in haste ; i i/ 40 Life of Sir Martin Fr obis her. and tlms the fourteen boats were slowly swept back with that silent threatening muzzle moving from side to side. All the men of the * Gabriel ' had during this time been mustered at the open waist. The enemy's boats had drawn out of range and were gathered in council. Al- though not a shot had been fired, Frobisher feared they had been so alarmed by his little cannon that they would draw entirely away, and thus the opportunity of capturing hostages would be lost. To give the natives courage, he com- manded his men to move the falconet and betake them- selves to other parts of the ship. Standing alone at the open waist, but with his arms laid ready to hand, he made the old signs of parley. The enemy answered ; and thinking that the English must be entirely devoid either of common sense or the spirit of retaliation, sent one of their number in a small skin canoe to hold conversation at closer quarters. This savage went through the usual pantomime in i^^'iting the Englishmen ashore. He was the native who ha^i come on board with Christopher Hall on his first interview with the savages. Frobisher was more profuse than ever in his manifestations of amity. But it was all duplicity on both sidss now. The captain held out various presents for him, but the savage would not come within reach. F'robisher then threw over such things as would float, shirts, cloths, &c. These, being carried away by the current, were eagerly pursued and caught by more than one of the boats. This game was continued until the cupidity of the messenger of the natives was so inflamed that when PVobisher held a small bell in his hand he, heedlessly or with strange self-con- fidence, paddled up to the ship's side to receive it. But just as success was about to crown the captain's cunning the zeal of a shallow mind that meddled without under- standing ruined all. F'or as the savage was reaching out The Captain s Grip. 41 his hand for the bell one of t,ho crew of the * Gabriel ' sprung forward, liolding a boathook, with which he hoped to secure the canoe. The native was much too quick for such a clumsy device. Instantly dipping his paddle in tlie water, he lightly skimmed away. The whole process of exciting the man's greed had to be gone through afresh. Presents were again set afloat, again chased and caught. And when Froljislier the second time offered the bell the savage was not won. But the captain was equal to the emergency. If the Esquimaux would not come nearer, the captain would throw it to him. The savage at once made ready to catch. The bell was thrown so as to fall just short of the native's hands, and so dropped into the sea and was lost. Frobisher forthwith called for another and a larger bell, which he provokingly began to ring, by turns stretching it out towards the canoe. The poor savage, however cunning, was quite carried away by this. Life was worth not so much to him now. Sitting as he was in his skin canoe, in which he was to a certain extent fastened, inasmuch as the opening fitted closely around his waist, he allowed himself to drift slowly towards the ship. As he came alongside he held his paddle in his right hand with the end placed against the side of the ' Gabriel,' so that at the first suspicion of treachery he had but to give it a thrust and the canoe would shoot away. The other hand he held forth to re- ceive the proffered bell. Frobisher stooped towards him, and just as their hands were on the point of meeting the captain let the bell drop, suddenly took hold of the out- stretched hand of the savage with his right and of the wrist with his left, then stepping back lifted him boat and paddle < *^o the deck of the bark. This feat of physical strength greatly astonished his own men as well as the savages, who were all within bowshot of the ' Gabriel ' ; to ii III I ; l!i 1 '! 42 Lt/e 0/ Sir Martin FrobisJier. whom Frobisher now made signs that if tliey would bring his men he would n^turn their comrade ; but the}' quickly rowed out of range, and having consulted together, made for the landwitli all haste, uttering a war-whoop, or, as the chronicler says, ' with great hallooing or howling shouts after their manner, like the howling of wolves or other beasts in the woods.' CHAPTER XI. The captured savage, who had, like the crew of the ' Grabriel's ' boat, fallen a victim to his own cupidity, was so overcome with impotent rage that he bit his tongue in twain. But that member was, under the circumstances, of little use to him and the loss of it but slight damage to the English, since all their intercourse was conducted by signs. The captive either would not or could not give any information of the lost boat and her crew. From that day on he lay moping and sulking, refusing every consola- tion till death touched him and bade him go free : which was soon after the return of the expedition to England. That night, the ' Grabriel ' anchored at another island near by ; Frobisher expecting still that the natives would ofier his five men in exchange for their captured country- man. Three more days were spent idly hoping against hope. Retreat was the only possible course, and yet Fro- bisher shrank from it, postponing his departure from hour to hour. At the close of those three idle days the admiral turned to his officers under the pretence of consulting them as to what had best be done. He knew their opinion well enough, for it was his own ; still he preferred to have his unwilling purpose in a manner forced on his own mind. Homeward-bound. 43 Tliev ran over each feature of their condition : they had MO boat ; many of their men were laid up with exhaustion and sickness ; including all, there were but thirteen left ; the brief summer was evidently on the wane, and the winter coming on apace. Should they be imprisoned in this Strait by the ice of which they already had some ex- perience, that were an end of them and all future voyages. Besides, they were surroimded by fierce savages of whom they suspected the worst designs and foulest practices. And as for proofs they had this infidel and his boat, the like of which was never seen, read, nor heard of before in lilngland, and whose language was neither known nor understood of any. Therefore there could only be one opinion as to the necessity of immediately returning. On August 26, Frobisher commanded the ' Gabriel's ' head to be put to the south-east. By noon they had pro- ceeded as far as Trumpet's Island ; the next day they passed Gabriel's Island — names that have long ago lost tlieir place on the maps. At nightfall they were sailing outward between the headlands that formed the entrance to Frobisher's Straits. On September 1, they once more came in sight of Greenland, and, as on their first approach, found the land so surrounded by monstrous ice that they dared not draw near. Still following their outward track, they fared prosper- ously until the 7th, when they were overtaken by a terrible storm. So furious was the wind that one of the mariners was blown out of the ship's waist. The next moment the ' Gabriel ' rolled in his direction, and the man made a sudden snatch, catching hold of the foresail sheet. Frobisher had seen the accident, and was instantly on the spot. Stretching forth Lis hand he laid hold of the man struggling with the waves and lifted him bodily into the ship. On the 25 th they passed the Orkneys. On October 1 vm li I 44 Li/e oy Sir Martin Frobisher. they sighted Zeehmd, and crossed over to Harwich tht next day. Here they remained for a few days to refresh their crew, who were all quite exhausted. On October 9, la76, they returned to London, having been absent just four months. Frobisher had sailed farther to the north-west than any of his predecessors. John Cabot had been fa»'ther up the channel now known by the name of Davis's Straits ; but, except touching at some point which he called ' The Desired Land,' he had added nothing to the world's knowledge of that region. The ' Michael's ' report had been believed so far as the loss of the pinnace and ' Gabriel ' was concerned. So the surprise and v/elcome were all the greater when they an- chored in the Thames. They became the admiratit>n of the people ; while the strange man and his strange leathern boat were the wonder of all the city that saw them and of the whole ^ealm that heard of them, all men agreeing that so great a matter had not happened within any one's know- ledge. CHAPTER XIL The poor infidel, who on his loss of liberty had bitten off his own tongue, did not long live the wonder of England. He had taken a cold on the voyage, to which he gradually succumbed. Ver_y little had been accomplished by the voyage to- wards discovering a north-west passage to Cathay. Fro- bisher was satisfied, and so perhaps was Sir Humphrey Gilbert, that the discovered strait was tha Passage. But these two were convinced before the expedition set out. A disappointment that affected the future much more ^ ■•' ' . ^. The Black Stone, 45 seriously was the fact that no riches had been found, and 110 profit returned to the capitalists. To have brought back the plunder of a Mexican village would have secured the captain more ships to come than to have brought back a com.'CL map of all the Polar regions. The interesting infidel was buried. His paddle and ' leathern boat ' were the only curipus relics left of the voyage. And having received his welcome from the nation, Frobisher was passing into oblivion ; men's minds being turned to the latest battle in that lifelong struggle between Protestantism and the Papacy which was being fought out in the swamps of Holland, and in which so many brave Englishmen were engaged. But Frobisher's star had only passed behind a cloud, not below the horizon, and was soon to shine more bril- liantly than ever. Some would say that an accident made the admiral famous, but it was an accident brought about by himself, and which he had fiitted himself by study and experience to be ready for. In the course of three months or so after the return of the ' Gabriel,' and when the diminutive ship's famous achievements were falling out of mind, a rumour went abroad that among some unconsidered lumber brought home in the ship's hold was found a lump of gold ore. This was the ' black stone much like to seacoal in colour.' The popular account of the discovery of its nature was as fol- lows : — By chance a piece of the stone came into the hands of a gentlewoman, the wife of one of the adventurers in the expedition ; by chance she threw it into the fire, where it remained until it was red-hot ; and by another chance she took it out of the fire and quenched it in vinegar, where- upon it ' glistered with a bright marquesset of gold.' So many happy accidents following one another in intelligent order throw such a complexion of doubt over the account III 1 46 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, ■ that names and dates should have been furnished. This is not done. Michael Lock, who was Frobisher's chief supporter, and more deeply interested than any other in wringing profit out of the expedition, gives a totally different account. As soon as the ' Gabriel ' returned, he says, he went on board, and the admiral at once referred to a promise which he had made the merchant on his departure, namely, that he would give him the first thing that was found in the new land ; and in fulfilment of that promise he thereupon handed him a black stone. This was in the presence of Oohers who had gone on board with him, several of whom begged small pieces of the stone out of curiosity. Lock spent about a month considering of the matter, and by an li priori course of reasoning came to the conclusion that it contained gold ; whereupon he took a piece of it to the Assay Master of the Tower, with what expectation is obvious. That officer having made an assay, returned it as marcasite, a variety of iron pyrites. The merchant showing dissatis- faction at this information, the Assay Master advised him to try another assayer, naming one Wheeler as expert in the art. This advice was followed. Wheeler also returned it as marcasite. A man self-convinced is not easily to be convicted of error even by science. Lock next tried one George Needam, and the result of his proof was that the stone contained none of the precious metals. At this point of his pursuit the merchant restc^ for av/hile. But his mind was not at rest. Every time he went over his a priori process he became more and mnie assured that there must be gold in the black stone. In the beginning of January of the following year he hdinl of a very learned and skilful Italian assayer, John Baptista Agnello by name. To him Lock made haste to take a piece of the stone. He said nothing to the assayer as to I Agnellds Assay. 47 whence the stone came or what it was suspected to contain. The wily Italian may have had other sources of informa- tion or «j^ieaned all he wanted to know from the eager merchant in those subtle ways practised by professors of palmistry. At any rate Agnello took the piece of stone, and at the end of three days showed Lock what he had found in it. This was a ' little powder of gold.' Lock at once demanded evidence of the correctness of this return, pretending to doubt the truth of what he had determined should be the truth. Agnello replied that he would try ngain for the other's greater satisfaction. Fragment after fr-^gment of the black stv^ne was received by him, and each time he exhibited as the result of his smelt- ings, retortions, and triturations a ' little powder of gold.' Lock now asked the pertinent question how he came to tind gold where other .ssayers had found no trace of the precious metals. His reply was — ' Bisogna sapere adulare la natura.' (One must needs know how to coax natiue.) It seems that this account was prepared for the Queen, who desired to know the whole story of the black stone, that was being talked of by higli and low. There is to be found in one of Sir Philip Sidney's letters to a friend on the Continent proof of the extent and mag- nificence of the popular belief in the ore. He writes that Frobisher had been to America rivalling the achievement of Magellan ; and that there a young man of the ship's com- pany 'picked up a piece of earth he saw glittering on the ground and showed it to Frobisher; but h(> being busy with other matters, and not believing that the precious met m -m o "-l. / / /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 £P %P<. I Q, 56 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. great storm descended, and in the first breaking carried away the ship's steerage. Presently her top-masts were carried overboard. In the meantime they had lost sight of the ' Aid ' and ' Grabriel,' and had to look to themselves. The gale was blowing from the north-east, and the * Michael ' had thus far been kept before the wind. At length, estimating that they were within fifty leagues of the American coast, on which they feared to be cast, and the sea every moment threatening to poop her, they hove- to under bare poles, and so rode out the storm, though in a very damaged condition. On the 17th, to their great joy, they came on the other ships. When Frobisher was enlisting volunteers for this expedition there was one man who fell dangerously ill before the departure from Blackwall. Many tried to dissuade him from attempting the voyage, but he ever answered that he chose rather to die therein than not to attempt so notable a voyage. It seems to have been only a sample of the spirit that pervaded them all. At any rate his resolution met with the commander's approval, and the sad alternative hinted at came to pass during the continuance of these storms — the daring spirit fled, and the remains of the first Englishman were lowered into the depths of the North-West Seas, pioneer of a great and brave company. Soon after the ships were reunited they saw evident tokens that they were drawing near the Straits. Next morning Frobisher sighted the land from the maintop of the ' Aid,' and immediately sent the barks in different directions to search for the North and South Forelands. About noon the ' Michael ' clearly made * out Hall's Island lying near the northern headland. To one of the chroniclers who was on board the bark at this time the sight of Frobisher's Straits frozen, and full of icebergs, Hall's Island revisited. 57 was depressing. It did not fit a theory which he had adopted concerning the formation of icebergs. He had assumed that it was impossible for salt water to be imprisoned by the cold, because he had tasted of the icebergs on the coast of Greenland ; they were a little brackish, but contained no salt, and must have been formed in fresh-water lakes or of the waters of great rivers frozen as they came in contact with the sea. It is not quite clear which he finally adopted — his theory or the fact concerning the freezing of sea-water. On their arrival the ice was breaking up, and only awaited a wind from the north-west to drive out in archi- pelagoes. Until that time no harbour was open, and the ships had to lie off and on. Frobisher, to the great admiration of the gentlemen who had no knowledge of these matters, went to and fro among the ice in a rowing pinnace, darting hither and thither among floating masses and speeding through channels in the floes that opened and closed like a too deliberate monster, seeking to catch an unwary boat. Next day he took a company of gold- finders to Hall's Island in his rowing pinnace. Chris- topher Hall pointed out the spot where he had found the ' black stone,' but there were no more of the same sort left. They could not find any ore at all, not even one ' piece so big as a walnut.' As far as the ' Aid ' was concerned here appeared the end of her voyage. For did not the Queen's instructions command that in case no more of the mineral could be found she was at once to be sent back ? Frobisher's thoughts were kept to himself. On one thing he was determined, — that he would not, without further effort, return to the ships with this intelligence. So putting off from Hall's Island he gratefully accepted the twilight continuation of the day, and commanded the pinnace to 58 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. he pulled through the ice to another island that lay a short distance westward. Here they found abundance of the black stones. Other islands • in the vicinity were examined with the same success ;.^ and towards midniglit the pinnace returned to the ships, firing a volley in token of good news. The admiral had brought back eggs, fowls, and a young seal, besides intelligence that there was abundance of ore on the other islands. They had also seen many signs of the presence of the natives, which had brought to their recollection the loss of the five men, and the Queen's injunction concerning caution. Having thus satisfied the officers of the Crown in the matter of the gold mines, Frobisher turned his attention to other and more congenial objects. His first step was to take formal possession of the new land, called generally Meta Incognita^ in the Queen's name, and proclaim her sovereignty over it. So next morning, which was July 19, the admiral ordered the gentlemen and soldiers to enter the boats.' It was very early ; the sea almost im- passable on account of the ice ; the distant islands with their high mountains white with snow ; and all the skill of Frobisher and Hall scarcely sufficed to escape being crushed between the moving floes of ice. They safely arrived at and landed on an island, afterwards called Lock's Land, and left the boats under guard. As soon as they landed the company, by command of the general, knelt down in the snow and with one voice thanked God for their safe arrival. Then they marched in order about two English miles to the summit of a mountain, which, in remembrance of his first patron, Frobisher called Mount Warwick. Here they built a large cross of stones and planted on it the English flag, signifying thereby that the Christian religion and the Queen's sove- reignity had been proclaimed. This accomplished, the The Queens Sovereignty proclaimed. 59 admiral commanded a trumpet to be sounded ; and having ranged his company in a circle around the ensign, he ordered them once more to kneel. Then the general led them in prayer. First of all they besought the Divine Majesty to grant the Queen long life, in whose name they now took possession of the country. Next that He would give them grace so to conduct themselves that, by Chris- tian study and endeavour, those barbarous people, trained up in paganism and infidelity, might be brought to the knowledge of true religion and to the hope of salvation in Christ our Kedeemer. After that they arose from their knees, and Frobisher addressed them, employing those words and sentiments concerning duty which have never failed to find a response in the hearts of English- men. They then took up the march with an ensign displayed at their head, and passed on to several lesser eminences, on each of which they heaped up a cross of stones, so that should any future navigator, either from England or other civilised lands, arrive at those parts he would at once perceive the sovereignty of a Christian power had been proclaimed. Before the close of that day, which had begun with such solemn rites, events took place which once again illustrate the fact that with the best of men a great gulf separates theory and practice. The invaders displayed conduct that went in no way towards bringing the infidels to a knowledge of true religion. !i ! ill 6o Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. M CHAPTER XVI. In the afternoon of the same day, as the company was marching down towards the boats, strange shrieks and cries were heard in the rear, and on looking back they perceived on a ridge, which they had crossed a little before, a number of the natives laughing and dancing for joy. The general was anxious to come to a conference, and with that object in view made the customary signs, then held up two of his fingers, signifying that he would have two of them advance to meet two of his company. The natives responded in like manner ; whereupon PVobisher, taking with him his old comrade Christopher Hall, ad- vanced unarmed some distance in front. Two of the savages then came forward with alacrity and met them midway between the two peoples. The result was that bartering began immediately, and the established method of bargaining between hostile tribes was easily learned by the English. So nearly all that afternoon there was a busy scene. One of either side would advance midway, lay down some article which he wished to exchange, and withdraw. Then one trom the other side would come for- ward to inspect, and, if he desired the thing, would set down beside it what he was willing to give in exchange, and then retire. The first party to the treaty now came up once more, and if pleased with the offer took up the tiling, leaving his own to be possessed by the second party. Frobidher knew the dangers attending any traffic with these barbarians, and kept a wary eye on both sides. At last, the day drawing towards the close, he commanded his men to fall in and resume their march to the boats. The natives, perceiving this movement, expressed great sorrow Plot and Counterplot. 6i at their departure, apd the two spokesmen followed them confidently down to the landing-place. Frobisher having embarked his men, and seeing but these two natives, took with him Hall and went back some distance to where the two savages were making signs of sorrow over their depar- ture. The admiral's design was to lay hold of them, and, after keeping them a few days on board, to set one of them on shore with presents, and retain the other for an inter- preter, finally carrying him back to England. Though Frobisher could have pleaded the Queen's instructions in defence of his conduct, and though we are to judge men historically by comparing them with the best men and the accepted morality of their own age, still falseness has always been falseness, and doubtless none would have admitted this sooner than the general himself. It is pleasant to know that the wrong was not wholly successful or unpunished. When these four met, some exchanges were made and presents given by the Englishmen. The infidels having exhausted their interchangeable commodities, and wishing to make some return for the gifts received, one of them cut off the tail of his own coat, deemed a great ornament by them, and presented it to the admiral. It was a poor return that he got. At this moment Frobisher gave Hall the signal that he should seize his man, while the admiral did the same with his. ' The scene of the encounter was sloping ground ; besides, the ice and snow made it very slippery ; and so, when the Englishmen made their sudden clutch, the natives as suddenly tripped their feet from under them, and in coming down heavily they lost their hold on the savages, in spite of their great physical superiority. The Esqui- maux had prepared for such an emergency, and had perhaps only been anticipated in treachery, for they had 62 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. their bows and arrows in biding near at hand. So when the Englishmen fell on the icy hillside tlie savages nimbly ran for their weapons, and, showing the most desperate courage, boldly attacked the fallen. Tlie long gilded partizan was not now to hand, as on a former occasion, so the admiral and the master of the ' Aid ' ignominiously turned their backs and fled down towards the boats. Their double-dealing had brought them into sudden difficulties. The savages speedily pursued, and soon lodged an arrow in the admiral's hip. The two fugitives were making the best use of their throats as well as their legs. And fortu- nately the soldiers on board, hearing cries for help, jumped ashore and opened fire on the pursuers with an arquebus. The Esquimaux advanced within bowshot ; and having delivered all their arrows at the boats, turned to flee. Their courage had been conspicuous, but their speed was not as great. At this turning-point of the affair one Nicholas Conyer, a servant of Lord Warwick's, who was a Cornishman, and celebrated both for wrestling and running, gave chase, and soon overtaking one of the infidels, showed him ' such a Cornish trick that he made his sides ache against the ground for a month after, yea, even to the day of his death.' Thus one of the natives was taken alive, but the other escaped. By this time a violent storm was blowing from the north-west. The impossibility of regaining the sliips during its continuance was obvious. The impossibility of remaining where they were after what had taken place that afternoon was equally clear. It was now some time of the night, yet they determined to try their fortune among the ice, and after many escapes succeeded in getting under the lee of a small island about a mile distant from the scene of the late encounter. Here they would have eaten the provisions they had brought with A Chee7'less Bivouac. 63 them for the day's dinner, for they had partaken of no food during that long Arctic day. But Frobisher pointed o'lt to them that inasmuch as the wind was from the north-west, and ail the ice in the Straits was driving out, the ships must put far out to sea, and might not be seen again for days. He therefore divided their narrow supplies into several rations, though the whole had only been intended for one meal. They knew full well, says one who was of the company, crouching among the rocks and ice that tempestuous night, that the best cheer the country could yield them was golden rocks and stones — a hard food to live withal — and the people more ready to eat tliem than to give them wherewithal to eat. Having in this antithetical sentence expressed the general belief in the cannibalism of the Esquimaux, he adds that they had to keep very good watch and ward over the boats to keep them from being crushed by the grinding islands of ice ; the gentlemen of the company having landed, lying upon hard cliffs of ice and snow, both cold, wet, and comfortless. They had been rowing, marching, trafficking and performing solemn rites for over twenty hours. CHAPTER XVII. Many things happened on board during the general's absence. Within an hour of his departure in the morning the cook overheated a chimney which had been very dangerously constructed, and the ' Aid ' was set on fire. And had it not been for the fortunate chance of a boy discerning it at an early stage, and, as the chronicler adds, God's help, the ship would soon have been en- 64 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. veloped in flames. As it was, the work of extinguishing the fire employed them for some hours. As soon as this had been successfully accomplished the storm came down upon them suddenly from the north- west, and with it the ice. F'rom nine o'clock in the evening until morning the ships were in momentary peril of being sunk. The gentlemen as well as the mariners were incessantly employed, some hauling at the ropes, others keeping a sharp look-out, while others again stood with poles and boathooks, with which they fended their barks from the on-rushing icebergs. The master's mates left in command had weighed the alternatives left them. Their own safety would be ensured by running out to sea. But there was the admiral with forty gentlemen and sol- diers on shore without provisions. They had determined, therefore, to carry on the struggle with the ice rather than expose the general and his company. All that night they toiled as they had never done before. They would see advancing through the twilight a huge island of ice, and then would come the quick command to luff. That cleared, a second would loom up ; and nothing but ice being seen in front, the command would come to run large before the wind. In this way they made fourteen tacks in one watch, judging it better to run any risk than to lose their admiral. Some of the icebergs 'scraped them and some happily escaped them, the least of which was as dangerous to strike as a rock, and able to have split asunder the strongest ship of the world.' It was no small addition to Frobisher's anxiety to see with him on the lee of the little island the captains and masters whose place was on board their ships during this extreme peril. But the mates were skilful sailors, and did all that could be done, though they all said afterwards that God was their best steersman, and devoutly thanked An Illusion dispelled. 65 the Providence of God who had arranged that on seas compassed by so many dangers niglit should be a pale reflection of the day. Next morning, being the 20th, * as God would ' the storm ceased. Thus ever was remembrance had and acknowledgment made of higher help and the Stiller of Tempests. Frobisher was greatly surprised, at the break of day, to see the ships, which he had supposed driven far out, almost in tlie place where he had left tliem the day before. He and his company, with their captive infidel, quickly came on board. After he had fully related what had happened to them on shore, and they of the ships had told the story of the night, all knelt down and gave God humble and hearty thanks for that it had pleased Him from so speedy perils to send them such speedy deliver- ance, ' , Their thanksgiving done, and the Straits having been par+ially cleared of ice, the admiral gave command to sail towards the southern coast in search of a safe an- chorage. The next morning they came in sight of a bay wherein they hoped to find shelter from the still drifting floes. The cliffs around the bay glittered brightly in the sun, and the voyagers stared with open-mouthed astonishment, supposing that they were gazing on a sort of wonderland, and that all those shining rocks were mountains of gold. Frobislier instantly sprang into a boat with a company of gold-finders and rowed in. Towards evening they returned again, and sadly reported that what had seemed to be the precious metal was no better than black-lead. Hope soon reasserted her dominion, and they consoled themselves with the handy proverb that *A11 is not gold that glistereth.' If they had not found the cliffs to be bullion they had found a shelter for the ships, which to them was a more 66 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. instant necessity than gold. Next morning the toiling ships sailed up the bay and came to an anchorage. The sense of security to which they now yielded was nearer proving the destruction of thei chief vessel than all the fury of the preceding tempest. ^ he worn-out crew having bestowed themselves to rest, and the watch being greatly neglected, a sudden danger beset them. The sleeping men were abruptly awakened by a loud crash. Having rushed on deck, they found that the ebbing tide had brought down the Straits a large floe which had approached unperceived and struck the stern of the *Aid,' nearly staving it in. Equal to every emergency, gentlemen and mariners sprang to work. Some took to the boats, and with poles and hooks cleared a passage up the bay. The others took a stout pull at the capstan, hauling in the slack in their cable ; then, having freed the ship from the ice chafing at her steerage, they hoisted their foresail, cut away their cable, and ran up a narrow tortuous channel, cleared for them by the boats, to the upper end of the bay. Frobisher had been greatly pleased with the mate of the ' Aid,' who had carried that ship through the storm and the ice of the 1 9th, and who had also chosen the present anchorage, and as a reward named the place after him, calling it Jackman's Sound. CHAPTER XVIII. While at anchor in this Sound the gold-finders were employed in diligently searching among the minerals on the shores and islands. The samples gathered by Frobisher on the northern side were also tested, and gold found in good quantity in most of them. On a little island in the New Territory annexed. 67 Sound a silver mine was discovered, but they paid no fui-ther heed to that. It would seem tliat Frobisher himself, being deeper in the secrets of the assayers than those wlio have chro- nicled their doings and findings, showed dissatisfaction with the ore. Perhaps it was expected that gold miglit l)e found unmixed with stone or quartz. At any rate they judged it impracticable to sail out of the Sound for a while ; and so, familiarised with the idea of cliffs of gold shining in the morning sun, and islands of silver studding the sea, they turned their attention to other matters. Tliey found here, cast up dead upon the beach, a fish that much astonished thera. Its most curious feature was a horn, wreathed and straight, six feet in length, growing out of its nose. They called it the Sea Unicorn. Frobisher on his return presented the narwhal's horn to (Jueen Elizabeth, who greatly valued it as a jewel, and commanded it thenceforth to be kept in her wardrobe. The supposition of the voyagers was that the land, of which they had taken formal possession on the northern shore, was a part of Asia or some new continent, and that the southern shore, where they now were, was a part of the continent of America, the Straits separating the two. The next step, therefore, was to proclaim the Queen's sovereignty over this latter. So on the morning of the 24th the admiral went ashore with seventy men, and with ensign displayed marched two or three miles inland. Tljen were enacted the same solemnities, similar crosses erected, und a like exhortation to duty spoken, as on the other coast. They added, however, thanksgiving for the dis- covery of so great wealth. They did not deem poverty a blessing. Gold was to them a God-given power, and on those icy shores they implored the Divine Grace so to order that this wealth should be safely delivered in their native i ^ 68 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. land, and there be made an instrument to set forth God's honour, the result of which, they added, would be the ad- vancement of the commonwealth. Their political economy was as sound as their theology. The gentlemen of the company were so fired with ardour by these ceremonies that they rose above the pursuit of gold, and desired the general's permission for twenty or thirty of them to march a hundred miles or so up the country for discovery and science. Frobisher's heart was with them, but he remembered too well the Queen's in- structions. He remembered the episode at Harwich, the shortness of the season, the fierce nature of the savages, but nothing more vividly than the lust for riches exhibited by the venturers in the expedition who were awaiting his return to England. He had been sent for a cargo of ore, and not for discovery. So he felt constrained to refuse the spirited r^squest, trusting that, should he execute his present commission with success and satisfy the venturers, he might by their and God's help be enabled to go another summer in search of the North- West Passage to Cathay, and so around the world, — the achievement which had been nearest his heart ever since he had reached manhood. The Straits were now almost clear of ice, and so, two days afterwards, leaving the * Aid ' at her present anchor- age, he took the ' Gabriel ' and ' Michael ' across to the northern side. The passage was accomplished the same day. The ore at Jackman's Sound was by no means satis- factory. The two barks anchored in an exposed situation; but no danger was anticipated, and the spot was close to a very rich mine. The miners were set to work, and in two days collected together on the beach about twenty tons of the ore, yet they never succeeded in getting it on board, for once again the contests between the barks and the ice were repeated. Hairbreadth Escapes, 69 The ' Gabriel ' was riding astern of the ' Michael,' and some time during the second day of their coming hither a floe drifting down before a strong wind galled asunder the cable of the former. This was the third anchor the < Gfabriel ' had lost during the voyage. She now rode by the one anchor left, which was expected every moment to drag, or the cable part by the fretting of the ice. Close under her lee was a sharp-pointed reef, so that either of the dreaded calamities would be certain destruction. While the crew were devising some escape out of this perilous situ- ation, a large iceberg was seen drifting steadily and directly upon the ' Gabriel.' Even Frobisher gave up and stood waiting to see the doughty little craft which had weathered so many tempests, and which was dearer to him than all the others, pitilessly ground to fragments between the iceberg and the reef. But by God's help, as they said, this great iceberg was the best friend of the bark, though advancing in such threatening attitude. It drifted down until it came within about the length of a boathook of the ' Ga- briel' and stopped. The great mountain of ice had 2:roimded and formed a little harbour against the wind and the floes. The crew of the ' Michael,' desiring to share in the shelter thus providentially afforded, sent a boat with an anchor to make fast to the ice and hauled themselves under its lee, but too close for safety. They had yet to learn the dan<^erous character of icebergs in the latter part of July, though Christopher Hall had had some experience of it on the first voyage. About midnight the grounded iceberg parted and heeled over when distant less than half its own length from the * Michael.' It was another hairbreadth escape ; and with good reason did they bear in mind the Providence that fenced them in. The tides, ice, wind, and cuiTent were again felt, and these^ combined with the fearful ^i^kj 70 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. noise which the falling iceberg had made, were so far dis- quieting that the barks hastened to weigh anchor and run up the Straits on the next flood, leaving the ore behind them, CHAPTEK XrX. The anchorage they were quitting they called Beare's Sound, after the master of the ' Michael.' Frobisher rewarded his companions by putting their names on the map of the world, though subsequent navigators have left but few of the old names first given by the Elizabethan voyagers. Even F'robisher's Straits have become Lumley's Sound. Running up with the flood-tide they came on the lee of a small island, where they landed. Here they found several interesting things. They first of all came upon a tomb wherein was a skeleton, from which the flesh had obviously been removed. The captured infidel, whom they had brought with them, was questioned if here was not a proof of cannibalism. But he combated this inference, making signs that the skeleton was that of a man who had beeii slain and devoured by wild beasts. They next found great stores of native treasures buried under heaps of stones or hairns. There were dried fish, sleds, knives made of bone, kettles made of fishskins, and also bridles. These latter rather puzzled the Englishmen, and so they demanded of their captive what animals they could be employed in harnessing. On this he nimbly ' caught one of our dogs and hampered him handsomely therein as we do our horses, and, with a whip in his hand, he taught the dog to draw in a sled.' By next day they had sailed north-westerly five leagues, when they came to a bay well fenced in by small islands dogs eagiies, island? .1 The Countess of JVarwtc^'s Island, 7 1 against the ice drifting down, and by the mainland against the ice drifting up the Straits. This they found to be the best harbour yet discovered on the American coast. The island under which they anchored, as well as the enclosed Sound, they called after the name of the Countess of War- wick. This was the farthest point reached by the voyagers that year. On the Countess of Warwick's island they found good store of such gold ore as contented the admiral, who became more and more anxious, as he saw the short summer advancing, to satisfy Michael Lock and his fellows of the Company of Cathay. Frobisher having received the return of the assayers as to the richness of the ore, and being pleased beyond measure with the harbour after the many narrow escapes they had obtained in their encounters with the ice, at once despatched the ' Michael ' to Jackmau's Sound to bring the ' Aid ' across. He then landed all his men, and, as was his custom in going to declare the Queen's sovereignty or advancing to meet an enemy, he put himself at the head of his company and began gathering the ore with his own hands, setting them an example how they should labour to load the ships with the golden ore. In imitation every man, ' both better and worse, with their best endeavours willingly laid to their helping hands.' Having thus set the work a-going, he took a small com- pany and crossed over from the island to the mainland of what they called Meta Incognita, having with him the captive for an interpreter and expounder. They soon came upon some of the native winter houses, now deserted, closely observed their construction, their drainage, and the signs of the filthy habits of the people. As they were returning the captive loitered a little in the rear. The eye of his guard was upon him, who detected him in the act of stoop- ing down and placing something upon the path. The 72 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. general was at once informed, and all the company returned to examine what the native had done. The poor homesick savage had stuck in the ground five small sticks in a circle, with a small piece of bone planted in the centre. Some of the Englishmen at once saw witchcraft in the device, and were considerably alarmed at the native charm. But the good sense of the commander read the silent message more intelligently. The five sticks he made out to be the five Englishmen captured by the aborigines the year be- fore, and the bone to signify the savage whom they were holding as a prisoner, and that in this way he sought to convey to his friends intelligence of his condition, as well, perhaps, as to influence them to produce the white men, that he might be restored to liberty, his home, and his people. Another story told of their captive infidel ran in this way. It will be remembered that the English had taken a native back to England the year before. A picture of him had been painted, and this Frobisher had in his possession. In it the native was depicted in his own apparel as well as in the dress of civilisation, together with his paddle and canoe. One day this counterfeit was exhibited to their present captive. At first he was suddenly and greatly amazed ; and , as two of any tribe of American Indians, though they should be father and son, in meeting after a long separation for awhile contemplate one another in silence and with looks askance, so this poor savage, seeing the picture of his friend, and thinking it to be alive but changed into this diminutive compass by some necro- mancy, looked casually and indifferently at i.t, then away ; again at it, then away, — observing the strictest silence all the time, as though awaiting to be addressed by it. After proceeding, in this way for a considerable time he himself broke silence and began to question the portrait. :^ The Bewildered Savage, 73 This he repeated more than once ; and finding it still dumb to his appeals, he began to exhibit anger. At this stage the Englishmen interfered, being anxious about the safety of the picture, and persuaded the poor savage to handle it. This he did, and with a pitiful result altogether unexpected. He now believed that instead of the physical frame of his friend it was his spirit. As this conviction possessed him he broke out into loud cries, showing intense alarm and fear of the white men, believing that they were able to make men live or die at their pleasure. Thus persuaded, he seems to have thought it useless to try to hide anything, and for the first time confessed that he knew of the capture of the five Englishmen the year before. Being questioned further, he said he could give no information. Being asked as to whether they were slain and eaten or not, he made signs in the negative, and emphatically denied the truth of the insinuatioQ. The Englishmen understood that he repudiated both the slaying and eating, while the captive seems to have only thrown back the charge of cannibalism. . CHAPTER XX. The story of the ' Aid ' was that, after the admiral's de- parture with the two barks, some of their men had gone ashore on a small island in Jackman's Sound on the last day but one of July. In one of the coves they saw a large native boat with eighteen or twenty men in it. They made all the haste they could to return to the ship, which was anchored near by ; and while they were relating what they had seen the natives appeared on a hill of the island waving a flag and making noises ' like so many bulls.' The 74 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. ensigns planted on the crosses of heaped-up stones were duly economised by the natives instead of being stripped bare to the poles by the fury of the Arctic winds. A light swift skifif, with seven men in her, was sent forward from the * Aid,' and a heavier boat well equipped sent after for protection. The skiff was intended to open communication with the natives ; but the latter seeing the white men approach took to their boats and fled, — whether from fear or to draw the skiff away from the neighbour- hood of the larger boat was not clear. The men in the skiff did not wait to settle the question, but took up the pursuit. The affair became a rowing match, which con- tinued for two miles out to sea, and in which the English were badly beaten. After pulling manfully for those two miles and seeing the distance between them and the canoes slowly but steadily widening, the boatswain passed the word to give up the chase and return to the ship. The story of the 'Michael,' sailing under Captain Gilbert Yorke, was that, having come off the southern shore of the Straits, and being unable to make up their leeway, they put into a small bay four leagues distant from Jackman's Sound. (The little bay was afterwards named Yorke's Sound.) On landing there they found some seal- skin tents pitched. The natives seem to have hidden at their approach. At any rate the captain, seeing nothing of them, made bold to enter their dwellings. Besides the native food and. other domestic property they found a canvas doublet, a shirt, a belt and three shoes of different sizes and for contrary feet, ail being of English manu- facture. It was clear that these articles had belonged to the five captured Englishmen ; and Captain Yorke more- over concluded that they were held captives by the tribe of Esquimaux upon whose village he had so unexpectedly come. The men of the ' Michael ' were, therefore, filled Search for the Lost Seamen, 75 with hope of regaining their countrymen, and at once began to devise a plan by which that happy result might be brought to pass. Wisely and kindly they set about the execution of it. Captain Yorke sent off a boat to the ' Aid,' which returned in the course of the night, bringing back Hall and Jackman. A letter was then written to the lost men in which they were informed of the condition and anxiety of their friends. This was taken to one of the tents, and pen, ink, and paper placed beside it, in order that the men might have the means of sending an answer. In addition various small presents were placed in the tent. When this had been done they took with them only a native dog and departed. The wind being now favourable, they ran with the ' Michael ' to Jackman's Sound, intend- ing to employ the men of the ' Aid ' in the further prose- cution of their plan. An expedition was immediately organised. George Best, being the general's lieutenant, commanded in the absence of Frobisher. The two rowing pinnaces, contaiil- ing between thirty and forty men, pulled away for Yorke's Sound. On arriving there Jackman, with a portion of the company, landed. Their orders were to march inland to where the tents had been seen and visited, surround them, and seize all the occupants — both natives and tlie English captives. In the meantime the pinnaces would row around the point to intercept any attempt at flight by water. That they knew was the lavom-ite resource of the savages, and would be still more so since they had found the superiority of the speed of their canoes over that of the ships' boats. Jackman accordingly advanced with his men to where Captain Yorke had shown him the Esquimaux village the day before. But on their arrival they discovered that the tents had been removed. The mate of the ' Aid ' deter- mined now on proceeding in the direction of the point 76 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. I? ;■! II where the pinnaces were to be on the watch. They crossed one tedious mountain range, and then another loomed up in front. This also they ascended, and then perceived a third barring their advance. Here was as weary a climb as could be ; but when they had reached the summit they saw a number of tents pitched in the valley beneath. The native village was situated near the upper end of a long narrow creek which opened into the sea at a considerable distance. Jackman, who was the very leader for such an enterprise, having commanded silence, and arranged his men in a sort of skirmishing order, crept down swiftly and secretly on the tents. The natives were taken by surprise, for not until the English had reached the outskirts of the village were they aware of their danger. Then a sudden alarm was raised, paddles were snatched up hurriedly, but not all. A rush was made for the canoes drawn up high on the beach. In spite of the Englishmen's quick pursuit the Esquimaux succeeded in launching one great and one small canoe, into which they sprang, and easily paddled out of range. Jackman ordered those of his men who carried arquebuses to fire on the natives, not so much with a hope of doing any damage as to give the alarm to the men in the pinnaces, should they be within hearing. In the meantime the fugitives, much crippled for want of paddles, were proceeding leisurely down the creek and di'awing near to the mouth. This proved their destruction, for the pin- naces, having heard tlie sound of firearms, now rounded the point. Instantly the Esquimaux bent to their work, and the English to theirs. It was a question of speed, as it had been with them before. But the English were in possession of the mouth of the creek and cut them off from the open sea, where pursuit would have been useless. The natives, seeing their flight intercepted, on the instant turned and ran their canoes ashore on the side opposite to The Esquimaux at Bay. 11 that on which their village was pitched, and Jackman with his men were standing as spectators. Tlieir first action was something similar to that of modern artillerymen when they spike their guns ; for as soon as they set foot on land they broke all their paddles, thus thinking to prevent our countrymen from carrying away tlieir boats. They then advanced boldly to oppose the landing of the pinnaces, for these had speedily followed on their retreat. The natives fought desperately as long as their arrows and darts lasted. Then a strange spectacle of valour was ex- hibited by them, for they ran to and fro gathering the arrows wliich our men had shot, while others plucked the arrows out of their bodies, and thus replenished, advanced once more to the contest, continuing it until both weapons and strength failed them. At this crisis desperation followed on valour. Those of the dauntless savages, who had been wounded and found flight beyond their ability, cast them- selves from the cliffs headlong into the sea and were drowned. The others made their escape among the rocks. One Englishman had been dangerously wounded in the abdomen. Six natives were found dead. The pur- suit was continued some distance, and one of our men took captive an old woman. Another, seeing what he supposed a native warrior hiding among the rocks, fired. A scream betrayed that she was a woman. She was carrying a babe in, her arms, and the bullet had passed through her hair and the child's arm. With her, as with thousands of mothers before and since, it had been a choice between the desertion of her child and captivity. The surgeon quickly applied some salves and bandages to the babe's wound ; but the mother, naturally suspecting that no kindness could be meant by her enemies, tore off t^ 3 leech's ligaments as soon as her child was restored to her arms ; then, with a brute's instinct and a mother's love, licked the 78 Life oj Sir Martin Frobishcr. wound. Her surgery was successful, for she continued her treatment until the little one recovered. The mother and child were kept as prisoners ; but the fate of the old woman was different. Her ugliness was so great that the more ignorant of the Englishmen feared they had captured a devil or witch who might prove to them an evil possession. They looked carefully all around her for some token of her nativity ®r of an unholy alliance with the powers of darkness; and at last took off her buskins, to see if she were cloven-footed. Althoiigli they found none of the signs for which they were looking they still considered her ' uncanny,' and, thinking it better to lean to the side of caution, they let the poor old woman go and rejoin her people. The skirmish had heated the Englishmen's blood and, as they themselves confessed, awakened the baser passions of their nature ; so, contrary to their wont, they went up to the village and made a spoil of everything they found. The articles of English make that were in the tents they took away. On closer examination the canvas doublet was seen to have many holes in it made with arrows, from which it was concluded that the lost men were dead. They also found a new argument for believing that the lost meu had been eaten as well as slain in the fact that the natives devoured their food not only raw but in the carrion state : an inference that might have a sinister construction if carried out to the end. As the evening came down they entered the pinnaces to return ; but a sudden tempest was near proving their destruction. Towards morning Jackman's Sound was reached ; and the next day the two ships set sail for the Countess of Warwick's Sound, where they rejoined Fro- bisher and the toiling gold-miners. The Prisoners Interview. 79 CHAPTER XXr. There was great curiosity among the voyagers to see what their captives would do wheu brought together. The manifestation of feeling was very similar to that already witnessed when the picture was displayed They looked ;it each other * very wistly ' for a long time, neither utter- ing a sound ; their faces going through a great play of emotion, as if expressing grief and disdain. At length the silence was broken by the woman turning away and sing- ing monotonously to herself. Some of the gentlemen who were not satisfied with this issue once more brought them face to face. In a little while the man began to speak in a stern manner and as if relating a solemn tale. She listened attentively, with ftice averted, speaking never a word. When the man had finished his discourse she quietly began to busy herself in such things as appertain to a good housewife, and they henceforth seemed to grow very fond of one another. But though closely watched they never once crossed the limits of the strictest modesty. All the three ships were now anchored under the Countess of Warwick's Island, on which a considerable store of the mineral had been collected. Frobisher saw signs of danger along the mainland, and therefore com- manded George Best, his lieutenant, to disembark all his soldiers upon the island and fortify the place, for the better protection of the miners. While this was being carried out, a large number of the savages was seen on a cliff of the mainland waving a flag and uttering loud cries. As far as Frobisher could make out, it appeared that the remnant of the tribe of Yorke's Sound had crossed over to their friends of the '^:i 'Mi So Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. t ■ northern shore, and now were complaining of tne capture of the woman and child. So the admiral commanded her to be placed on a lofty part of the island where she might be seen by her people ; then himself entered a boat, taking, besides the crew, his male captive for interpreter. When the poor savage came near and recognised the faces of his friends on shore, he fell into great grief and shed tears abundantly. For a long time he was so overcome as to be unable to speak a word. At length, mastering his emotion, he talked with his friends at large, and afterwards with pretty generosity distributed among them the various trifles which he had received from the English. Subsequent events would furnish another explanation of this conduct. He might have been transferring his wealth to his friends' keeping, intending to follow secretly ; and if he perished in the attempt a dying man could atibrd to be liberal. When the show of affection on both sides had been indulged, Frobisher instructed the interpreter to demand the return of the five Englishmen, and to tell his people that such was the only condition on which he and the woman should ever be liberated. Should, however, his men be restored large gifts would be given to the savages as well as the friendship of the white men. The answer of the Esquimaux was that three of the captured sailors were still alive, and tha;t they should be surrendered. Their interpreter had formed some idea of the use of writing from Eeeing our men employ that art in putting down the words which he had been trying to teach them of his lan- guage, and which they repeated next day from a look at the paper. So now a letter was demanded from Frobisher to the captives. The admiral returned to the island to write it ; and it being then late, the letter was not de- livered imtil next morning. With it were sent pen, ink, and paper, that an answer might be returned. A Characteristic Letter. 8i rcome as Tbis was the general's letter : — * In the name of God in whom we al beleve, who, I trust, hath preserved your bodyes and souls among these infidels, I commend me unto you. I will be glad to seeke by all meanes you can devise for your deliverance, eyther with force, or with r.ny commodities within my shippes, which I will not spare for your sakes, or anything else I can do for you. I have aboord of theyrs a man, a woman, and a childe, which I am contented to deliver for you ; but the man I carried away from hence laste yeare is dead in England. Moreover you may declare unto them, that if they deliver you not, I wyll not leave a manne alive in their countrey. And thus unto God whome I trust you do serve in haste I leave, and to him we will dayly pray for you. This Tuesdaye morning the Seaventh of August, Anno 1577. ' Yours to the uttermost of my power, * Martin Frobiseer. ' I have sent you by these bearers, penne, incke, and paper, to write backe unto me agayne, if personally you can not come to certifye me of your estate.' This letter, written in haste and intended for common mariners, exhibits the admiral as a true lover of the humblest of his men as well as a trustful Christian. The gathering of gold found no favour with liim. For the three sailors whom he was informed were still alive he was wilhng to sacrifice all the merchandise he had on board : at the same time he devoutly hoped tliat in their captivity they had not forgotten their God. Frobisher's" conduct in this matter contrasts in a remarkable manner with that of some of the commanders of expeditions to Virginia, who deserted scores of their countrymen, leaving them a prey to a "■•ll.* r 82 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. famine and savages for the chance of capturing a Spanish West Indiaman. When the natives received the letter they made signs, pointing to the sun, which was understood to mean that they would return within three days. So the pretended messengers made believe to depart in haste. CHAPTER XXri. The Esquimaux were still loitering along the cliffs in the neighbourhood; and Frobisher suspected that treachery was meditated, for which the late tranr/actions, apparently so peaceable, might be only a cloak. He determined on increasing the vigilance of his men. and so the trumpeter was ordered to sound the call. The soldiers, numbering about forty, assembled around the ensign planted on the top of the island and were addressed by the general, who pointed out to them the danger in which they stood ; that they were far frona home ; that a tribe of savages, of whose numbers they were ignorant, but of whose fierceness and valour they knew enough, was lurking among the rocks opposite ; and that at every ebb of the tide they could cross over to the island almost dry shod. Every man, therefore, was to be ready at all times for any sudden alarm. During the two days of waiting for the return of the messengers the natives assumed a still more threatening attitude, and the general ordered a fort to be constructed, which was to cover the shallow passage between the island and the mainland. For this purpose the lieutenant chose a cliff fenced on three sides by the sea ; the fourth side A Parley, 83 they fortified with casks of earth, which the men called ' Best's Bulwark.' By way of counterblast the natives sent a messenger, who, standing on the outermost reef, shouted across that their king, whose name was Catchoc, a man of greater stature than any of the English, and whose state chair was the shoulders of his subjects, was coming with a great force. Fearing to be taken by surprise and overwhelmed with numbers, the lieutenant had at midnight a false alarm sounded, to discover the readiness of his men, and the succour which in a real emergency he might count upon from the ships. The result was such that confidence was restored. On August 11, being the third day after the delivery of the letter, some of the savages approached as near as they might and called across to the men on the island. Frobisher at once rowed over to a spot where three only of the natives appeared to await his coming. These mani- fested great joy and friendliness, making signs that those in the boat should row around the point to a cove out of view of the ships and island where the captive white men were. This reminded the admiral of tlie manner of the taking of his men ; so he at once commanded the boat to stand clear of the shore. The conference still continued ; and the natives showed a great bladder which they desired should be given to their countryman. The boat was deftly thrust in, and a sailor leaped ashore, seized the bladder, I laid down a little mirror in exchange, and sprang on board again. Their captive, on being asked the use of the bladder, said that it was for holding drinking-water. The English suspected this explanation. Events justified them, for subsequently both the man and woman were more Ithan once caught in the act of untying the painters [of the ships' boats. And on one occasion they all but a 2 |!|l 84 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. succeeded— the boats of the ' Aid ' had been cast adrift, and the captives were on the point of leaping overboard with the inflated bladder for a buoy. While Frobisher was still parleying, tlie look-out on the island espied the main body of the Esquimaux creeping down from rock to rock towards the boat. The alarm was given, and Frobisher immediately ordered the boat home. With a view of overawing the English, or as a decla- ration of hostilities, the savages marshalled their full force in ranks of twenty along the ridges of the mainland, moving together as if performing the war-day ce, holding their hands above their heads and singing what was doubt- less meant as the war-song. The English watched this diversion until nightfall, and then Frobisher, intending to amuse them with a display of his power, ordered the heaviest cannon to be fired. The sound of it echoing among the cliffs and mountains damped all the ardour incited by the war-song, and so startled the natives that they immediately lowered their hands and took to tlieir heels. An attack had undoubtedly been meditated that night. The method of exciting the courage previous to an assault is very much the same with all the aboriginal tribes of North America. But, as always, the sound of the cannon did more than its missile could ever have accom- plished. Still the miners diligently pursued the work of loading the ships, while the s.>ldiers and gentlemen made warlike display. A sham fight was carried out. Sudden sallies were made against imaginary foes. Fictitious assaults were resisted. And on August 14 Frobisher took out his two rowing pinnaces. His purpose was to more closely examine the coast to the northwards, as he expected to find tracts free from savages, whom he supposed to be now all gathered to the vicinity of the ships. But the natives False Colours. 85 had kept strict watch, and rapidly ran overland to meet him at whatever point he might land, and to play upon him a pretty stratagem which they had evidently been long time preparing. With great pains and some skill they had made a white flag such as they had seen the Englisli employ as a signal of peace. This they had con- structed out of bladders cut into square pieces and sewed together ; and it was given to three of their own people who had whited their faces with some colouring matter, to wear the appearance of Englishmen. These were to be the decoys. The two pinnaces having passed up secretly into the northern parts of the Countess of Warwick's Sound, the admiral was greatly surprised at seeing three white men vigorously waving a white flag as though in the extremity of fear and momentarily expecting to be over- taken by pursuers. It was short work to pull the pinnaces to the spot, and the deception was all too manifest. The Englislimen stopped short and rested on their oars, fearing some ambuscade. The natives seem throughout eitlier to have formed too high an opinion of their own strategy or too low an opinion of the Englishmen's sagacity. So it was on this occasion. The three whited savages, though detected in their treachery, had the further simplicity to suppose that by fair professions they could induce our men to come ashore and take rest, while the remainder of their force, though presumably invisible, was plainly seen by all creeping down towards the landing-place. It struck tlie Enghsh as a sort of theatrical fiction of invisibility, or as the hiding of the ostrich in the desert sands. Frobisher in the meantime had ordered the pinnaces to be thrust close in shore, stern on, and the rowers to be ready for instant flight. The simplicity of the natives seemed to have no bounds. For at this point their spokes- man, observing no disposition on the part of the boats' 86 Life of Sir Martin Fro bis her. ill crews to disembark, brought 'a trim bait of raw flesh' -with which to tempt their appetites. This one of the sailors standing in the boat's stern took deftly with a boathook and brought in, hoping it woidd prove a delicacy for their captives, who had not yet learned to digest Enghsli food. The Esquimaux had not exhausted their strategy. One more device remained. As soon as the savage perceived that the piece of raw fle.-h had been fished out of his hands he went back some distance, and was seen presently re- turning with a cripple companion leaning on his arm. At every rough place he considerately took the halt man on his back and bore him over it. When these two had reached the beaeh the cripple was placed reclining on the strand, while the other retreated. Frobisher was now beset with a new danger, and from his own men. But his manner of meeting it showed that he had the highest qualification of a general, viz., the power of refusing a battle and standing unmoved under the urgings and suspicions of his own followers. For when the cripple had been set down within a boat's length of them, all on board were so enraged, not only at the re- peated treacheries of the savages, but at this last insult to their common sense, that they clamoured to be instantly set on shore and led against the foe. There was no ad- vantage to be gained by such a course. Pride might be allayed and lives lost, which would in no way further his plans or instructions ; so he firmly put their demand aside. Then he laughingly told them that he was not averse to curing the poor infidel of his impotency if that would content them. This pleasantry suited the rough humour of the soldiery ; and the general at once ordered one of his men to fire off his arquebus just in front of the cripple's face, giving him a graze. It was instantly done; the A Parting Skirmish. 87 feigning infidel gave a great bound, and in a moment was safely hidden behind a rock. The Englishmen indulged in a great roar of laughter ; but their laugh was cut short at seeing the savages rise from behind every rock and with one mind rush down towards the landing-place. The pinnaces were quickly pulled away; and though the caliver which they had on board opened a retreating fire the natives showed no incli- nation to hide or shrink from the contest. Still they stood on the rocks hurling darts and arrows though the boats were out of range. All the way back to the ships the savages followed along the cliff. Ever abreast of the pinnaces, and running out to the furthermost rocks, they poured upon them a shower of arrows as they passed, our men replying with a desultory fire from their arquebuses. Several of the natives were seen to fall, but none of the Englishmen were even wounded. And so they returned in safety. CHAPTER XXIII. Five miners, assisted more or less by a few gentlemen and soldiers, had been now three weeks engaged in collecting the ore and lading the ships. Two hundred tons had been placed on board. These men were now weary, their clothes worn out, the ore baskets were bottomless, their tools broken, and the vessels reasonably well filled. Several of the men besides, through over-exertion, had brought on, some lameness, others hernia. Ice had latterly been forming every night around the ships, and men were em- ployed each day in breaking it. All these things pointed 88 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. to the necessity of returning home. So on Thursday, August 22, the tents were struck, bonfires were lighted on the highest point of the island, a volley fired in honour of the Countess of Warwick, and then all embarked. Next day the wind played them false ; and after pro- ceeding down the Sound a few miles they were forced to anchor for the night. On the 24th the wind changed and the ships made good way down the Straits ; but the wind increased so that by midnight the signal was given to he a-liull or heave-to under bare poles. Next morning there was half a foot of snow on the hatches. Exceedingly rough weather was experienced for the next five days, and the ' Michael ' was lost sight of. They had been sailing in a south-easterly direction ever since leaving the Straits, and for several hours previous to the disappearance of the ' Michael ' the two barks had been unable to carry any sail at all. . The next day, being August 30, a sad calamity hap- pened on board the * Grabriel.' While the storm was still beating down in all its fury, and the bark, lying a-hull, was shooting up into the wind's eye, William Smyth, the master, a young man and sufficient mariner, stood by the side of Captain Fenton, the boatswain being close beside them, and in a very gay, pleasant manner related a dream he had had the previous night. He dreamt, he said, that he was cast overboard, and that while struggling with the waves the boatswain took him by the hand, but was unable to save him. So, his grasp relaxing, himself was carried away. He had just finished relating his dream in a jocular way when it came true in all its horrors. The ship fell off into the trough, gave a great lurch, and a terrific wave sweeping the decks carried the master and boatswain over- board. The latter grasped a rope with one hand as the ship rolled towards him, and with the other laid hold on The Dream fulfilled. 89 the master. What Captain Fenton was doing in the mean- time is not told, but one regrets that Frobisher with his rescuing grasp was not on the spot. The boatswain strug- gled with his double hold for some time. At length, his strength failing him, he let go of the master, who was carried away and drowned. Some men call such things coincidences. Hamlet's words furnish a more humble commentary : — There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Thau are dreamt of in your philosophy. On September 1 the ' Aid ' found that she was out- stripping her consort, and hove-to in a terrible storm to await the ' Gabriel.' The little bark was not able to carry any .sail, and the ' Aid,' standing so much higher out of the water, soon drifted out of sight. The admiral, seeing that he was only endangering his own ship without benefiting the ' Grabriel,' let out a bunt and ran before the wind. That was the last they saw of the bark. The three ships being now separated, each supposed the others lost. Next day, the ' Aid ' having cleared the track of the storm, came upon a calm, which proved the salvation of the ship. For in looking about them to estimate the amount of damage done by the storm they discovered that the helm was torn in twain and on the point of falling away. Taking advantage of the smooth sea, a dozen of their best men were slung over ; and what with swimming, diving, driving of planks, and binding with ropes, the damage was in a gi'eat measure repaired. When the work was accom- plished the men were drawn out of the water more dead than alive. It pleased God, says the chronicler, that the sea should continue calm until their task was finished. With indifferent winds they continued their voyage until September 17, when they made out the Land's End. ' * i I , M.L n.i % w ._._, 90 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, They tacked again and again to double the point and so sail up the English Channel, but the weather was so foul and the ship driven in so close to shore that they finally gave up the attempt and ran northwards in search of shelter. They tried the lee of Lundy, but were driven thence; and then they shaped their course for Milford Haven, which they reached on September 20, 1577. Fro- bisher immediately went ashore and rode to the Court, announcing that the two barks had been cast away. Within a month an order came down from London to take the ' Aid ' to Bristol ; and on her arrival in that port they found, to their great joy, the ' Gabriel ' already there. After the loss of William Smyth she had suffered much for the want of a master mariner. But fortune seems never to have deserted the * Gabriel.' As soon as they came into the neighbourhood of the western coasts and feared to advance farther, from ignorance of the land, they fell in with a Bristol ship, which had conducted the bark safely to that harbour. They also learned that the ' Michael,' having retraced her outward course around the Shetlands, had reached Yarmouth, much battered, but without the loss of a man. She subsequently sailed up the Thames and safely anived in London. CHAPTEE XXIV. Frobisiier's retvun from the first voyage had caused great joy ; his return from the second, wild excitem'ent. On hi? departure for the first voyage the Queen had waved her hand at him ; on his second return he was received at the Court in Windsor. Her Majesty gave him gTeat thanks; The Ore. 91 and, addressing the gentlemen who liad taken part in the enterprise, commended them for the danj^^ers they had braved, but specially because the discipline of the ships had been so void of offence. The gentlemen so commended, as well as others who wished to emiUate their conduct, with great energy feet about organising a third voyage, and spared neither * labour, limb, nor life ' to bring it about successfully. While they were so engaged others were busying them- selves with the ore. The (^ueen at once issued an order that forty tons of it should be so handled as to return some profit to the shareholders, of whom she was the heaviest owner. Having so well played the monarch in receiving and honouring her brave subjects, she readily changed into the prudent merchant looking after her in- vestments. But she had to wait some time for any return from the thousand pounds. With respect to the ore brought in the ' Aid ' and ' Gabriel ' it was ordered that this should be stored in Bristol Castle ; and that it should be careful Iv weiohed and placed under four locks, the four keys whereof were to be given in charge, one each, to the Mayor of Bristol, Sir Eichard L^rkley, Martin Frobisher, and Michael Lock. The ore brought in the * Michael ' was in like manner stored in the Tower of London, the keys in this instance king given in charge to the W^arden of the JNlint, the Workmaster of the Mint, JNIartin Frobisher, and Michael Lock. The Queen also appointed Special Commissioners to take in hand the examination of the ore and report on the value of the same. Thus the * black stone like unto sea-coal ' had become a matter of state, and interested the whole realm. While the others were so employed and millionaires in expectancy, Michael Lock was being closely pressed by 92 Life of Sir Martin Fro bis her. demands which he had no means for meeting ; and while the niition was rejoicing in a discovery which should pro- (hice more of tlu; precious nu^tals than the Spaniards had ever ground out of the; inliabitants of Mexico and Porn, Michael Lock was penning a pitiable statement to the Queen's Majesty's Most Honorable Privy Council, in wliich he represented that tliougli lie had been appointx?d Treasurer of the Company of Cathay he had had but little treasure in his keeping ; and i hat now the wages of the voyagers were due — the several items of which run thus : — ' In pr mils for the wages of an hundred mariners in all the three ships at several rates from 10 sliillings to 6^. 13s. 4a5. for a man the month, amoimteth to the sum of 140^. the month, which from the first of June unto the last of Octol)er being five months amounteth in the whole to the sum of 70()Z. ' At 10 shillings the man. Item for wages for 26 soldiers for the said five months, as it shall please your honors. *Itcm for recompense for 14 gentlemen during the time aforesaid, as it shall please your honors to consider of some reasonable portion of the adventure. * This money cannot yet be found to be taken upon interest nor exchange.' Either accounts were very loosely kept by the Company of Cathay or some of the voyagers were entered in more than one category and so were counted twice ; for though Frobisher had been compelled to limit himself to one hundred and twenty men, Michael Lock computes for the wages of one lumdred and forty. In this petition the treasurer suggested two ways of procuring the money: either that Pier Majesty should advance the necessary amount, refunding herself from the proceeds of the ore, or that the Privy Council should Levies tipon the Cathay Company. 93 order an assesriment to be raiule upon the Hhareholdera. It need liardly be told which alternative was adopted by the (Jueen. This levy was at the rate of twenty per cent, on the capital, and brought in eight hundred pounds. The men had no sooner been paid their wages than it was discovered that, in addition to a small deficit, about eight hundred pounds were needed to build furnaces for melting the ore. There was another appeal to the Privy Council, and another order by return to collect the amount out of the shareholders. Some of the members of the Company of Cathay would, perhaps, have been thankful for hmited liability. Yet new members were coming forward to take up shares. They doubtless accepted the popular nimour that two hundred tons of pure gold had been brought over, but knew nothing of tlie assessments. Their applications for a part in this or the next voyage were made to the Lords of the Privy Council, and su])ject to their approval. Thus the Government controlled the whole matter, and left to the Company of Cathay only the office of levying upon themselves cess after cess as it was ordered. Portions of the ore were from time to time charily and carefully dealt out by the Commissioners, under cer- tificate, and official returns began to be furnished. But there arose such a quarrel among the assayers, and it con- tinued so long, that the Privy Council lost their interest in it, the admiral his temper, and the Company of Cathay their profits. 94 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. CHAPTER XXV. Agnillo — he of the cunning saying, * Bisogna sapere adulare la natura ' — had recommended to the Company a German assayer, Jonas Shutz by name. It was he who had been ever with Frobisher during the second voyage, trying, approving, or rejecting, as the case might be. He was, therefore, almost solely responsible for the value of the ore brought home. And now Shutz and Agnello made one trial after another, giving the ore as worth forty pounds the ton. These had their furnace at the house of Sir "William Winter, the Chief Commissioner. Jonas pointed out to the witnesses of his working that much precious metal was left in the slag, which, he said, could not be extracted but by building larger and more perfect furnaces. So a patent was granted him to go to Bristol and build such furnaces as he thouglit requisite ; the assayer affirming that he was confident ten ounces of pure gold would be yielded from every ton over and above the charges. Thereupon he and Frobisher started for the western city. The Lords of the Privy Council did not like so much waste in the slag ; moreover, they had received other returns of the ore, which led them to disbelieve the story of Jonas altogether. Foreigners were more fortunate in their treatment than the English. Perhaps they were not versed in Agneilo's * coaxing of nature.'. The goldsmiths and assayers of London, to whom portions of the ore had been delivered, made return to the Lords that they could find no whit of gold in it. They vouched the correctness of the proofs upon ' gage of their life and goods.' Fro- bisher on his reappearance at Court saw these returns, The Rival Assayers. 95 and at ouce sent word to Jonas directing him to stay, the building of the furnaces. During this time a certain other German assay er, named Dr. Burchard, had been trying the ore at the conamand of Secretary Walsingham. He seems through- out to liave been determined on two things : first, the extracting of a greater quantity of gold per ton than Jonas ; and, secondly, the filling of his own coffers. The building of the furnaces at Bristol having been stopped, Jonas was called to have a consultation with Dr. Burchard. Within three days there was a quarrel, Jonas accusing his countryman of ' evil manners and ignorance in divers parts of the works, and handling of the ore.' Frobisher, Lock, and Jonas now began building furnaces at Dartford, in connection with certain water-mills, which they adapted to their purpose. But Dr. Burchard did not intend to be thrown over- board in this manner. He wrote to Frobisher, and by indulging in commendations of his own skill and cunning won his way back into the great man's confidence. Bur- chard dtdid the assayers of London in asseveration, for he warranted the ore to contain as much gold as he said upon gage of ' his land, goods, and life.' Jonas replied that Burchard did everything in secret, while himself wrought in the presence of the Commis- sioners. Frobisher' proposed, therefore, that Burchard should be allowed to melt a hundredweight of ore in the furnace at Sir William Winter's. Jonas objected, and removed those parts of the furnace which he considered his secret, adding that if Burchard wanted the fu/nace he might rebuild it after his own manner. Lock had now joined the party of Jonas ; and the building of the furnaces at Dartford still went on. i -, 'I q6 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, Burchard and Frobisher said that Jonas's bellows were too high, and in a few days changed their objection, saying that Jonas's bellows were too low. Jonas and Lock declared that they had evidence that Burchard employed, in his working of tlie ore, a certain additament which was rich in the precious metals. Burchard, having thus been betrayed by his own ser- vant, showed to the Commissioners and Lord Treasurer his proofs made of a hundredweight of ore, and that it contained half an ounce of gold and two ounces and a half of silver. He also showed them Avith apparent ingenuous- ness a piece of antimony which was his additament. Jonas said that it was his friend Denham who had told Burchard of the use of antimony a short time previously ; that Burchard did not know troy weight, counting 23 grains to the pennyweight, and 23 pennyweights to the ounce, and that his friend Denham had pointed out to the Doctor his mistake ; that Frobisher, being present with other witnesses at Jonas's workings, always went straight thence to Burchard and revealed to him everything ; and that the admiral supported Burchard in his false proofs, that he might be sent on his third voyage ; and did furiously run upon Jonas, being in his work at Tower Hill, and threatened to kill him if he did not finish his work out of hand ; whereupon Jonas had made a solemn vow that he would never sail with him again. On the other hand, Burchard corresponded directly with Secretary Walsingham, and in the most confident manner said that he would abide by it of his credit and honesty to extract twenty times as much out of the ore when he had his new melting-house, and hoped Her Majesty would be a good lady to him, as he was like to lose much by that business ; and urged that tha general be sent again speedily to the mines. He also challenged ri A Specimen Return. 97 Jonas and his friend Denham, who had been the cause of all these charges against him, to meet him at the works on Tower Hill, where he would a.end Jonas's furnace and show him what he could do. Dr. Burchard had suggested that an official assayer should be appointed by the Crown, who should teach the captains of ships a breviary of assays : that if such a skilful man could be found he should be allowed some yearly consideration : that there was an old man much troubled with the gout, who, were it not for his age and sickness, would undertake such an office, and who signed himself Burchard Kraurych. He obtained the office and the yearly consideration. But Jonas kept his vow and never went again to sea with the admiral as master of the miner;;. The quarrel had one serious consequence : it prepared the way for the painful misunderstanding which accom- panied the disintegration of the Company of Cathay. An average example of the returns made of the ore is given below. It was made by Jonas, assisted by three Englishmen, and signed by the Queen's Commissioners and Martin Frobisher : — Of the said two hundred weight of ore so molten and tried aforesaid there proceeded in silver 6 ozs. 7 pwts. 13 grs. which valued at 5s. the oz. maketh in money ......... And of the same ore proceeded in gold 5 pwt. 5 grs., which at 4*. the pwt. maketh in money Sum So at that rate one cwt. of the said ore will make in money And a ton of the said ore by like, account will make in money The charges of getting and setting the said ore into the realm as by particulars delivered by Mr, Frobisher doth appear will not exceed the ton U 31*. lOkd. los. 1\d. ils. U. 238. 9rf. £23 15*. Orf. £3 0«. Orf. \ I'j i H i[l ^j'] 98 Life of Sir Martin Frobishe7\ So upon view of this account for every 8Z. defrayed the venturers si. all gain 5/., which ariseth upon every hundred pounds above £60 Oa. M. The accounts of the Company of Cathay were not very closely and accurately kept, if this be taken as an example. The simple additions in the above would not pass with a modern accountant ; and the deduction drawn in the last item is incomprehensible. From what goes before, 5L ISs. would be the profit on the ton. The assayers had shown a fine example of greed, though Burchard scarcely lived out the year, while Fro- bisher and Lock were rapidly drifting towards bankruptcy. CHAPTER XXVI. While these unhappy dissensions had been going on, while hopes and doubts concerning the value of the ore had been alternately swaying the minds of the venturers, while Burchard with his Falstaffian diction had been assailing dignities, and Jonas with his ruder accusations was liaving recurrent escapes of his life through the smoke at his smeltings, the general, his captains and master mariners, who had been so highly commended by the Queen at Windsor, had ever since that day been sparing neither ' labour, limb, nor life ' to set on foot a third voyage. They were determined this should so far eclipse the two which had gone before that men should no longer think them of any account. But posterity, having so far outstripped its ancestors in mere magnitude, is not given to consider greatly that feature in their enterprises. It is The Third Voyage projected. 99 ing on, the ore nturers, d been lusations |e smoke master by the sparing a third ^pse the longer ig so for It giveu It is the startling inadequacy of the means for bringing about the results actually accomplished that makes the voyages of the Ulyssean navigators of Elizabeth's reign so great. Perhaps the solitary voyage of the little ' Gabriel ' will always stand foremost in simple grandeur. Two thousand tons of ore were to be brought home. Her Majesty was to furnish two ships of four hundred and two hundred tons, manned with one hundred and fifty mariners, and carrying one hundred and twenty pioneersr The ' Aid ' and ' Gabriel ' were to carry eighty men. Other ships, carrying two hundred and fifty men, were to be chartered. The expedition was to be armed with heavy giins. A colony of a hundred men was to be planted on the Straits, furnished with a frame house, and provisioned for eighteen months. Such was the outline of the plan. As for the profits — (and now another estimate of the value of the mineral was adopted) — two thousand tons at thirty pounds the ton would produce sixty thousand pounds, the net profits on which would be forty thousand pounds. In this way the projectors played with rows of ciphers, illustrating once more what magical fabrics can he constructed out of figures when all the elements which tell against ovJ^ desires are excluded. For the purpose of initiating the colony, a fort or house of timber was constructed and fitted ready for erection. The greater part of this was put on board the bark ' Dennis.' Captain Fenton, who had been in command of the ' Gabriel ' on the second voyage, and who had been so inefficient during the casting away of Master William Smyth, but who seems to have had some influence at Court, was appointed lieutenant-general of the expedi- tion, and named for master of the colony. Of the hundred colonists forty were to be mariners, thirty miners, and thirty soldiers. Among the latter were many gentlemen u 2 iJ lOO Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. volunteers, whose fame is that they regarded not ease or riches in comparison with the commonwealtli of theu- country. That is the spirit which has made England the missionary and mother of colonies of the world. Instructions more numerous than ever were the last article of furniture supplied to the fleet. Frobisher was by them appointed captain-general of the expedition, and addressed as ' our loving friend Martin Frobisher, Esquire.' Should any disordered person by chance be found in the enterprise, he was to be landed at the first point touched. The captains of the ships were to be dealt with sharply if they showed any negligence, especially with regard to keeping in sight of the admiral's ship. Upon arrival in tlie Countess of Warwick's Sound the miners were to he set to work under armed protection. Others were to he sent in search of richer mines and a convenient spot to plant the colony. When the lading of the ore had been provided for, the admiral was to take his two little barks, the ' Grabriel ' and ' Michael,' and proceed up the Straiis fifty or a hundred leagues until he was certain he had entered the South Sea. Very emphatic commands were given that no amateur assays were to be made, lest the secret of the exact locality and the richness of the ore should get to foreign lands. No one was to keep any stone or other trifle to his own use. Strict accounts were to be kept of every parcel of ore ; and the ships were to return in company, a fear being implied that the captains of the chartered ships might transfer the ore. An attempt was to be made to learn something more of Grreenland. A minister or two was to go with the expedition to use ministrations of divine service according to the Church of England. Previous to his departure homeward, the admiral was to write full and particular instructions to Captain Fenton how the exploration of the coast north and south The Muster at Harwich. lOI for two hundred leagues should be performed, and was also to leave for the service of the colony the ships * Gabriel,' « Michael,' and 'Judith.' The chief interest to the modern reader in these instructions is the exhibition of the Queen's mastery of details, and how vain a thing it is to plan without the facts. The Queen appointed five gentlemen with whom the general was to confer in all matters appertaining to the land ; and another council of four masters, who were to be his advisers in everything that concerned the ships. The prospect on the surface was fairer than ever before. Though the gold ore still held a prominent place, the project of the colony was foremost, and exploration was not forgotten. Yet, the disagreement of the assayers, which had drawn into its coils all the venturers, ranging Burchard, Frobisher, and the Court on one side, with Jonas, Lock, and the City on the other, had reached the master mariners of the expedition and sowed seeds that would ripen into in- subordination later on. In the beginning of May the various ships of the fleet commenced moving towards Harwich, which was the port of departure. The ' Aid ' and * Gabriel ' sailed out of Bristol on the 2nd, under Christopher Hall, now appointed chief pilot of the fleet. At Plymouth they took on board the Cornish miners ; and, accompanied by four of the chartered vessels, proceeded on their way, arriving in due time at Harwich. Frobisher and his captains had another reception at Court, then held at Greenwich. At the same place he had been received and countenanced three years before, solely because the Queen recognised in him a great spirit ; now Her Majesty threw a fair chain of gold around his neck and held out her hand to be kiseed by all the captains. 9 f ! : J ; ■Km ■ I I .1 h I 1 02 Life of Sir 3Iariin Frobisher, Having been honoured with many promises and words of brave exhortation from Elizabeth, who knew so well how to speak them, they took their departure and proceeded to the point of meeting. On May 27, 1578, there were anchored off Harwich fifteen sail of ships, named and commanded as follows ; — The Aid, being Admiral . . . . . . Captain Frobisher. The Thomas Allin, Vice-Admiral . . . . „ Yorke. The Judith, Lieutenant-General . . . . „ Fenton. The Ann Frances , Best. The Hopewell „ Carew. The Bear „ Philpot. The Thomas of Ipswich „ Tanfield. The Emmanuel of Exeter „ Courtney. The Francis of Foy „ Moyles. The Moon „ Upcot. The Emanuel (or Busse) of Bridgwater . . . „ Newton. Salomon of Weymouth „ Eandal. The bark Dennis „ Kendal. The Gabriel „ Harvey. The Michael „ Kinnersley. CHAPTER XXVII. As soon as Frobisher had taken formal command of the fleet he issued certain articles of directions, a copy of which was delivered to each of the captains. They were to banish swearing, vice, and card-playing, and filthy communication, and to serve God twice a day with the ordinary service usual in the Church of England, and to clear the glass according to the old order of England — the ^ clearing of the glass ' being the old method of marking time on board ship, and answering to the modern ' bells.' They were not to undertake the chase of Strange Sail chased. 103 any passing ship without the admiral's permission. Should any man of the fleet come up in the niglit and hail his fellow without recognising him, he was to give this watch- word, ' Before the world was God.' To which the other should answer, ' After God came Christ His Son.' They were also divided into three squadrons, to act under Frobisher, Fenton, and Yorke, in case of a fight. Whether the fleet should sail to the north, or by the English Channel to the west, was to be decided by the direction of the wind prevailing at the time of departure. Everything being in readiness for setting out on the 31st, and the wind blowing from the north, they shaped their course for the Straits of Dover. Next morning they came athwart of Folkstone, and there had sight of a French man-of-war. The admiral's instructions were at once forgotten, and chase given to the Frenchman, which rapidly sailed away and disappeared under her own forts. In this way French and Spanish ships were openly at- tacked and captured in the Channel while the Govern- ments were at peace ; the depredators knowing that for political reasons the authorities would limit themselves to protests. Arriving opposite Plymouth, the fleet sailed into the Sound, and Frobisher went ashore. Next day they weighed anchor and resumed the voyage. On June 7, having passed Cape Clear, they had sight of a small vessel which they supposed to be a pirate. On this occasion the admiral joined in the chase. But the intended victim made no attempt to escape : the vessel roiled helplessly with the waves, and was found to be a Bristol ship which had been attacked by a Frenchman, many of the crew slain, all the survivors wounded, and the ship plundered even to its provisions. Thus the sea- hawks were not all Englishmen ; and thus, too, motives for I04 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. piracy were laid up to be fanned by the sight of the first foreign ship. F'robisher, like most men of irritable temper, was exceedingly humane, and tlie condition of the survivors on the Bristol ship appealed strongly to the latter side of his character. He commanded his surgeons to dress the wounded, and their starving condition to be relieved with all the food and drink necessary for their return to port. Having generously attended to their needs, he bade them farewell, and sailed away before a favourable wind. In his navigation of this sea the phenomena of the Gulf Stream were closely studied by the admiral, who adopted the theory that this must be the current which strikes from the Cape of Good Hope to the Straits of Magellan, and finding no passage there, on account of the narrowness of the Straits, runs along the Carribbean Sea, and, still hemmed in by the land, is forced back again towards the north-east. The year before some attention had been paid by the voyagers to the Gulf Stream. Their theory would not have been so far out if they had not, as usual, gone out of their way to drag in the Straits of Magellan to parallel Frobisher's Straits in the north-west. On the evening of the 19th the coast of Greenland was made out by the ship in advance, and a piece of ordnance was fired off at midnight to announce the fact to the remainder of the fleet. Early next morning the admiral entered his pinnace, taking with him Christopher Hall, Captain Fenton, and Luke Ward, and went on board the * Gabriel.' The little bark that had so stoutly borne the violence of these seas was sailed towards the land as near as the ice would permit. Once more they entered the pinnace and rowed in among the broken ice. Of many attempts made to land on the coast of Greenland during the three voyages, Ashore in Greenland. 105 this was the only one that was successful. The general and his companions went ashore, * being the first known Christians that we have true noti< ; of that ever set foot upon that ground.' Frobisher's first act was to pay one of his companions the pretty compliment of calling the bay Luke's Sound, after his name. He next took pos- session of the country for tlie use of our Sovereign Lady the Queen's Majesty. It was found to be a good harbour, 'where there may ride a hundred sail at twelve or twenty fathom and streamy ground.' In it were many small boats of the country. On shore they saw a native village of sealskin tents ; the inhabitants gazing on in astonish- ment, ' supposing there had been no other world but theirs.' But our countrymen no sooner landed and sounded a trumpet than the Greenlanders fled in alarm, leaving everything behind them. Frobisher and his com- pany entered the tents, and were surprised to find among other things a box of small nails, some red-herrings, and boards well cut, whence it was inferred that the natives either had trafiic with some civilised country or were themselves artificers. The voyagers would perhaps have found the true account in the thought that the Green- landers reaped the harvest of the ocean's wrecks. Another erroneous inference drawn from some observations made of the customs of the people was that Meta Incognita and Greenland formed one continent. With the desire of winning his way into the confidence of the natives, the admiral gave strict orders that nothing should be taken away, excepting one white dog, which he himself took from among forty whelps found in the village ; and as a recompense for this he left behind him pins, points, knives, and other trifles. But either discipline was lax or honesty loose in the little company, for a second white dog was taken, and without recompense, by io6 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, the trumpeter Jackson, * unknown to my general or to any man tliere.' The intention was to make further discovery of the country on the morrow, but the pinnace had barely returned to the ' Gabriel ' when a dense fog came down and hid the ships of the fleet both from the land and one another. The drums were beaten and npets sounded on board every ship all that day and xollowing night. The next day the fog lifted, and Frobisher gave the signal to sail away from the inhospiUble coast. The country he had named West England, and the last point iu sight, on account of a certain resemblance, he called by the familiar appellation of Charing Cross. And so the fleet sailed away, having seen only craggy rocks and the tops of high mountains covered with snow, to which were clinging foggy mists, and the shores whereof were guarded by an infinite number of icebergs gr«^^at and small. For the next eight days y had the old experience of gales, ice, and fogs. On c.. ninth day the fleet fell in with a large number of whales, which played as if they had been porpoises. As the ship ' Salomon ' was sailing, with every stitch of canvas spread, a huge whale suddenly rose under her bows. The shock was so violent that the ship came to a standstill, while the whale * made a great and ugly noise,' casting up his body and tail, and then dived into the depths. Two days afterwards a dead whale was seen floating with the waves, and this they supposed to be that which the ' Salomon ' had struck. A Perilous Channel. 107 CHAPTER XXVIII. The ' Thomas Allin,' being in advance of the other ships, sighted Lock's Land and tlie Queen's F'oreland on July 1. A large flock of guillemots and other marine birds gathered around the ship and alighted upon her rigging. One of the crew climbed to the topmast and took three of the birds with his hand. Christopher Hall sailed his ship to the mouth of the Straits, and found the ice so thick that he hastened back to inform the admiral and warn the other ships against attempting to reach their port for the present. The first of the fleet spoken by the ' Thomas Allin ' was the hark ' Dennis ' ; but her captain was only partly per- suaded of the impracticability of entering the Straits. Hall was more successful with Andrew Dyer, master of the ' Hopewell," and won him over to his own opinion. While they were m. king ren'ly for lying-to, they saw the remain- ing ships of iiio fleet some distance to windward, sailing in among the ice, and felt themselves constrained to follow. This was on July 2. Having advanced as far as the open water extended, the pinnace of the ' Aid ' was lowered, and went in advance, seeking out a channel ; the ships following in line as best they could. The ice was all in motion, and the intricate channel opened and closed so rapidly that a ship would suddenly find the way barred between her and her leader, and thus be brought into imminent danger of striking before her sails could be taken in. It was blowing a pleasant breeze, and many of the ships ran, but not violently, against the icebergs among which they were advancing, * so as it were making way through mighty iili: loS Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. mountains.' The * Michael ' and ' Judith,' being shorter than the most, made more rapid progress and were lost sight of in advance. The ' Thomas AUin ' was plying to and fro with a sail in a pleasant lake in the ice, and in rear of the fleet. The other ships were still toiling in the wake of the admiral's pinnace, dexterously evading the masses of ice that x^oved upon them, when they were all brought to a standstill by a block in front. It was re- jiv^iLed to be only a narrow isthmus of ice that delayed them, and that open water lay beyond. Boats were at once lowered and men sent forward to break through the impediment and clear a way. At this time the wind, which was blowing from the SSE., suddenly increased to a gale. At ^nce the ice began to grind. and fly in every direction. The fleet as quickly altered their course and made back for the open sea ; but the ice had closed in and imprisoned them. The bark ' Dennis' was in a little bay under the lee of an iceberg, and while flatting off with her foresail was suddenly driven on the ice. A signal of distress was hoisted, and the boats which had been sent to break down the crystal isthmus took ofi" the crew but a moment before the bark sank. A great part of the colonists' frame house or fort was on board and sank with her. Thus a fatal blow was given to the first English colony ever projected. Various devices were employed, according to the in- genuity of each master, for the salvation of his ship. Some made fast under the lee of an iceberg. Some could find no such shelter, and were so severely nipped that the vessels were lifted bodily out of the water, breaking their knees and timbers within board. All strength- ened their ships with cables, beds, masts, and such like, which, being hung overboard, acted as fenders against the outrageous strokes they were continually receiviog. ill An Anxious Night. 109 And having partially unrigged, employing their top-masts and capstan bars in warding off the icebergs, they received very serious injury, for the blows which they got were so great that planks three inches thick and other things of still greater size were shivered in pieces. The men were ranged, some on the channels, with oars and pikes, some on the ice, with their shoulders agaiust the ships' sides, and thus all night long fought against the enemy, expecting death each moment. During the thirteen hours of extreme peril the captains, with invincible mind, encouraged each his company, while of the latter some laboured for the safety of their ship and sought to save their bodies, and others of milder spirit sought to save their souls by ' devout prayer and meditation to the Almighty, thinking, indeed, by no other means possible than by a miracle to haVe their deliverance, so that there were none that were either idle or not well occupied, and he that held himself in best security had (God knoweth) but only bare hope remaining for his best safety.' Another quaint chronicler makes the pious reflection that God ' never leaveth them destitute which fearfully call upon Him, although He often punisheth for amendment sake.' At nine o'clock next morning the miracle of deliverance was wrought, for the wind veered round to the west, and swept away the barrier of ice between them and the open sea. The pleasant weather of that day, says Thomas Ellis, was ' as after punishment consolation.' Four ships of the fleet, among them the little 'Gabriel,' had escaped some hours before their companions made their way out of the pack. At noon next day, seeing nothing of the others, the crews gathered around their main- masts and knelt down, giving thanks to God for their deliverance out of so great perils. Then they highly besought Him for their friends' deliverance. In the mean- time the westerly wind was blowing and ' did drive the ;'J • it -Ij i ii'il IKXfc.^. no Life of Sir Martin Fr obis her. ice before theci, and also gave them liberty of more scope and sea-room.' By nightfall of the same day all the ships of the fleet, excepting the * Dennis,' * Judith,' and « Michael,' had joined company once more amid great re- joicing. After the joy came the activity rendered neces- sary by their sad plight. The next two days were spent in making repairs ; some mending their sails and tacklings, some setting up their top-masts, some stopping leaks, some lamenting over the loss of their false stem ; while others recounted the dangers and ten thousand hair- breadth escapes of the night past. For better safety the twelve remaining ships of the fleet put out to sea, pro- posing to ply to and fro until the westerly winds had cleared the Straits of the broken ice. Four days were spent in this way; the ships drifting on an unknown current towards the south-west. At the end of that period, though a thick fog enveloped them, the admiral gave the signal to make a second effort to enter the Straits. On July 7 or 9 they made out the land once more, the mist clearing for awhile at noon. To the north of them was seen a promontory which the majority sup- posed to be Lock's Land or the North Foreland. Far to the south they made out what was supposed to be the Queen's Foreland, lying about twenty leagues distant. To find themselves thus soon within the Straits greatly sur- prised all, and some doubts were felt as to the correctness of their observations and of their locality. The land- marks were closely scanned. Mount Warwick, where the first cross had been erected and the ensign planted with such solemnities the year before, was identified. Some took this to be conclusive in favour of their opinion that they were within the Straits. Others said that no depend- ence was to be placed in this, inasmuch as the air was so thick no landmark could be m:ide out with certainty, and Conjiiciing Opinions. Ill that the only safe course was to remain where they were until the fog cleared and the sun's altitude was taken. Moreover, they said, the dead-reckoning clearly negatived the supposition that they could have entered the Straits. They of the contrary opinion pointed to the current which was now observed for the first time to be sweeping them rapidly towards the south-west, and made the dead- reckoning of little value. They had all been greatly as- tonished at the rushing" iud noise of the tides at this place. While the ships were hove-to, they would suddenly be caught by the stream and turned round about as in a whirl- pool. Captain Best makes the comparison which Master John Davis repeats when sailing this sea subsequently. ' The noise of the stream,' he says, ' was no less to be heard afar ofif than the waterfall of London Bridge.' t = 1 CHAPTER XXIX. WniLE the fleet was thus lying-to among chafing ice and swift currents, with the fog so dense that the sun was in- visible and the shore-line dim^ the admiral determined to end the uncertainty as to their locality by calling a council of all the masters and pilots. There can be little doubt that Frobisher was the first to perceive the true state of affairs, namely, that they were now lying to the south of the Queen's Foreland, while the entrance to the true Straits was north of that Fore- land ; but he had reasons of his own for hiding this fact. The pinnace of the * Aid ' was sent to each of the ships to gather the opinions of the masters and pilots, and espe- cially that of James Bear, master of the ' Ann Frances.' 112 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. The admiral placed great confidence in his knowledge of the matter, inasmuch as he had made a chart of the coast on the previous voyage. Master Bear coincided with the admiral, as did, indeed, all those consulted, with a single exception. Hall says that he took the pinnace of the 'Thomas AUin ' and went ^limself on board the 'Aid'; that he pointed out to the .idmiral how none of the land- marks tallied with those of Frobisher's Straits. The dis- cussion became warm. There can be no doubt that Hall felt some chagrin at Master Bear's opinion being deemed of greater importance than his own, and the more so since he was chief pilot of the expedition. At last Fro- bisher lost his temper, and, according to Hall's account, ' presently was in a great rage and swore by God's wounds that it was it, or else take his life.' Hall immediately returned to the ' Thomas Allin,' and kept that ship along- side the ' Aid ' all night, still endeavouring, but in vain, to persuade the admiral of his error. Such is Christopher Hall's account. He alone makes mention of the quarrel; and since it was told with the evident intention of laying the foundation of a charge against the admiral, it may be taken for what it is worth. At the worst, it was only a temporary outburst of fury in Frobisher ; but in Hall the altercation stirred lower depths, for he seems to have never forgiven his general, and sought subsequently to injure him. On the 10th the weather thickened, and the ' Aid,' ac- companied by six or seven ships of the fleet, advanced up the Straits opening in front of them towards the west. Frobisher saw now that he was in new waters ; but the old lifelong passion for original discovery was once more aflame. The ore was forgotten and Frobisher's Straits set aside. The North- West Passage, Cathay, and the circum navigation of the globe filled his imagination. These were The Old Love revived. 113 reasons enough in his estimation for hiding his real con- victions. If they would transform a discoverer into a digger of gold they must take the consequences when the old nature got the mastery. So he continued persuading the masters of the few ships which accompanied him that they were on the right course, though he himself afterwards confessed that had it not been for the Company of Cathay, his instructions, and the freighting of his ships, he would have pushed through and finally solved the question of the North-West Passage to the rich East. As they sailed away from the coast and advanced up the new Straits, they found themselves leaving the region of fogs and ice behind them. They had land on their star- board, and, after a while, land was seen in the distance to the south of them also. After they had pursued this westerly course for about six days, the fog cleared away sufficiently to enable them to approach the land. A certain bay was made out and entered. All the masters, save two, agreed that it was the Countess of Warwick's Sound ; but inas- much as the sky was still overcast the admiral was able for a while yet to continue the deception. They found the land more fruitful than any they had yet seen on the American shores. There were deer, partridges, larks, owls, falcons, bears, hares, foxes, plentiful pasturage, &c. Many natives also were found here, who had great boats holding twenty persons. Luke M''d,rd, after whom Frobisher had named the Sound where a landing had been effected on Grreenland, obtained permission to go ashore and trade with the aborigines. A considerable exchange of looking-glasses, knives, bells, etc. for fish, fowl, seal and other skins took place without any misadventure. After this diversion the voyage was resumed towards the west ; the admiral no doubt delighted that the masters had recognised (he >Souud 'mi I 4 f M 114 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. for themselves. But next day his hopes of making any further discovery in this direction were suduenly quenched. The sky cleared for the first time in twenty days. An observation was taken, and then all doubt vanished from every mind. They were fully sixty miles south of their port; and Frobisher regretfully gave the word to shape their course eastward once more. Through the accidents of a thick fog and unknown current, Frobisher had made the greatest discovery of his life. He had unwittingly sailed up Hudson's Straits, and was close on the entrance to the great inland sea of North America, when the sunshine turned him back. Thus he had lighted Henry Hudson on his way. Henceforth PVobisher held the old Straits in no estimation. In his mind every fact pointed to the present channel as the North-West Passage to Cathay. As they had advanced they had found the sea widening, and the ice no more troubling them. That a very great indraft was setting in towards the west was singularly confirmed by the discovery of fragments of the wreck of the ' Dennis,' that had sunk among the ic^ at the mouth of the old Straits. Some say that they found the tide here running nine hours flood to three ebb ; and this they made tell in favour of their theory, though a different inference might be drawn from the fact. This current was, curiously, assumed to be a part of the Gulf Stream. They had only to continue one step farther the theory mentioned in a preceding chapter, and all was easy. The great ocean stream that had gone to Magellan's Straits in search of an outlet, and had then wandered wearily to the Isthmus of Darien, and being baffled once more had taken a journey across the Atlantic to the coast of Norway, was only to encounter its usual rebuff at that point. What, then, could it do but sweep westward once Captain Best's Theory, 115 again, and, finding itself met by the inhospitable and unbroken front of Greenland, come over to Meta Incognita and joyfully pass through the newly-discovered Straits to the long-souglit-for haven in its native and genial Southern Sea? Captain Best is not satisfied with an unsupported theory. He props it up with a philosophical argument after the manner of Humphrey Gilbert : ' Inferiora corpora r'^gvmtur a superioribus,' he observes ; ' then, the water being an inferior element, must needs be governed after the superior heaven, and to follow the course of piimum mobile from east to west.' Still more had the faithful and brave captain to say in favour of the theory which he had heard from his general, for he had not been up the new Straits himself. There was a great downfall of water towards the west, he informs us : not so great that the ships could not return, though that was only done with much ado ; for it was found that a f^eater distance could be sailed over in one hour, going westward, than could be retraced in three. They had, indeed, discovered a North-West Passage to Cathay ; but not a short, open, easy channel, as they sup- posed, and one that was parallel with Magellan's Straits. Little did they imagine how long and intricate was this way to the far East along Fox Channel, the Gulf of Boothia, Barrow Strait, Melville Sound, the Arctic Ocean, and Behring's Straits. CHAPTER XXX. In returning down Hudson's Straits they found that fogs and ice still held sway along the coast, as when they I 2 ■ i I! I i 11 rii li Ii6 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. were there before. By July 21 they reached the neigh- bourhood of the Queen's Foreland and became entangled among a number of rocks, islands, and icebergs. The wind was in their favour, but the current was against them, and the latter was the stronger of the two. While toiling to and fro in these unknown waters they would at one moment be scraping their keels on a hidden reef, and, the next moment, be in 120 fathoms of water. It was evermore from peril to peril with them. For, desiring to anchor, they would find too great depth of water; moving on a little, they would find themselves in danger of being stove in, the fog still enveloping them. On one occasion they took in their sails, determined to anchor among the rocks until the fog cleared. But just as they were making ready to let go their anchors a puff of wind carried them away from the rocks on which the current was driving. While they were in the act of thanking God for this speedy deliverance, the man in the chains announced but seven fathoms. They turned at once from thanksgiving to regretting that they had not fulfilled their intention of anchoring. The current carrying them into still shallower waters, the boats were manned and the ships taken in tow until 120 fathoms were marked. Here they lay- to for the night. The sails had been furled, and the men were disposing themselves to rest, when the cry was raised that they were on the rocks again. The current had been at work. On sounding eighty fathoms were found, and a double bent of cable had to be employed for instant anchoring. This was no sooner done than the fog partially cleared for a space. The anchors were weighed, the boats manned, and the ships taken in tow; every means being employed to double the Queen's Fore- land. ' Many times,' says one, ' God lent us at the very pinch one prosperous breath of wind or other whereby to i The ' Gabriers ' Exploit, 117 double the land and avoid the peril ; and when that we were all without hope of help, every man recommending himself to death, and crying out, "Lord, now help or never ; now. Lord, look down from heaven and save us sinners, or else our safety cometh too late," even then the mighty Maker of Heaven and our merciful Grod did deliver us ; so that they who had been partakers of these dangers do even in their souls confess that God even by miracle hath sought to save them, whose name be praised evermore.' Next day they succeeded in rounding the point, and arrived at the entrance to Frobisher's Straits. Two or three days previous to this the admiral had observed an opening in the coast-line just west of the Queen's Foreland, and he had commanded the ' Gabriel ' to sail up and try to force a passage by the channel into the true Straits. So the first sight that gladdened the remnant of the fleet on arriving in the Straits was the little ' Gabriel ' sailing in to the westward of them. Thus the Queen's Foreland was demonstrated to be an island. The bark, having had orders to make for the Countess's Sound, went gallantly forward among the ice. Frobisher commanded the * Aid ' to be sailed after her ; but owing to the greater length of the flag-ship she was unable to wind along the devious openings among the floes, and was forced to put back to sea again. Less than half the fleet had accompanied the admiral up the mistaken Straits. Christopher Hall, in the 'Thomas Allin,' had persuaded Captain Yorke that the admiral was in error as to his supposed locality ; and on Hall's return from the ' Aid,' where he had left Frobisher in that towering rage, he determined on something like mutiny. He took advantage of the first thickening of the fog to part from the fleet and shape his course to the north-east. 1 18 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. Captain Best, in the ' Ann P^rances,' liad made an honest endeavour to keep his admiral's company, but had been parted by the mist. Their story was, that finding them- selves out of sight of every sail, they had of their own resolution determined to put out to sea until the sky cleared for an observation — a remark that shows few of the mariners, if any, were really mistaken as to their position, after the first hesitation, but were rather hiding their convictions in deference to the admiral's wish. When the ' Ann Frances ' undertook to carry out their resolution it was found to be no easy matter. The never- ceasing repetition of the contest with ice in a bewildering fog* recurred. Their danger was, many times, so great that the men sprang out into the chains and along the channels ready to leap on to the island of ice that threatened to overwhelm them. In the intervals between each such escape they busied themselves in making buoys out of their chests. And since the boat would not hold half their company they constructed a raft out of the hatches, which they proposed to lade with their goods and themselves and tow ashore by means of the ship's boat. Had they been forced to that extremity, the captain of the ' Ann Frances ' remarks, ' they should eitlier have perished for lack of food to eat or else should them- selves have been eaten of those ravenous, bloody, and men-eating people.' For twenty days this struggle with momentary peril had been carried on. But when Frobisher returned to the mouth of the true Straits on July 23 the 'Ann Frances' fell in with his reduced fleet of seven ships, and ' hailed the admiral after the manner of the sea, and with great joy welcomed one another with a thundering volley of shot.' Next day the ' Francis of Foy,' after having been for some time enclosed in the ice, fought her way out and The Stragglers' Return. 1 19 joined the fleet. She too had a lonn^ story of dan^fers passed. She had left the ' Thomas Allin ' with the ' Gabriel ' farther up the Straits in danger of ice on a lee shore ; whereupon the narrator introduces a prayer for their safety, saying, ' God deliver them, for his blessed Son Jesus ("hrist's sake.' In the meantime Christopher Hall, in the 'Thomas Allin,' had been plying to and fro at the mouth of the Straits. He had shown Captain Yorke and Mr. Gibbs all the landmarks of the southern headland ; then he had sailed across and done the same with respect to the North Foreland, convincing them of what everybody believed. He had made three attempts to reach his port, but each time had been compelled to beat a hasty retreat for the open sea. The fourth attempt, accompanied by the ' Francis of Foy,' he made along the southern shore, and was just entering the Straits as the * Gabriel' emerged from the newly-discovered channel behind the Queen's Foreland. The master of the ' Gabriel ' conveyed to them the intelligence of the admiral's locality, and so the ' Francis of Foy ' made the best of her way to the fleet. The ' Busse of Bridgwater,' so she re^'orted, had been in their company many days, but was now missing. When last seen she was in extreme necessity ; but they of the ' Francis of Foy,' owing to their own dangers and the ice intervening, could render her no help ; so they greatly feai'ed her fate was sealed. 1 20 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. CHArTER XXXI. When this intelligence concerning the state of matters up the Straits became known in the fleet, there was general discontent bordering on mutiny. It was only a])out a month since they had spent tliat awful night in this very place ; and from that time until the present moment they had been living on the very brink of eternity. And at last their courage broke down. With the majority of them it was only physical and nervous exhaustion. When therefore the general proposed another encounter with the ice many ' considerate men ' exhibited fear, and murmured against their commander. Some plea(ied for delay, so that they might partially repair their ships ; and in the meantime there was the probability of the wind shifting and driving out the ice. Others yielded to abject terror, and broke out into open mutiny, saying ' that they had as lieve be hanged when they came home as without hope of safety to seek to pass and so perish among the ice.' It would have amounted to the sam(» thing in the end liad they reversed their ignoble speech and said they had as lieve perish in the ice as get hanged when they returned home. Frobisher was learning the difficulty of dealing with trie crews of chartered ships. Comprehending the danpjer to the expedition, he said litth" TT . professed to be per- suaded by those who har- ^ hort season of rest in some harbour wh( agi lie done and his men's energies refreshed. o he -k U|> with a report which the ' Francis of Foy ' had br^ lo^ht him, and which was to the effect that Christopher Hall during the period of waiting had discovered a gold mine and a harbo in one of the rm The *Busse of Bridgwater,^ 121 islands off the Queen's Foreland. The admirara pinnace was got ready to ^o and examine the mine and harbour, wherein he promised liia nine ship« they should anchor until th(^ Straits were clear. While the fleet was lying off and on awaiting the re- turn of the admiral, a sudden gale sprang up from the SSE., sweeping in the ice from the outer sea, and once again there was a hurried race for open water. Those ships that were caught and enclosed in the floes fared best this time, for they escaped the fury of the storm, which broke farther out to sea. The chief peculiarity of this gale was that a heavy fall of snow came down, so thickly that no man could hold his eyes open to handle the ropes or to keep a look-out. The alternate heat and cold during the snow-storm wetted the sailors through, so ' that he that had five or six shifts of apparel had scarce one dry thread to his back.' The wetting and freezing bred much sick- ness and greatly discouraged the crews. Next day, the admiral and those ships which with him had been caught in the ice escaped and rejoined their friends out at sea. The day following, being July 27, the ' Busse of Bridg\vater,' reported in a hopeless condition by the 'Francis of Foy,' struggled out of the ice and joined the fleet. She too had a dismal tale to tell ; but, what was of more immediate importance, her master reported her to be so leaky that she must at once be taken to harbour or sink. Her bows were stove in, and all their labour had barely succeeded in keeping her afloat so long. The crew were making three hundred strokes an hour at the pumps, ^ and were now in so exhausted a condition that they craved help from the other ships. It was clearly impossible, they said, to reach their port at the Countess of Warwick's Sound, About this time Frobisher formed a desperate project; I;' l-Vc III : I^H H^^^l -■■ HI ^^B^^^^^l H^^^^H ji 122 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. He was determined to overawe the mutinous crews and reach his port speedily, for he perceived that the summer would soon be gone. ' The general, not opening his ears to the peevish passion of any private person,' cast away all thoughts of safety and regard for the life either of himself or of any man in the fleet, and made ready for the exe- cution of his desperate resolve. He ordered all the cannon on board to be loaded with shot. Then the command was given to e^^ery ship to shape her course up the Straits, the general giving it out that, in case they came to the worst and must needs perish in the ice, he would open fire and sink every ship of the fleet ; ' and with this peal of ordnance ' he would ' receive an honorable knell, instead of a better burial, esteeming it more happy so to end his life, rather than himself, or any of his company, or any one of Her Majesty's ships should become a prey or spec- tacle to those base, bloody and man-eating people.' On the 29th, therefore, P'robisher led the way in the ' Aid,' and pushed on desperately all that day, ' in at one gap and out at another,' still calling on the fleet to follow. ' We,' says Thomas Ellis, ' mutually consented to our valiant general once again to give the onset.' They had come to look upon it as a hand-to-hand conflict between a Christian band of Crusaders and diabolically enchanted fogs and floes. The admiral's determined valour was crowned with success. Next day the entrance into the Countess's Sound was reached. But the wind at that moment dying away, the fleet became stationary, and Frobisher, having entered his pinnace, rowed in towards their old anchorage under the Countess's Island. As he drew nigh his long-fought- for port the masts of two ships came in view. They were there before him. Drawing still nearer he made them out to be the ' Michael ' and * Judith,' which had been given A Careless Watch. 123 up as lost a month before during the first great battle at the mon^h of the Straits. There was much burning of powder, to serve the double purpose of expressing joy and announcing to the stationary fleet in the offing that some of the missing ships were before them in port. Those on board the fleet, having given up the ' Michael ' and 'Judith ' for lost at their first disappearance, supposed the ships to be the ' Thomas Allin ' and the ' Gabriel.' ed with Sound ig away, entered 3 under •fought- ey were hem out in given CHAPTER XXXII. As soon as the admiral had come on board the ' Judith ' he sent back Charles Jackman in the pinnace to pilot the fleet into port. When he reached the ships it was a dead calm. While waiting for the wind the officers of the ' Aici ' ^ook the pilot into the cabin, to partake of their hospitality, giving strict injunctions to the boatswain to keep a sharp look-out for drifting ice. Frobisher's ship usually fared worse in calms than in the tempest ; the feeling of security giving rise to negligence. The watch took the order as a matter of course, and within a few minutes a large fragment of a floe drifted down and lodged on the hawse of the anchor cable. All hands were at once engaged in removing the ice ; but for a quarter of an hour it resisted all their efforts and chafed at their hempen cable, placing the ship in imminent peril of falling on a lee shore. The floe having been eventually removed, the officers once more retired to the cabin ; and then occurred on board the ' Aid ' a little controversy sufficiently ludi- crous to have been pas^^ed over silence ; but since it is recorded by the chief actor in t, his conduct doubtless 124 Life of Sir Martin Fr obis her. appeared dignified in his own eyes ; and since it afterwards had some bearing on the charges brought against the admiral, it is mentioned here. A certain Edward Sellman was a gentleman passenger on board the ' Aid ' — a man who evidently thought himself possessed of some literary ability, but whose capacity with the pen was justly estimated by Frobisher when he subse- quently appointed him Notary of Meta Incognita. jNIaster Sellman was striding it solitarily on the quarter-deck of the * Aid ' at this particular moment. The officers having retired and left him alone in his dignity, he took it upon him to give Holmes, the quartermaster, and Hill, the boat- swain, a sound lecture on their neglect of duty. The two petty officers liked this meddling very little, and showed small patience with the amateur captain. So when he was done they recommended him to meddle with his own affairs. When he would have retorted they demanded to see his commission to command the ship. Having bantered Master Sellman thus, they assumed authority which they did not possess, for they ordered him to his cabin. In this, he says, he defied them, adding bravely that he would retire to his cabin when he saw fit. They then abused him very much ; and this upbraiding he was compelled to hear, since he had not yet seen fit to draw out of ear- shot. INIaster Sellman thus paid the penalty of engaging in a quarrel with men who had a vocabulary at their command which, for various reasons, he could not employ. The notary's narrative was dedicated to Michael Lock on the return from the third voyage, and the writer doubt- less knew what the merchant wanted. So in this part of his story he is able to give Lock a foundation for some of the items in the Indictment of Abuses and at the same time to show that his own interference with the warrant officers was necessary. ' The captain of the " Aid," ' he The Meddlesome Notary. 12 adds, ' can bear no rule amongst them, because he is not countenanced by the general, and therefore all things hath fallen out the worse with us, and that hath caused me to speak more earnestly in this cause ; for whether the boatswain nor any officer yet hitherto hath been obedient to the master, and the disobedience of the officers doth cause the company also to disobey and neglect their duties.' If these charges were true, then Master Sellman was possessed of a singular amount of self-confidence to suppose that he could succeed where the captain and master had failed. The fleet had now been lying at anchor about two hours, and the future notary was still pacing the deck, when the expected breeze sprang up, and the ice began to get in motion. The master's mate came up and joined him, to whom the amateur mariner now volunteered his advice. ' I said to him it were good to weigh our. anchor to prevent the danger of the ice.' What the mate thought of this meddling or what answer he made is not told. Perhaps he felt the annoyance which comes of being counselled to do what one has already determined on doing. The wind gradually increased, and Jackman, the pilot, was called on deck. He at once ordered the anchor to be weighed and sail made. The anchor was hanging a-cock-bill, as the sailors term it — that is, from the cathead and almost touching the water — but, before it could be catted or proj^erly secured on board, the ship was under way. The next moment a considerable iceberg drifted across her course and drove the fluke of the anchor througrh the bows of the 'Aid' just below the water-line. The water at once rushed in, and so great was the leak that ' we had water in hold four feet above the ceiling within an hour or less.' The notary seems to have derived much pleasuie from recording this grievous consequence of ne- rpflff i 126 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. glecting his advice. Into the leak were thrust ' beef and other provisions,' while the crew toiled at the pumps and also with buckets from midnight until nine in the morning, when the anchor was let go in the port of the Countess's Sound. The ' Aid ' was presently tilted and the hole mended with lead. There were now nine ships of the fleet anchored to- gether under the Countess's Island, and a general thanks- giving to God was proclaimed, ' and all together upon their knees gave Him due, humble and hearty thanks.' Master Wolf all, who had been appointed by the Privy Council to be the minister and preacher of the fleet, deli- vered a sermon in which he exhorted them to gratitude to God ; then he reminded them of the uncertainty of human life, persuading them to be ready to receive with joy what- ever Divine Providence should appoint. '*^. Captain Best draws us a picture of the Elizabethan missionary, who by two centuries anticipated any orga- nised Protestant effort for tlie conversion of the heathen. ' This Master Wolfall being well seated and settled at home in his own country, with a good and large living, having a good honest woman to wife, and very towardly children, being of good reputation among the best, refused not to take in hand this painful voyage, for the only care he had to save souls, and to reform those infidels, if it were possible, to Christianity; and also partly for the great desire he had that this notable voyage so well begun might be brought to perfection ; and therefore he was con- tented to stay there the whole year if occasion had served, being in every necessary action as the resolutest men of all. Wherefore in this behalf he may rightly be called a true pastor and minister of God's word, which for tbe profit of his flock spared not to venture his own life.' In that early age Englishmen had recognised that to make Wholesome Ordinances. 127 voyages of discover- perfect there must be provision for evangelising the natives. And subsequent experience has proved that the most productive investments ever made have been the sums expended on missionary efiforts, since Christianity brings civilisation, civilisation creates com- merce, and the commerce of the Christianised natives has always gone to the land of the missionaries. While remembrance was had of a kind Providence, Frobisher was not forgetful of police and sanitary regula- tions. On August 2 instructions were published Avith sound of trumpet that none were to go ashore without leave, and those who had leave were to have no dealing with the natives without informing the general. No private assay was to be made of any ore. No one, by sea or land, was to make use of any ' discovered speeches,' swearing, brawling, or cursing, upon pain of imprisonment ; no one was to draw his weapon in quarrel, on pain of losing his right hand. No one was to wash his hands or any article in the spring upon the Countess's Island ; ' and for the better preservation and health of every man ' detailed directions were given as to the observance of cleanliness, upon pain for the first offence of being ' imprisoned in the bilbows ' fourteen hours, and for the second offence of pay- ing twelve pence. And among other fit instructions was included an order that no person shoidd cast into the road- stead any ballast or rubbish that might impair the same. CHAPTER XXXIII. The ' Michael ' and * Judith,' under Captain Fenton, lieutenant-general, had their own story to tell. From the time they were locked in the ice, about July 1, until I 1 t I 128 Life of Sir Martin Fr obis her. the 25tli they never saw one day or hour during which they were not in continual danger and fear of death. For twenty of those days they were, almost continuously, frozen firmly in the ice. The ' Judith ' had been stricken through and through on both sides. The false stem of the ' M- chael ' had been carried entirely away. In their utmost extremity their brave minister. Master Wolfall, proved their deliverer ; for when both ships had been, as was thought, completely crushed and on the point of joining the 'Dennis' at the bottom of the Straits, the men gave up in despair, whereupon Master Wolfall called them all to prayer, setting before them their danger and their duty towards God in such extremity. Then he ex- horted them to hope and good courage. This exhortation was acted upon by the captain and master, who called upon their crews to man the channels once more with pikes and oars against the ice that pressed upon the ships like a living foe. The words of the minister and the example of the officers reanimated all, and in a few hours they had fought their way into a temporary opening. While they were enclosed they found they could walk from island to island of ice for miles on either side, and even as far as the land. When not altogether fas^ their favourite device was to run under the lee of the largest ice- berg available and make fast to it. When this showed signs of breaking up they would hasten to hide under another. Whenever the ice was much broken they would allow their ship to drift slowly down, until her bows touched ; then they set all sail. The floe thus acted as a fender in front and swept the water clear of the lesser fragments. They thus formed as it were a lake in which temporary sea-room was found; and then they would lie-to among 'sundry moun- tains and Alps of ice.' One of these they flieasured and found to be sixty-five fathoms above water. Their esti- ¥ Best 's Tale of Wo?tders. 129 3ger and 3uld walk side, and fas^ tkir i-gest ice- wed signs another, [low their .ed; then r in front 3. They sea-room iry moun- iured and leir esti" mate was that icebergs extended eight times as much be- low water as above, so that this would be nearly three- quarters of a mile perpendicularly. From a certain imagined resemblance they called this * Solomon's Porch.' Captain Best seems to fear that his readers will throw some doubt over the accuracy of this story, and therefore supports it with certain experiences of his own. He had seen men walking, running, shooting upon the sea forty miles from laud. Still more strange, there were some among his company who had got on the ice and amused themselves in running races, shooting at bolts, and killing seals with their calivers. They had seen the melting ice come down in sundry streams^ which, meeting together, made a pretty brook able to drive a mill, and flowed into the salt sea a hundred miles from land. Captain Fenton had brought the two vessels into the Countess's Sound ten days before the arrival of the admiral. As soon as some repairs had been made on his sinking ship be had gone ashore searching for ore. His success was great, and the mine on account of its richness was called ' Fenton's Fortune.' He had made a journey ten miles up the country and found no signs of natives or habitation. He had next made an examination of his provisions, and determined upon the necessiiy of depart- ing homeward after seven days, should none of the fleet appear. On August 2, the ' Gabriel ' arrived in the Sound, having Christopher Hall on board, and told how they had companied with the 'Thomas Allin ' for eight days making fruitless efforts to cross over the Straits from Mount Ox- ford, wliere they had been anchored ; how they had seen the fleet passing up towards the Sound, but had been unable to join it ; and how the pilot bad left his «hip at anchor on the southern side. K W it, f Si I ' 130 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. The admiral had now with him all his ships save the * Dennis,' ' Thomas AUin,' ' Moon,' ' Thomas of Ipswich,' and ' Ann Frances.' He saw not an hour was to spare. All the gentlemen, soldiers, and miners, with their victuals, tents, and tools, were landed on the Countess's Island. Consultations were continually held between the admiral and his council. A muster of all the men and a close survey of all the provisions were made, and everybody set to work. The mariners plied their task of repairing, the captains sought out nev, mines, the gold-finders made trial of the ore, and ' the gentlemen for example sake laboured heartily, and honestly encouraged the inferior sort to work.' A week after their arrival, and while the work of get- ting in the ore was progressing rapidly, the admiral brought the subject of the colony before his council. They tirst of all perused the bills of lading, and found thdt, owing to the sinking of the ' Dennis,' the north and west sides of the fort were lost. Of the other two sides many parts were missing, the timbers having been used as fenders in their battles with the ice and shivered in pieces. In the next place they learned that there were not sufficient food and drink to provision the fort for a hundred men. On this Captain Fenton, who was to have command of the colony, offered to inhabit the fort with sixty men. The carpenter? and masons were now L'lilled before the council, and asked how long it would take them to so alter the timbers and set them up as to contain the reduced comj^any of sixty. Their answer was, eight or nine weeks. Whereupon the admiral pointed out that twenty-six days more must be the extreme limit of their stay on that coast. The de- liberate resolve of the council on learning these facts was that no colony could be established there that year and thus sixty brave men were beyond doubt saved from un- «>ff •;j,«j.-M», The Notary a Partisan. 131 timely death. Master Sellman, the notary, was instructed to set down this decree ' for the better satisfying of Hei" Majesty, the Lords of the Council, and the adventurers,' There is no evidence that the meddlesome notary ever obeyed the council's command, for no decree appears in his narrative. Such a document would have disproved two of the abuses charged against the admiral : namely, how that he had become jealous of Captain Fenton and would give no jot of assistance to establish the colony even for fifty men ; and how that he had refused all conference during his stay in Meta Incognita, laughing at the notion that the Queen had aprjointed him a council. Day by day, new mines were being explored and ore transported in pinnaces to the ships. Black ore and red ore were stowed aw^ay in the holds, and the English greed for gold seemed destined to find satiety at last. CHAPTER XXXIV. When Frobisher was making his valiant and successful charge through the ice to regain his port three ships were separated from the fleet. These were the ' Ann Fr^aces,' 'Moon,' and * Thomas of Ipswich,' and each of them was separated from the others. For the next week the ' Ann Frances ' disconsolately plied to and fro at the mouth of the Straits. At the close of that period the ' Thomas ' joined company with her. She too had been beating up and down in the rough weather. Subsequently they sighted and came up with the ' Moon.' In a short time a gale sprang up and carried the ' Thomas ' out of sight. The other two, still keeping company, fought against wind K 2 132 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. ..: "^ and ice to no purpose. Whenever the wind veered around to the favourable points of south or east it invariably brought up a dense fog, in whicli they dared not venture on entering the Straits. After tliree more days of tliis experience they found themselves a few leagues up the Straits and becalmed. They were lying opposite the channel behind the (Queen's Foreland, through which the ' Gabriel ' had sailed with sucli peril. Whenever the tide and current coincided there was such an inrush through this channel that they were more helplessly exposed to the perils of the ice than ever before. The 'Ann Frances ' and ' Moon ' now became separated, and each gave up all hope. Those on board the former were too far away to hear the signal guns which the ' Thomas' and * Moon ' were firing ; and had they heard they were powerless to render any assistance, for them- selves had despaired of life as often before. The ']\loon' was h ^ nipped and heaved completely out of the water. The other two ships were about the same time struck quite through and had their false stems carried away. While they were almost all possessed with the one thought of returning home. Captain Best, of the ' Ann Frances,' succeeded in opening commimication between the ships, and invited their commanueis to eomc over for consultation. With the returning boat there came Captain Tanfield, of the ' Thomas,' with Richard Cox, his pilot . also Captain Upcote, of the 'Moon,' with John Lakes, her master. This was on August 8. The mariners passed in review the various features of their perilous condition. There was but a short interval between them and the return of winter ; already, indeed, the rigging of the ships was every night so covered with ice that a man could not lay hold of a rope without cutting his hands. The fleet had disappeared, and no man knew A Re trait debated. ^33 i found aimed. Queen's d with Lncided at they 36 than became a board is which jy heard L- them- 'Moon' e water, struck ay. he one ' Ann between )ver for (Japtain pilot , Lakes, le IS atures of interval , indeed, red witl^ t cutting an knew whither. That it could have readied its port was im- possible, from the evidences which they had before them ; —perhaps it was already on its way home. Thus th(? more timid argued in favour of returnin^ Necessity and Inve7ition. U7 the flood set in ' by God's Almighty Providence, contrary almost to all expectation,' slie rose and floated off. The ship was leaking at nearly every seara^ so they had to apply all their strength to the pumps, and had ' above two thousand strokes ' before they could get the mastery over the water. The ' Moon ' had entered without mishap, and was riding safely at anchor beside her consort, affording such help as proved the means of saving the grounded ship. So after nearly three months of buffetings and hourly perils they were at last at rest in comparative Nifety. As on the arrival of PVobisher and the fleet at the Countess's Sound, so here it was now the work of the mariners to make repairs, of the miners to gather the ore and load the ships. At the same time the carpenters began the construction of the pinnace. Her timbers were brought out from the hold of the ' Ann Frances ' ; but the knees could nowhere be found. Whether they had hpen forgotten in England, or been used as fenders in the ice, and so perished, could not be made out. In the next place, it was discovered that they had no nails, and how to fasten the planks without them was beyond their in- genuity. To make nails they needed anvil, hammer, bellows, iron, and a smith. Out of this series of difficulties a series of accidents and inventions delivered them. A blacksmith was found among the miners, a gun-chamber -vas transformed into an anvil, a pickaxe into a hammer, the tongs, gridiron, and fire shovel were broken up for nail-iuds, and two hand-bellows working with alternate i^troke supplied a steady current of air for the fire. It seems they had to give up hope of supplying the other want, and to construct the pinnace without knees. Having thus set everybody at work on the very first day of their arrival, Captain Best on the morrow took ^s^^^fiMsfei-i i^T^r-j-' T^ t*"*"^"!', ."•T',;(r' ivS Ze/^ of Sir Martin Frobisher. with him the master of the 'Ann PVances ' and a few men and ascended to the top of Hatton's Headland, which he had so named the year before, after that Lord Chancellor who is noted in history as having literally danced himself into the Queen's favour, and is best re- membered by that Naboth's vineyard — Hatton Garden— which Her Majesty easily transferred from the Bishop of Ely to her nimble-footed favourite. During their walk up the mountain Captain Best kept his eyes open to the discovery of ore, of which he found plenty, besides ' divers pretty stones.' From the top a bird's-eye view was gained of the ice in the Straits. While he was awaiting the completion of his pinnace he took some men once more ashore, and this time to captm'e a white bear which they had caught sight of. It was a task not so easily accomplished as was expected, for the bear turned and attacked twenty armed men, putting them in some danger before it was slain. The carcase * served them for good meat for many days.' On the eighth day after their anchoring in this sound the pinnace was finished and afloat. The captain and his crew were making ready to step into her when the car- penter, her chief constructor, was overheard saying that * he would not adventure himself therein for 500/^.' Many of the men intended for her crew, liearing this, drew back. Captain Best on learning the cause at once took precautions against an adverse issue of the voyage. ITe dreaded the croakings of the prophets of evil more than the dangers of the sea. For, thought he, should the pinnace sink with him, those people who are ahvays seers after the event, who in every catastrophe detect the due reward of some antecedent sin, and in every good fortune simple unmerited blessing, would exclaim, ' Lo, he hath followed his own opinion and desperate resolution, and so thereafter iti3 ■ I mm The Kneeless Pinnace. 139 befallen him.' He therefore called together the master and mariners of judgment, placing before them how necessary it was he should find the general and have an assay made of the ore. It would never do for them to load their ships with untested mineral, lest when they returned they should be told that they had gone across the seas and fought a hundred tempests only to bring home a cargo of stones. Therefore let their collective judgment be given whether the pinnace was or was not suf- ficient for him to make this adventure in. Their answer was cautiously guarded, yet reassuring. With very great care rhe pinnace might suffice. John Gray, master's mate of the ' Ann Frances,' at once ' manfully and honestly' volunteered to accompany his captain in the boat. His example had its effect — many mariners im- mediately off. ed to run the risks, and the pinnace was fully manned. CHAPTER XXXVI. On August 19, which was nine days after their arrival under Hatton's Headland, the pinnace, duly found and provisioned, having Captain Best, Captain Upcote, and a crow of eighteen men on board, departed for the Countess's Sound, leaving the ships and miners imder the charge of the L aster of the ' Ann Frances,' of whom a high opinion was entertained. There was but little wind moving, and so they rowed steadily north-westwards along the southern shore, intending to reach a point above the Countess's Sound, then run across the Straits, and so gain their port. % following this course Captain Best had two objects in view. Should their frail bark perish they could retreat A:-::!,i-v 140 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. \ overland to their ships ; und shoidd any of their country- men have been cast away on that shore ' and driven to seek some salads among the cold cliffs,' succour might he rendered them. Thus, as they rowed, a sharp look-out was kept for any signal along the shore. Having advanced on this course for about forty leagues without any experience except toil and watch- fulness, they sought to cross over to the northern shore. In the middle of the Strait, and opposite them, lav Gabriel's Ishmd, on which they had counted for a night's refuge. Arrived near this island tliey were caught by 11 sudden flaw of wind of no great violence ; but, having little confidence in their kneeless and hollow pinnace, which was held together only by the strength of the rudely improvised nails, they feared to risk one buffet, and ran in among the rocks for shelter and landed. Here they found ' certain great etones set up by the country people, as it seemed for marks, where they also made many crosses of stone, in token that Christians had been there.' Next day the northern shore was reached. Captain Jiest went ashore and climbed a high promontory, from which he made out the coast-line of the Countess's Sound lying far away to the east. They had thus overshot their destination. The course of the pinnace was now shaped along the northern shore in that direction. They had not proceeded far when, on rounding a headland, they saw a column of smoke rising imder a hill within the bay. Variou.s surmises were ventured as they rowed cautiously towards the place. Presently there were descried people signalling to them by the waving of an ensign. Captain Best had seen the natives do the same thing the year before. Drawing still nearer they made out the colours on the flag and knew it to be Englisli. They saw tents too ; but since there was no ship in sight, and no harbour .^•^*. A yubilaiit Meeling. 141 within five or six leagues, they hardly knew what to make of these tilings. Some one on board suggested — a guess that was quickly caught up by all — that a wreck had taken place here ; that the natives had murdered the crew and possessed themselves of the means by which they were now seeking to inveigle the pinnace to share a similar fate. When this view had been universally accepted the captain and his company adcjpted a valiant but rash resolution for people in their condition ; it was nothing less than to land, attack the natives, and recapture the colours from ' tho?e base people or else lose their lives and all together.' The pinnace was now rapidly rowed in with a view of currying out this resolve. Before long it was discovered that those on shore were Englishmen, whom the others at once concluded to be the crew of some wrecked ship ; while our countrymen on land supposed the pinnace to be the boat of some vessel lost in the ice. Thus each party was filled with gladness at being so placed as to be in readiness to succour the otlier. Captain Best well knew of what poor human nature is capable under the pressure of panic. He therefore thought it prudent under the sup- posed circumstances to direct his men to set him ashore alertly and keep the pinnace well out, lest a rush sliould be made in the base endeavour to escape at the cost of their rescuers, ' for every man, in tliat case, is next him- f^elf,' remarks the discreet mariner. When tlie pinnace had come within speaking distance of those on shore each party hailed the other after the manner of the sea, shouting, 'What cheer?' To which came the answer from either side, ' All is well ! ' ' Where- upon there was a joyful outshoot, with great flinging up of caps and a brave volley of shot to welcome one another- And truly it was a most strange case to see how joyful and glad every party was to see taemselves meet in safety again l}l ^m I li 142 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. after so great and incredible dangers ; yet, to be sliort, as their dangers were great, so their God was greater.' It proved that the party found ashore were gatherin<' ore at what they had called the Countess of Sussex Mine, and were under the command of Captain Yorke. After some conference, the pinnace resumed her voyage towards the Countess's Sound to have speech with the general and an assay made of the ore with which the 'Moon' and ' Ann Frances ' were being loaded, and a sample of which they had brought with them. That same evening the fleet was reached, and a report made to the admiral of all that had happened since their separation from him. CHAPTER XXXVII. It will be remembered that Christopher Hall had come over to the fleet in the ' Gabriel,' leaving the ' Thomas Allin ' on the other side of the Straits. Having remained with the admiral about a week, he put back again in the faithful bark. Three days he was baffled by mists, gales, and calms ; but on the morning of the fourth a boat came to the ' Gabriel ' from the ' Thomas Allin ' and took the chief pilot to his own ship. Next day Hall brought the two ships into the Countess's Sound. Thus, leaving out the sunk ' Dennis ' and the deserted ' Thomas of Ipswich,' all the ships of the fleet had arrived in port save the ' Moon' and ' Ann Frances,' which were as usefully situated as if they too had joined the fleet. The ore at the Countess's Island was soon exhausted. Boats and pinnaces were therefore despatched iu every direction, and brought back both samples and loads froiu From Sellmans Diary. 143 newly-discovered mines, which extended from the Counte'^3 of Sussex Mine, in the west, to Beare's Sound, in the east. The work of freighting the ships went on prosperously all through the month of August. Deaths had begun to take place. Notary Sellman makes the two following entries for the same day : — ' The 1 6 said, the general and Denham with him is gone to a sound called Dyer's Passage, which is upon the southern land of the Countess's Sound, to view a mine there found by Andrew Dyer, and to make assays thereof. 'The said. God called to his mercy Philip, who had charge of certain apparel brought in by the general for the mariners and miners, and also one of the bark " Dennis" men called Trelos, one also out of the " Armonell," and another out of the " Francis of Foy," all buried upon Winter's Furnace this present day.' Three days afterwards the notary had an opportunity of continuing the tale of his hard treatment and of re- cording the further mutinous conduct of the warrant officers owing to the general's lax discipline. Captain Fenton lodged a complaint against the boatswain and other petty officers of the * Aid,' to the effect that they had diijobeyed him two several times ; and he therefore looked to the general to have them severely punished, says Master Sellman. The general character of Frobisher is that he was over-strict in his discipline, though at the same time very fond of his men. and careful for their welfare. And since he paid little heed to this complaint there is much reason for inferring that it must have been of a trivial character. But Captain Fenton grew heated, says the notary, at seeing the admiral's indifference, and made some reference to his patrons at Court. At this foolish remark Frobisher lost his temper, retorting in the same imprudent spirit, and saying that himself had pro- iiil ,.'%&: IS 1 44 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. cured the lieutenant his appointment. Fenton replied, in an insubordinate tone, 'that the general did not well to rob them that did prefer them both to that service,' and passionately flung himself out of the general's presence, murmuring as he went that his commander had offered liim great disgrace, and animated the men against him. Captain Best was one of the general's council ; so the next day after his arrival in the five-ton pinnace the admiral called his advisers together to hear Captain Fenton's complaints. There were present the general, the lieutenant-general. Captains Yorke and Bes^, Christopher Hall and Charles Jackman, pilots. The general declined to have any voice in the matter, referring the whole affair to his colleagues. The boatswain of the ' Aid ' and one Robinson were called up and charged. The otfender? admitted the facts, but justified their disobedience hv asserting that they had no knowledge of Captain Fenton's authority. Having since learned that he was lieutenant- general, they were sorry for their conduct. Doubtless there were so many amateur commanders on board the ' Aid ' that the men were very naturally unwilling to obey any but their own officers. At any rate they were immediately pardoned, and Captain Fenton had 1 apology. The council then proceeded to consider other matter. such as the question of the colony, the lading of the ship;'. the return of the fleet. But the notary had exhausted himself in giving the details of the miserable quarrel, and therefore could not put down these important discussions. During the month Frobisher and Christopher Hall made more than one excursion for discovery together in their pinnace. In one of these they had ascended an eminence near Beare's Sound, and saw an open channel extending to the north-east sea, thus proving that Locks The Rendezvous in Beares Sound. 145 Land was an island. This discovery was subsequently tlie means of saving one of the sliips of the fleet. Next day, after the meeting of the council the admiral took two pinnaces, well manned, towards Beare's Sound aojain. Captain Best, in hi? five-ton pinnace, was com- manded to join the party. The general's object was not discovery tliis time, but to capture some of the natives, who were continually showing themselves, and making threatening demonstrations against the miners employed in that locality. The pinnaces rowed around an island occupied by tlie Esquimaux with the view of surrounding it ; but too late. The natives had fled at the first sign of danger, and the only thing taken was one of their great darts which had been overlooked in the hurry of departure. Tliis place was almost due north of Hatton's Head- land, under which the ' Moon ' and ' Ann Frances ' lay at anchor: yo Captain Best shaped his course south next day, with tlie view of rejoining his ship. The Straits were crossed without any mishap, and great was the joy at his return. The captain was equally gratified at learning that all had shown much diligence during his absence. Both sliips were fully loaded and rigged ready for setting out. Inasmuch as the greatest number of the miners brought out was on board the ' Ann F'rances,' that ship sailed to Beare's Sound, on her way to the Countess's Sound, to put the miners ashore. And finally, on August 28, the ' Moon ' and her contort arrived at their port all ready for the return voyage. Only the ' Dennis ' and ' Thomas of Ips- wich ' were now missing of the fifteen ships that had de- parted from England. While they were rejoicing at this victory over ice and storms, a sudden gale burst upon them from the east, accompanied with rain and snow, lasting for two da^s and nights. Thus they were reminded that the storms of spring no sooner passed away in these parts than I 146 Life of Sly Martin Frobishtr. 'm they were succeeded by tlie storms of autumn. Tlie much- battered ' Ann Frances ' received ei^ht great leaks in this storm, so that Captain Best had no resource left ])ut to run her ashore, which was done successfully and the leaks mended. The masons and carpenters, who had been brouglit over to put up the intended fort, had been for some time engaged in constructing a small house of lime and stone upon the Countess's Island. And at the time that the * Ann Frances ' was put aground for repairs this house was completed. The object of erecting this structure was to make proof of the force of the frost and snow in winter. Within it were placed various trinkets, such as pipes, whistles, pictures of men and horses in lead, by which the good will of the natives was sought to be won. An attempt was also made to teach them a lesson in civilisa- tion. Within the hut was built an oven, and to indicate the use of it some baked bread was placed in the inside. To win the natives from cannibalism it was thought to be only necessary to supply them with farinaceous food. To make experiment of tlie soil and seasons, pease, corn, and other grain were sown. Finally they buried the remain- ing timbers of the intended fort, together with many barrels of meal, pease, grist, etc., being the provision in- tended for the colony. And then Master Wolfall preached a ' godly sermon ' on Winter's Furnace, after which he administered the Communion. The celebration of divine mystery was the ' first sign, seal, and confirmation of Christ's name, death, and passion ever known in all those quarters.' Often had the worthy divine administered the Sacrament on board the various ships, but never before on land. Perhaps it was the first Protestant administration on the American continent. •:js-" ^mi^m mm The Admiral out-voted. M7 CHAPTER XXXVIIL FRonisuER, beiiig^ satisfied with the progress whicli was made in the loiuUng of ore, proposed to his council that some adventure for discovery sluiukl be undertaken. The general was urgent on this head ; but his councillors gently and wisely pointed out that much had been done in that way already. The mistaken Straits had been traced above sixty leagues, and the hope of a passage to Cathay greatly increased thereby, so that it could not be said that there had bjen any neglect of discovery. Furthermore, the signs of apDroaching winter were too manifest to be winked out of sight. The ice formed around the ships every night ; snow was continually falling ; let but the winds be adverse for a week or two, and the fate of the whole expedition was for ever sealed. A further reason ailduced, and apparently the most weighty, since it A\as reserved for the last, was, that drink was very scant throughout the whole fleet. One would have thought they had only to replenish tlieir casks from the spring from the Countess's Island. But it is added, in proof of the cor- rectness of the assertion, that ' many of our company, to their great grief, found it was true in their return since for all the way homewards they drank nothing but water.' This lack of stronger beverage is explained by the fact that the beer-barrels, placed under the timbers and sea- coal, had been broken and bruised and had their hoops rotted in sunder. The general so far yielded as to order the captains and Masters to look each to his own charge, but himself went towards Beare's Sound to make some further discovery of L 2 % UB* W^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) I!! 1.0 I.I 1. 25 ,'f «a m 2,0 •a m 1.8 LA. Ill 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN iTREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 ( 716) 87:-4503 Pi Q- Q>. 148 Life of Sir Martin Frohisher. the channel which he had seen from the mountain-top, extending between Lock's Land and the continent of Met a Incognita. (Yet one of the charges in the Indictment of Abuses is that he refused to make any effort for new dis- covery, in proof of which the testimony of Hall and Jack- man is adduced, both of whom were members of the general's council). Having discovered that the lands in the neighbourhood of Beare's Sound were in the nature of an archipelago, Frobisher returned to the fleet, and im- mediately issued articles of direction for the return voyage. They were to keep company and speak the admiral once a day. No man was to take away any stone for liis oAvn use or to put one ashore before their arrival at Dartford Creek. Any captain falling into the hands of the enemy was to cast overboard all charts of the newly-discovered lands. On the last day of August the fleet sailed away from the Countess's Sound ; the ' Moon ' and ' Ann Frances,' which had remained to take in fresh water, following and overtaking the fleet next day. *At Beare's Sound some work still remained to be com- pleted. Several of the ships intended to finish their lading here, and chiefly the ' Gabriel,' ' Michael,' and ' Busse of Bridgwater.' The miners, too, who were work- ing there belonged to various ships ; so the fleet on ar- riving opposite Beare's Sound lay-to. The general went ashore to hasten the departure of the ' Busse' and two barks. Captain Best also went ashore in his five-ton pinnace to bring off the miners he had put down at this point when on his way from Hatton's Headland to the Countess's Sound. The sea was calm at the time ; bu^ before long, Chris- topher Hall says, 'a great sea coming from the NW.,* he took the boats of the ' Aid ' and rowed to the general, desiring him to come aboard at once, for he feared a TJie Fleet scattered. 149 storm was indicated by that * great sea.' Frobisher an- swered that he would be on board before night, and sent the chief pilot back with two pinnaces of ore to complete the ' Aid's ' load. When this ore had been safely stowed, a storm broke from the west, putting the ships in danger of being driven on the south-western part of Lock's Land. With great toil and danger they set sail and cleared this peril. But tliey had at the same time placed themselves in a position where the first storm from the north or east would scatter the whole fleet. And that was the very misfortune that happened. Towards evening the wind fell to a dead calm ; the ' Aid ' dropped her anchor and hung out a light for a signal to Frobisher, whom they were expecting every moment. At midnight a sudden and terrible storm from the north swept down ; the shank of the ' Aid's ' anchor was instantly snapped, and Hall ran his ship to mid-channel, where he lay-to until daylight. The experience of the ' Aid ' was similar to that of the greater number of the ships of the fleet. They were scattered in every direction. Some trusted to their anchors and were put in momentary peril. Captain Carew, of the ' Hopewell,' who thus rode out the night, said that he could not tell on which side the danger was greatest, for he had rocks threatening him on the one side and driving islands of ice on the other, drifting so close as to graze their bowsprit. During the storm there were lost twenty boats and pinnaces ; many of the men were washed overboard and lest. In the meantime Captain Best and his pinnace, with the admiral, the * Busse ' and two barks, found it impossible to put to sea. During that night of September 1 they lodged as best they could on board the ships ; ' but their numbers were so great, and the provisions of the barks so scant, that they pestered one another exceedingly.' The M'J 150 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. hope of fair weather in the morning sustained their hearts* Avhile they were thus cribbed and confined ; but the first look forth at the breaking of the dawn uprooted all their expectations. The storm was still increasing and the sea rising higher every hour, with not one sail of the fleet in view. A careful examination of their very serious position was at once made. In consequence of the large augmenta- tion to their numbers by the coming of Frobisher and Best, the provisions would only suffice for six days. The admiral determined upon puttmg to sea in the ' Gabriel ' without a moment's delay, tliat the fleet might be found and brought back for the succour of the others. The ' Busse ' sought to follow the bark ; but she lay so far to leeward of the har- bour's mouth that this attempt only resulted in throwing her farther down, when all her anchors were instantly let go, and she swung in a very network of rocks. The ' Mi- chael ' had by this time made ready for the effort to follow in the com-se of the 'Gabriel.' The men of the ' Basse' called to them imploring help. The answer of the com- mander of the ' Michael ' showed that the thing was im- possible. Thus Captain Best had left only the choice of remaining with the 'Busse of Bridgwater,' of whose getting to sea again all seem to have given up hope, or else of setting out in search of the ' Ann Frances ' in his frail pinnace. Having the hard election of these two evils, he prayed the captain of the ' Michael ' to take him in tow. Notary Sellman, who delighted in representing every circum- stance in an unfavourable aspect, and put every dishonour he could on those engaged in the expedition, says that the answer of the commander of the bark to this request was, that he would ' take the pinnace with her thirty men in tow; yet let them take heed to themselves, for the moment he saw the pinnace hindered his ship in doubling the point at the mouth of the harbour he would cut the tow-line The Last of the Kneeless Pinnace. 151 and let her go adrift.' Captain Best gives no hint of such a speech. He records with gratitude that the ' Michael,' being too small to take half his men aboard, consented to tow him out, which she did for many miles through the dangerous sea. The master who had been left in charge of the * Ann Frances ' is on this, as on several former occasions, highly complimented by his captain. Though all the ships of the fleet had spooned away before the tempest, still ' the honest care ' which the mariner had for Captain Best and his general ' suffered him not to depart, but honestly abode to hazard a dangerous road all the night long, and not- withstanding the stormy weather, when all the fleet be- sides departed.' When the 'Michael,' with the pinnace in tow, had gone southward some miles the ' Ann Frances ' was seen lying-to. Captain Best at once cast off the tow-line and shaped the course of the pinnace towards his ship. Coming alongside, the miners and mariners were quickly got on board, and as the last man mounted the ship's side, before any of the men's tools or clothes were got out, the kneeless pinnace * shivered and sank in pieces at the ship's stern.' Such was the history and appropriate end of the five-ton boat that had been so ingeniously put together under Hatton's Headland. Deliverances were so timely, instrumentalities proved so nicely adjusted to the purpose, that the dullest miner or mariner could not help per- ceiving a design, and consequently thanked God for His preserving Providence. :i ' If: ■ ■ 1^; t,5; f 152 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. CHAPTER XXXIX. During the whole of the night of September 1, as has been said, the ' Aid ' lay-to, keeping a sharp look-out for the general's pinnace. The watch was continued next day and through the whole of the night of the 2nd. Through- out the hours of darkness a double light was kept half- shroud high, and they ' burnt a pike of wild-fire.' The chief pilot saw several ships to windward making away for the open sea ; and during the afternoon of the 2nd the ' Bear ' and ' Armonell ' bore down upon the ' Aid,' whom Hall spoke, inquiring for his general. ' That fair-weather master of the " Bear " told me of a pinnace that was alongst the shore, so that I lay adrift.' The two ships then de- parted on their way homeward. Christopher Hall wrote this narrative when the charge had been brought against him of deserting his general ; and the side-stroke aimed at the master of the ' Bear ' doubtless has some connection with that fact. One of the charges in the Indictment of Abuses against the admiral is of having unnecessarily endangered the fleet by delaying his departure from Beare's Sound, as though the reader could forget that, though an admiral, he had no control of the storms, and that his delay was caused by over-anxiety to forward the interests of the Company of Cathay. ' At five o'clock in the evening of the 2nd, as the ' Aid ' lay four leagues south-east of the Queen's Foreland, the pinnace, which Hall had sent back again for Frobisher, came alongside and informed him that the general was following in the ' Gabriel.' During the night two more ships came up to the * Aid,' and these proved to be the '4 WH Incidents of the 'Busses' Voyage. 153 'Moon' and 'Thomas Allin.' Next day the three ships shaped their course towards the south-east, judging that the ' Gabriel ' had passed them in the night. On the day t'ollowing the pinnace, which the ' Aid ' was towing, was dashed against the stern of the ship and broken in pieces. Within a week the mainyard went. Five days afterwards the ' Aid ' was so severely pooped that the general's cabin was stove in, the man at the helm being knocked down, and the ship wellnigh foundered. Five days later — that is, on September 19 — the 'Aid' came up with the 'Hopewell' and ' Ann Frances.' The captain of the latter told Chris- topher Hall ' that my general was in great choler with me, and also the master of the " Ann Frances " took me up very short and would have had me to have gone E'. and by S., and the land lying south of me, and I answered him I would not.' The story of the ' Aid's ' return voyaue was in tlie matter of storms and dangers very similar to that of the other ships of the fleet, with one exception. The ex- periences of the ' Busse of Bridgwater ' were unique. She had been left in a hopeless condition in Beare's Sound, swinging at her anchors on a lee-sliore and surrounded by ragged rocks. After several fruitless attempts to make their way out of the harbour they remembered what they had heard of the general's discovery, — how that the channel extended northwards to the open sea. Their course was now shaped in that direction. Towing, sailing, warping, they worked their way along the unknown cliannels and througli the uncharted archipelago. The wind at last shifting to the south-west, they were borne along until they emerged in Davis's Straits ; ' a very dangerous at- tempt, save that necessity, which hath no law, forced them to try masteries.' On the way home the ' Busse ' made a discovery which greatly puzzled mariners for several gene- I 154 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. rations. In latitude 57 degrees and a half — that is, about two degrees and a half south of the extreme point of Greenland — and on September 1 2, about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, they sailed along an island which they esti- mated to be twenty-five leagues long. ' There appeared two harbours upon that coast ; the greatest of them seven leagues to the northwards of the southernmost point, the other but four leagues.' Another authority says — (evidently from hearsay, which will account for the luxuriant vege- tation in such a latitude) — that ' they sailed three days along the coast, the land seeming to be fruitful, full of woods, and a champaign country.' In the old maps this island was set down and usually called ' the sunken land of Biisse ; ' but it was never afterwards seen. "Some have conjectured that a great iceberg was mistaken for an island ; but a better explanation is that, after crossing Davis's Straits and sighting the coast of Greenland, they supposed themselves off Cape Farewell, when in reality they had seen some point on the western coast far north of that cape, and that therefore the supposed island was only a part of Greenland. It is the least of the difficulties to suppose an error in their observations. The old mariners often looked out for the ' sunken land of Busse ' in vain, and concluded that it must at least be a bank if not an island. But Sir John Ross, the Arctic explorer, banished this last remnant of the old story, for he sounded all over the place, and found no bottom in a hundred and eighty fathoms. After their divers adverse experiences, ' thanks be to God, all the fleet arrived safely in England about the 1st of October, some in one place and some in another.' About forty persons had perished during the voyage, a proportion which Captain Best does not deem large, considering their numbers and how strange were their fortunes. Vestiges of the White Man, 155 Meta Incog-nita and Frobisher's Straits were no more to be visited by the admiral. Master John Davis, in re- turiiinjj from his second voyage to the North-West, passed bv this way eight years after the departure of Frobisher's third voyage, but did not enter the Straits. Fifteen years after Davis, an attempt was made by George Weymouth to work his way up to the Countess's Sound ; but the old story of contrary winds, fogs, and ice was found to be no exaggeration. Weymouth lay off and on for seventeen days waiting an opportunity to enter the Straits ; but his crew had already been brought to the point of mutiny, and, after the example of the ' Thomas of Ipswich,' put their helm down and shaped their course for home, while their captain was asleep in his cabin, wherein they kept him prisoner until he pardoned their insubordination. Nearly three centuries elapsed before the Countess's Sound and Island were again visited by an Anglo-Saxon, and he was an American. In 1861 Captain C. F. Hall spent two years among the Esquimaux. The Countess's Island he found to be called Kodlunarn, or the Island of the White Man. The account he received from the natives of Frobisher's visits is a curious confirmation of the value of tradition among savage peoples. Captain Hall had not then read any narrative of the admiral's tlnree voyages, and heard the traditions as a new and strange tale, which [ he was not in a position to test or correct. He was told that the white men's ships had come, I first two, then three, then many. The white men had taken away two of their women, who had never come back. Many fragments of brick, tiles, iron, etc. were shown him. Best's Bulwark was traced. The small house of lime and ftone had been well built, for Captain Hall found it after jthe three centuries in a good state of preservation. They Itold him also how that their people had captured five of rfr 156 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. the white men ; that these had wintered among them. Then they showed him an excavation on Kodlunarn eij^hty- eight feet long and six feet deep which the white men had dug, while on the shore was an inclined trench or slip. Here the five captive Englishmen, having dug up the buried timbers of the fort, built a large boat, which had a mast in her, with sails. Their boat had proved to be a floatiriL' coffin. P'or, according to the natives, the Englishmen having finished their craft, set sail too early in the season; some froze their hands in the attempt ; yet they had finally set out, and had never been seen afterwards. Such was the sequel of the story of the five Englishmen who had fallen victims to their love of peltry during*' tlie first voyage of the ' Gabriel ' ; and thus were identiiied the island and long-sought port of the third voyage, where the first English colony was attempted on the American continent. CHArTER XL* NoTiilNa is said of any great demonstration of welcome having been made on the return of the expedition. There was an immediate necessity for money to pay olf the men and the chartered ships, so the Queen sent special in- structions to Michael Lock how the required funds were to | be obtained from the venturers ; and if any of them should be remiss the Company's treasurer was to go for assistances I the Lord Mayor and the Master of the Records. Never- theless the venturers were very remiss. Their patience | and means had been drawn upon too often ; but the blood- letting was not done yet. ^\'M LocJcs Honesty imptigticd. 157 The mystery thrown around the ore by the assayera thickened during tlie summer of 1578. To the secrets and discussions concerning the furnaces was now added tlie subject of additaments. Tlie summer before it was the furnace that always went wrong. Now the ad- ditaments were not riglit ; the result for tho venturers being the same in both years. To intensify the difficulties of the Company sinis- ter rumours were waftod abroad concerning the accuracy of the treasurer's accounts. Michael Lock was plainly charged with dislionesty. As far back as the month of March, and prior to the setting out on the third voyage, Thomas Allen, deputy-treasurer, had written to Secretiuy Walsingham saying that Lock was selling as much of tlie Company's property as he could, and that he never paid any man a penny ; whf^refore the deputy-treasurer makes the obvious suggestion that it would be wise that Lock should be compelled to exhibit his account, and to pay the Company what he owed. With the view of allaying the suspicions of the share- holders Thomas Allen was appointed receiver for the Company. But the venturers continued remiss, — only William Ormsha^v of them all having paid his assessment, —while the clamour of the mariners, sobusher (which he will not now pay) that without delay he may pay the same or that it would please your honor to help her with some relief until Mr Frobusher's return to keep them from famishing — and she according to her bounden duty will daily pray to God I etc' It would have been pleasant to discover that she had jreceived some relief for her necessities, and lived long lenoiigh to enjoy some of the sunshine that came later on Ito her husV)and, and to hear herself called Dame Isabel ; jbut, whatever may have been the immediate effect of her jlettcr, there are reasons for believing that she broke down lunder her adversity and died not long after. Thus Widow IRiggatt no sooner comes in than she goes out again, ii 1 66 Life of Sir Martini Frobisher. having paid the usual price for marrying a younger man than herself, and one who was full of great schemes. CHAPTER XLII. I:: ii By the time Frobisher had emerged, in whatever destitute condition, out of the Cathayan chaos there arose a sudden demand for brave, resolute men to put down one of the intinite series of Irish risings, and this a memorable one. While the scattered ships of the third voyage were undergoing the thumping and battering of tlie ice oi the North- West, one Piers Ryce, an Irishman, having a certain scheme brooding in his unquiet brain, purchased a small rocky promontory or peninsula on the south-western shore of his native Kerry. The aspect which he presented to his neighbours of this purchase was that it would be a good investment, for the profits to be derived by a prudent trader from the fishing-boats frequenting the adjacent waters were considerable. A house erected on the peninsula rapidly developed into ' a pretty castle.' Next the penin- sula was transformed into an island, by cutting a trench across the neck. It was now the autumn of 1578 ; and Ryce, having finished his fortress, was, with parental fondness, devising a pretty name for it. He knew before- hand what purpose the stronghold was to serve : ships laden with Spaniards were to land their men on the sands. The word Spaniard suggested naturally the gold-laden carracks that were transporting the treasures of the New World into the coffers of His Catholic Majesty. By visions of his own creating he had become intoxicated to a degree beyond the power of the brightest reality, when 3 t a ■ Pill^. Down EnoyVs 167 storm swept a disabled ship towards the shore, and cast her into the cove beneath his walls a total wreck. It was one of the fleet returning from Meta Incognita with 'Captain Frobisher's new found riches.' There is no account of any of the ships of the third expedition having been cast away ; but Nicholas White, the Lord Justice of Ireland, says he saw the planks and staves of the wreck. At any rate, Piers Ryce had come to a decision : his new possession should be called Down Enoyr, or Grolden Haven. Next vear the rebel Fit25niaurice landed, with the Pope's legate and a Spanish force, at the neighbouring port of Dingle, marched across, and was welcomed into possession by Piers Eyce. The expedition was to restore to Ireland its ancient faith and liberties, Fitzmaurice soon fell in battle, and a greater leader stepped into the gap. This was that Earl of Desmond whom Frobisher had met and misled when a prisoner in London. The man who could not endure sea-sickness or mount a charger without assistance proved himself a capable rebel or patriot, as the case may be. But in the meantime Eyce's romantic name for his possession had been set aside by the Spaniards with their saintly names for everything warlike and destructive. Down Enoyr became Smerwicke, or St. Mary Wick, and together with Dingle formed the base of operations of the rebels. Here an occasional ship arrived from abroad with supplies; a powerful fleet being promised, and hourly expected, from Spain. To prevent the landing of a Spanish army on the coast of Kerry, the Queen issued orders that the fleet under the veteran admiral Sir William Winter should at once be got ready and despatched to Dingle. Sir William had been a considerable subscriber to the I I I'iii|Aj||S|BOI 1 68 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, Company of Cathay, and stood the friend of Frobisher throughout. To Dingle, therefore, the fleet sailed; Martin Frobisher being in command of the ship ' Fore- sight.' The Queen's parsimony had crippled the under- taking. And in April, while the land forces facing the front of rebellion from Cork to Limerick were compelled to pause in their victorious march towards the west, that the Queen might examine some doubtful items in their pay-rolls. Sir William and the fleet moved away from Kerry in search of provisions for the crews. As they were cruising off Kinsale, a convoy loaded with supplies was met, with which the fleet sailed into the harbour of Cork, to transfer the provisions and ammunition. Frobisher was despatched to England with the returning and unladen victual-ships, bearing a hasty letter to Walsingham, in which it was said, *The bearer hereof, Mr. Furbisher, being a painful companion of ours in the voyage, will and is able to advertise your honor of all that has happened in our time of being here.' This Frobisher seems to have done very emphatically, especially setting forth the de- ficiencies in the victualling of the fleet. Sir William went back to his post off the coast lying between Dingle and Limerick. But the supplies newly sent out were soon exhausted. The Queen's view of the matter was, as usual, of a commercial character. The work was not performed with economy. Perhaps an amnesty would cost less than extermination. While Elizabeth was indulging in this see-saw hesitation between two policies the fleet again fell short of food. The admiral had witnessed the destruction of Dingle and Smerwicke, and saw no likelihood of the arrival of tha Spanish fleet. Besides, the seat of the rebellion had been transferred from Kerry to Wicklow ; and his ships were so foul with weeds that he could neither pursue a fleeing A Vichiatling Problem. 169 eiemy nor escape from an over-match. He tlierefore sailed away for Plymouth in search of provisions. This was towards the end of July. Either hy an unhappy coincidence or because the enemy svas kept informed of the movements of Sir William, tlie admiral had no sooner sailed away than the long- expected fleet arrived. Piers Ryce's destroyed castle was again occupied and made ready for defence ; the channel between it and the land cleared of the sand which the tide had washed in, and the rebellion brought back to its old base in Kerry. The foreigners, mostly Italians, were about eight hundred strong ; they had brought with them six months' provisions and four thousand stand of arms to put in the hands of the peasants. On receipt of this intelligence the Queen's parsimony gave ^vay to a burst of rage. Everybody had been to blame except Her Majesty. Sir William must immediately return. And yet not so immediately but that time was found to haggle at Richmond over a little bark of twenty- four tons called the ' Merlin.' In the meantime Frobisher was pursuing the subject of the meat and drink of the men — to deal with which he had been sent back from Cork. Her Majesty's allowance per man per diem, and that of the best sort, he says, was — In bread one pound In beef ii pound . In beer one gallon '\\d. ob xd. ob } yd. The observation which succeeds this statement contains a hint that somebody had been making a profit out of the food contracts, or that further economy was projected. 'The victuals not being of the best, I leave it to your Honors what may be saved.' , • i;« I/O Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, But there was a shortcoming in the quantity also. The pursers had comphiined that their supplies were so scanty that they could deal out only three-fourths rations. Upon thicj statement Frobisher puts to their honours a very pertinent question, and one that throws much light on the sailor's time and kind of eating, when Hawkins, Drake, and Frobisher were teaching Englishmen to know wherein their strength lay. B''or he asks, ' If you deduct the fore- noon and afternoon " snacks " of the men, consisting of a quarter of a pound of bread and a quart of drink each, what is there left for their two meals ? ' The answer to that is obvious from his previous statement, namely, a pound of beef, a quart of beer, and a quarter of a pound of bread for each meal. Frobisher seems to think that an English sailor did not consider any quantity of beer less than a quart worth raising to his lips. CHAPTER XLIII. I By the middle of October the fleet had sailed away from Plymouth ; but was soon compelled to seek shelter from a sudden gale under Portland Bill. Three weeks did the cautious old admiral occupy in making a safe voyage to his destination, while the forces of Earl Grey were holding the newly-landed foreigners in check, daily expecting fresh arrivals from abroad, and in urgent need of every supply. On November 7 the fleet anchored in Smerwicke Bay. The fort was at once closely besieged by land and sea. A demand was sent to Don Bastian de San Josepo, com- manding the enemy, to know for what purpose they had c jme abroad, who had sent them, and if they were prepared The Sic^c of Smcrwicke. 171 to surrender the fortress out of hand. The answer returned may have seemed to the Spaniard such as to inspire respect, but it was to the English as venom in the wound. They said the Holy Father the Pope had sent them; their pm- pose was to conquer the island for King Plulip, to whom it had been granted by the wi;arer of the tiara, and that with respect to surrendering they intended to keep what they had and to recover what they had not. The general of the land forces and the admiral of the fleet met on receipt of this boastful, galling speech, and decided on a plan of concerted action. During this con- sultation the foreigners made a sudden but weak sally from the fort, which was easily beaten back by a force of twelve Englishmen. Then night came down on the scf \e. The Earl Grey pushed forward the trenches within three hundred yards of the fort, while Sir William and his cap- tains landed a large number of cannon, which they mounted on a sandbar extending between the ships and the fort. By dawn all was ready for the bombardment. Again they summoned the fort to surrender, and again came the answer that they would keep what they had, and would increase what they could get. On that the batterie^ opened tire, which was continued for four days ; Winter, Bingham, and Frobisher on the one side ; Grey, Walter Raleigh, Edmund Spenser, and Mr. Cheke on the other, plying them with shot and shell without intermission. The trench had been pushed forward within a cable's length of the fort, and ' young Mr. Cheke,' looking over the parapet, was shot through the head. About the same time a piece levelled by the mariners on the beach dis- niounted the largest cannon in the fort, killing the men ; upon which a foreigner sprang up on the wall of the fort displaying a handkerchief and craving parley. The Lord Deputy, after the example of the Spaniards in the Nethei^ m 172 Life of Sir Martin Frohishcr. lands, spoke then harshly, saying that since they had coine to the assistance gf traitors they stood themselves in the same character. When those within the fort heard this answer there arose a loud cry of ' Misericordia, misericor- dia 1 ' But the cry fell on ears deaf to mercy. A white flag was hung above the fort, and a messenger went over fjcom the English lines, who shortly returned bringing with him Don Bastian, who hoped to obtain terms. An unconditional surrender alone was acceptable. Still they pleaded that they might be permitted to depart or that their lives might be spared. The liord Deputy again spoke them harshly, listening to no conditions except that, on a delivery of hostages, they might have the night to consider their decision. TJiis was accepted. Within the fort were nearly eight hundred men, pro- vided with abundance of provisions and cannon, having their ships in the harbour. Surrounding them were fifteen hundred men of the fleet and eight hundred men under Earl Grey. It is difficult, therefore, to conceive how men thus situated could find any reason for surren- dering except a weak heart. It has always been tliouji^lit preferable to die sword in hand than by the hangman's rope ; but cowardice knows nothing of honour or wisdom. The night passed without bringing any succour from the Earl of Desmond, and at daybreak Don Bastian dis- armed himself, commanding his men to do the same. The armour was piled up, the pikes laid across, and the sur- render effected. What followed was tragical. Earl Orey had learned how fortresses captured from Protestants in the Nether- lands were treated to fire and sword by the Spaniards. Only the year before Maestricht, after its superhuman defence, had sunk with one great cry of agony beneath the sword of Parma. And the Puritan Grey was a man who "^Poverty-stricken, 173 felt that service raij^ht he done God by smiting these PhiliritineH hip and thi^li. ' The Lord of Hosts,' he wrote afterwards, *h}id delivered the enemy tons.' By the after- noon of that day six hundred hd . , . 3,000 „ „ Oxford . . . . . . ,500 ,1 „ Leicester ...... 100 „ „ remlroke 200 Details of the Venture. ^77 The Earl of Warwick 200 Lord Howard 200 Sir C. Hatton 200 Sir F. Walsingham 200 Captain Frobisher 300 Sir F. Drake 700 Edward Fenton and his friends .... 300 Others 500 £6,400 M Mr. Ugbtred's name appears besides the Earl of Lei- cester's since he advanced the money, and was to be repaid within the year. Captain Frobisher seems to have subscribed the anticipated fruits of his labours as commander. In the margin of the letter of tlie Earl of Shrewsbury to the Earl of Leicester containing these statements there is written opposite this list: 'the special men Mr. Frob desireth,' indicating that the allotment of the shares even rested with the captain. Everything went on very prosperously on the surface during the winter of 1581. A formidable list of instruc- tions containing twenty-four paragraphs was directed to Frobisher concerning his intended vpyage. The punish- ment of small offences was to be summary, but any offence involving the loss of life or limb was to be tried by jury. In this provision there was doubtless a recollection of the execution of Doughty by Drake, on whose return a con- siderable clamour had been raised for bringing the mariner to trial for it. The departure from Southampton was to take place before the last of some month in 1581. The expedition was to sail by the Cape of Grood Hope ; not to pass through the Straits of Magellan, going or coming. It was not to pass to the north-eastward beyond the 40th degree of latitude, which would be the latitude of Japan, 'because,' say they who issued the instructions, ' we will 1 78 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. that this voyage shall be only for trading, and not for discovery of the passage by the north-east to Cataya, otherwise there is some hindrance to your trade ; and when in the said degree you can get any knowledge searching that passage, whereof you will do well to be inquisitive, as occasion in this sort may serve.' A new way to Cathay still lingered in Frobisher's mind, and the venturers felt it necessary to guard their money by warning the captain against his crotchet. But while the surface of affairs was so unruffled a counter- current had for some time been running. The City had not forgotten Frobisher. And the item in tlie list of subscribers, ' Edward Fenton and his friends,' might be read inversely, * Martin Frobisher's implacable enemies.' With Fenton was Christopher Hall and Charles Jackman and Luke Ward, of North-Western fame, by whom Michael Lock had proposed to substantiate many of the charges in the Indictment of Abuses. But up to a certain point Frobisher was far above the reach of their opposition. The need of money changed the whole. Earls and lords and baronets might subscribe, and think their nanaes would supply the place of funds. When aldermen were invited to partake Frobisher's sun entered on its declination; another commander was sought out, and the future admiral was left to act on the covert threat contained in his petition to the Queen, namely, that there were other princes in Europe who were prepared to pay more than a penny a day for the services of such a man as himself. The venturers were driven to accept the subscriptions of the City magnates. Many detailed changes were made. The expedition did not start from Southampton until April 9, 1582. It was instructed to shape its course 'to the isles of the Moluccas for the better discovery of the North- West Passage.' It was still forbidden to pass Don Antonio. 179 north-eastward of the 40th degree, or to go through the Straits of Magellan. The chief command was given to Edward Fenton; under him were Christopher Hall and Luke Ward. Very strangely, they sailed directly to the neighbourhood of Magellan's Straits, and essayed to pass through, but found there a Spanish force despatched from Chili to intercept them. Failure and defeat marked the whole voyage. CHAPTER XLV. When the command of the expedition was handed over to Fenton, Henry Ughtred, the capitalist of the adventure, withdrew. He and Frobisher had been for some time nursing anotlier scheme ; the event referred to decided them iu their wavering. Don Antonio, the Pretender of Portugal, was at that time an element in the confusion of public affairs, having about the value of a knight in the European chess-game. Catherine of France had warmly espoused his cause, and sent him over to England to see what might be done with Elizabeth. Soon after his arrival in the island certain pretty and precious stoiies, called the Braganza jewels, found their way into the Queen's treasury. These had been brought over by Don Antonio, who had been doubtless taught by Catherine the only logic wherewith Elizabeth could be convinced. The Queen forthwith consulted with her Council on the matter, and put it to the judgment of Lord Burghley, who, seeing which way the wind was blowing from the throne, returned answer that King Antonio might be maintained in the possession of what he already held without breach N 2 i »5 i I h 11 ili I 'h; 1 80 Lt/e of Sir Martin Frobisher, of treaty. The territory held was Terceira, in the Azores. Again, England had no treaty with Spain for the kingdom of Portugal or any of its dependencies ; therefore a fleet might be fitted out in Her Majesty's ports, and the com- mand given to Sir Francis Drake, with the view of main- taining Don Antonio in what he possessed, and of recovering what had been taken from him. ' But let Her Majesty (continues Burghley)not undertake this enterprise without the co-operation of the P>ench king ; and lest the King of Spain might take tlie English meddling amiss, perhaps it would be better to stay the English merchant fleet from sailing to any Spanish port for that year.' It would have been well if better heed had been paid to this latter caution of the statesman, who in the present instance was not over-prudent. This advice fell in with the Queen's present mood, and Don Antonio was allowed to buy what ships he could with the twelve thousand pounds advanced by the royal pawn- broker on the jewels. Hoisting the Portuguese flagon board the fleet which he had succeeded in collecting to- gether, Don Antonio sailed down the Thames and past the Queen's window at Greenwich. Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher were already in the service of the Pretender. This was the sort of employment for which Frobisher had long hungered. The Smerwicke affair at one time seemed to ofier the opportunity for which he had been longing ; but the white livers of the Spanish and Italian invaders were not to yield any man laurels. Frobisher had shown what he could do in fighting ice, searching out new coasts, and capturing the defenceless ships of the enemy ; but what he could do at push of pike or yardarm to yardarm was yet to be proved. As soon, therefore, as he had severed his connection with the South Sea expedition, or had it severed for him, Ughtred's Bargain. i8i as the case may be, he devoted all his energy to brihf^ing Henry Ughtred into commercial relations with the noble- men who sympathised with Don Autonio's cause. The Earl of Shrewsbury fell in with the project. Frobisher found him willing to undertake responsibility, ' but ready money was out of the way with him.' On the other hand, Ughtred, Dr. Hawk, and others were able and willing to lay down the ready money for any purpose under the sun, provided the security was good. Here were the very men for each other, and for providing an expedition in which much powder and shot might be expended. The Earl commissioned Frobisher to deal with the capitalist on his behalf. An agreement was entered into by wliich Ughtred was to sell and furnish a ship called after himself for the sum of 2,800/. The Earl was to own about three-fourths of her, and Ughtred the remainder. The transaction was, of course, on credit, as far as the Earl was concerned ; but Ughtred trusted not his wealth to the chances of tempests and battle without good security. Until the money should be repaid the ' Earl was to give for an earnest so much velvet good and new as would be sufficient ' to cover the amount owing. This was only the beginning of further transactions of the same kind. King Antonio's credit and jewels were to be pledged for the purchase of the remainder of Ughtred's ships. And doubtless the wary shipowner in reserving a share for himself had already received the full value for the pro- portion sold ; and so in addition was enabled to get the character of a sympathetic friend to the Pretender, and the chance of further profits in case of success. Frobisher had the ships purchased from Ughtred at Plymouth waiting the arrival of Don Antonio when he was committing the indiscretion of sailing by the Queen's ^vindows with the Portuguese flag flying. There was no (;l i l82 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. i;i limit to the unofficial warfare which Elizabeth permitted her subjects to carry on when it proved profitable to the Crown, and there was no limit to the official winking of which all the royal eyes in Europe were capable in those days. But this flaunting of the Portuguese flag could not pass unseen. The Spanish Ambassador had here a proof of complicity sharp enough to penetrate through every subterfuge and cut all the red-tape in England. Just as Don Antonio, with the renowned trio Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, was on the point of sailing out of Plymouth for the rendezvous at Terceira an order came down to stop the departure of the fleet. The Queen said she must be paid the 12,000L which she had lent on the Braganza jewels. The merchants of London had not the same dread of the King of Spain as their sovereign liad. The money was soon raised among them, and the jewels transferred. It may be mentioned that the security was worth at least three times 12,000^. Through the good services of the Earls of Leicester and Shrewsbury an order was obtained for the release of part of the fleet. Drake preferred being elected Mayor of Plymouth to following any further this aspirant for a throne. Perhaps both he and Hawkins, having been mentioned officially in connection with the expedition, were forbidden to continue in it. But inasmuch as the battle-hungering Frobisher was out of other employment in this short interval of peace, and does not appear elsewhere for the next year or two, the probabilities are that he went on. For those who like to picture the future defender of England preparing himself for the trying days to come, the fate of the expedition may be told in outline, to be filled in by the imagination. The small English fleet during the coming year joined a large fleet furnished by Catherine. The chief command The Pretender defeated. i8 was given to Philip Strozzi. Don Antonio disembarked on the island of St. Michael, July 15, 1582, which he captured, and where he had himself proclaimed King of Portugal. The Spanish fleet was in pursuit under Santa Cruz ; but the incipient king landed all his forces and wore them out with marching in his inaugural pomps. Victuals and fresh water were needed on board the ships ; but Strozzi and his lieutenants were kept dancing attendance on the king. Within a few days, he received intelligence that the Spanish fleet was approaching, and that it was double his own force. In his present state, without food or water, he could not flee; to wait the onset seemed equally fatal. But wait he must; and, putting himself bravely at the head of his fleet, he offered battle. But with a few excep- tions every captain sought only to cut his way out and escape. Some succeeded. And if Frobisher was with the fleet he was one of that number. Four ships fought it out with immortal courage ; and every man taken was put to the sword, being considered a pirate. It was the dark deed of Smerwicke repeated in darker colours. CHAPTER XLVI. Queen Elizabeth's long and bewildering flirtations with France, Spain, and the Netherlands were apparently ended in 1585 in favour of the latter suitor. The towns com- manding the seaboard of the Lowlands were handed over to English garrisons, to be held as pledges for the payment of the money advanced and the expenses of the men supplied to the States-General. Antwerp was in danger of falling before the Duke of Parma's wonderful siege. Antwerp "i T, I 184 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, stood opposite London, and must not, therefore, be per- mitted to fall into the hands of the Power that the Queen was learning to look upon with Walsingham's eyes as her mortal enemy. Seven thousand men under Davison and Sir John Norris were despatched to the relief of that im- portant seaport, but arrived too late. At this time a large number of English corn-ships was in the Spanish ports, tempted thither by the profits to be made cut of the famine then abroad in the southern and north-western parts of Spain. No sooner, then, did Elizabeth show a favoiu'able countenance to the advances of the revolted provinces than Philip published a counter- blast. All English ships in his ports were to be arrested, the crews imprisoned, and the vessels with their guns to be added to the Armada then being formed in Cadiz. This was in May. Philip had better have bullied the Queen's Government than touched the pockets of her subjects. Thousands of English sailors were thus thrown into prison, hundreds of merchants spoiled of their pro- perty. When the few vessels that had escaped out of the Spanish ports reached England there was great excite- ment. The ship-owners said they had sent to feed the starving Spaniards and had been robbed for their pains. The people took the vengeance out of the hands of their hesitating sovereign. Their religious instincts and their material interests at last agreed in one line of conduct. They clamoured for the issue of letters of marque and reprisal. If the Queen feared Philip they did not. The seamen had had some profitable experience of his power, and laughingly dubbed him ' a Colossus stuffed with clouts.' Why, they asked, did not the Queen listen to the fore- most mariners of England, who all agreed in advising her to carry the wax,* to the enemy's country, or, more accu- Sir Philip Sidney s Project, 185 ratcly, to the enemy's seas, and for ever sweep his fleets from the ocean by expeditions to the coasts of Spain, Newfound- land, South America, and the "West Indies ? The popular excitement was too strong to be resisted even by a Tudor. The Queen issued tlie letters demanded. All of her subjects who had suffered damage by the Spanish king's late order of arrest, and any others who chose to apply, were commissioned to seize all ships and merchandise belonging to the subjects of Spain. While many private sea-liawks were taking advantage of this decree and sailing away on petty depredation a powerful expedition was being organised. And inasmuch as all Philip's treasure, transported in those wonderful carracks and caravels, came as an annual harvest of gold from the West, thither they would sail, capture the Gold Fleet, and plunder the various depots of treasure wrung from the poor Indians at what cost even imagination is not sufficient to estimate. ^ ' It is reported that Sir Philip Sidney projected and organised this fleet, ' with purpose to become the head of it himself.' The Queen's favourite was ever planning honourable enterprises, seeking to gain that glory which he seemed so capable of reaping ; and the Queen was as persevering in her determination to keep him far from those dangers without facing which men win no glory in the eyes of their fellows. By September 1585 the fleet had collected at Ply- mouth. It consisted of twenty-five ships and pinnaces, having on board two thousand three hundred mariners and soldiers. • •■ ■ " _.:;•. . - v,. •.-: .v- The foremost vessels and their commanders were : — Sir Francis Drake, Admiral and General Martin Frobisher, Vice- Admiral . Francis Knollis, Kear-Admiral ' Elizabeth Bonaventure.' 'Primrose.' * Leicester.' l86 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, The chief commanders of the land forces — and the honours of the expedition were beyond question theirs— were : — Chrlatopher Carleill , , . Anthony Jewell . , , Captains Morgan and Sampson Lieutenant-General, Sergeant- Major. Corporals of the Field. As the preparations were being completed Sir Philip Sidney, accompanied by his friend Sir Fulke Grevil, came on board. But Sir Francis Drake wished for nothing less. One of that noble mariner's weaknesees was not liberality in sharing honours, however free he might have been with money. Information was secretly received in London, the source of which may easily be guessed, of Sir Philip's hidden intent. The Queen was alarmed; messengers were immediately despatched from the Court, one of whom was a peer — so considerate was Elizabeth in her loving moments — with strict injunctions to stay the favourite's departure. Sir Philip was stayed. Another opportunity tor gaining glory was snatched from him by the fond and no longer youthful sovereign. Sir Francis having now got rid of the only object between him and the sun, the fleet set sail on September 14. The winds were light. Their course was shaped for Spain, where a swarm of English privateering hornets was stinging his Catholic Majesty into fury and doing infinite damage to his commerce. They were educating them- selves to meet the Invincible Armada. When the fleet had arrived off the coast of the Penin- sula eight or nine small vessels were sighted sailing sus- piciously near the shore. Frobisher at once ordered the pinnaces to be manned, and gave chase. It being a dead calm, the Vice-Admiral soon came up with them, only to find that they were Frenchmen, loaded with salt, and that the crews had taken to their boats and fled, Frobisher took In Vigo Bay. 187 a liking to one of the deserted ships and brought her back to the fleet, esteeming the craft well adapted for the purposes of their expedition. It is pleasant to learn that, contrary to th? free licence of the high seas in those days, this ship was paid for on the return of the English fleet from the West Indies. She was re-christened the ' Drake.' Before long, other Frenchmen returning with fish from Newfoundland were fallen in with, and permitted to pursue their way unplundered. The next day a Spaniard, a large ship, loaded with a cargo of fish called 'Poor John,' was chased and captured, * whereof afterwards there was made distribution into all the ships of the fleet, the same being so good and new as it did greatly bestead us in the whole course of our voyage.' CHAPTER XLVII. After a few days' further sailing the fleet arrived among the islands at the mouth of Vigo Bay and anchored. The pinnaces and ship-boats were at once manned, the intention being to surprise the City of Bayon. But they had not rowed half a league towards the shore before they were met by a messenger sent by the Governor to learn the object of this threatening and warlike demonstration. The messenger was an English merchant from the town. With him Captain Sampson was sent back to receive answers to two questions : 1. Were Spain and England at war? 2. Why were English men and ships arrested in the King's ports ? The Admirals in the meantime made their arrangements to pursue their purpose, whatever might be the result of Captain Sampson's errand. \i\ i !; ;! i; i88 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. I hi f i ? The messenger presently returned with the informa- tion that the town, and especially the Governor, were seized with a panic ; and for answer to the questions replied that (1) the Governor knew of no war; (2) as for the stay of the merchants with their goods, it was the King's pleasure. But the King had since countermanded that order, and in proof of it the Governor sent hack with Captain Sampson all the Englishmen who had been under arrest in the town. Upon that the Admirals and Lieutenant-General con- sulted with the released captives ; the result of which was a determination to go on with their original design and land a force that very night. This was accordingly done, and the ships stationed so as to cover every point of approach. Whereupon the Governor, who had already spoken very humbly, nought furtb'^r to conciliate the invaders with pre- sents of fruit, bread, marmalade, and such like refreshments. About midnight the sky grew overcast and the weather threatening. Carleill was meditating a return on board, when the tempest burst, scattering the fleet and driving them to the open sea. One bark, called the ' Speedwell,' returned to England. This storm lasted three days. At the end of that period, the ships of the fleet having re- gained their stations, Carleill took some vessels and pin- naces and went up the bay, 'to see what he might do about Vigo.' There was much profitable plundering to be done ; for he found that the alarmed inhabitants, having placed their wealth in boats, were making all haste to escape 'into the high country.' The English sailors merrily took to this kind of hunt. Household stuff formed the chief wealth of the panic-stricken fugitives ; but amongst the rest was tak 3n a boat ' laden with the prin- cipal church stuff of the church of Vigo, where also was their great cross of silver, of very fair embossed work, and A Ptcsillanimous Spaniard. 189 double gilt all over.' This capture afforded special delight to these Protestants, so lately emancipated from the bond- age of meats, drinks, seasons, and attitudes. But a few years afterwards, their great contemporary wrote: *The heresies that men do leave a^e hated most of them they did deceive.' The fleet now took up its station in front of the town of Vigo. The Grovernor of Gallicia had in the meantime been busy, and had drawn up on the shore a force fully equal to that of the English. But when the ships formed in line the Governor's courage rapidly oozed away, and he discarded the notion of a battle in favour of parley. After exchange of hostages Frobisher went ashore in his galley to bring the Governor out midway, where the English commanders were to hold conference with him. The Spaniard assented to every demand. Water and pro- visions should be supplied, and every prisoner in his hands surrendered. The English on their part agreed to pay for what they got ; but since they had Spanish property newly captured to the value of thirty thousand ducats in their hands, this was superb hypocrisy ; yet the Governor cared not to discuss what was honesty under the circum- stances. The whole country was by this time in a state of mingled alarm and rage at the audacity of the Englishmen, and Philip the Prudent was ponderously discussing with his Council of State the simplest way of putting every man in tne expedition to the sword. But while Queen Elizabeth, trembling once more for her ships and subjects, was about to open negotiations with the Spanish monarch to gain his permission for the safe return of the fleet, these courageous sea-dc^s. vvho had thus paused to show their teeth, sailed away for the Canaries. The island of Palma was the first point of attack. 1 90 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, Here the commanders had determined to work their plea- sure. Here were many luxuries to be gathered and good things obtained. But they reckoned amiss. The narrow entrance into the harbour, the heavily-armed platforms with which they found it fortified, but chiefly, as they said in their own defence, the heavy swell surging in from the Atlantic, persuaded them of the advisability of searching elsewhere for ' such general good things ' as they had looked for. So the fleet sailed away in mortified mood, 'with the receipt of many of their cannon shot some into our ships, and some besides, some being full cannon high.' The neighbouring island of Ferro was the second point aimed at. A quiet spot, lying under a high mountain, was approached, and a thousand men landed without inter- ruption. The inhabitants sent out an amicable deputation headed by a ' young fellow born in England.' They had a pitiable tale to tell : they were all very poor ; instead of being able to contribute anything they rather craved help, as they were on the point of starvation. The English paid them the compliment of believing their story, and forth- with sailed away for the coast of the mainland. Having doubled Cape Blanche, the ships spread out over the bay to gather a fresh store of fish, while the com- manders drew alongside of some French men-of-war lying at anchor and entered upon a rivalry of courtesies. In the afternoon of the same day they resumed their voyage, and on November 1 6 came in sight of St. Jago, in the Cape de Verde group. General Carleill, with a thousand men, landed at nightfall between St. Jago and Porta Praya. Having no guide, Carleill postponed his advance until daybreak. The ground was very rough, and the men were compelled to make their way in detachments as best they could; but no opposition was ofifered, and an eminence '' 51 In the Enemy s Country. 191 above the town of St. Jago was soon gained. The place was seen to be deserted, and Captains Sampson and Barton were sent down to take possession. They were directed to plant the ensign bearing the cross of St. George on the fortress and in sight of the whole fleet ; then fire off all the ordnance they found in the place (which proved to be fifty pieces, all ready charged), in honour of the Queen's accession; for this was November 17. The Indian fleet, with its cargo of treasure, had been missed by the Admirals ; but they had celebrated the Queen's coronation in one of the enemy's strongholds. Carleill was still in the for- tresses on the mountain that defended the town on the landward side, and the fleet were thundering back the Falute fired by the ordnance in the town. By evening the whole army had been quartered in the deserted houses. Fourteen invaluable days were spent in this fever- den without any compensating advantage. This was the greatest Munder committed during the whole voyage. During their stay they had plenty of fruit ; the cocoa- nuts and plantains being evidently new to most of them. A messenger bearing a flag of truce came over to the western fort to inquire if there was war between England and Spain ; to whom Captain Sampson gave the vague answer that he did not know. Their present invasion would seem to have required an affirmative to such a question, if they were not desirous of being taken for pirates. The messenger carried back his answer to the Governor of the island, promising to return next day, which pro- mise was not fulfilled. The English commanders were loud in their indignation against the inhabitants and their authorities for keeping out of harm's way. They doubt- less expected to find every Spanish governor fashioned after the cowardly model of him of Gallicia. The mes- senger had also taken back with him the Englishmen's ^ 192 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, m » i : tp I If- i sense of the indignity done them in rot being waited upon and welcomed by the authorities ; but even yet the season of repentance was extended until the third day ; if the Governor did not appear within that time they would march across the island with fire and sword, to appear before the Governor and Bishop. The threat did not result in bringing the Spaniards, but it put the Englishmen in the position of having to carry it out if they would keep up their warlike fame. A bootless, wearisome march of twelve miles to the neighbour- ing town of St. Domingo was imposed upon five hundred men. The place was found abandoned. There was nothing to be done but march back again over the moun- tainous country. The enemy's troops now showed them- selves ; but there was no time to do anything. The English prepared to receive them ; but the Spaniards would not come on, ' and so in passing some time at the gaze with them, it waxed late and towards night before we could recover home to St. Jago.' An English boy having strayed out among the gardens was found murdered and mutilated. This, with the re- fusal of the authorities to appear at St. Jago, determined the English to commit the town to the flames. So on November 26 Frobisher personally attended to the em- barkation of the troops, while Captain Sampson, guided by a prisoner, went vainly searching for hidden guns and trea- sure. Finally the town was set on fire and every building consumed, with the exception of the hospital, on the walls of which was left written the Englishmen's cnger at the uncivil treatment they had received. While the town was in full blaze Frobisher brought off Sampson's incendiaries and went on board : rather thankful that they had avenged the injury done to Master William Hawkins and his men by these islanders five years before. baving to Fame. A eighbour- hundred 'here v?as lie moun- ved them- ing. The Spaniards me at the , before we A Fatal Epidemic. 193 CHAPTER XLVIII. It would have been far better for the expedition to have received the same treatment at St. Jago as at Palma, and carried off a few more Spanish cannon-balls in their hulls, than to have been allowed their idle two weeks ashore and to have carried off what they did. Within a week of their departure from St. Jago to run across to the West Indies a deadly malady broke out on board. Eighteen days only weie they sailing from the Cape de Verde group until they fell in with the West India group, but within that time so great a number perished that the reckoning of them was lost, for Captain Bigges says generally there were two or three hundred cast overboard. Different ideas were held as to the nature of the malady, some holding it to be the yellow fever, others recognising certain small spots often seen on those afflicted with the plague. The first point touched at in the New World was Do- minica, the southernmost of the Leeward Isles. The only human beings found here were savages, nude, finely formed, and full painted ; but they knew enough of Europeans to distinguish between Englishmen and Spaniards. They doubtless, like all the natives who had any intercourse with the Spaniards, had learned what can be inflicted by culti- jvated ferocity. They had a Spaniard or two in captivity. But the English they received kindly, though Cates was inclined to think no man of any nation could ce much confidence in them. They assisted the English ^a taking a fresh supply of water on board. They trafficked in [tobacco, cassava, beads, etc. St. Christopher, another island of the same group, was 194 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. next approached. This they found uninhabited. Christ- mas was spent on shore. The sick were brought out and efforts made to stay the plague still raging. The Admirals, Lieutenant-Greneral, and captains consulted here as to their future course of action. It was resolved to attack Hispa- niola, or St. Domingo, as it is now named. The chief town of the island was famed for its wealth, and lay only a few leagues to the west. The fleet consequently shaped its course in that direction ; and when athwart Porto Rico a sail was sighted. Frobisher, with characteristic impe- tuosity, gave chase and soon overhauled her. She proved to be a small frigate bound for the same destination as themselves. The English commanders had some know- ledge of the dangerous ground-swell that surrounded the island as with an army ; and this capture was of inesti- mable value. For Frobisher, having closely examined those on board, found among them a pilot well acquainted with the port and adjacent shores. This man informed the Vice- Admiral that the haven was barred and well forti- fied, having a strong castle, heavily armed. But there was a convenient and unprotected landing-place ten miles beyond the port, and thither he offered to pilot the English. To this man's direction the fleet was now delivered. The landing-place ten miles west of the town of St. Domingo was reached; and, in spite of the surge thatj threatened to capsize every boat, the whole force, amount- ing to about a thousand men, was landed under Carleill. The fleet had not sailed by the town unperceived, nor I were they unopposed on landing. A cavalry force of about one hundred and fifty men was disposed to dispute the advance of the invaders. They rode around Carleill's men seeking a weak point for charging, but saw only a brist- ling hedge of pikes on every side. A volley of small-shotj taught them how near they might approach without harm. The Attack on St. Domingo, 195 The English were still marcliing eastward, parallel with the shore ; their plan being to attack the city gates which looked seawards. Both were strongly manned ; and had the Spaniards kept their troops behind the fortifications the result might have been in their favour. But as the English drew near to the town, bringing out of their hiding- places more than one ambuscade, they had in front of them a disorderly host of footmen and horsemen in retreat. Presently Carleill placed half his force under Captain Powell, instructing him to attack one of the gates while himself simultaneously attacked the other, adding * that with God's good favor he would not rest until their meeting in the market-place.' At the same instant the order was given to charge. The troops advanced at the run. The ordnance at the gates poured one broadside upon them ; but before the pieces could be reloaded the English and Spaniards, mingled pellmell, entered the gates together. The Plaza was seized and barricaded ; the garrison fled at the uproar, and the inhabitants followed their example, hunying across the harbour to the open country. The opening of negotiations with the Spaniards, who, though they had lost the gates and the castle, still held some portions of the suburbs, was very unfortunate, and brought out the iron and blood character of the English commanders. A negro boy was sent with a flag of truce to the other side, and on his way fell in with the officers of a [Spanish galley which the English had taken. One of them sprang on the boy and ran him through the body with a lance. The boy staggered back to txie Greneral, pud, having briefly told his story, dropped dead at the officer's feet. Drake fell into a great rage, and im- |ffiediately commanded the provost-marshal to take two o 2 196 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. friars in his charge down to the scene of the murder and hang them on the spot. It was done. Friars represented the enemy to these Protestants far more really than Spanish soldiers. This bloody and speedy vengeance having been exacted, Drake sent over a prisoner to inform the Spaniards that what had been done was only an instal- ment of punishment, and that until the guilty officer was delivered into his hands daily hangings should go on as long as he had a Spaniard in his power. Next day the captain of the captured galley brought over the offender and offered to deliver him up ; but Drake bade that officer take the culprit to the scene of his crime and hang liim himself. This also was done. The Spaniards having now been brought to the right frame of mind, the ransom of the town was discussed. The authorities were disposed to talk too much, thinking perhaps that the English could better afford to lessen their demands than tarry. But the English knew how to quicken the deliberations of the ponderously moving senors. Two hundred sailors were told off every morning to bum from the outskirts inwards. But they found the houses so solidly built of stone that this was not rapid work. With this kind of sport the time crept on. Each day there was less to ransom, while the English seemed disposed to proportionately increase their demands. Although the flames drew each day nearer the Plaza and the church, the governor did not immediately lose his faith in talk and his own ability to beat down the sea- kings. He was not ashamed to admit that the Indians were already extinct on the island, and that the mines were in consequence unworked. In so short a time had the heartless cruelty of the white man put an end to the natives. At last twenty-five thousand ducats (about seven A Vainglorious Motto, 197 thousand pounds) were accepted as the ransom of what re- mained of the scorched town. The most notable features of the city were its solidity of structure and great extent, — evidences of the slavery that had brought the slaves to extinction. There was also the king's house, entered by a large stairway ; and opposite to him that entered was painted a design that created some merriment among the English. It was the escutcheon of the Spanish king, the lower part of which was composed of a globe ; on the globe was painted a horse on his hind legs as in the act of leaping off, and having in his mouth a scroll bearing this inscription : — M9n sufficit orhis. The commissioners who came thither to treat with the English about the ransom were asked the meaning of this. But they knew no answer was expected, and tiu-ned their heads away with mortified pride which they sought to hide under a smile. But the English bluntly asked them to consider what a comment on such a boast was their present occupation of the palace, adding a side- blow at their own sovereign ; for, said they, if their queen but resolutely prosecuted the wars, their king would find it more than enough to keep what he already had. Having abundantly and freely supplied the ships with strong wine, olives, corn, etc., the fleet sailed away for the mainland, having held possession of St. Domingo thirty days. CHAPTER XLIX. Caetagena, on the coast of New Granada, was next assailed. The entrance to the harbour was found to be very narrow 198 Life of Sir Martin Fr obis her. and strongly barred with a chain. So the fleet on its arrival anchored in the roadstead under the town, and bv night had landed a force under the command of the suc- cessful Lieutenant-General. The inexperience of their guide led them astray, but the lapping of the waves directed the General in the way of returning to the beach again. Becoming henceforth his own' pioneer, he com- manded his captains to follow along the sand to the town. They were about two miles from their destination when they were suddenly charged by some of the enemy's cavalry. A volley of small-shot quite satisfied them, and the advance went on almost uninterrupted. At that instant Frobisher opened fire on the town. His part was to make a false attack on the fort at the mouth of the haven and in every way distract the enemy. Having, therefore, manned the pinnaces and boats, he rowed to the inner harbour and the chain ; but after ex- changing many rounds of shot, both large and small, and having had the rudder of his own skiff carried away by a saker shot, it was seen that the attack must not be allowed to pass beyond a feint, for the place was very strong. In the meantime Carleill was making his way in the darkness along a narrow peninsula between the main sea and the harbour. This neck of land at its narrowest point was found to be fortified. A stone wall, with a ditch in front and having flanking bastions, ran from sea to sea. A small opening through which the cavalry retreated was strongly barricaded with wine-butts filled with earth. This position was armed with ' six great pieces, demi- culverins and sakers ; ' that is, cwenty-four, nine, and five pounders. Behind it stood three hundred men awaiting the attack. On either flank a large galley was anchored holding about three hundred musketeers. As soon as the English were heard approaching in the The Taking of Cartagena, 199 darkness every piece opened fire. Carleill at once per- ceived that their aim was along the middle of the cauP' - way, so he commanded his men to march along the side, partly in the waves. By the light of their pieces he also made out the barricaded opening, which was on his left flank at the water's edge. His men were strictly com- macded to reserve their fire until they were within pike's length of the enemy. Thus they crept up out of harm's way, while the Spaniards were delivering a stream of iron and lead down the road, until they came under the wall and beneath the pike-heads of the Spaniards. Then a sudden onset was made on the barricade. Their first volley was delivered ' even at the enemies' nose ; ' in another moment ' down went the butts of earth, and pell- mell came our swords and pikes together.' This hand-to- hand contest lasted but for a minute. The English had the advantage in the length of pike and pushed the Spaniards back. Carleill cut down the enemy's standard- bearer with his own hand ; and the advance towards the town was again resumed. The column was much harassed by the Indian allies of the Spaniards, who were supposed to use poisoned arrows, and had planted sharp-pointed sticks in the ground, also poisoned. Bigges says many died though but scratched by these weapons : though he gives none of the symptoms. Drake had himself some experience of these things when under Hawkins on the Coast of Guinea. Then the wounded ' died in strange sort with their mouths shut some ten days before they died, and after their wounds were whole.' In spite of the abori- ginal miniature chevaux de /rise, the English followed hard on the heels of the retreating Spaniards, and found instead of a wall a strong barricade and ditch across the head of every street. But these were defended with no heart, and the Plaza was soon occupied. Thereupon the ^ m U' * 200 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. Spaniards and their allies placidly gave up the contest, and went to join their wives in the country, whither they had l3een sent for safety. The mortality still continued amonjy the English, and it was ascribed now to the evening chill called La Ferena, They named the disease the Calenture. On this account the intended attack on Nombre de Dios and P .a had to be abandoned. The town being ransomed, y^uey must hasten away with their reduced and ailing crews. But the ransom did not come at once. There were the same delays and the same quickening process by scorching here as at St. Domingo. Cartagena though smaller was much wealthier than the former town, and so the English demand was much more. While the circle of fire was drawing daily towards the centre a sad event happened. The sentinel on the church-tower espied two small barks making towards the harbour. Captains Varney and Moone were sent with two small pinnaces to intei •; them before they could correspond with the short. .at the barks seem to have been informed of the state of things, and at the sight of the pinnaces ran ashore. The latter came up leisurely and boarded the stranded ships. But in the bushes near at hand an ambuscade was set ; and while the English were standing openly on the barks the hidden enemy fired off their pieces. Both the captains were killed and four or five of their men wounded at this first fire. After some weeks the scorching did its work: the ransom demanded, amounting to one hundred and ten thousand ducats, was paid. The English were persuaded that they had asked too little ; besides, the poisoned arrows and the killing of the two captains had not been recom- pensed. So they remarked, on the receipt of the money, that the town indeed had been ransomed, but not so the abbey Effects of the Calenture, 20 1 and castle which stood without the town boundaries. For each of these a tliousand crowns more must be paid. Tlie Spaniards thought it time to be don^' with the English, and sent by return the ransom of the abbey. As for the castle, they said it was not worth the money — let the English do what they liked with it. Their pleasure was to put some powder under the walls and blow the structure into the air. Six weeks had now been spent in this unhealthy town, and they made haste to sail homewards. An accident to one of the ships compelled a return, and ten more days were spent here in transferring her cargo to the other vessels. On their return voyage they touched at Cape St. Anthony, on the western extremity of Cuba, to take in a supply of fresh water. The spirits of the men were so depressed by the malady that, to encourage them, the Admirals went ashore and toiled like ordinary seamen at getting in the water. It w;* ■< remarked that those who had suffered from the Calent e and escaped were for a long time afterwards ' much uv ayed in their memory ; insomuch that it was grown an ordinary judgment when one was heard to speak foolishly, to say that he had been sick with the Calenture.' CHAPTER L. Towards the close of the month of May, the fleet was coasting along Florida with the view of visiting the newly- founded colony in Virginia, according to the Queen's command, when the look-out espied something like a 202 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. h i-i beacon some distance inland. On closer examination it was seen to be a lofty platform elevated on four poles. The boats were manned, and a force landed to spy out the country. The river of St. Augustine at this point emptied into the sea. And the men having marched up the river- bank about a mile came suddenly upon a ^.rt. No one in the fleet had any knowledge of a settlement in these parts. So their surprise was orraof ^^ ^^A this stronghold, and that it protected an unwalled village built of wood. A few shot were fired at the fort ; the first pierced the ensign, the second struck the wall composed of massive logs, which gave the commander some notion of its strength. A retreat was sounded on this ; Carleill intending to take up a position within musket-range under the cloak of dark- ness. So that night the Lieutenant-General took a skiff and six men to reconnoitre the place. They were supposed to be approaching secretly and silently ; but they must have made no small clatter, for the hundred and fifty sol- diers in the fort hearing these seven men advance thought the whole English force was upon them and fled in all haste. Carleili and his men being satisfied with their secret examination of the position, and not knowing any- thing of the retreat, which had been effected less boister- ously than their approach, retiu-ned to the skiff and went on board. Close after them, in a little boat, came the second runaway Frenchman met with here. As soon as ^e was out of reach of the Spaniards he felt that he was getting into danger from the English ; so, to secure his safety, he began to play on his fife in the darkness the one tune which he thought must be familiar to the English, and which could not proceed from a Papist reed. The tune was the ' Prince of Orange.' It was successful. The guard-boat hailed to know who he was and what he wanted. He was a French fifer; and he wanted to inform the On the St. Augustine River. 203 English of the sudden abandonment of the fort. He was still sitting in his little boat when Drake, Carleill, and some captains sprang into one boat, Frobisher and his men into another, and taking the Frenchman in, began a race for shore, followed by some pinnaces. A few unawed Spaniards were on shore to dispute their landing ; and having fired off a couple of cannon which they had planted, but without effect, went to join their discreet countrymen in the village. The fort was found unoccupied. It was strongly built of great logs set on end and armed with fourteen great pieces of brass ordnance. The panic of the garrison had been so great that they had left behind them the military chest containing two thou- sand pounds. When daylight came, it was seen that some branches of the St. Augustine river intervened between the fort and the village. The troops therefore went back to ihe pinnaces and rowed up the river. On approaching the town there was again a feeble and spasmodic attempt at resistance ; but the English no sooner set foot on land than the Spaniards fled. Captain Powell, charging at the head of his men, came unfortunately upon a horse ready saddled and bridled. This he mounted, and, as a troop of one, pursued the fugitives. A Spaniard who had hidden behind a bush fired upon him as he passed, and brought him to the ground ; and by the time his men came up he was found stabbed in many places and dead. In revenge for this loss the whole village was laid waste. About twelve leagues up the coast, they were informed, was another Spanish settlement, called St. Helena. Thither they now shaped their course ; but, on coming athwart the place, found the shoals so dangerous that it was thought prudent to abandon the enterprise and hasten on to Vir- ginia. On June 9, having arrived in the neighbourhood 204 Life of Sir Martin Fro bis her. where they expected to find the English colony sent out the previous year by Sir Walter Kaleigh, and seeing a great fire on land, they sent a skiff ashore. At the fire they found a party of their own countrymen, who informed them that the place which they used as their port was near at hand. But the entrance to it was so shallow that most of the ships were compelled to anchor in an exposed roadstead. Master Ralph Lane, Governor of the colony, had established his head-quarters on the island of Roanoke. which was so protected by shallows as to be beyond the reach of any attack by ships of war, and which lay six leagues from their port. By one of the colonists Drake sent a letter to Lane offering either to take him and his men back to England, or, if he still considered the colony might be continued, a full supply of all such necessaries as he had on board, together with a ship and pinnace for the service of the settlement. The Governor decided on accepting the latter offer. A ship was accordingly told off; but before the transfer could be made a sudden tempest scattered the ships in the roadstead, and among them the vessel intended for the colony, which had lost all her anchors, and was not seen again until the return of the expedition to England. Many pinnaces and boats also were lost in this storm. i Whatever remained of Master Lane's determination to persevere in his endeavour to civilise the New World was dispelled by this event. He changed his mind, though another ship was offered him, and brought his men and chattels on board. And one chattel there was destined to have an enduring history. In returning from his first voyage to the American continent, Frobisher had assisted in bringing home a certain ' black stone ' that had moved all England. In returning from his last voyage to the same land, he assisted in bringing a curious herb that should A Memorable Parcel, 205 affect all the world, and draw into the national coffers more treasure than was conveyed in all the majestic carracks of Spain. For among his curiosities brought over from the new land Ralph Lane had the first parcel ever imported into England of that herb which has been variously sur- named ' the stinking weed,' Hhe healing plant,' 'the deli- cious luxury ; ' which was christened after the island of Tobago; which lighted up the feeble thunders of the pedant that succeeded to the throne of the Tudors ; which has been the parent of much pleasure, much harm, much sociability, much anger, much wealth, and one modern reforming society. The booty brought home was valued at sixty thousand pounds, and two hundred and forty pieces of ordnance. One-third of this plunder was distributed among the re- duced crews ; for during the voyage seven hundred and fifty altogether had perished. The fleet arrived in Portsmouth on July 28, 1586, 'to the great glory of God, and to no small honor to our Prince, our Country and Ourselves.' CHAPTER LI. The year 1587 was a great year for England and Protes- tantism. The Spanish Empire with a foot on either world was secretly harnessing for the battle ; yet not so quietly but that the ringing of the hammers was heard by those who had ears to hear. Leicester, on behalf of Queen Elizabeth^ had been playing the king in the Netherlands for not quite a year, and had been successful in setting all the Nassaus, Ho- 206 Life of Sir Martin Fro bis her. henlos, and burghers by the ears, besides putting the Queen in a terrible rage with him. In November 1586 he fled out of the hornets' nest which he had himself disturbed, and ran home to make his peace with the Queen : in which he was before long successful. During his absence the Duke of Parma made le first direct movement towards the invasion of England. Philip of Spain, enraged by the help which the English Queen had given to the Netherlands and Don Antonio, and, above all, at the expedition to the West Indies, had resolved on an enterprise which the foremost mariners of England were in vain trying to induce their sovereign to undertake, namely, the carrying of the war to the enemy's country. The Duke of Parma should command the expedition. But between him and the chalk cliifs were two obstacles. There was the English Channel to >»e crossed in the teeth of the sea- dogs. Philip would send the Invincible Armada to form a line of floating fortresses from shore to shore ; under the protection of their cannon Parma, with his fleet of hoys and barges bearing his Invincibles, should row across as pleasantly as on the Gruadalquiver. But Parma was not in a position to collect the hoys and barges. All the coast-line was in the power of the Netherlands and England. For the Dutch had handed over to the English certain cautionary towns as security for the repayment of various advances made by Elizabeth. One of those towns was Sluys, situated at the mouth of the West Scheldt and looking straight across into the mouth of the Thames. To this Parma laid siege while Leicester, having made his peace with the Queen, was still dawdling about the Court. Elizabeth had a spasm of resolution, and for a brief space was worthy of her better self. The Armada preparing at Cadiz and Lisbon should be looked after. And so Drake was sent down to ' singe the The Admiral turned Penman. 207 King of Spain's beard.' And as for this determined attempt to take Sluys, Leicester with three thousand men and a portion of the loan asked for by the States-General should immediately return. But this resolution had come after too many delays and hesitations. Leicester embarked with his force at Margate Eoads on board a fleet which in all probability was under the com- mand of Frobisher. For he now was Admiral of the Channel Fleet, or ' the ships in the narrow seas,' as the expression then ran. Leicester landed too late. The fate of Sluys was sealed. While Parma, having gained this convenient harbour, was hastening on his part the preparations for the in- vasion, Frobisher was running backwards and forwards between England and the opposite shore transporting men, victuals, money ; gathering information of the enemy's plans, which he reported to little effect ; chasing every boat, bark, and ship that traversed his tempestuous dominions, and capturing everything that savoured of the Spaniard. There is a letter written by his own hand of this period which shows how little pains his maternal uncle. Sir John Yorke, had spent on the boy's education, and how fortunate a thing it was for the records that he never came into possession of the office of Clerk to the Navy, Up to this time he had trusted to the hired scrivener ; but Sir Francis Drake was free with his pen, and John Hawkins sometimes essayed a letter ; so Frobisher doubtless felt that it became the Admiral of the Channel Fleet to write with his own hand. Mariners in all times have been more or less uncertain in their orthography, but Frobisher came very near anticipating the phonetic system, and doubtless gives the words according to the common pronunciation of his time ; while his punctual ion mk' 208 Life of Sir Martin Fr obis her. is pardonable, inasmuch as the period and colon alone were in use. The letter runs : — .1 m ' My humble dewttye my honorable good Lord att my last retorne in to Englande I aquanted my Lord Admerall with the report of the preparassione att Andwarpe and that I thought your Excelince woulde resave it thynkefullye if the shepes thatt I hadd in the narrow Saes myghte come to yo"" Excelince untill there pretince were understande, and presintelye my Lorde seinte me order to tayke in the tresure and so refarde me to yo*" Excelince dericksione for that sarves. I understande by me Lorde Grovernare of fflushine he heres no forther of it : I left the cattoes to staye att Margett for y"" atteye accordinge to yo"" Excelince letter : I seinte yo"* Excelince letters bye Lewese in the chacrtes that I hope thaye were att Courte the 1 5 daye at nyghte. My Lorde Admerall wryttes to me thatt her MaJ*^ dothe much excepte some thinge done ffor slewse as S*" Thomas Sherlay is able to advartes yo^ Excelince of here owne mouthe. I understande yo' Excelince wolde have a louinge Botte : the loinge botte my Lord Admerall hade here were a sarvesable a botte for yo"^ excelince as a galleye and better for this countrye yf it plese yo*" exceHnce to wrytt to mye Lord for her she shallbe her withe as much spyde as may be. I mette with a nomber of holkes and flebotte and thay past £.11 in yo^ Excelince name under the towne selles of Hollaund. I understand thaye grant them to the Enemy withe blanke so we canenott knowe the on fifrome the other. Maye it plese yo'" Ex- cilence that by some synemente or by some selle of yo"" owne with theres we maye knowe whome to staye and whoo to lettpase. I was comynge to have done my dewttye to yo' Excelince butt the wynde was dowttefull and owr vettelles wer spente for since my Comynge fourthe The Letter to Leicester. 209 \ hayd butt 3 dayes libertye to louke after the dunkyrkes with gevingj attendance of the tresure. I bumble crave yo' excelince to pardone me for thatt mye charge is the cawse I for here to come for whele God gevethe me lyfe yowe shall finde me - dewttefull and ffathefull to youe and youres. Thus I rest withe my humble prare to the Almeighte ffor the prosperus estatte of yo*" excelince to the glorye of God and the greatt honore of owr Countrye. Thes 17 of September 1587. ' Yo*" excelince most Bounde ' Martin Frobiser.' This letter was written on board ship off Flushing, and addressed to the Earl of Leicester, who, after his tailure to raise the siege of Sluys, had leisure to think about a galley in which to make a royal show on the Dutch canals. The Hollanders cruising in the Scheldt effectually blockaded Parma in Antwerp and Sluys, where Frobisher had heard of the great preparations going on ; for the secret of the Spanish plot was leaking out. But Sir William Russell, Governor of Flushing, knew nothing of it. Walsingham, Lord Howard, the sailors and mer- chants, could hear and understand, and refused to embrace the delusive hopes held out by Spain. But there were Dunkirk and Nieuport also to be watched and barred. This was F'robisher's task, made so ineffectual by these ship's papers issued in blank under the town seals of Holland, and by means of which English, Dutch, and French bottoms carrying the enemy's goods could pass under his nose defiantly. Three days only could be spared to look after the Spanish preparations in Dunkirk. The Earl of Leicester must have the attendance 'i the fleet and Admiral. 2IO Life of Sir Martin Frobis her. CHAPTER LII. The Duke of Parma was ready with his part of the enter- prise in the spring of 1588. The flower of the troops of the world liad been gathered together. But the swamps of the Netherlands proved more fatal to them than the >:^.-apons of their enemies. The engraved corselets and gilded armour of the invincible Terzio of Naples were not proof against the fevers that now assailed them. It was estimated that Parma's 60,000 soldiers were reduced to half that number of serviceable men. Still he pushed on his preparations with undiminished vigour. All the reconquered provinces, now going under the name of Belgium, rang with the sounds of hammers and axes making ready boats, oars, rafts, floating bridges, etc. And when summer opened he lay in the ports of Sluys, Nieuport, and Dunkirk in all readiness for the invasion. He wanted but one thing, namely, the scattering of the cruisers blockading his three harbours ; and that the Armada was to perform. The great Spanish fleet, christened, with the sponsors' characteristic lack of prophetic sight, the ' Invincible,' was also ready in the ports of Spain and Portugal, having fully recovered from the mischievous singeing received from the expedition under Drake of the year before. But its departure was delayed by the death of Santa Cruz, tbe iron marquis, and the best seaman in Spain. It was he who bad sunk the fleet of Don Antonio off St. Michael's, and the planning of the invasion had beeA his work. By his direction the Duke of Parma had been allotted his share of the enterprise, and it was he who was to have commanded the whole expedition. Philip had to find a new Captain-Greneral. The Armada was placed under the Threatened Perils. 211 Duke of Medina Sidonia, who was a brave man, but no sailor. It was to sail to Calais Koads, and, after a junc- tion had been effected there with the Duke of Parma, the chief command was to be assumed by Alexander Farnese. Cardinal Allen was wielding- the thunderbolts of the Church to further the Spanish designs. He was in the Netherlands waiting to cross over. And to pave the way he had there ' published his Crusado in print as it were against Turks and Infidels,' and scattered it broadcast throughout the Queen's dominions. Its contents are too foul for reproduction. Its aim was to stir up the Catholics to throw off the allegiance whicli they did not, in his estimation, owe to a heretic. But these were not all the dangers of the realm or all the designs of the enemies of Protestantism. A descent was to be made on the Irish coast to stir up the easily disaffected islanders. The Guise faction in France had planned an expedition to sail out of their western ports to cross the Channel under the rear of the Armada and land on the coasts of the West Country. Having then secured a foothold while the English were at tug of war with the Spaniards, the partisans of Guise would put in their claim for the English crown. It was time for Elizabeth to awake out of her lethargy and pour out the half-million reserve. A letter of Lord Howard's to Walsingham gives a very good idea of the state of England, and the Queen's continued fondness for the Duke of Parma's * Judas kisses.' It is dated March 9, and written from Margate Eoads : — ' Sir, — As I made up my other letter Captain Frobisher doth advertise me that he spake with two ships that came presently from Lisbon, who declared unto him for certainty the King of Spain's fleet doth part from Lisbon unto the Groyne (Corunna) the 15th of this month by their account, p 2 212 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. Sir, there is none that comes from Spain but brings this advertisement, and if it be true I am afraid it will not be helped when the time serveth. Surely this charge tliat Her Majesty is at is either too much or too little, and the stay that is made of Sir Francis Drake going out I am afraid will breed great peril, and if the King of Spain do send forces either into this Realm, Ireland, or Scotland, the Queen's Majesty shall say — " The Duke of Parma is treating of a peace, and therefore it is not princely done of his master to do so in the time of treaty " — but what is that to the purpose if we have by that a Casado. And if Her Majesty cannot show the King's hand his servant's hand will be but a bad warrant, if they have their wish.' Thus while the Queen was still being entertained hy Parma with compliments and conditions of peace the Lord-Admiral was at his wits' end to devise what to do. Drake was at Plymouth gathering a fleet of privateers. Seymour and Winter were also gathering some vessel;) together, while Her Majesty's four great ships of war, the backbone of her fleet, must not be placed in commission or moved from Chatham. Two days later Howard writes again : ' For Her Majesty's four great ships I am out of liope to see them abroad, what need soever shall be if things fall out, as it is most likeliest, they shall be b kee'p Chatham Church when they should 8e'}^e the turn abroad. They look daily at Dunkirk for 1200 mariners out of France, but if I have knowledge in any time, I hope to stop their coming out, and so the better able to look some other way.' The Queen's difficulty was this : the more preparation was made for war the more the King of Spain would take it ill, and the less would he be disposed for peace. Still the King of Spain was making great preparation on his Costly Ecoftomy. 2\% part, and she must not leave her coasts naked. She loved peace because it was economical. Howard was speaking to deaf ears when he pleaded with the Queen to repeat the prosperous expedition of Drake to the coasts of Spain. Destroy the ships of the Armada at their moorings and in their own ports was his simple plan. ' But what would become of peace ? ' retorted the Queen. Three weeks later the Lord-Admiral writes concerning the galley ' Elizabeth Bonaveuture,' which had been to the West Indies and Cadiz, and which the Queen would have put in a dry dock to be overhauled : ' I think there is no man of judgment but doth think it most meet for her to be abroad now, being summer ; lord, when should she serve if not at such a time as this is ; either she is fit now to serve or fit for the fire, and I will never hereafter wish Her Majesty to be at the charge of keeping of her, for I hope never in my time to see so great cause for her to be yoused.' The writer had a shrewd guess as to where the shoe pinched Her Majesty. ' I fear me much, and with grief I think it that Her Majesty relieth upon a hope that will deceive her, and greatly endanger her, and then it will not be her money, nor her jewels that will help, for as they will do good in time, so will they help nothing for the redeeming of time being lost.' In like manner all the leading men of the nation, with two or three exceptions, spoke their mind, but to little purpose. As the demands grew her parsimony grew also. The men's rations were changed from the English diet of beef and mutton to the Peninsular food of fish and oil. But two pence a man a day were saved. The price paid for this economy was discontent and dysentery. The munitions and provisions were dealt out in such doles that a week's supply to the good was rare in any ship. From 214 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, hand to mouth they lived. Jiut the Queen was serving two ends by this. She made the expedition to tlie coast of Spain impossible : for that could not be undertaken without a good store. Again, she anticipated the effect on prudent commanders of having but uncertain doles sent to them by convoys dependent on the winds. Short rations were the only remedy when the wind blew from the west ; and thus again a good round sum was saved. It is unnecessary to point out that it was money stolen out of the pinched stomachs of men who were out to die for their country. Lord Howard had in vain tried to induce the Queen to stay the departure of all merchant ships for the season ; but he had obtained the release of the four great ships from their anchorage under Chatham Church ; and in the month of May he sailed away from Margate Roads. Fro- bisher, relieved of his Channel command, which was assumed by Lord Henry Seymour, accompanied the Lord- Admiral. Lord Henry's fleet had grown during the last few weeks to some twenty sail. These now took up their station abreast of Dunkirk. Lord Howard and Frobisher sailed with him, and carefully examined the Netherlands and French shores on their way to Plymouth, where they arrived towards the end of the month. Drake was await- ing their arrival with some forty sail. The Lord-Admiral had not relinquished his plan for carrying the war to the enemy's coasts, and now set about the execution of it. But the Queen had heard ^f it. nnd had forbidden their going so far. * Sir,' wri^ ^v to Walsingham, ' for the meaning that *- ' ^x) * iie Coast of Spain it was deeply debatt oy tl c wLich I think the world doth judge to be men of geatest expe- rience that this realm hath, which are these — Sir P^ancis Drake, Mr Hawkins, Mr Frobisher and Mr Thomas Fenner.' After paying this high compliment to his David Gzvynfis Achievement. 215 captains he proceeds to show tl1.1t they cannot afford to wait for the Spaniards ; their provisions would l)e spent while the Queen still talked of peace, and ' when our victuals be consumed in gazing for them, what shall become of us ? ' The fleet sailed out of Plymouth and cruised for a week in the Sleeve, between Ushant and Scilly, and was driven before a terrible storm to run back for refuge into Plymouth. The Armada had been caught in the same tempest and scattered before the wind. One of the great galleys went down with all hands on board. A Welsh sailor named Grwynn, who was a slave on board a second galley, was called to assist the captain with his greater skill in sea- manship. Gwynn managed it so that the two hundred and fifty galley slaves were liberated and every Spaniard slain. Having assumed the armour of their dead masters they put their ship before the wind and dashed into a third galley. This also was captured and the slaves liberated. Then David Gwynn sailed away to France with his two great Spanish galleys and nearly five hundred liberated slaves. The remainder of the Armada succeeded in getting safely into Corunna for shelter and repairs. When this tempest first broke the two fleets had arrived nearly in sight of each other. After it had swept by, Lord Howard again took counsel with those whom be liad chosen for his advisers. ' I made choice of these whose names I here write,' says Howard, ' to be counsellors of this service, and made them all to be sworn to be secret ; — Sir Francis Drake, Lord Thomas Howard, the Lord Sheffield, Sir Roger Williams, Mr Hawkins, Mr Frobisher, and Mr Tlio. Fenner.' Again the fleet sailed away in search of le Armada, for the Queen had heard that it was de- royed, and that the war was at an end, at least for that m I 2l6 Life of Sir Afar (in Frobisher. year, and bad talked of calling the four great ships back to Chatham, to cut down expenditure. The Lord- Admiral therefore thought very naturally that the only safety foi the fleet was to cruise out of the reach of pursuivants with royal despatches. The wind was in their favour until they came athwart Finisterre ; but then changing to the south, the aspect of affairs was entirely altered. The north wind would keep the Spaniards in Corunna until the English arrived ; but as it blew now the Armada miglit pass the English fleet unobserved and work its will in the Channel. Howard therefore made all haste back to Plymouth, leaving a pinnac3 or two to cruise in the Sleeve on outpost duty, as it were, and with orders to bring intelligence of the first appearance of the Armada. p:ll ni' CHAPTER LIII. It has ever been a problem unsolved how to economically keep a ship's hull clear of weeds, barnacles, etc. The sea- men of Elizabeth's time used to cover tlie ship's bottom with thin planking, which they often changed. While now conflicting rumours came in quick succession as to the movements of the Armada, the English captains were making ready for the battle. Two days before the pre- lude of the fray Lord Howard was talking of demobilising his forces. ' When it shall please Her Majesty,' he says, * that this army shall be dissolved, it shall be most bene- ficial to Her Majesty that money be had here in a readi- ness to discharge such as be of this country.' But in the meantime the four great ships were being put * in most The Fottr Great Ships. 217 royal and perfect state,' says John Hawkins proudly, for he had been, as it were, the designer and constructor of these ships, the seaboard of which was lower and the lines finer than was then in vogue. There were those who shook their heads at this innovation, and said they would be unwill- ing to adventure as far as the coast of Spain in any one of them. ' They cast many doubts,' says the veteran, ' how these ships will behave themselves on the high seas ; ' but he saw no more danger in them than in other ships of the fleet. One day the * Bear ' sprang a leak, and immediately the croakers made a great ado ; but when she Lad been lightened of her ordnance and her ballast taken out, though some said she ought to be sent home, the leak stopped of itself, and the * Bear ' resumed her station. He admits that he was not pleased with the treatment which the ships were receiving. ' They stick not,' he says, ' to ground them often to tallow, to wash or any such small cause which is a most suic trial of the goodness of the ships, where they are able to abide the ground, and yet not a spoonful of water was to be found in their wells.' How the captains were engaged during those few days of waiting is made plain by this letter. The four great ships were to bear the brunt of the coming contest, and this washing and tallowing of the hulls during the ebb tide was to them as the whetting of the sword and the sharpening of the spear. The Spanish fleet had been placed under the command of a landsman, but the English admirals and captains were sailors all, and well they knew how much depended on a clean keel ; and that more battles are won by swiftness than by force. Seamanship was to decide the coming wager of battle between Protes- tantism and Popery. The four great ships that were to perform so much, and for which so much anxiety was felt, were : 1 r'lv , Hf '■ !4' ; II 1 || It I w 2 1 8 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. The Triumph . .1,100 tons, 500 men The White Bear . 1,000 „ 600 „ The Elizabeth Jonas 900 „ 500 „ The Victory . . 800 „ 400 „ Captain Martin Frobisher. Lord Sheffield. Sir Robert Southwell. Captain John Hav kins. The flagship was the ' Ark Raleigh,' or, as some write it, the ' Ark Koyal,' of 800 tons, with 400 men on board, under Lord Howard. They had been thoroughly examined more than once and Hawkins's confidence was not mis- placed in them, for though they had seen some service ' they feel that they have been at sea no more than if they had ridden at Chatham.' The real weakness of the English fleet lay in their scant supply of powder, shot, meat, bread, and the sour, poisonous beer which was dealt out. The one wish of every heart was that either pro- visions might arrive or the Armada. The sluggish ships of the King of Spain proved swifter than the Queen's convoys. The Armada, having spent twenty-eight days at Corunna to make good the damage sustained in the tempest, resumed its course on July 12, just as the Queen, the open-eyed Walsingham, and perhaps Howard also, were thinking that the Spanish ships would come no farther that year. The Duke of Medina captured an EngHsh fisherman off Scilly, from whom he learned that a fleet was awaiting him in Plymouth. For that port, therefore, the Armada should sail and sink the English before proceeding farther ; that is, if the undertaking was worth the waste of time involved in the performance of it. But they had themselves been seen by one of the pinnaces left by Howard to cruise in the Sleeve. And on July 19 the craft, of whi' ' one Fleming was captain, came dashing into Plymouth with the intelligence that the foe was at hand. On the same day the look-outs on the heights had seen the Armada sailing slowly past the Lizard, and the The Ar^nada off the Lizard. 2r9 following night 'the blaze and smoke of ten thousand beacon-fires from the Land's End to Margate, and from the Isle of Wight to Cumberland, gave warning to every Englishman that the enemy was at last upon them.' Such a fleet had never been seen before — ' exceeding far,' says Stow, in his versified prose, ' the force of those two thousand warlike sail of great Semiramis, or like the number at command of the Egyptian Cleopatra.' The Armada bore but little sail and swept along with pompous and deliberate motion. Even Camden gives way to a little poetry here, for he says the Spanish fleet was dis- covered, * with lofty turrets like castles, in front like a half moon, the wings thereof spreading out about the length of seven miles, sailing very slowly though with full sails, the winds as it were being tired of carrying them, and the ocean groaning under the weight of them.' ]\Iotley says : ' The size of the ships ranged from 1 ,200 tons to 300. The galleons, of which there were about sixty, were huge round-stemmed clumsy vessels, with bul- warks three or four feet thick, and built up at stem and stern like castles. The galleasses — of wliich there were four — were a third larger than the ordinary galley, and were rowed each by three hundred galley-slaves. They consisted of an enormous towering fortress at the stern, a castellated structure almost equally massive in front, with seats for the rowers amidships. At stem and stern and between each of the slaves' benches were heavy cannon. These galleasses were floating edifices very wonderful to contemplate. They were gorgeously decorated. There were splendid state apartments, cabins, chapels, and pulpits in each, and they were amply provided with awnings, cushions, streamers, standards, gilded saints, and bands of music' The same authority adds : 'One hundred and forty ships, 11,000 Spanish veterans, as many more Ill 220 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. recruits, partly Spanish, partly Portuguese, 2,000 grandees, as naany galley-slaves, and 300 bare-footed friars and inquisitors ' had now entered the stormy Channel to de- throne Elizabeth, who was still and persistently playing into their hands. CHAPTEE LIV. The old story is that Captain Fleming, coming in with the intelligence of the Armada's approach, found Lord Howard, Drake, Frobisher, Hawkins, and others playing bowls on the Hoe ; and that when a movement was made for the ships Drake would have the game played out, saying, ' There will be plenty of time to win the game, and beat the Spaniards too.' Whether he won the game or not, the Spaniards were not far away waiting to be beaten. The wind was blowing from the south-west, of all winds the most unfavourable for the English. But there was no hesitation ; for here were the best sailors in the world. The boats were ordered out and the great ships taken in tow. It demanded both skill and strength to warp down the Sound, around Mount Edgcumbe, and across Cawsand Bay. The whole fleet succeeded in gaining the Bay ; but only a few, estimated variously between twenty-seven and fifty-four, succeeded in doubling Rame Head that Saturday evening. The first object to be gaine /" was the weather-gage of the Armada; so they spent the early hours of the night tacking up the wind as near the Cornish coast as they dared approach. Some of the Spanish captains had seen the English ships, and were sailors enough to comprehend both their design and their present dangerous position, lying three or four %s **i f In Battle Array. 221 leagues to the leeward of the Armada. The Duke of Medina was acquainted with the state of Howard, and asked for instructions. But he was too ignorant of mari- time matters to comprehend his advantage, and perhaps thought it incompatible with Castilian dignity to pay any attention to the ' Lutheran hens ' that were flocking between him and the coast. He did nothing more than take in some of his canvas and gather his ships into more perfect order, as thougli to afford the English a spectacle which by its greatness and perfection of discipline must strike them with awe and fear. During the night Lord Howard had worked westwards to the neiglibourhood of Looe, and, seeing that the wind was now his, he shaped his course southward, and by sunrise had the great crescent on the lee. Perhaps twenty-seven sail were all that had succeeded in keeping company with the Admiral thus far ; the other forty ships of the fleet were lying at anchor in Plymouth Sound until the Spanish fleet should be seen to tlie eastward, or the wind change so as to enable them to double Rame Head. The Armada was still sailing to the east in leisurely and pompous state. The fortresses were bristling with cannon, and the bulwarks shot-proof. They were veritable floating batteries manned by soldiers, while at their heels came twenty-seven ships of all sizes, but manned by Neptune's brood. Many of them had crept out of the iiospital to take their stations at the ropes and guns, and blue water and the smell of burnt powder were reviving cordials to them. The Admiral had counted 136 of these towering ships before him ; but he made ready for an attack. The object does not seem to have been the expectation of injuring the enemy so much as to teach his own fleet how the victory was to be won. So, about nine o'clock on that 22 2 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. ii.f . . f^ii Sunday morning, the Admiral and his three chief captains made ready to show their pupils the way to fight these wooden monsters. The ' Ark Kaleigh,' under Howard ; the ' Triumph,' the largest ship of the navy, under Frobisher ; the ' Victory,' under Hawkins ; and the ' Revenge,' under Drake, put out from the English fleet with sails set, every gun trained, and matches lighted. Eunning under the northern wing of the rear line of the Armada, they poured their broadsides into the first galleon ; still continuing in the same course, they gave each Spanish ship, vhether galleon, galley, or galleass, a broadside as they passed. Having got beyond the southern wing with their disphiy of fireworks, they wore around and retraced their course, repeating the impartial delivery of shot into each vessel. But in their returning, more than one Spanish ship faced around and put out to intercept the English. To close with ships whose bulwarks were like the side of a bastion was never thought of for a moment. The English would have to provide themselves with scaling ladders. And so the attacking ships wore off, gave the advancing Spaniards a double broadside, and passed on. This running attack of four bulldogs on what could only be compared to a line of castellated elephants was the model of every subsequent engagement between the two fleets. After this prelude the English ships all joined in the attack. The ' Ark ' bore down on the ship of De Valdez, Admiral of the fleet of Castille, mistaking her for the flag- ship of the Duke of Medina. The Spaniards gathered to the protection of their Admiral ; the English ships under Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Edmund Southwell, and others formed alongside of their commander, and the fight grew hot, though at long range. In the meantime Frobisher, Drake, and Hawkins attacked the ship of De Recalde, who was Vice- Admiral of tlie Armada, and in command of the r The English Tactics. 223 rear-guard. In this case they fought at closer quarters, £jd the engagement grew so furious that the Spaniard fell back on the main body, somewhat crippled. The hornets had been stinging at their enemy for now two hours, and Howard called them off, preferring to wait for his remaining ships. There were signs of distress on board more than one galleon, while the English had received no hurt what- ever. The Spanish bulwarks were four feet thick ; the portholes were deep, and the lire was very nearly at point- blank, or flew high in air as the ships heeled over before the wind. Thus, while the foe wasted their shot in firing at tbe moon, they exposed more hull to the English artillerymen, and might be as easily hit below the water- line as the traditional ' barn-door.' But the Spanish commanders were astonished more by the swiftness of the English ships than by anything else. Whenever they sought to pursue, the Englishmen seemed to them to fly away into the eye of the wind, where their clumsy and top-heavy craft could not go. They had not expected to be equal to their adversaries on the sea, man to man ; but they had provided such odds in their own favour, and they now found themselves utterly outsailed, outmanoeuvred, and baffled. They saw that their only chance was to come to grappling ; but the offer or refusal of battle was at the will of the swifter sailer. The Duke of Medina, when Lord Howard had drawn off, re-formed the order of his fleet, strengthening his rear- line, which now consisted of ten galleons, besides smaller ships, carrying 302 guns and over 3,000 men, under the command of De Recalde. In this order thpy sailed by the mouth of Plymouth Sound on that Sunday afternoon ; the five ships of Her Majesty with their tallowed hulls running now and then within range and pouring a broadside t^ ' ;1; 2 24 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, into the Spanish sterns, compelling De Kecalde to wear ship and show his muzzles. The forty ships lying in Cawsand Bay now sailed out and joined the fleet. Now also began that fitting out of barks and boats in response to tlie roar of battle heard along the shore. Craft of every size and description came out of the harbours, fishing villages, and inlets along the Southern coast, and hung on the rear of the Armada like vultures, with no strength to bring down the quarry, but terrible to the wounded. CHAPTER LV. Lord Howard had called a council of those advisers sworn to secrecy as soon as the ships had drawn away from the engagement. Instructions were issued concerning the order which the ships were to keep in following the Spanish fleet. Sir Francis Drake was appointed to bear the lantern of the fleet that night. Then each captain returned to his ship. On board the Armada they were in the meantime feeling their hurts. As soon as Frobisher, Drake, and Hawkins had ceased firing, De Valdez sent to the com- mander of the rear-guard to inquire if he had received any harm. To this De Recalde answered that he had been sore beat, that his foremast had been hurt by a great shot, and therefore let the other stand by him, for other- wise he would be utterly undone, if the English should offer battle again that day. De Valdez at once responded to this appeal, but he subsequently paid dearly for his generosity. As he drew near De Kecalde's ship a large -.-■i^.^,... Dc Valdcz in Distress. 225 Biscayan ran foul of him, carrying away his spritsail and yard. His own ship now was unmanageable ; and, through her failure to obey her helm, a second ship fell foul of her, carrying away her bowsprit, halyards, and forecourse. De ValJez at once sent a messenger to the Duke of Medina, in- forming him of wliat had happened, and begging that the Armada might only lie-to until he put on another forecourse, when all would be well. This was done. De Valdez, with the view of putting on a spare sail, had struck his crossyard and taken down his halyards. While he was in this case, the wind rose and tlie ship began to roll. The consequence was that the foremast broke off close to the hatches and fell upon the main mast. The Duke at the same time, alarmed at the movements of the English fleet and the growing sea, put away before the wind, leaving De Valdez to his fate. The latter sent another messenger after the Duke, and fired off signals of distress, but to no purpose. The only answer Medina Sidonia sent was the roar of a signal gun, which called the Armada away — ' leaving me comfortless in the sight of the whole fleet,' says De Valdez. The English were but a quarter of a league in the rear, and had been for some time observing signs of distress among the Spaniards. As soon as the ship of De Valdez fell behind, Frobisher and Hawkins instantly ranged alongside. But the Spaniard was a brave man, and knew how to fight his ship, if not how to sail her. The ' Triumph ' and ' Victory ' poured in their sliot rapidly and well ; and, just as they had succeeded in silencing the Spaniard's fire. Lord Howard came up, and, thinking the disabled ship ' void of mariners and sailors,' commanded Frobisher and Hawkins to follow him in pursuit of the enemy. A London ship called the * Margaret ^nd Joan ' liad been loitering in the neighbourhood and sending an Q 226 Life of Sir Ma rthi Fr obis her, occasional shot against the crippled ship that rolled ou the l)oisterous waves, helpless to save herself, but far too powerful for an armed merchantman like the * Margaret and Joan ' to venture within grappling range. Next came the ' Koebuck,' a ship of Sir Walter Raleigli, under Captain Whilton, and thought to make an easy capture. But the silent hulk again growled defiance and warned Captain Whilton that the Spaniards meant to sell their lives dearly. It was now nearly daylight. About the time that De Yaldez was run into by Hie Biscayan, on the afternoon of the previous day, Sir Francis Drake espied five ships putting off from the Armada and crowding all sail for the French coast. Perhaps he forgot that he had been appointed to carry the lantern that night, and thus be the guide and rallying- point of the English fleet ; perhaps the hope of capturing; those five fugitives was too much for his excitable nature; perhaps he thought he m. jht accomplish his design and return before nightfall ; — at any rate he went in hot pursuit, followed by the ' Bear,' under Lord Sheffield, and the ' ]Mary Kose,' under Edward Fenton. Night came down by the time the runaways were overhauled. But to the disap- pointment of the English captains they were found to be (jerman merchantmen which had been sailing in the wake of the Spanish fleet, and had thought it time to part company from the belligerents. Drake and his companions made all haste to return But it was already dark, the English fleet more or lens scattered, and exposed to great danger for the want of the lantern. The darkness was intense, and Drake brought his ship to the wind and lay a-hull, awaiting the return ot day. Lord Howard knew nothing of the chase after the five Germans ; and seeing a light before him, and suppos- ing it to be his own on the ' Kevenge,' he, together with r Drake s Prize, 227 Fiobi.sber and Hawkins, followed in its near neighhoiir- Lood all night. The English fortunately were keeping a shirp look-out, and, as the first dawning came, towering hulls were seen looming first on one quarter and then on the other. They had Ixicn following the Spanish lantern, and were in the very midst of the Armada. There was no noise or hesitation. The ships instantly wore round and dashed up the wind in search of the remainder of the fleet. The Spaniards never perceived their advantage. 15y those first beams of morning Drake saw that he had drifted within two cables' length of the ship of De Valdez. Comprehending his good fortune, he instantly summoned the Spaniard to surrender. The name of Drake was enough. Indeed, almost all through the contests of the Armada the Spaniards thought that every boldly fighting ship was commanded by Drake. It was tlie one English name that carried terror in it. De Valdez surrendered. Drake took possession of the ship, and found in her treasure amounting to 55,000 ducats. Don Pedro was taken on board the ' lievenge,' for his person represented a large ransom. The crew and soldiers, numbering 450, were sent with their ship to Torbay, under the command of Captain Whilton. Drake and his men ' merrily ' divided the treasure among themselves ; which gave rise subse- quently to a bitter quarrel between the three great captains of England. When the great galleon was searched on her arrival at Torbay some tons of gunpowder were found. This was transferred to the ' Koebuck,' and Captain Whilton sped away after the fleet. It was of greater importance to England than the dn s. The Spaniards were supplying tlie fabled eagle's feather to wing the dart for their own destruction. Q 2 2 28 Life of Sir Martin Frobishcr. But the Ariiiadii luid lost more than the «liip of Don Pedro de Valdez durint;* the night. On board the flag-ship of Don Migliel de Oqnendo, Commodore of tlie 8([iiadron of Giiipuscoa, was ji Flemish gunner. This man had been dishonoured in the persons of his wife and daughter })y the Spauisli officers, and at the close of the contest witli the Englisli was beaten by the Captain of Marines for careless or intentionally bad ball- practice. This was the last bitter drop that filled up the cup of his siH'rows. In his despair he resolved upon a tei'rible vengeance : perhaps, in addition, he felt that some act of atonement was due from him for having served the enemies of his native land. He had no sooner been beaten as a slave than he ran down into the magazine and thrujit a lighted match into a barrel of powder. The two upper decks, the castle on the stern, some treasure, and 200 men rose into the air with the force of the explosion and were scattered far and wide. Certain galleons and galleasse:< came to the rescue and removed all that was valuable. Then the hulk, in a sinking condition, as they supposed, was turned adrift. She was found by some English ships on the following morning. The Lord Thomas Howard went on board to inspect her, and saw there about fifty Spaniards dreadfully scorched by the explosion, whom their countrymen had purposed sinking with the damaged ship. Lord Thomas, ' pitying their extreme misery, but not being able to stay aboard through extremity of stench, caused the remainder of those scorched men to be set ashore ' at Weymouth, under Captain Pleming. Lord Thomas had a kind heart though a weak stomach. Thus during the first twenty-four hours of their en- counter with the Englisli the Spaniards had lost two flag- galleons, one admiral, over 750 men, and nearly 100,000 ducats. Moreover they had one ship disabled, many badly A Day lost. 229 hurt. Their plans were confused, tlieir captains and crews (lisc'ourajj^ed by the audacity and celerity of tlieir enemies' ships. From every point on the coast they saw volunteers flocking to reinforce their opponents with provisions and ammunition in abundance, as they thought. Tliey them- selves liad not a single point to score. Not even the least of their enemies' craft had been hurt or one Englishman killed. CHAPTER LVI. On Monday morning, July 22, the weather was clear ami fine, with a heavy swell on the sea. Owing to the blunder in connection with the bearing of the lantern during Sunday night, the ' Ark,' ' Triumph,' ' Victory,' and a few more sail found themselves far to the eastward of the fleet, which had hove-to in the darkness, looking around for the light. The Admiral's turn to lie a-huU came now, that Drake, Lord Sheffield, and the others might overhaul him. Tims ^Monday was spent idly and its advantages paid as the price of the night's blunder ; for the Admiral did not succeed in collecting his fleet together until evening. At the same time, the Queen came reluctantly to the conclusion that all hope of peace between her and the King of Spain was at an end, and sent order that her com- missioners should cease exchanging compliments with the Duke of Parma and return from Ostend. It certainly was time, considering what was going on in the Channel and in the ports of Belgium. One might have supposed it would not need the roar of battle sounding along her shores to convince the blindest and deafest of sovereigns that there was no peace for her. II 230 Life of Sir Martin Fr obis her. Puring Monday's breathing-space the Duke of Meiihia r3arrange(l the Armada. The rear-guard was to bear the brunt of tlie English attacks — that the Duke saw clearly ; and he therefore took measures to strengthen it. The weather-gage had heretofore been against them ; and the only ships that could hope to work their way against the wind were the galleasses, with their hundreds of rowers. So the four great galleasses, four great galleons, with other ships, amounting in all to forty-three sail, were detailed to serve under Don Antonio de Leyva and form the rear- guard of the Armada. They were to seek every oppor- tunity to grapple widi the enemy, and with their oars to overcome the vantage of wind held by the foe. Moreover, inasmuch as Oquendo and De Recalde had been forced more than once during the contest of Sunday, here and there, to drive back to the rear-line a ship that showe I a decided pieference for the stations in the centre of the Armada, the Duke of Medina not oiily sent instructions to each ship as to the position she was to hold in the new order of sailing, but he ensured the fulfil- ment of his instructions by sending on board each vessel a sergeant-major, and, with that officer, a provost or hang- man, to ply his vocation on the captain in case of dis- obedience. At the same time the Duke sent off a sloop to inform the Prince of Parma of the expeiiences and present position of the fleet, also praying that pilots acquainted with the Erglish and opposite coasts might be despatched to the Armada without delay. By Tuesday morning the two fleets had arrived off Portland Bill, when the wind sprang up from north to north-east. Thus the weuther-gage had been transferred to the Spaniards. Lord Howaid made immediate efforts to ta^y-n it by bearing up towards Cbesil Bank. Medina Sidonia had , ^his time learned that in naval warfare one The ' TrmmpJi and her Companions. 231 must needs know something of seamanship as well as fighting. He had now spent two days learning the art under the best masters, though at a distance. He per- ceived the advantage which the change of wind had given him, and determined not to lose it without an effort. The captains of the Armada v/ere therefore ordered to strain every nerve to keep between the English fleet and the shore. After a severe struggle, the English were com- pelled to give up the attempt to regain the weather-gage and sheered off towards the west in the direction of Lyme Regis. While Lord Howard had been working up to the wind, Frobislier, Lord Thomas Howard, and four of the London ships formed into a little independent squadron and hung behind. As soon as the Lord-Admiral had fallen off before the wind the van of the Armada sailed between them and their fleet ; whereupon the four galleasses })ore down upon them and opened fire preparatory to boarding. But the fire was so hotly returned that the four monsters paused. At the sound of the first broadside the Lord- Admiral wore round to come to the assistance of his captains. But the wind was veering to the east, and the ' Ark ' found it impossible to come within range. Still the contest raged more and more furiously between the ' Tri- umph,' with her companions, and the four great galleasses. The Spanish ships, propelled by the galley-slaves, would bear down upon their adversaries as though to sink them with a blow of their lofty prows. The English would nimbly sheer aside and pour cannon-shot into the chained rowers between decks so rapidly as to astonish their opponents. Again the galleasses would be brought round and sent forward with the intent of coming to hand-blows. The English would again repeat their move- ment and send another broadside crashing through the 232 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. foe just above the water-line. This went on uninterruptedly for an hour and a half. Frobisher, the Lord Thomas, and Fenton had as much astonished the Spaniards as the first ironclad did the commanders of the wooden ships in Chesa- peake Bay. On the Spanish side were valour, weight of men and metal ; but the fire was slow, the range was horizontal, the ships were miwieldy, and so topheavy they could carry but little sail. They had plenty of food and ammunition, but they had nearly twice as many slaves as soldiers, and nearly twice as many soldiers as sailors. They were already conscious of being worried out of existence by a foe whom they would rejoice to get within reach of a grappling-hook ; but the measuring of that distance was at the option of their enemy. On the other side there was not half the men, not half the tonnage, not half the guns; but there were skill,, experience, rapidity of movement and fire. It had been a glorious duel during that hour and a half. For, since the wind had shifted to the south-east, the Armada lying to the north and the English fleet lying to the west could only look on as spectators and make what headway they might by tacking up towards the scene of battle. By noon the wind, going round with the sun, blew from the south, and reinforcements of some Queen's ships joined P>obisher. The galleasses began to fall back. They were followed on the heels, and soon there was a finious assault given t« the main body of the Armada. It was now the afternoon, and the wind had gone around a few more points, restoring the weather-gnge to the English fleet. All this time the Lord-Admiral had been trembling for the safety of the ' Triumph ' and her companions. He had gathered around him every ship within call and cleared the decks readv for the change hi the wind which had taken place. The right wing of the A Waver er. 2; Armada extended between hira and the ships engaged. The ' Ark,' the ships of John Hawkins, Sir Robert South- well, George Fenner, Sir George Beeston, and Richard Hawkins were formed in line of battle, and instructed by the Lord-Admiral to reserve their fire until they were within musket-shot, for their powder was limited. Then the signal was given, and the ships bore down on the Spaniards. The battle raged now from wing to wing of the Armada, which was slowly retreating on the centre. Equal courage was shown on both sides, though not equal skill. While the roar was loudest. Captain George Fenner for a moment grew faint-hearted. He was in command of the galleon ' Leicester,' and by the side of the ' Ark.' Lord Howard detected some signr of wavering on board the galleon, and was heard above the sound of battle calling pathetically across to the other: 'Oh! George, what doest thou ? Wilt thou now frustrate my hope and opinion of thee ? Wilt thou forsake me now ? ' It was but the momentary panic that sometimes overcomes the stoutest heart under new experiences. The voice of his friend and commander reanimated him, and Captain Fenner re-entered the battle, fighting valiantly to the end. The Duke of Medina Sidonia, seeing the English Admiral joining in the battle and the whole Spanish line gi^'ing way, called upon the reserve squadron, which con- sisttvi of sixteen of his bes^ galleons, and sought to animate the hearts of their men with promises of great rew^ard when the victory was gained. An English admiral would have trusted more to the power of the word ' duty ' than the word ' reward ' under the circumstances. But doubtless the Duke knew his men best. After the exliortation he sent the galleons to where the battle was hottest. The Knglish gave way, but only for a moment. The Duke of iiii ft ; Mm 2 34 Life of Sir Martin Frcbisher. Medina was determined that the 'Triumph' should be captured. She was the largest ship in the fleet ; she had done him more injury than any other, and she was still close in the rear of the galleasses, which he and his king had thought incapable of showing their heels to anything afloat. It was to frustrate the English Admiral's attempt to rescue Frobisher from his danger that the Duke liad sent the reserve under fire. Their first onset had not been without effect, and the ' Triumph ' seemed already captured ; but the conflict was not yet over. All that afternoon the roar of battle continued without intermission. And it was at close quarters, for the English were lying within half a musket-shot of their tall antago- nists, ?nd thus below the range of their cannon. In the tops there was a second line of battle formed ; but the thundering of the great guns was so loud, says one, that the fire of the musketeers could not be heard on deck. As the day wore on the audacity of some o'T the English captains was so great that they urged the Lord-Admiral to give the signal to board ; but he understood the work before him and the risks involved in such an attempt too well to be carried away by such advice. The seaboard of the Queen's ships was low compared to that of the Spanish galleons, but still lower and beneath the range of the English guns smaller craft dashed in like wasps, fixed their sting- and ran out again. One of these barks, named the ' Delight ' or ' Violet,' under William Cox, distinguished herself in this way. She was of fifty tons, and armed with a few small pieces which in that day would come under the head of sakers. But towards the close of the action this liliputian man-of-war unluckily blundered into the path of a heavy shot, and Captain Cox lost both his life and his 'Delight.' Tiiis was the first English vessel destroyed by the enemy. "'i^'mw Repulse of the Galleons. 235 The attack of the reserve squadron had not altered the fortunes of tlie day. The ' Triumph ' was not yet taken, and the Armada was again drifting eastwards. The Cap- tain-General made one more effort to throw the English into disorder, as the dusk of the evening made it hard to distinguish friends from foes. He detached five galleons from his left wing with instructions to make a wide detour, so as to get the weather-gage of the ' Triumph,' and dash in upon the rear of the vessels engaged with the galleasses. But the English were not to be surprised while the sea was dotted with skimming barks and pinnaces, generally in the way, and occasionally of some service. A few privateers saw the manoeuvre, and displayed consi- derable skill as well as courage in attacking the galleons, which soon fell back again on the Armada. The Duke thereupon called his ships together, and, forming into a ' roundell,' lay-to for the night. So ended the fiercest action which the English had It had lasted from morning until Martin Frobisher had been the fiist to enter it and the last to leave it. He was the hero of that memorable day, whereon all had fought like veteran fire-eaters. ever fought on sea. evenmg CHAPTER LVII. Ajiong those who hurried on board and sped to join the fleet in answer to the ten thousand beacon-fires and the roar of battle which had been rolling eastward from the Lizard to St. Alban's Head, and even as far as the Needles, were the Earls of Cumberland, Northumberland, Oxford, and other nobles; also Raleigh, Hatton, "Willoughby, Al ' t 236 Lt/e of Sir Mai^tm Fro bis her. Blunt, two Cecils, Pallavicini, and many more such valiant men. But these reinforcements of heroes were of no avail. The battle of the previous day had expended all their powder. With the exception of a cask here and there the fleet was without ammunition. Raleigh said : * Many of our great guns stood but as ciphers and scare- crows, not unlike to the Easterling hulks, who were wont to plant great red port-holes in their broad-sides, where they carried no ordnance at all.' During Wednesday it was a dead calm. The two fleets lay motionless, except as they drifted with the tides, and about six miles apart. The Spaniards much needed this breathing-spell to mend their hurts, for more than one of their great ships had been careened to bring the shot-holes above the water. The English, too, were not loth to accept this rest ; but powder was their want. So the Lord- Admiral despatched light barks and pinnaces to row and sail as they could for the nearest ports where convoys of ammunition were expected. While waiting for their return Lord Howard reorganised the fleet. All the captains had up to now been under tlie direct command of the Lord- Admiral, and the experiences of the day before had demonstrated how impracticable it was to communicate with about a hundred various sail during the heat and excitement of a great conflict, and especially when the commander poured broadsides with the boldest. The fleet was therefore divided into four squadrons, respectively composed of certain proportions of Queen's ships, London ships, privateers, barks, and pinnaces. Of the first squadron Lord Howard himself took the command ; the second he committed to Sir Francis Drake, the third to Captain John Hawkins, and the fourth to Captain Martin Frobisher. In expectation of a breeze springing up at the sun- The Galleasses found wanting. 2^7 setting it was agreed that six merchants should be detached from each of the squadrons after niglitfall. These twenty- four sail were to fall on the Spaniards about midniglit at four different points and keep the Armada employed until morning. Perhaps they might succeed in bringing about a repetition of the falling foul of Eiscajan ships, which had resulted in the capture of Don Pedro de \'aklez, for the English commodores had observed that the Spaniards kept too close order and * were penned up in a narrow room.' But the expected breeze did not come, so that the projected diversion was rendered abortive. During the calm of Wednesday the Duke of Medina, supposing the inactivity of the English to be attributable to discouragement and damage received the day before, and considering that his rowers would supply the lack of wind, ordered the galleasses to attack. The English collected their scanty store of ammunition and took a few of their best ships in tow to meet the advancing floating fortresses. The names of the ships are not given, but one may be sure that Erobisher would be among the first to claim the privilege, which Lord Howard would no cloul)t grant, considering the high opinion he had already formed of the fighting qualities of the ' Triumph ' and her commander. The action was short and sharp. The gal- leasses were compelled to retire. Don Hugo de Moncada was losing his confidence in the four great ships under his command. They had been expected to crush everything liefore them, yet in every contest they had been compelled to retreat baffled and beaten. The two fleets were drifting towards the Isle of Wight. The night came on dark. J3ut doles of ammunition were arriving. The commanders of the fortresses alongshore liad heard of the wants of the fleet, and there was no apprehension of a landing being attempted west of the ! !^ Mi 1 1 I'lr"^^ i^ll 238 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. Isle of Wi<^ht. So the Earl of Sussex, Sir George Carey, Lord Buckbiirst, and otliers emptied their magazines and despatched the munitions to the Admiral. During the darkness of the night two Spanish ships fell some distance astern of the Armada. The effects of the battering tliat tliey had been receiving were becoming evident. And the first thing Don Antonio de Leyva, com- mander of the rear-guard, saw at the dawn of Thursday was the ' Triumph,' accompanied by two or three other vessels, being towed up within range of the great hulk ' San tana ' and one of the galleons of Portugal, which were those that had been unable to keep up with the Spanish fleet. Frobisher at once opened fire. Don Antonio called upon his rowers to the rescue. Three of the galleasses and one galleon bore back to the scene of action. But Frobisher and his companions, unawed, awaited their approach. The shorter the range the more Frobisher liked it. Perhaps the best sailor in the whole fleet, be felt secure against grappling. And he was already sufficiently experienced in this war to know that under the muzzles of his antagonists lay the safest spot for hiui and the roost damaging for them. Within the shortest range on which she had yet ventured the 'Triumph' lay pouring in broadsides so rapidly as to astonish all. Fro- bisher was in great danger, for it was still calm, and the ships on both sides could only be moved by rowers : the English sailors in the boats, the Spanish slaves chained to the benches. But perhaps the Commodore was the best judge of the danger. That he blended prudence with courage appears from the commendation bestowed upon him later in the day by the Lord- Admiral. Sir George Carey, having sent his ammunition to the fleet, came out next morning to see what they were doing with it, and very unexpectedly found himself and his pinnace in the The Spanish Flag-ship attacked. 239 midst of round-shot vvliich lie estimated to be flying as thick as musket-halls in a skirmish on laud. While the unequal and desperate conflict was goini^j on the Lord-Admiral ordered out all the boats to take the Queen's ships in tow. By the advance of the galleasses to the rescue of the lagging Spaniards the * St. Martin,' the flag-ship of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, stood exposed in the middle of the Armada. This did not escape the keen eye of Lord Howard. Leaving Frobisher to continue his fight, and imitating his example of coming to close quarters, he directed the attack towards the ' St. Martin.' Close behind him came the ships of Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Robert Southwell, Lord Sheffield, and Captain John Hawkins. But opposed to these illustrious Englishmen were the equally valiant Spaniards, De Kecalde, Oquendo, Diego Florez, Mexia, Euriquez. And as the English ships were pouring broadsides into the ' St. Martin ' and still advancing, the ship of Oquendo ran athwart the course of the ' Ark Raleigh.' The shock was tremendous. Some soldiers were killed on board the Spanish ship, and tlie ' Ark ' unshipped her rudder. Lord Howard tried to wear his ship, so as to bring her broadside on ; but the current baffled him. The St. Martin ' had suffered considerably from the English fire. Her mainmast had been shot by the board. The ship of Oquendo had lost her bowsprit, another had her lantern shot down, which were all consi- dered great triumphs of English gunnery. But all these advantages were as nothing to compensate for tlie loss of the ' Ark Raleigh,' which seemed imminent. Her com- panions were retiring before the attack of the Spanish galleons, which were preparing to grapple her. How^ard got Qut the boats and launches to take him in tow. The Spaniards say he was in the meantime firing signals of distress, and liad struck his standard. But the flag-ship 1 '.;ltk, 240 Life of Sir Martin Frobishcr. was not to be captured. With the Englislimen straining every nerve to drag away their disabled Admiral, and the hundreds of rowers on each galley tugging to overtake, there sprang up a timely breeze, filling the sails of the ' Ark ; ' the hawsers were cast off, and she was borne down and away with a speed that surprised the enemy. Frobisher had been almost yardarm to yardarra with the galleasses all this time. The Howards and Hawkinss had also been nearly yardarm to yardarm with their antagonists. Each battle was hotter and closer than its predecessor. The Captain-General, giving up his expec- tation of forcing the English to grapple, in which lay his only hope of success, fired a gun to call his ships out of the figlit. The galleasses had proved themselves utter failures. Frobisher had battered them, sailed around tliem, dared them, and completely defeated them. The Duke never ventured them in another contest with the English. But the day was not yet spent, and the British blood was thoroughly aroused. The great bulk of the fleet hud been compelled by the calm to be idle spectators of the morning's work. Some of them were determined to burn powder before night, now that the breeze blew fitfully. And of those who had been engaged there were some who had not had satiety of fighting. It was yet uncertain in what quarter the wind would settle, so Frobisher was no sooner relieved of the presence of the galleasses than he exercised his seamanship in tack- ing to the northward and windward of the Armada. jMeanwhile the wliole of the fleet, collected together, drew near to the Armada. Edward Fenton in the ' Mary Rose" and Thomas Fenner in the ' Nonpareil ' deliberately took in their topsails almost within range of the Spaniards. This defiance was too much for the Southern blood. The Armada had the advantage of what wind there was and Off FrcsJnoatcr. 241 training and the vertake, 9 of the IS borne eray. inn with Hawkins th their • than its lis expec- 1 lay his 3S out of /es utter md them, :he Dulve Englisli, :isli blood fleet had )rs of the il to burn w fitfully. 5ome who 1 ind would presence IP in tack- Armada, ^her, drew [ary Rose " [tely took Spaniards. )od. The was and l)ore down. The engagement was resumed and became ;,'eneral along the line. Frobisher was all this time ' peg- ii;ing away' on the nortliern flank of the Spaniards. Hut lis usual the wind veered roinid with the sun, and towards the close of the afternoon it was perceived tliat the 'Triumph' was to leeward of the Armada and making every effort to extricate lierself. In advance of the wind many boats put out to Frobisher's assistance ; and before \y)\Y^ Lord Sheffield and Sir Kobert Southwell were enabled to follow. They came none too soon, and none too many. Each ship liad to put fortli all her efforts to beat itlftlie Spaniards and regain the wind. It is unnecessary to add that it was accomplished. It vv\s now growing dark. The day's work was done. And * the conflict was no whit shorter than the day.' Frobisher had again been the first to enter and the last to leave the battle. CHAPTER LVIII. It was off Freshwater and Blackgang this terrible conflict had been raging aU day. Towards night, the Duke had sent off one more felucca to inform the Prince of Parma of what was taking place down the Channel. And let Parma —so ran the Duke's message — send shot for four, six, and ten pounders. without delay. Let him also make all haste to come out to join the Armada. It was evident that the 'Spaniards were falling short of ammunition as well as their iuiversaries, and coald not so easily replenish their stores. They were also growing afraid of the English. On Friday morning the weather was still almost a calm ; and the Duke *nt one more felucca to the Prince of Parma. The Spanish i Mflii ■^:. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V / d? :/ S MP.. y m s i CP.< ^: -■0 S° w- w. C/ji ^ fA 1.0 I.I !.25 '" IllM IIIIM .. 112 .i IllM 12,2 2.0 .8 14 III! 1.6 P> ^ ^^ %/ % *>#■> '# ^# Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^\ M •t>^ vv V ^<^^ » i/ Mi ^ Q. r % ■^ C/ji ^ m^ ^ 6^ A^ 242 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. \\i Admiral's demands were increasing. Besides the ammu- nition, let the Prince send forty small vessels to be em- ployed against the Armada's light tormentors. And once more, let him be in readiness to make instant jimction with tlie fleet on its arrival in Calais Roads. The Duke was no longer confident of success. He was in a state of imcertainty and alarm. No one on board the fleet knew where Parma might be, for no answer had been received to any of the messages sent. ' The English blood had cooled during the night, and they were no more prepared for battle than their anta- gonists. They had agair emptied their magazines. Lord Howard saw that they could not afford to stand helpless before their foe at the close of every encounter. It was too full of danger. A command was therefore given, with a view of economising what little they had left, that do captain should again engage with the enemy without expres,; directions. England had everything but ammunition for sinking the Armada. Noblemen, knights, and fishermen were stili flocking to the English standard. But there was neither food nor powder for them. The Duke was determined to fight no more at such a disadvantage. He had done everything to tempt them to come to hand-to-hand encounters. He had purposely left ships exposed as a temptation ; but they would not be taken by his wiles. They were swift and he was slow — the battle was to the swift — and there was no remedy. The English had men and ammunition in abundance, said the Duke, while he had almost consumed his. That was the very sentiment of Lord Howard concerning his antagonists. So Friday passed without a conflict — the Armada spreading j every sail to catch the light breeze and reach C'alais Koads ; tlie English fleet following close in its wake. But that Friday was the day of glory for Frobisher.! The Guerdon of Prowess, 5 1 •; Tlie pinnace of the ' Ark Raleigh ' came alongside the 'Triumph' witli a request tliat the Commodore would come aboard of the flag-ship. There stood Lord Thomas Howard, the Admiral's cousin ; and by his side Lord Sheffield, son-in-law to the Admiral : both valiant gentle- men who had especially distinguished themselves on the previous day. Next to them stood Koger Towusend ; — who he was, except that himself and wife held offices in the Queen's household, it is hard to find out. Lord Howard in one of his letters refers to his having had a command in the fleet, but in none of the catalogues does his name appear. What great deeds he achieved, if any, are not recorded. Perhaps the Lord-Admiral had received a hint from the Queen to dub him on the first opportunity. With them stood Captain John Hawkins of world-wide renown as sailor, slaver, and warrior. He was the senior of them all, being now sixty-eight years of age. Captain Martin Frobisher joined them. The yards were manned, the soldiers were under arms, and all the fleet stood gazing on. The Lord- Admiral stepped up to Frobisher ; and having commended him for liis dauntless valour and un- rivalled skill in seamanship, bade him kneel and gave him the last stroke on the cheek which he was (^ver to accept unavenged, and thus admitted him into the order of knighthood. Then his four companions were in like manner rewarded with the dignity which was yet only given for distinguished service to the country, and was sought after by nobles as well as commoners. In that day a duke would have to yield precedence to a knight on certain occasions. • Thus in mid-channel, almost within the range of the enemy's guns, while the weariness of battle was yet upon his limbs, the boy who had been turned adrift by his ma- ternal uncle, who had waited, laboured, suffered poverty, 244 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. I ; hardship, and yet who had followed the path of duty with a brave heart, became Sir Martin Frobisher. The dignity had never been better earned. On Saturday the two fleets were still sailing Calais- wards within a short distance of one another. There was no firing. Both sides had come to fight ; and both were saving their scant powder and shot. At ten in the morn- ing the coast of France was sighted in the neighbourhood of Boulogne. At five in the afternoon, with the wind and tide bearing up the Channel, the Armada came suddenly to anchor off Calais. The Captain-General had an expec- tation that the English fleet, being under all sail and close upon him, would be surprised by his sudden action, and, unable to take in their sails, be driven to leeward of him. The Spaniards had already learnt many lessons in seamanship from their antagonists ; but they had not yet surpassed their tutors. The English were somewhat sur- prised, and yet succeeded in taking in their sail and drop- ping anchor on the weather side of the Armada, thougli not until they were within culverin-shot of them. While Medina Sidonia was exchanging courtesies witli the Grovernor of Calais, he saw the squadron under Lord Henry Seymour and Sir William Winter sailing down from the north-west and joining Lord Howard. The English fleet now numbered one hundred and forty sail of everv class. Of the merchants and coasters Sir John Hawkins said, 'We had been little holpen by them, otherwise than they did make a show.' A complete list of the ships serving against the Armada shows that the number was one hundred and ninety-seven ; and looking at their tonnage, there is no doubt much truth in an assertion that the stress of the battles was borne by fifteen or sixteen of them. Urgent Messages to Parma. 245 CHAPTER LIX. During that Saturday night, Medina Sidonia despatched his secretary to the Duke of Parraa to inform him of the position of the Armada, and that he had been told by the pilots and Governor of Calais it was not only very dan- gerous but impossible to remain long at his present anchorage. With the secretary went the Prince of Ascoli and many Spanish noblemen who were not pleased to receive knocks instead of plunder. They would have no more of the expedition. The next morning Captain Don Roderigo Fello, who had been sent to Parma twelve days before, returned to the Armada. The Spanish messengers were not very swift. This was the first and last communication received by the much-perplexed Sidonia from the man who was to have assumed all further command. Don Roderigo said Parma was at Bruges, a town half-way between Sluys and Ostend. He had expressed much satisfaction at the arrival of the Armada. But the Don added that he had not seen any disposition on the part of Parma to como to Dunkirk ; he had seen no movement towards embarking the troops. The stores and provisions were still on shore. A letter from his secretary at Dunkirk followed close on Don Roderigo, informing Sidonia that it would take Parma fifteen days to make his preparations to come out. A suspicion of something like treachery seized upon the Captain -General. He supposed that Parma's coquetting with Elizabeth had come to an arrangement between the two, and that the destruction of himself and his fleet was to be Parma's wedding present. It is hardly necessary to state that Parma had worked as few men have toiled to get n ' i ■ ) 1^ 246 Li/e of Sir Martin Frobisher. ready in time ; but the Dutch cruisers and the Channel squadron under Seymour and Winter had thwarted him completely. The consequences to the Armada were all the same. Sidonia wished to throw the responsibility of the next step upon Parma, and was driven, though at his wits' end, to decide for himself. Circumstances should decide that for him. To this impotent conclusion he came, and in the meantime waited. The English had no conception of the Duke's extremity. There had been no lighting for two days. Lord Howard had thought it prudent to save their ammunition until Lord Henry Seymour joined him, and then the great decisive battle must be fought. He knew that the Spaniards were not so ready to attack as at their first meeting off Looe, that many of the galleons had been injured, that their plans had been thwarted, and that they were riding in a dangerous roadstead. He supposed also that the Duke of Parma might come out and join the Armada at any moment ; so that hours might decide the fate not only of his fleet but of the kingdom also. Lord Seymour had joined him. The Armada could not be attacked as at present situated. Thus the English admiral was likewise anxious and almost in extremity. But to wait was the one thing he could not do. So the Admiral sent his pinnace to bring Sir William Winter on board the ' Ark ' for counsel. This was at the departure of daylight on Saturday, and soon after the lat- ter's arrival with his squadron. Sir William having come on board the flag-ship stood awhile beside the Lord-Admiral viewing the Armada, which lay in compact order about a mile and a half to the eastward. This was the first sight the veteran had got of the Spanish ships. He had heard almost hoin-ly of the battles raging down the Channel, and now he sa^N the Armada. He was struck with the size 1 Sir William Winter's Device. 247 and height of the enemy's ships, and he despaired of gain- ing anything by attacking. After gazing his till at that magnificent spectacle the two went down into the cabin. Tbey must be removed, said the Lord- Admiral, or a junction with Parma might be effected 2Luy moment. Sir William held this to be impossible by any assault of the English tleet. Still he had a device. It had never been attempted in a sea-fight, but it was worth the trial, and that was to send fire-ships among them. This would certainly move them ; it might put many of them in danger of being tired ; and there would doubtless be a great loss of cables and anchors among the Spanish ships. With these argu- ments he found it an easy matter to convince Lord Howard. On the morrow a council should be called to consider the project ; and if approved, it should be put in operation. While they were discussing these things about nine o'clock at night there came a great crash against the ' Ark,' accompanied by the sounds of breaking yards and snapping cordage. Eunning up on deck they found that Sir Kobert Southwell's ships had become entangled with three otliers, and were thus drifting before the rushing tide, threatening damage if not destruction to everything in their path. Just such an accident had cost the Armada dearly off Plymouth. Eut the advantage of having practical sailors to man the fleet was shown liere again. Expertly and witliout alarm, the locked yards were disentangled and the damaged rigging repaired. Sir William, who knew from long experience what such an accident might mean, exclaims with pious gratitude, ' But a great favor of God shewed that it liad not made a destruction of many our ships.' f Next morning, which was Sunday, July 28, the flag for council was rim up on the ' Ark.' The plan proposed by J 248 Life of Sir Mai' tin Frodiskcr. Winter was approved of by everyone. But the materials for carrying it out were not to liand. Sir Henry Palmer Avas despatched to Dover to bring hulks, tar, resin, pitch, and other combustibles. All that Sunday forenoon the English commanders kept their eyes towards the east coast, expecting to see Parma break forth through every obstacle. Between them and him lay the Spanish fleet ; and while they would be struggling with the enemy's sliips, venturing their fleet, lives, everything, Parma might cross and their country be invaded by the scoundrels who had outdone the Furies in the Netherlands — who had no respect for age or sex — the very children of rapine and carnage. The members of the council were still on the deck of the ' Ark.' After the departure of Sir Henry Palmer they became restless, and began anxiously to calculate the number of hours that must elapse before his return. And what might not happen in the meantime ! It became (ilear to every mind that Sir Henry could not return in time to execute their device that night, and before another night it might be too late. The council therefore determined to perform that night what might be done with the materials at hand. The bark ' Talbot ' and five other small vessels were allotted to the fire. Their captains gave them up without very much reluctance, though a sailor is fond of his craft. The captain of the ' Talbot ' said, in writing to Walsingham : ' Now I rest like one that had his house burnt, and one of these days I must come to your honor for a commission to go a-begging.' At midnight these should be despatched with the turn of the tide and let drift upon the Spanish fleet anchored in too close order for escape from any sudden emergency. The English sailors were not long in smearing the rigging and decks with tar, pitch, sulphur, and what- ever fierce combustible they had in the fleet. Many The Fire-ships. 249 sakers, or five-pounders, were placed on board and heavily loaded, that when the burning ships had reached the heart of the enemy's fleet the charges might be ignited by the heat, and, if not injure, at least increase the terror of the Spriniards. After dark a strong convoy was sent with the tire-ships towards the shore, that they might be set drifting on the line of the current making towards the Armada. All that day Sidonia with his captains had been look- ing up towards Dunkirk, as well as the English. But he liad no ground, except his own hope, for expecting to see the Duke of Parma's host of barges, barks, and hoys coming forth. The last word heard from his secretary at Dunkirk was, ' the Duke has not yet arrived here.' The Spanish watch-boats detected the movement of the squadron of twenty-six ships towards the French coast ; and Sidonia, on being informed, suspected the design. It may seem strange that the Spanish com- mander guessed that the enemy was about to employ a stratagem never before heard of in a naval engagement ; and yet it was not strange. About four years before, while Parma was besieging Antwerp, and fencing it in with lines of fortresses on the land side, and with a bridge which was the wonder of the age on the seaward side, an Italian, by the name of Gianibelli, came to the city and constructed two fire-ships, which were to be let drift with the current and blow up against the bridge. In the holds . of the two vessels were caves of flagstones and powder. One of these floating mines or artificial volcanoes went off prematurely; the other drifted with fatal precision against the bridge, and, with an exactness of time which could not have been excelled if it had been ignited by an electric wire, exploded, throwing up a shower of flagstones, break- ing a gap in the bridge, slaying a thousand of Parma's 250 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. >)e8t soldiers, and striking insensihki the Duke himself. Gianibelli's sliip was the ancestor of torpedoes. The story of the fire-ships of Antwerp spread throughout the world. Moreover, this very Gianibelli, it was well known to the Spaniards, was in the service of the English — perhaps on board the fleet ; so it was not very strange that the Duke of Medina suspected what this movement of the English ships portended. And, to guard against such a device, he sent out a pinnace to tow on shore any vessel that might be found advancing towards the Armada. The Captain- General also commanded all the ships lying in the direction of the English to man all their boats and watch with the greatest vigilance. So matters stood towards midnight on Sunday, the 28th. CHAPTER LX. 'i About twelve o'clock the squadron of fire-ships, being all ready, was placed under Captains Young and Prewse. The tide had been nicely calculated, and, with the wind also, swept them pointblank on the Armada, lying in the same compact order about a mile and a half to the leeward. Arriving within cannon range, their helms lashed, their sheets belayed, the trains were fired, and the crews took to their boats towing astern. The night was very dark and gloomy. But at first two, then six fire-ships blazed up, lighting the darkness, and bearing swiftly past the boats sent to intercept them. Their burning decks and rigging sent darting tongues of flame in advance as they were carried by the gusts of the gathering thunder-storm. From the Armada were heard * The Fire of A ntwerp ! ' 251 loud cries : * Cut your cables ! ' But the panic was not complete until from tlie burning ships, rushing unguided among the Spaniards, the loaded sakers went off in broad- sides. Then came another cry from the Armada: 'The fire of Antwerp I Tlie fire of Antwerp I ' An overwhelming explosion was every moment expected. Over a hundred ancliors with their cables were let slip into the roadstead. The swift tide and fitful blasts bore the ships athwart one anotlier. There were indescribable confusion and panic. Everyone seemed to lose his wits except the Captain-General. He had given instructions how they were to behave in such ;in emergency : they were to open a way for the incendi- aries to pass and then to return to their anchorage. This he and half-a-dozen others succeeded in doing ; but all the rest were flying to the leeward — some entangled, others shouting out of very fear, and setting sail to get anywhere from tlie neighbourhood of the expected explo- sions. The cries of the Spanish mariners were heard on shore by the French, Flemings, and Walloons who had been flocking all day Sunday to Calais to see a great battle. Sir William Winter says two of the enemy's ships were set on fire. For ' there were two great fires more than ours and tar greater and huger'than any of our vessels that were fired could make.' All others say there were eight lire-ships despatched, and so the number of burning ships seen by all was the same. In the panic the ' head galleass,' the show-ship of the Armada, in trying to make a headlong flight drifted across the hawse of the cable of a galleon on her lee. The gfiUeass swung there helplessly all night. Towards morning her rudder was unshipped, and herself glided oflf her strange moorings. The sight presented to the English at the dawn of 252 Life of Sir Martin Fi obishcr. Mondiiy was the bruised and startled Armada lying six milen to the eastward, and the * head galleass ' near at hand, under her foresail, and with all the four hundred and fifty oars pulling vigorously for Calais Harbour. Tlie * Ark ' went eagerly in pursuit ; with a man in t)ie chaiiiH heaving the lead. It was soon announced that the *Ark' must bring her head to the wind, for the water was grow- ing shallow. Almost at tlie same time the great galleass struck on Calais Bar, at the entrance of the harbour, for it was now half-tide. Richard Tomson, the Lieutenant of the ' Margaret and Joan,' has much to say of liis own achievements on this and another occasion. There are many little details in his narrative which would bring him under the lash of a cross-examiner. He presents Ids own actions in such a valorous light, his own acquirements as so far surpassing those of all his comrades, that one is justified in attaching to his story that suspicion which falls upon all who trumpet their own fame. Lieutenant Eichard Tomson says that their ship, the 'Margaret and Joan,' took up the pursuit with the 'Ark'; but that they ran aground, were shot through and through by the cannon of Calais Castle, and floated off with the next flood. But while his ship lay aground he manned his boat and rowed over to join the pinnace which the Lord- Admiral was on the point of sending in pursuit of the grounded galleass. The two boats soon pulled alongside; and a strange contest was witnessed by the spectators who had gathered to see a battle. They were not to be disappointed of the spectacle after all. The galleass was the ' St. Lawrence,' 1,550 tons, carrying 50 guns, 118 mariners, 350 soldiers, and the hundreds of slaves on the benches. Coming to the attack were two launches. In that of the ' Ark The Galleass boarded. 25 Kalei^h ' were ))etween fifty and sixty men, many of them '•gentlemen as valiant in couraf the 30,000 men who had sailed, distributing among themselves by anticipation the lands, honouis, and offices of England, it is agreed that about 10,000 returned. De Kecalde, Oquendo, Diego Florez, and other eminent commanders were dead. Pimentel, De Toledo, and Don Pedro de Valdez were in captivity. So ended the Invincible Armada, which had been three years preparing. ' The English losses were so trifling as to be almost incredible. One hundred and twenty men is the number given of the slain. And many of these lost their lives at the taking of the great galleass on Calais Bar. The bark of Cox was the only craft sunk. Not a boat or pinnace had been captured. 268 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. CHAPTER LXIV. Sufferings not far less than those of the Spaniards were in the meantime endured by their English conquerors lyin<^ in Margate Eoads, but under circumstances a thousand- fold more shameful. From storms and rocks and thirst, the insensate powers of nature and the frightened dwellers on hostile coasts, did the former receive their damage and death ; while the latter dropped down and died in the streets after winning the victory, after escaping the storms, and regaining a roadstead \^thin a day's ride of the capital of their native land. On the day of his coming to anchor Lord Howard, in a letter quoted from before, says to Walsingham : ' I pray to God wc may hear of victuals, for we are generally in great want.' The postscript to it runs : ' Sir, if I hear nothing of my victuals and munition this night here, I will gallop to Dover to see what may done there, or else we shall starve.' Some provision ships had, indeed, been sent to Harwich, and were of service to the ships lying there. But Lord Howard heard nothing of them that night ; and the great mariner, bestriding his steed, took the gallop towards Dover. Mr. Quarles, Greneral Sur- veyor of the Victuals of the Navy, was found at Sand- wich, and informed him of the hoys on the way from Harwich. Thence the Lord-Admiral rode to Canter- bury to see the Commissioners and learn of the Duke of Parma's movements. The intelligence he received on that head was reassuring. But before his ride back to Mar- gate Roads he sent Walsingham another letter. * There is a number of the poor men of the coast towns, I mean the mariners, that cry out for money, and they know not where 'A most pitiftil Sight ! ' 269 to be paid ; I have given them my word and honor that either the towns should pay them, or I will see them paid. If I had not done so they had run away from Plymouth bv thousands.' But the worst had not yet been reached. The conse- quences of the Queen's economy in changing the men's diet from English mutton and beef to Spanish fish and oil, besides the more immediate effects of the sour beer, were seen everywhere. Two days later Lord Howard writes again : * Sickness and mortality begin wonderfully to grow amongst us, and it is a most pitiful sight to see here at Margate how the men (having no place to receive them into here) die in the streets. I am driven myself of force to come a-land to see them bestowed in some lodgings, and the best I can get is barns and such outhouses, and the relief is small that I can provide for them here. It would grieve any man's heart to see them that have served so valiantly to die so miserably.' The * Elizabeth Jonas,' Sir Robert Southwell's ship, had lost 200 out of her crew of 500 before leaving Plymouth ; and though an attempt had been made to disinfect her with fires of wet broom, the new crew had also been struck down. The ship of Sir Roger Townsend (her name is no- where given) had but one man left in her. Within two weeks Lord Thomas Howard, Lord Sheffield, and five or six others, seeking, on a change of the wind, to move to a safer place, were unable to do so owing to the fact that their sick crews were unequal to the task of weighing anchor. And the fresh men that were drawn into the ships were likewise infected ' one day and died the next.' Perhaps the scene that was meanwhile taking place at Harwich had still more painful features ; but they were of an entirely different character. Sir John Hawkins, Sir jNIartin Frobisher, Lord Sheffield, and many more had 270 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, come to anchor there after their return out of the great storm. While the enemy was before them, they ' stayed not to take the spoil of any of those ships ' they had disabled, with two exceptions. But now the great men had leiiijure to come down from their heroism and squabble over the plunder. The fifty-five thousand ducats found in the galleon of De Valdez became the apple of discord. It had been thought that Drake had compensated for his absence and the want of a lantern during that first night ofiF Plymouth by taking the disabled ship with he.' trea- sure and her Admiral, precious in prospective ransom. But it would have been better had it sunk in the sea. Sir John Hawkins was fond of money. Sir Martin Frobisher was always in need of it. The Lord Sheffield and the Lord-Admiral had reduced themselves to pecu- niary straits by their expenditures for their men. So the prize money of the captured galleon seemed a lucky wind- fall to each. But it was said that * Sir Francis his soldiers had well paid themselves with the spoil of the ship— which they shared merrily among them.' Yet the other commanders believed that not even a considerable part of it had gone among the common mariners. As soon, there- fore, as these captains got together at Harwich the subject of the treasure came up, and an interchange of opinions took place as to their right to share with Sir Francis in the distribution of it. They were all at the ti jqo on board the ' Bear,' Lord Sheffield's ship. There had been more or less heated words against the absent Drake, when there entered on the scene a man that must have been sent by the very imp of mischief. This was one Matthew Starke, one of Drake's men, who came bearing a despatch from the Lord-Admiral to Lord Sheffield. Frobisher had only needed the veriest trifle to pour out all his indig- nation, suffering as he was under a sense of injustice. On board the ' Bear J 271 There is no doubt that Frobisher was large and muscular, p'ew men in the fleet could perform the feats of strength which lie had accomplished. He was always ready and fearless for an encounter. When his temper had reached the sticking-place, he had drawn his hanger on more than one antagonist and forced them to flee for life. And when angry, perhaps, each of the great trio of English Admirals would involuntarily break out in the vocabulary of youth, learned in the forecastle and off the Coast of Guinea.. As soon as he knew that Matthew Starke was one of Drake's men, the uncurbed English Ajax burst forth in language untempered by culture. ' Sir Francis Drake rep^rteth that no man hath done any good service but he, but he shall well understand that others have done as good service as he and better too.' Perhaps Frobisher was right thus far. From the taking of the ship of De Valdez to the battle of Gravelines not one of the English authorities has a single achievement of Drake's to record. From reading his letters, on the other hand, one would glean an implication that things had been quite otherwise. Frobisher enters on details : — ' He came bragging up at the first indeed, and gave them his prow and hia broadside, and then kept his luff, and was glad that he was gone again like a cowardly knave or traitor — I rest doubtful which, but the one I will swear.' When a man's temper has brought him to the point of re- joicing in biting antithesis, it is difficult to know how much he would have us take as fact and how much he would have ascribed to his own wit. It is a mood that naturally leads to sarcasm. ' H^ did good service indeed,' continues Frobisher, 'for he took Don Pedro ; for after he had seen her in the evening that she had spent her masts, then, like a coward, he kept by her all night because he 1 i ^ii li 272 Life of Sir Martin Fr obis her. ,ould have the spoil. He thinketh to cozen us of our shares of 15,000 ducats, but we will have our shares, or I will make him spend the best blood in his belly, for he hath done enough of these cozening cheats already.' Drake had laid himself open to suspicion by the coin- cidence of the absence of the lantern and the capture of the treasure. But the charge of cozening had, perhaps, originated in some other brain than Frobisher's. Having given utterance to what was doubtless Sir John Hawkins's grievance, he comes back to his own. ' He hath used certain speeches of me,' continued Sir Martin, ' which I will make him eat again, or I will make him spend the best blood in his belly. P^urthermore, he reporteth that no man hath done so good service as he, but he lieth in his teeth, for there are others that have done as good, and better too.' At this point the knight undertook the cross-examina- tion of Starke. ' Had they, in the *' Eevenge," not seen Don Pedro overnight ? ' . Starke answered in the negative. ' You lie,' retorted P'robisher, ' for she was seen to all the fleet.' - Starke was prepared to lay his head that no man in the fleet had seen her until morning, when they found themselves within two or three cables' length of her. No one accepted the wager, or Starke would have lost it, to his irreparable damage. *Aye, marry, you were within two or three cables' lengths,' Frobisher went on, ' for you were no farther off all night but lay a-hull by her.' The controversy continued some time longer, — the other captains discreetly allowing Frobisher to pull the chest- nuts out of the fire for them. At last Lord Sheffield A Bone of Contention. 273 interposed by asking Starke what he was. He had been in the action with Sir Francis, he said. Lord Sheffield repeated his question, * What art thou — a soldier ? ' 'I am a mariner like your honor,' said Starke. The remark of Lord Sheffield on this answer appears both abrupt and inconsequential : * I have no more to say unto you. You may depart.' The mariner no sooner returned to the * Kevenge ' than be repeated all he had heard on board Lord Sheffield's ship at Harwich. And, doubtless by advice, he put it all in the form of a declaration, attested by the masters of the ' Ark ' and ' Eevenge,' besides three of the captains of Drake's squadron. Lord Henry Seymour was already angry with the Lord-Admiral for having been sent back from the pursuit of the Armada ; but between Drake and the three captains at Harwich a far deeper and wider gulf was opened. As soon as it was reported that Frobisher and Hawkins had put in their claim for a share of the prize-money other claimants appeared. Eichard Tomson, of the facile pen, and lieutenant of the ' Margaret and Joan,' together with the captain and master of that ship, had a declaration to present to Wal- singham, touching the capture of the Spanish galleon ; and if 'the forwardness of the willing be something considered before such as never gave any attempt to the taking of her,' then they also would come in for a share of the prize-money. The foundations upon which their claim was built were the following. About five o'clock in the afternoon of that Sunday, July 20, tlie whole English fleet beheld the falHng of the masts of Don Pedro's ship. Then the * Margaret and Joan,' alone of all the navy, ' as all the . T . 274 ^{/^ of Sir Martin Frobisher. fleet can testify, bare roamer with the ship.' As they approached the galleon they perceived that a second galleon, a great galleass, and a pinnace remained by her. And here Kichard Tomson appears to be too well informed. The instructions given to the vessels sent to the assistance of Don Pedro were, 'either to help her, repair her masts, and so follow the Spanish army going before, or else to bring away the men, treasure and muni- tion thereof, and to fire or sink the ship.' All these statements no doubt helped to build up his case, but tliey were obviously born of his own imagination. But to return to Tomson's declarations. These precautions proved futile, for no sooner was the ' Margaret and Joan,' with her two hundred tons burthen and crew of ninety, seen approaching than the succouring ships unfurled their sails and ^ forsook Don Pedro, leaving him to the mercy of the sea.' Considering that the galleon, galleass, and pinnace could have carried no less than about a thousand men, of whom nearly four hundred were Spanish veterans, this flight must have been sufficiently flattering to the com- manders of the ' Margaret and Joan.' Tomson is justified, under the circumstances described by him, in saying that but for their coming the galleon would have been carried off that night. All this happened at five in the afternoon. But, with a grand indifference for details, Tomson states that he came alongside the galleon an hour before he says he had seen her, that is, at four in the afternoon. They contemplated her lofty sides, and thought that perhaps they would not immediately board. She had no light burning ; but what she wanted with a lantern at four o'clock on July 20 is not obvious. More- over none of her crew appeared on deck — perhaps out of indifference — so the ' Margaret and Joan ' poured a volley of musketry into her netting. This awoke the Spaniards, Lord Howard called to Arcotint, 275 who sent back two great shot. The ' Margaret and Joan ' returned a broadside. They then, fortunately, thought better of their boarding project, and contented themselves with lying by her until midnight. At that time, seeing the Lord-Admiral about a league distant, and fearing his dis- pleasure should they remain any longer by the damaged ship, they made all the sail they could to join him. Such was Tomson's story ; but it tallied ill with Starke's narrative. Starke said none saw Don Pedro's sliip until the morning ; Tomson said all the fleet saw her at five of the evening before. Starke said it was so dark that though they lay within two or three cables' length of the galleon they saw nothing of her until the dawn ; Tomson said it was sufficiently clear to see the Lord-Admiral's ship lying a-hull a league away. These discussions and counter-claims came to the ears of the Queen, who was always on the alert when the jingling of ducats was heard in the air. She at once demanded a strict account of the prize, which put Lord Howard on his defence. The high-spirited Admiral felt that his honesty was called in question, and with justi- fiable indignation he wrote to Walsingham on August 27 : ' Sir, — I send you here inclosed a note of the money that Sir Francis Drake had aboard Don Pedro, I did take now at my coming down 3000 pistolets (perhaps 2,400^.) as I told you I would.' And, with a solemn asseveration, he adds : ' I had not three pounds left in the world, and had nor anything could get money in London. And I do assure you my plate has gone before, but I will repay it within ten days after my coming home. I pray you let Her Majesty know so ; and by the Lord God of Heaven, I had not one crown more, and had it not been mere necessity I would not have touched one ; but if I had not some to 11 I 1 1 1'' 1 jB^^H • iUI r ; i : ::■ i ml i k '- IB !v \ ■ ' ! ^ ! 1 it r ' i li ill || 1 i i ^ I 1 jWHj J ^H^I^^K if : i H I ^^ i ' 1 } II 1 276 Life 0/ Sir Martin Fr obis her. have bestowed upon some poor and miserable men I should have wished myself out of the world.' It is impossible to follow the intricate windings of this controversy. It is more than probable that Drake and Frobisher never met again ; so that the latter had no opportunity for carrying out his threats against his phy- sically small antagonist. That Frobisher did get his share of the spoil of Don Pedro's ship is very likely. He became the Queen's favourite Admiral ; and if the plunder was not absorbed in her treasury, she would not forget the person that had won her favour. Moreover Frobisher received, just six months afterwards, a great warrant through Sir John Hawkins, Treasurer of the Navy, for 4,979^. on account ' of the war of the 21 of July.' . v CHAPTER LXV. It has been told how Lord Henry Seymour and Sir William Winter were ordered back by the Lord-Admiral to Dover when the Armada began its flight northward after the battle of Gravelines. At that port they were to victual their fleet, and then proceed to cruise off the coast of the Netherlands. But, before they had completed the provisioning of their ships, the great storm from the north- west had swept down the German Ocean and lashed the waves of the Channel to such fury that their services were not needed to keep the hoys and barges of Parma from issuing forth from Dunkirk and Nieuport. And so Lord Henry's squadron continued riding in Dover roadstead. Towards the end of August Lord Henry and Sir William Untimely Thrift, 277 were joined by the ships of Howard, Drake, Hawkins, and other noted commanders. The Lord-Admiral was still continuing his epistolary attack on the authorities as Court, emphasizing the dangers to which the realm was still exposed ; and urging that, inasmuch as the wind had shifted and the Channel was again smooth, the Duke must not be neglected ; and that indeed something must be done at once, ' or else it would weary all men to keep still.' Howard estimated the smallest force which would suffice to guard the Channel at sixteen ships, and suggested that the command of that fleet should be entrusted to Sir Martin Frobisher and Sir Henry Palmer. The Lord-Admiral's estimates of men and ships had to undergo a strict revision by the authorities at head-quarters, where it seems to have been taken for granted that every demand was necessarily exaggerated, and that vigilant guardianship of the public purse consisted in cutting down and paring away something from every estimate. The chief part of the Queen's state-craft consisted of eco- nomy ; and her economy was made up of cheese-paring. Henry the Seventh's character had skipped a generation and descended to his grand-daughter. Two months were spent in talk and examination of the items of cost. Then the uncertainty as to the Duke's movements became so great that something must be done. Frobiaher was therefore despatched in the ' Tiger,' a vessel of two hundred tons, to glean information and keep a look-out off the Low Countries. He was no sooner afloat than he began to gather something besides news. The Dutch merchants, though patriotic in voting money to fight Parma, and unflinching in their contests on the canals and deltas, were not averse to recouping them- selves by becoming the carriers of the enemy. In this way, it may have appeared to them, the Spaniard was I 278 Lt/e of Sir Martin Frobishcr. made to contribute to his own destruction. But this question was viewed from another side by Frobisher. Any ship bound for the ports of the enemy was deemed by him a lawful prize. Besides, tliere was the English fleet at Dover lacking bread. Thus the wheat ships of the Easterlings fell victims to the ' Tiger,' and were sent to Dover ; the corn was carried ashore, and what was left of it after the hungry mariners were fed was stored until the Courts could decide some questions of law between the captor and the owners. And the latter were not slow in raising a clamour. The Company of the Merchants of Almaine had at that time a Guildhall in the Steelyard, and hold many privileges. They were the chief importers of corn, and so came into conflict with the farmers of England. On this account they had begun to have their privileges clipped, and were looked upon with no friendly eye. Frobisher entertained no kind feelings towards the City. So when the merchants of the Steelyard and their Aldermen petitioned the Privy Council against the commander of the ' Tiger,' we can imagine Frobisher receiving it not only with complacency, but increasing his activity in capturing the Easterling corn-ships. Frobisher had had a controversy with the City merchants before the Privy Council some ten years earlier, and had suffered no damage. Out of this he came equally successfully. Meanwhile the Queen had arrived at a decision ; and on November 26, 1588, issued a press warrant, in which it is recited that she had appointed six ships to ' remain on the Narrow Seas in warlike manner under our trusty and well-beloved Sir Martin Frobisher, Knight, for our especial service.' The fleet was composed of the following ships : — The Channel Squadron, ' ' ■ ■■ ^ ' ■ ■ ' ■ -.1 —— ■ Tong. The Vanguard 500 „ Tiger 200 „ Tremontaine 150 „ Charles 70 „ Moon 60 „ Spy 50 1,030 279 Men. 250 100 70 40 40 85 635 And although Lord Howard's estimate had been cut down to a mere squadron, even these few ships were ordered to be victualled only for one month. There are persons who think it greater economy to buy by penny- worths than wholesale. The Queen could not bring her- self to pay down a large sum once for all. Hers was a policy forced upon her by circumstances. Hawkins, as Treasurer of the Navy, was at Dover, busied in paying off the fleet. But standing, as he was, between a sovereign who was the keenest auditor in the realm and his own ignorance of accounts, Sir John was naturally in trouble enough. Well might the veteran slave-trader exclaim with devout emphasis in writing to Burghley, ' I pray God I may end this accoTmt to Her Majesty's and your Lordship's liking, and avoid mine own undoing; and I trust God will so provide for me, as I shall never meddle with such intricate matters more.' Frobisher was still cruising in the Channel, having made a happy escape from being involved in similar diflBculties to those of Hawkins, which his appointment to the reversion of the Clerkship of the Navy at one time threatened to bring upon him. But the capture of the corn-ships embroiled him sufficiently. The intricate ques- tions connected with neutral bottoms and contraband of war engaged the attention of jurists even then. Frobisher, though a knight, the nephew and grandson of knights, !'Jl 280 Life of Sir Martini Frobisher, and the Admiral of the Channel fleet, was no sea-lawyer. Besides having the mariner's disdain for comets and clerics he had a memory of sad experiences of lawyers in connec- tion with the lease, in the attempt to enforce which he had been cast in costs. The safest way, he tlioujj^ht, was to make sure of the prize. And if the owners in their efforts })efore the Jud^j^es to obtain recompense should meet the same delays as himself had, there was time enough to pre- pare his defence. The Judge of the Admiralty was Julius Caesar, and the namesake of the conqueror of Gaul hud trouble enough to adjudicate on Frobisher's captures ; but the latter was on the high seas, and beyond the jurisdiction of the Courts of England. Drake was making preparations for the expedition to the coast of the Peninsula. The Duke of Parma, having heard of the defeat of the Armada, abandoned his hoys and barges in the harbours, and moving his veterans northwards, laid siege to Bergen- op-Zoom. Suspicion enveloped him ; disease had laid hold of him ; and his genius had begun to be over- clouded. All his stratagems miscarried. And to his many trials Sir Horatio Pallavicini added one more— to him a bitterer than any other. Pretending to act with authority, the Genoese sought to buy the Duke from his loyalty with the bribe of the crown of the Netherlands and an English alliance. , _ CHAPTER LXVI. In the month of May of the following year, while on board the flag-ship in the Channel, Frobisher accomplished a task that must have been to him more exhausting than iMilVI A Capture, 281 the winning of a great victory. He wrote three letters in iilraost as many days. What the toil of writing must have been to him, the spelling will go some way to make manifest ; — ' my honarabelle good L in sendenge the monne tou ostedynde she bathe taken a Lounedragare & a spanyare in her bounde for Donkerke & the Spanyarde caste ovare horde tou paketes of Letares & as he saythe beye ordare frome thos that Deleurede them toe hem as sonne as I can exsamene theme I wolle sende youre honare all ther exsamenasiones for thate thes Letares of my L tresarares requirede grete haste I coullde have no time beynge neyghte Dounes thes 6 of Maye at 8 a cloke at neyhte 1589 ' Youre honares moste 'honbleye ' Martin frobiser shee is Ladenede w* ches & nate elles you honar shalle knowe as sone as I can undare stande it [Addressed on outer leaf] — " . *To the reyghte ' honarable the ' L admeralle 'ofingland ' gev thes' Perhaps Frobisher had intended to inform the Lord- Admiral that the * Moon ' had taken a Vkom/mp, de guerre, with a Spaniard on boai'd ; or that the capture' had been made while sending the money to Ostend, and that the ship was laden only with cheese. 282 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. The Spaniard proved to be Don John de Toledo ; and if, as is probable, a kinsman of Don P^ancisco de Toledo, was no unimportant personage. He had fought with the Ar- mada on board the ' St. Mathew,' which, riddled at the battle of Gravelines, had fallen on the sands between Sluys and Ostend. But though he was an exchanged prisoner of war, and carried a passport, the presence of a Spaniard on board was enough to make the ' Lounedragare ' a lawful prize, recording to Frobisher's ideas. The storms of winter had done the Channel fleet some damage ; and the «^ft-repeated experience of short rations was close upon them. Such are the contents of the second of the letters : — 11 > ill H ' My honnorable good L. 1 have sent you*" honno' the pase of this hoye hearin closed and w*'' all a Letare wher in you'" honno*" may se all her Ladinge that she was Dericktly bound for Dunkert w**' this Don John De toledo. Ihe marchant that is onnor of these goodes ys called Hanse Vandeveck dwellinge in hanserdam. ' I have also examined this Spaniord he confesses as I advertised you*" honno^ that he was taken w*'' Don Deage de penmentelo and that his name ys Don John Deteledo and that this marchant Hanse Vandeveck did get him Relesed for a mariner of Roterdam that was presoner in Donkert I have allso sent you^ honno*" his pasport wherin you maye se his name and the forme of his Deliverie. ' There is in her there [perhaps the writer meant three] pore men ther wifes and childern bound for honscot I have sent the hoy into Dove*" peare & 1 hr.ve commanded the pore men and the wemen & childeren a land in Dove' to go wher thay will The hoy the skiper ?nd the Spaniard I kep in safe custodie tell I know you'" honno'"* plesur hearin. '^A.i. k. A Despatch from the Downs. 28 ' When the skipper did se he wase to be taken he willed them all to cast overbord ther leters but thay swere all thay wher but one pore kinsmans to an other of coromen- dacions & of ther parince ' I pray you"" honno""' Deriction for these causes and what I shall doe for the mendinge of my mast and shiftinge of my balls w*^** must be donne before I take in any vitels I have but vij Dayes vitels left and it plese you*" honno'" the vitels might goe to harwige that comes Doune and the ship maye met ther vitels ther and Dispach all thinges in thre or fower Dayes. Thus comiting you*" honno'" to the almitie Downes this vij'*^ of May 1589 ' You'" honno""* most humbely bound ' Martin frobiser [Addressed on outer leaf] — ' fifor her ma*'* servis ' To the Eight honno'"ableye ' L admerall of England * my honno''able good L. 'geve these ' hast hast ' hast ' post hast [Endorsed] — «7 May 1589 ' S"* Martin furbissher to my L.' It appears from the letter that follows that the Lord Treasurer had sent to Frobisher for his opinion as to the advisability of abandoning Ostend and giving it back to the sea, Ostend was one of the cautionary towns held by Queen Elizabeth in pledge for certain advances made by her to the States-General to carry on the war against it u .■.iim. 284 Life of Sir Martm Frobisher. Philip. Owing to certain artificial features the town had become almost an island. The soil was sandy, and might easily be transformed into an oozy swamp. It contained about three thousand inhabitants, and the fortifications surrounding it were about two miles in circumference. The general opinion in England was that the Duke of Parma, on learning of the overthrow of the Armada, ard the readiness of the English fleet lying in Dover Eoads to intercept any invasion on his part, would immediately lay siege to Ostend. So Frobisher was consulted as to whetner it was better to stand a siege or render such a project abortive by cutting the dykes and giving the snongy island back to the sea. The following letter contains Frobisher's opinion. The place was so inestimable in value to the commerce of England, he thought, that it was not to be lightly given up. If the dykes were cut now, in May, the Duke could easily repair them during the summer, and at small expense. If such a decision had been resolved upon, let, at least, the date of its execution be altered. The approach of winter was the time to do such a thing : then the storms would complete what man had begun. No repairs could be attempted until spring, and by that time the Spaniard would be disposed to borrow from the English and count the cost of such an under- taking, which if attempted would take years to accomplish. Moreover, the war in France between the Holy League and the Pope against Henry IV. and Protestantism was still going on, and Parma desired above all things to throw his forces into that country ; therefore everything was to be attempted to occupy him in the Netherlands. Let not the Spanish King, added Frobisher, obtain the smallest advantage wherewith to reanimate the drooping spirits of his defeated hosts. And if Ostend must be lost, let the Duke pay for it with a siege. For himself, Frobisher Concerning Ostend. 285 offered his life and what little property he had to the de- fence of the place, believing that the enemy would pay with their blood more than the harbour was worth, if they besieged it. Frobisher's foresight was justified by the event. In time Parma went to fight for ' Madame League ' and Ostend was besieged. Furthermore, the Spaniards did pay more lives and ducats than the place was worth a hundredfold. This is the third letter. Sir John Conway was then Governor of Ostend : — ' I have sente youre honares Letare of the viij thes aftare noune tou S"" Johne Conwaye whiche wolbe re- tonede w**^ all the spede thate mabe in wheche I se houe honarableye youe have consethrede ewere poynte whate the Dangare be to leve it tou the Enemeye & whate good the Enemye ma gane beye Essenge of hes gareson wheche be is nou forste tou kepe there apone the frontares of those waste contres besides the recovarenge of a reyche Contre none lienge wayste & as it is noue veratrobele- some tou the Enemye bute for thate I wolle note sheu my selfe undeutefuUe in Diseobeyenge of youre honares comandemente I Dorste note have ventrede tou have sete Joune my opinyone in a cayes of so grete im portanes ' Consethrenge the charge the enemy is at w*^^ sondri garesones to kepe the fronteres of thes wayste Contres tou presarve those Contres w*** 'ii if he shalle have theme at lebarte beye seydes the welthe & trade thate wolle groue tou the enemye beye it ' for if we shouUde geve it ovare thes somare we can note so muche reuanete or Drounde it but tha wolle recovare it before wintare & make it w*** in one yere abetare harbrou ihen Donkerke for it hathe hade five times as mane shepes belongenge tou it as ever Doncerke f I 9'^ I •i! "»*t- 286 Life of Sir Martm Frobisher. hade it wolbe a fare wores nebare then Donkerke fo it Dothe stande So Dereycte leye in the waye thate all. shepes moste par forese falle w**^ in seyghte of it to go in tou flossene if it be lete go tou the Enemy there can no- thenge pase frome floshene nor tou fiosene w"' oute grete conveye & then have tha all thate coste clere for all there mene of ware all the coste wolbe aharbare tou them for thate it is sande & when tha leste not feyghte tha maye pote thare shepes a shore of a fare sande & the contre beynge frende who cane ofende theme thate contre be- twext neupote and blanke broue beinge thares as it is note as Longe as we kepe oste dynde for nou tha dare note sta there for fere of beynge pote a shoure in tou oure mense handes thate ma range all that coste alonste apone seyche an occasione ■ - ' If the States refues it tha woUe be at gretare charges w'*" mantanenge of shepes tou wayste then the toune woUe coste tou be kepte for tha wolle louse more in one yere thene wille defende it if it shouUde be besegede. 'I thinke it none atime moste unfete tou geve it ovare tou the Enemye for thes somare tha woll repare it tou sarve thare tomes thate the nexte wentare tha wolle leve oute of dangare of the seyes in it yete if it be bute kepe telle wintare then apon some storme it ma be Lefte moste hundare watare & Lienge all the wintare undare watare wolle coste theme tou or thre yeres travelle or tha recovare it besides some harme it wolle Doue of mane thenges that the enemye bathe yete fre thate wolle be Drounte leyke wise if the wentare wethare war come so as the grete charge & there povartes wolle make some stope in it. ' Beseydes thes your honare is acquantede w'^'' thes trobelles of franes whate dangare it myghte be if the preynes of parma hade thes contre clere & noIandeDge plase for her mageste forses he ma be the bouldare tou A Bold Policy the Best. !87 aseste thos of the leyge but as Longe as her mageste or the States hathe thes toune he wolbe lothe tou pote aoe grete forses in tou franes for fere her mageste shall pote ane forses alande there tou Desposese hem of all the portes beye the seyes & as briges & sleuse neuporte & Donkerke whiche ware moore danger tou them then tha cane gete benefite in franes ' for of all evilles none her mageste muste take the beste & holde them tou it frome home for she seythe all thare pretences is a ganste her bines whome god hathe & I hope welle presarve a ganste all her Enemy es & ther is amatare of smalle charge in respecke of thate tha mene touards her this is a shreude bloke in thare waye & kepes theme from sondri porposes & kepe them in fere bothe beye se ande lande more then evereman consaves of it ' I se tha take all aportunetes beye sworde or pores & noue seinge her mageste is so fare in w'^ thame she muste dou the leyke for a time for thes somare wolle gev som leyghte whate is beste tou be done Youre honare shalle here of Done antones Sakses & whate wolle pase in franes & if her mageste shouUde noue geve thes Enemy ane in coregmente it wollde in correge those in spane aganste oure flete for tha wolle take a grete corege apon a smalle victore so as if ane resnabelle charge woU dou it rathare then it shoullde be partede w*^^ all w'*^ oute bloues & be for hes trobelle some time ware groune tou some betare sartante ther is a grete sorte of her good sobgekes wher of I wollde make one my sellfe tou ventare bothe my leyfe & thate Letelle I have tou kepe it for a time w*^ the hellpe of gode a ganste thame my sempelle opinyon is it ware betare hollde it telle wintare w*^ the ventare of lousenge of it be beinge besegede consethrene this time for if ther be ane resonabelle compene of mene in it tha wolle pa so dere for it as ther wolbe no dishonare to our contre in the Lose of it Im 4 1 \i- • '.I •I! ;t li 288 Lt/e of Sir Martin Fro bis her. I undare stane beye sondre repoi tes oute of flandares thate the preynse wolle note waste hes men in besegenge of ane toune & so I here oute of spane so thate tha have a forthare pretens bute I hope god wolle provente them. ' Tims moste hombleye prainge pardone if I have gone beyonde my deute & thenke it is of treuselle & mouste bounde deute & tou her mageste and reme for whome I hope god wolle gev me grase tou la my leyfe fore in ane sarves tou Defende her thus muche I have sete doune as fare as my sembelle reson ledes me levinge it ande my sellfe tou youre moote honorabelle & wise consetherasione w*^^ my hombelle prayare tou the allmyghte god for her longe & prosperous rene ovare bus & your Longe Life & hellthe mane yere tou conten her honarabelle Counsellar whiche is tou all oure gode Dounes thes 9. of maye 1589 * Youre honare most hombleye boune ' Martin frobiser ' [Addressed] — ' To the reyhte honarable ' the Lor heye tresarare ' of inglande my ' honarabelle good L ' gev thes ' [First endorsement] — '9Maij 1589 ' S*" Martin frobissher to 'my L.' [Second endorsement] — • ' S' Martin frobisher M589.' Measures of Offence. 289 CHAPTER LXVII. In the spring of this year the Queen awoke to some sense of the real designs of Spain, the dangers to which lier realm was exposed, and the necessity of subordinating her own opinion to that of her advisers and comm;inders by sea and land. She had been repeatedly urged to carry the war to the enemy's borders. The attempts which had been already made in that direction had been crowned with such success that none hesitated to tell Her Majesty that, had she but continued the ravaging of the coast of the Peninsula, the Armada would never have been mar- shalled for the intended invasion. The Queen now adopted this opinion. The expedition under Drake and Norris had already sailed for Portugal, taking with them Don Antonio, the Pretender, to hoist his standard as a rallying-point for all the disaft'ected. Their successes are referred to in Frobisher's third letter. The departure of Drake from England took place about the middle of April ; and the Lord- Admiral proceeded to follow up that expedition with another under Frobisher. The Channel fleet was reorganised and placed under the command of Sir Henry Palmer, who was ordered to guard the ' North and Narrow Seas.' Sir Martin's destination was vaguely described as ' to the westwards.' His fleet consisted of the following ships The Lion 550 tons „ Elizabeth Bonaventure . 600 „ „ Repentance . . . 200 „ „ Sun 40 „ „ Advice . . . , 50 „ 250 men. 180 „ 100 ,. 35 „ 40 „ The commander of this last ship was Captain Martin Frobisher, or ' Young Martin,' as he is elsewhere called, 290 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. and perhaps one of the kniglit's nephews. Towards the end of June, Drake and Norris returned from their expedi- tion. They had made an attack on Corunna, and another on Lisbon. But, owing to the folly of Don Antonio, the want of siege guns and cavalry, little was done worthy of the forces employed. There had been great mortality among the men ; and, for the first time, Drake returned without enough plunder to pay the expenses of equipping the fleet. They had captured sixty ships belonging to the Hanse Towns, in and around the Spanish ports. The position of the Dutch was becoming more and more strait- ened. Parma had driven them down to the islands and estuaries ; but the carrying trade of the high seas was theirs. Now their ships were not only to fight the Spaniards but also to supply the English with prizes. Two months after the return of Drake and Norris — that is, on August 30 — the Queen issued her press warrant for the manning and equipping of the fleet under Frobisher, in which it is recited that the expedition was for Her Majesty's * certain special service in the South and West Seas.' The fleet set sail in September, and seems to have wisely abstained from approaching those parts of the Pe- ninsula which had been so lately visited by the English, and where the Spaniards had concentrated the slender forces they had at home. About four miles south-east of Cape St. Vincent is Cape Sagres. Here there was a small fortified seaport town called by the name of the Cape. The first point touched at by Frobisher was this ; and seeing a large Bis- cayan in port, he immediately prepared for an attack. It was sharp and hot work whenever the Admiral gave his prow and broadside to the enemy. The Biscayan returned the fire, and Castle Sagres poured in a damaging fire upon kvards the ir expedi- i another tonio, the worthy of mortality ! returned equipping ing to the 3rts. The lore strait- dands and L seas was fight the )rizes. d Norris — 3SS warrant I Frobisher, s for Her and West to have of the Pe- le English, lie slender Vincent is ed seaport first point large Bis- ttack. It d gave his m returned g fire upon a,' Off Cape Sag res and the Azores. 291 the fleet. But Frobisher had come for a prize, and the Biscayan ship was cut out successfully and carried away. The English ships had received considerable hurt. The injuries of the ' Eepentance ' alone are mentioned. Her masts had been shot through and her sails pierced. But since she was only the third ship of the fleet, it is pro- bable the ' Lion ' and ' Elizabeth Bonaventure ' had suf- fered as severely. From Cape Sagres Frobisher crossed over to the Azores. But the Earl of Cumberland was there before him. Whe- ther the Queen sent her ships abroad or kept them to guard ' Chatham Church,' the Earl of Cumberland never let a Plate fleet approach the Westward Isles without a fretting and often a loss. This year the Earl was ver}'^ successful in his captures, but had the ill-fortune to arrive before Terceira just as the West Indian fleet was entering the well-fortified harbour of Angra. It consisted of eighteen ships, richly laden, and was the prize for which the Earl had been on the look-out. This was in August. And Frobisher nicely timed both bis arrival and course ; for this fleet having obtained in- telligence of the Earl of Cumberland's departure homeward, sailed boldly out of Terceira, and, between the islands and Spain, fell in with the English ships under Frobisher. A severe battle ensued, but the details are unknown any farther than that the English took the flag-ships of the Admiral and Vice- Admiral. Having three prizes in charge, Frobisher returned to England. But the Admiral's ship taken from the Spaniards had received such injuries that she sank off Eddystone rock as they came up the Channel. Another of the same fleet which had been cap- tured by the Earl was driven ashore at Mount's Bay. Thus, towards the close of the year, having only been victualled for three months, and having both alarmed the Spanish r2 292 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. coast and scattered the West Indian fleet, the expedition returned to England, bringing with them the two remain- ing prizes, which were valued at the moderate sum of 15,000L On their return home Sir John Hawkins, learning of the prize-money and the injuries done to his ship, the ' Repentance,' sent in a claim for damages. The expedition had been a speculation with him. Indeed, the naval enter- prises under Elizabeth were almost altogether made up of ships sent out by private owners who looked to a share of the plunder for their recompense. And in this instance Hawkins, with a characteristic hunger for profits, thought to obtain an allowance for damage as well as his share of the prize-money. The ' Eepentance,' he said, had been a great expense to him in her fitting out, and now she ' hath wasted and worn her ground tackle, her sails and cordage all spoiled, her masts shot through.' A note signed by Howard, Frobisher, Palmer, Bur- roughs, and Gronson was the brief and curt answer to the petition of Hawkins. The tonnage of the fleet is put down at 1,400 tons, and that of the 'Repentance' at 200 :— * The Eepentance part is the 7th part. ' The goods being valued at £15,000 the third part for the shipping is £5,000. ' The 7th part whereof is due to Sir John Hawkins, Knight, and amounteth to the sum of £714 5. 0.' Inasmuch as the knight's share was about half the cost of building a new ship of the tonnage of the ' Repentance,' it had proved to him a prosperous three months cruise. The Treasure-Fleet. 293 CHAPTER LXVIir. Lord Burghley was so well pleased with the letter of Frobisher, containing his opinion of the necessity of holding Ostend at any reasonable cost, that he referred another matter to the knight for his advice. This was the oft-attempted, and but partially successful sclieme of intercepting the treasure-fleet sailing annually from the West Indies to Spain. The great carracks of that fleet carried between their decks the annual harvest of the New World. The Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Peru had not yet reduced the natives to absolute poverty or exhausted the mines. To slavery they had been reduced ; and all that the sword, lash, rack, fire, and other tortures unimaginable to a humane mind could extract during the twelve months was poured, in the autumn, into the ever empty lap of Spain. From pagan America Philip thus obtained the means with which he was attempting to crush the civil and religious liberty of Europe and reduce it to a more gloomy and less beautiful paganism. The question now referred to Frobisher was the best way of cutting off this stream of wealth and diverting it to English pockets. But though the Lord Treasurer had been pleased with the knight's letter, full as it was of keen insight into the state of the Continent, he could not have been satisfied with the chirography and orthography, which must have puzzled more than one of the Treasury clerks ; and so, in asking his opinion once more. Lord Burghley had doubtless hinted at the advisability of his correspondent employing an amanuensis. With such an intimation Frobisher would readily fall in, as writing could not have been a luxury to him. This may account for the following letter Km 294 Life of Sir Ma rtin Frobisher, being in another hand, thougli hearing the knight's signa- ture. It is a burnt fragment in the Cottonian MSS : — * is but 3 frigates with .... comparison in vahie to the fleet never so great a fleet to come liome as it is reported of the great death of is the cause they came not home this for . . . . . . October or November before they shall be at the Coast of Spain, and there is no place so certain .... St Mary to meet with them. ' P^or no doubt if they came home this year they will have waft them sent to meet them, so as tliere must be to overthrow them, for although eight good ships of the Majesty's will be able to beat them they shall be able to few of them ; for when they come to fly it is the number that take tliem, for when every ship makes shift for her multitude must perform the chase. ' So that my opinion is there may be no less than eight g of the Queen's Majesty's and twelve good mer- chants, and all th . . men of war that may be gotten to accompany them. ' The Queen's Majesty were better bestow a hundred th . . . . pounds to overthrow them if she gain not one penny by let them pass ; for if these forces of ships may be set f Her Majesty they will be by God's help able to overthrow them .... this fleet may be so provided that if the Spanish fleet sh . . . come home this year as there is some presumption through the .... some ship and men that they say is lost that should have go . . the Havana with men and provision for them. ' If it please her Majesty but to put into her fleet . . . . . . victuals more than will serve her fleet to go for Capo Another Letter to Biirghley. 295 they may go to the Havana and meet them on their wafture come to tliem. * For there is no doubt but if Her Majesty's fleet go for the CO ... of Spain first, they shall get intelligence wliich way to wor .... to encounter them, ' My good Lord, these matters l)e of so great import- ijce as I dare not take upon me to set down the whole circuu»3tance but if it please your honors to call such per- sons before you as there is good store of the best sorts, and hear their several opinions thoroughly debated, this cause will show itself more plainly how necessary it is to be looked into at this present aud with reasonable charge to Her Majesty as it may be considered on. ' I think there will be found so many gentlemen and towns upon the seacoast as with small motion will be willing to venture ; for that I hear the most men of judg- "^ent desirous to have performed for they the damage "it may come to the .... [The next portion is burnt.] , ' Her Majesty thinks necessai' , . . . . Her Highness to call for their opinions , . . season and venture their lives for the pre , . be done at such times of the year which will be . . . , . honor in several men's opinions when you shall . . . , . . never moved Her Highness to set out any fleet but a gain . . . ing of the Spanish fleet & I think this act n being well-considered is to the Spaniards of as great danger as anything that may happen to them ' Thus my most honorable good Lord I crave pardon for my boldness, acknowledging myself one of the least in judgment of a great number in this land in these affairs ; but in discharging of my duty to answer my honorable good Lord Admiral his question according to my know- ledge and discharge of my duty to my most gracious ¥ ^1 J' Hi* m 296 Life of Sir Alartin Frobisher. Sovereign and your honors whom I pray God long to reign and govern over us to his glory ' Your honors most humble Martin frobiser 'Tomy Lo. Ties.' . As in the matter of Ostend, so in this, Frobisher's advice was followed almost to the letter- A fleet con- sisting not only of eight, but twelve of Her Majesty's ships and two pinnaces was ordered to be immediately got ready. The private adventurers recommended were also ready. But there was a fatal departure from the Admiral's opinion. He had anticipated the contingency of the fleet not sailing from the Indies that year, and so recommended that the fleet should be victualled for a period sufficient to enable the English to sail to Havana in search of the car- racks, should they be stayed for the year. But the English ships were only provisioned for four months, to the defeat of the object in view. Elizabeth was slowly growing to- wards an appreciation of the true policy, but the penny- wloe husbandry was not yet altogether abandoned. Her Majesty's ships equipped for the expedition were the following : — Commanders. The Eevongc . 250] men Sir ]\Iartin Frobisher „ Maiy Hose 250 » Sir John Hawkins. „ Lion . 250 i> . Sir Edward Yorke. „ Bonavenlure . 250 >j • < Capt. Fenner. „ Rainbo\- . 250 »> Sir George Beeston. „ Hope . 250 »5 • Capt. Bostock. „ Nonpai'eil 250 » „ Dreadnouglu . 200 » Capt. Martin Frobisl „ Kwiftsure 180 J> „ Foresight 160 » „ Quittance 100 >, • • Capt. Hawkins. „ Crane 100 J) „ Moon , . , 40 >> „ Merlin . 40 >> 2,570 Philip on his Guard. 297 Sir ^I art in was appointed Admiral and Sir John A^'ice- Admiral. The Captains were only second in experience and achievement to the Admirals. The fleet was divided into two squadrons, Hawkins having the command of the second. The veteran was at Deptford when he received the appointment, engaged still as Treasurer of the Navy, an occupation of which he said the duties were like the spokes of a wheel — when one went down two more came up ; a simile wnich had been supplied him for his consolation by the Lord Treasurer. [lition were in Frobislicr. CHAPTER LXIX. The fleet set sail during the month of May 1590. Success depended upon secresy. Yet Philip in Madrid was follow- ing the progress of the equipment as if the fleet had been bis own fitting out at Corunna. He knew the number of ships and their armaments, as well as their destination. Thus while Frobisher was sailing down the Channel, the Spanish king was getting ready a fleet of twenty great ships to proceed to the Azores and welcome the English on their arrival. This was appropriately placed under the command of Don Alonzo de Bassano, brother of Santa Cruz, who had near these same islands defeated the ex- pedition of Don Antonio nine years before. The Don was to scatter the enemy and convoy the carracks. But he had not proceeded far on his errand before Pliilip changed his plans and commanded Admiral Bassano hack to guard the Spanish coast. At the same time a swift despatch boat was sent off" to the West Indies with orders for the carracks to winter in the Indies. m 298 Life of Sir Martin Frobi slier. Frobisher, bearing on his course towards the Western Isles, overtook a Flemisli ship under one Arnold Johnson, from whom the knight took eight hundred odd pieces of silver as contraband of war : being perhaps a remittance to a Spanish merchant. Having obtained this convenient bag of silver for the current expenses of the fleet, he re- sumed his course, to meet and take the carracks, some of which had been known, with the cargo, to be worth 200,000^., or nearly a million and a quarter, allowing for the differ- ence in the value of money. But Frobisher little thought that hundreds of leagues to the westward was that des- patch boat carrying to the outermost bounds intelligence of his secret expedition. The fleet of Bassano would not come out to be boarded nor the West India ships to be captured. Had Frobisher known tliis he might have turned about and gone home again, since Her Majesty had not thought fit to victual the ships for the voyp.ge to Havana. The squadron of Frobisher, having in vain cruised some time off the coast of Spain to pick up information and prizes, appeared off Terceira on August 7. It con- sisted of twenty sail, and was composed of six ships and two pinnaces of Her Majesty, the remaining twelve being merchantmen. The English made no demonstration, but sailed on towards Fayal. The preceding summer the Earl of Cumberland had taken the place without striking a blow, and afterwards abandoned it. The fleet now en- tered the bay expecting no opposition, but contrariwise found that tlie Spaniards had in the meantime strongly fortified and armed it. A Hollander who was at Terceira relates that Frobislier, seeing the place so well prepared to receive him, sent a trumpeter ashore with a civil request for the Governor's per- mission to take in fresh water, etc., and that the Governor shot the messenger for an answer : that then Frobisher hy Fayal Unmolested. 299 way of warning bade the Governor be on his guard ; to which message the latter returned a haughty answer, and at once sent to Terceira for powder and biscuit, which arrived safely. The story is only what the Hollander heard from the people of Fayal, and contains so many improbable statements as to be little worth. That Frobisher would content him- self with a threat when the enemy had treacherousb^ shot his messenger, or that a convoy of powder and provisions could pass to Fayal with a fleet of twenty B|[iglish ships lying before it, is incredible. The islanders were in a terrible fright. Another of those English fleets which had so often^escended upon their coasts, capturing everything before tlem, was among the islands. Kumours of other fleets afloat were received. Two Netherland hulks had just arrived at Terceira, ' being half the seas over ' perhaps with fright. They had been overhauled by Sir John Hawkins, who was cruising between the islands and the mainland. Each of the Queen's ships under that Admiral had eighty pieces of ordnance. They had heard that Drake was in the Channel with forty great ships ; and there lay ten other English ships, so these Netherlanders said, at Cape St. Vincent, to take any of the West Indian fleet tliat might escape Frobisher and his sea-dogs. All these things were enough to make the islanders tremble ; and that Frobisher should sail away without en- forcing his request for fresh water might well give them the impression that they had won a great victory. The expedition had been robbed of its object before its departure from home ; and after cruising some time in the path of the expected carracks the truth was at last dis- covered, and the fleet began the return voyage. Frobisher's captains were bitterly disappointed. To them it was a loss of prize-money to an untold amount. .^00 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. To the merchaut-ships it was a double loss. In this spirit they began to sweep the sea clean between them and Eng- land. The Dutch ships, as usual, fell a prey ; and Julius Caesar, of the Admiralty, had abundance of work provided for him by the chagrined captains. Frobisher's squadron sailed into Plymouth on September 29,1590 : having been away from England about four months. Monson, who is followed by all subsequent writers, asserts that the fleet was seven months on the voyage ; but the facts d(f not agree with that statement. Sir John Haw- kins: was at Deptford on April 16, penning one of his jeremiads to the Lord Treasurer, in which tliere is no hint of the approaching expedition, except that in his stereo- typed offer of resignation : ' My only desire is that it may ploase Her Majesty some course may be taken wherein Her Majesty may be satisfied that a plain and honest course hath been taken and carried in th' office, and then to dispose of my place to whom it shall please Her Highness, and I shall be ready to serve Her Majesty any other way that I shall be appointed, wherein my skill or ability will extend, and so I humbly take my leave from Deptford the 16*^ of April 1590.' The evidence afforded by this letter, the fact that the fleet was only victualled for four months, and that the return to Plymouth was effected on September 29, all tend to prove the inaccuracy of Monson's account. The expedition had bo^ne the fruit of doing Spain an irreparable injury. The Plate fleet had been compelled to winter in the Havanas, to the loss of the Spanish ex- chequer, expense to the ships, and great injiu-y to the Spanish merchants. It is said that many came to bank- ruptcy in Seville and elsewhere, — ' besides it was so great a weakening to their ships to winter in the Indies that many years hardly sufficed to repair the damage they received.' A Text misapplied. .-^01 Sir John Hawkins, now seventy-five at least, was deeper than ever in the Slough of Despond over the failure of the expedition. He had doubtless ventured deeply in it ; his avarice was disappointed ; and so for his own consolation under the circumstances, as well as that of the Queen, he had recourse to Scripture in a deprecatory letter which he addressed to Her Majesty. ' Paul planteth,' quotes the old Admiral, defrauded of his lucre, 'and Apollos watereth, but God giveth the increase.' Elizabeth was not Philip of Spain, and could ill brook this cant ; so she burst forth into one of her keen, witty, profane excla- mations : ' God's death ! This fool went out a soldier, and is come home a divine ! ' And so Sir John Hawkins returned to grinding in the mill of the Naval Treasury and poiu'ing out lamentations, wherein he ever offers his resignation with the confidence of a man who feels himself indispensable. CHAPTEK LXX. But there was another and a very different account of the expedition to be written. There had been on board a man named Thomas Davis, who seems to have been one of those unpleasant, though useful scavenger-vultures, called amateur detectives. Not one wrong or abuse of power had escaped his notice. And after the return of the ex- pedition he furnished the Admiralty with a few ' obser- vations ' which form an indictment of abuses only to be equalled by that supplied by Michael Lock to the Com- pany of Cathay twelve years before. No one is mentioned by name, but the inference is clear that Frobisher and ; « i I '^i*^A .^02 Lz/e of Sir Alar tin Frobisher. young Martin are the chief offenders, though every man on board, petty officers, mariners, soldiers, and apprentices, are among the accused. The items arrange themselves thus : — 1. The pressed able-bodies brought to Chatham had themselves generally exchanged for an equal number of incompetents, who are usually ' busy-headed and procurers of mutinies.' Mr. Davis had seen in a crew of 250 men as many as 90 boys ; which, excluding the officers and sailors, only left 80 helmsmen. Many of the soldiers were in reality sailors, who had shipped themselves in the former capacity to escape their turn at the helm. Again, many of the men pressed pretended to be innocent of the sea, and had themselves discharged. The justices on shore, on receiving commission to press, warned away the best sailors. . So far Mr. Davis had spoken of matters rather gene- rally ; now he comes to the officers of the fleet. The captains * oftentimes upon some liking consideration ' abused the Queen's press, and, like FalstafF, might exclaim, ' I have got in exchange of a hundred and fifty soldiers three hundred and odd pounds,' and ' a hundred and fifty tattered prodigals lately come from swine-keeping, from eating draff and husks.' - ' 2. With respect to the gunners of the fleet, though the proper proportion for a crew of 250 was 30 of that class, yet Mr.^Davis saw more than one instance in this fleet where there were only six gunners fit for the work. Such men were very insolent, and refused obedience until the com- manders accepted their views. They were also so incom- petent that he had known them throw fifty great shot at a prize lying within musket range and not hit the hull twice, and that in moderate weather. But the rascality of those old artillerymen was such that for every three : Davis s * Observations! 303 hundred weight of powder burned they claimed an allow- ance of seven hundred weight. Those prodigals sold powder by the barrel ' to maintain their evil, lascivious ways.' 3. Though the muster-rolls showed two hundred and fifty men, says Mr. Davis, there were commonly only one hundred and sixty on board. Still rations and pay were drawn for the full complement, and so Her Majesty was defrauded of lOOL a month. Every butt of beer was twenty-seven gallons short. Tlie beef and biscuit charged at the full rate had already been at sea. 4. Mr. Davis says the consequences of being short- handed were many. He had known some captains in the fleet refuse to fight, alleging that they were far from home ; and should any of their men receive hurt, they would not be able to sail their ship back again. Such was the worst evil of being short-handed. 5. Mr. Davis now brings a cliarge of something very like cowardice against one of the Admirals. When one of the squadrons was off Cape Finisterre, in July, intelligence was brought to the Admiral from one of his ships sailing nearest a-land that the convoy of ammunition and provi- sions despatched from Lisbon to Brittany for ' Madame League ' was lying five or six leagues to the westward, and that their only protection was four fly-boats. Thereupon the Admiral determined to fight the next morning, ' and hanged out a liglit all night, commanding his fleet to follow him. The Spanish navy bare next hand from them by east north east, and th' Admiral shaped his course south south west.' When some found fault next day Mr. Davis says the only answer returned was, ' If they meant to have fought with us they might have followed by the light.' Again, one of the Admirals has a grievous charge If 304 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. brought against him. Mr. Davis says that on June 5 sundry prizes were taken on the coast of France, whereof some were Easterlings and others Newfoundland men. The Admiral of the squadron gave one laden with fish ' unto a kinsman of his.' Since the son of Hawkins and young Marti ■. the probable nephew of Frobisher, both were in ooncmand, it is not obvious which Admiral is meant, thoug \ \ij is doubtless the latter that Mr. Davis is hurling his a'^cusations against. Money, he says, was found in one of these prizes. 6. In the beginning of the voyage the fleet had loitered in sailing from Chatham to Plymouth ; they had put into several ports on the way, and allowed their crews ashore. But the meals thus saved were still charged for. 7. One unnamed captain — (Mr. Davis seems to be pointing towards young Martin) — had taken wine on board for the company, but he had afterwards sold it for his own benefit. He had taken silk to the value of a thousand marks from two French ships and converted it to his own use. He had once gone ashore with all his men ; a storm had suddenly come down and driven the ship aground. Had not the wind suddenly shifted she would have become a total loss through the negligence of her captain. But the boatswains were as dishonest as their superiors. They put down hawsers measuring fifty or sixty fathoms at a hundred. They were always making demands for brass sheavers or pulley-wheels and selling them. Such were most of the accusations which Thomas Davis brought against the admirals, captains, boatswains, gunners, and men of the expedition. If half were true it is a wonder the captains did not steal a fortress and become a band of pirates ; it is a wonder what the Trea- surer of the Navy, who was in command of one squadron, In yulius Cccsars Court, 305 and the martinet Frobisher, in command of the other, could have been about ; and it is no wonder the Queen was a keen accountant if her servants were such rogues. 3 says, was CHAPTER LXXI. Within a few weeks of the return of the fleet, Julius Caesar was fully occupied with claimants demanding res- titution of the prizes. Peter Petersen, master of the ' Maiden,' or ' Yongfrau,' of Pomerania, appeared, claim- ing the return of his ship and cargo. Michael Leman appeared on behalf of the merchants of Holland and Zeeland. Francis le Fort claimed ten bags of money. Michael du Boies claimed some more of the bags of silver. Hendrick Voets, appearing on behalf of Hendrick de Haese, had a claim for the restitution of money. And how many more can only be conjectured. The history of the sequel was becoming more voluminous than that of the expedi- tion. In the middle of November the Admiralty ordered an examination of the captains and the charges brought against them. A brief note of the inquiry, signed by Palmer, Burroughs, and Gronson, was satisfactory to the accused at least : — ' Sir Martin Frobisher doth acknowledge that he re- ceived outwards bound of Arnold Johnson, a Fleming, 862 pieces of silver of four shillings the piece, which amounts to the sum of £172. 8. 0. 'Young Martin Frobisher, Captain of the Dreadnought, doth confess that he and the Captains that arrived at Ply- mouth with him homewards bound the 29th of fSeptember i 1 'f 1 1 11 ijit^ 306 Lt/e 0/ Sir Martin Frobisher, , 1590 did receive there (we know not of whom, but suppose it was by them taken out of those flyboats stayed at the seas and brought into Plymouth by the Dreadnought) the sum of £1154. 2. 0. which was distributed amongst the said Captains, as followeth: — Sir George Beeston, Vice Admiral in the Lion, doth acknowledge that he received of the same money the sum of .... 306 2 Edward York, Captain of the Bonaventure, received 431 The said Martin Frobisher doth acknowledge he received thereof 287 John Bostock, Captain of the Crane, doth acknowledge that he received the sum of . 1 30 Sum 1154 2 ' The sum of all the money which Sir Martin Frobisher and the Captains under his charge do confess that they have received from Netherlanders, both outwards bound, homeward bound, and since they came hence, doth amount to the sum of £1326. 10., for which sum they have given up their several accounts to the officers of the Navy, wherein it appeareth they have disbursed the same with a surplus- age for the use of Her Majesty's ships under their special charges in wages for discharge of their companies and for victuals for their companies to bring the ships to Chatham, for which surplusage they are to be allowed out of the office of the Admiralty.' Frobisher and his captains were thus whitewashed and absolved ; but that did not recompense the suppliants besieging the Court of Master Julius Caesar. Their last utterance — and that doubtless a vain one, since the money, having been expended on the fleet, if refunded must come out of the Eoyal Exchequer — was to the Lord Treasurer. The Judge of the Admiralty, the petitioners relate, had Atkinsons Fruitless Errand. 307 declared there was no reason for retaining the ships or cargo ; and ^why, then, was the money withheld ? Would it please his Lordsliip to command Sir Martin Frobisher to give up the money or ' such money as is extant,' with the balance to follow ? It all ended, no doubt, in the Dutch adding a few more to the long list of injuries which they had already scored against the English. Sir John Hawkins and his squadron had not returned to Plymouth empty. Some valuable cargoes had fallen into their hands and been brought into port. In this case the owners and factors, represented by a certain Mr, Atkinson, went a shorter way to regain their goods. A warrant was obtained from the Lords of the Privy Coun- cil to search for and take the goods. Armed with this, Atkinson rode away to Plymouth in quest. But that port was far away from London in those days, and an Admiral was a greater man to the inhabitants than all the Lords of the Privy Council. A London merchant with a London writ was ill-informed when he undertook a journey to compete with officers of the navy in their very lair. But a good beginning was made by the factor. Most of the property was found in divers warehouses, for the captors had already distributed it. Some of the casks were found with tlie marks erased at the command of Richard Hawkins, Sir John's son. Some parcels of co- chineal, when examined, were discovered to have been strangely transformed, for the contents were ' mingled with grimy grains and coal-dust.' Atkinson went at once to the Commissioners and brought them to see what had l)een done. Those gentlemen certified to the fact. Then they sent for the Admiral, who was requested to command his son to restore the remainder of the goods, consisting of cochineal, indigo, feathers, &c. This Hawkins Hauy X 2 o8 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, refused to do. He, moreover, wrote a private letter to the Mayor of the town by way of a warrant requiring that officer to recapture the property. Atkinson, content- ing himself with what he had, proceeded to arrange for his departure. Two days were spent in putting the articles in casks ; and, on the third morning, after he had trimly packed all on the carrier's horses and fairly started, one af Hawkins's men, followed by two or three score mariners, ' with great violence ' seized on the packs and carried them away. Atkinson displayed his warrant from the Privy Council ; but it was of no avail, and he was forced to return to London, bringing back only the warrant he had taken with him on departing thence. I I' % CHAPTER LXXII. The matter of the money-bags having got into the maelstrom between the Treasury and the Admiralty, Frobisher had leisure to visit the scenes of his youth. 'His kinsmen at Altofts must have heard many and magnified rumours of the knight's achievements and gran- deur. From an apprentice he had grown into a master. The nation had long ago learned his name as that of a daring privateer. He had corrected that impression by engaging in exploration. He had startled England by discovering, according to the vulgar rumour, the ttuhp where Solomon dug the gold for the Temple at Jem He had found out the North- West Passage to Cathi.^ , as the nation still believed. He had become a captain of Her Majesty's navy, and been foremost in breaking the might of that Armada which had filled the North-Eastern A Man of Mark, ;09 coast wiMi superstitious dread. He had been inail«> ;i knight and an admiral. He had often spoken to tlie Queen, and been decorated by her. And he had been born at their hamlet of Altofts, in Yorkshire. These tilings had no doubt been the theme of many a fireside for yearn. His own family, too, wlio had thrown him over the edge of tlie nest before he was fledged, had grown proud of their kinsman who had made the patronymic famous in history. Thus, in the summer of ir)91, having turned liis fiftieth year, he appeared at his native place with his honours thick upon him ; and what more could man desire, except it were a wife? The old county families threw their doors as wide open to him as the humblest of the farmers did. And there was one through which he learned to pass very often ; that was the door of Dame Dorothy Widmerpoole, the daughter of Lord Wentwortli, of the South, and widow of Sir William Widmerpoole. The widow Eiggatt had passed away from ' a poor room within another at Hampstead ' to a still narrower, lower chamber ; and Dame Dorothy now took her place as the wife of Sir Martin Frobisher. In his new circum- stances an estate was necessary. Sir John Saville of the Exchequer was his friend. Frobisher was thus informed of a fair purchase to be made in his native place. The Queen had suppressed the priory of Mattersey and con- fiscated its estates. The knight accordingly invested his prize-money from the two voyages and the capture of Pedro. In November 1591 the letters patent of Highness' were delivered in consideration of the SI of 948^. 1 7s. ?>\(l, constituting Sir Martin Frobisher the proprietor ' of the Manor of Whitwood, in the County of York, and of the Grange of Finningley, in the County of Notts.' Frobish at once set about building upon his pro- 3IO Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. H( % perty and improving it. Young Martin, having married the daughter of Dame Dorothy, was placed in the occu- pation of the Grange of Finningley, where a son was born to him in the following year. The elder resided at Whitwood. But he was not permitted long to enjoy his new and rustic life. Others: were unwittingly preparing for him more work on the high seas. During the year 1591 there had been more than one combat between English and Spanish ships. There liad also been more than one attempt to intercept the West Indian fleet. That annual cruiser, the Earl of Cum- lierland, had been to the coast of Spain and come back with some of his feathers plucked. The Lord Thomas Howard, with a fair fleet, had been to the Azores. But Don Alonzo de Bassano had stolen a march upon him, met the carracks, and made an unexpected attack upon the English fleet while leisurely awaiting the arrival of their prizes. It was at this time and place that Sir Richard Grrenville fought that fifteen hours' rash, heroic, reckless, and gloriously immortal combat of one ship against a fleet of fifty-three sail. The many failures and partial successes in attempting to capture the Plate fleet, which was the mariner's El Dorado, fired every chivalrous breast in England to fol- low in the same path. Among otheis Sir Walter Raleigh prepared to undertake the task. He had an additional reason for leaving England awhile. The Queen's favoiu' seemed to be declining. With his usual enthusiasm he collected all his means and set to work. He enlisted many noble friends in the enterprise. Two of the Queen's ships, the ' Foresight ' and the ' Garland,' were obtained, which, with tliirteen others, formed the fleet; and during the whole of the winter of 1591-2 Raleigh was very active in fitting out tliis expedition. RaleigJis Expedition Delayed. 3Tt By February everything was in readiness at Chatham. Sir Walter's plan involved an early departure. It will be remembered that Frobisher had advised, in his letter to Lord Burghley, that any fleet intended for such an enterprise should be victualled for the voyage to the Indies. The stereotyped plan of lying off the Azores was too well known to the Spaniards to promise success. So Kaleigh proposed to sail westwards, with extended line, along the path of the returning ships until he fell in with them ; and then perhaps make a descent on Panama, where all the bullion wrung from Central America and Peru was gathered together. He himself would take the chief command, with Sir John Burroughs as second. The usual easterly winds now set in, and there were no tugs in those days ; so the departure was delayed from day to day. Sir Walter was rowing to and fro between the fleet and Court with a perplexed mind and heart that sank a little at every day's delay. The friends that had ventured at his advice, being no sailors, could not under- stand the matter. The Queen began to grow fond again, and tnlked of not letting Sir Walter depart from England. This increased the anxiety of his friends and his own, for their confidence in his ability had been the chief argu- ment with them. The Queen furthermore suggested that Frobisher should have the command, for he was her favourite Admiral. Kaleigh answered that he would go with the fleet only fifty or sixty leagues, to see his people well on their way, and return again. Days had grown into weeks, and the east wind still blew persistently, locking the fleet in Chatham. By the middle of March there was a clamour for wages. Kaleigh turned to the Queen for money. She had undertaken, as also the other venturers, to pay their own crews. His (1 i-i I I W-^i •5 -/iM V •!T"I, .i.'t 312 Lz/e of Sir Martin Frobisher. fond mistress gave liim 5,000^ to gratify her love, and with the other hand took the historical 'Ark Raleigh,' Sir Walter's ship, as a consideration, wherewith to gratify her parsimony. For three months Sir Walter repeated his perplexed rides between the Court and the fleet, with the wind blowing shrill and keen into the mouth of Chatham harbour ; while the men were devouring the meat and drink that should have served in crossing the ocean, and only keeping the hulls clean for their pay. At last, whfn Raleigh was on the point of accepting ruin and giving up the enterprise, the weather changed. On May 6, 1592, the long-delayed fleet set sail, with Raleigh in command. The Spanish king had, as usual, full information of the intentions and plans of the English, and was making preparations to thwart them. CHAPTER LXXIII. "The Queen had fallen in with Raleigh's proposal to see the fleet on its way for fifty or sixty leagues. The Lord- Admiral was commanded to place the pinnace ' Disdain ' at his orders, that he might return in her. The Queen had suggested Frobisher as the right man to take charge of the expedition in Sir Walter's absence, and as his lieutenant. Raleigh had raised some objections, alleging that his friends would complain, and that his whole fortune would be entrusted to another. In spite of all, Raleigh had to feign acquiescence i ^be Queen's design, though determined inwardly to evade her. The Queen had her suspicions of his ingenuousness. IMUittJ Raleigh Recalled. nuousness. Raleigh was making no aiTangements for transferring the command. If he got fifty leagues away how could she compel his return? She was not ignorant that, under such circumstances, he would run the risk of warding off her displeasure with Panama destroyed and some rich prizes brought home. The Queen was therefore on the alert, and sent for Frobisher to abandon his bucolic pursuits and come up to London to be at hand. Nor was she mistaken ; for when Raleigh set sail, leaving the 'Disdain' behind, her suspicions were confirmed. Fro- bisher was given a letter recalling Raleigh and com- manded to go at once in pursuit with the pinnace. It was a short chase for such a sailor as the Admiral. Over- taking Raleigh the same evening, he delivered the Queen's letter and exhibited the commission appointing him to the chief command. Sir Walter int-^rpreted the Queen's language to suit his own purpose, and continued still on board the ' Gailand.' Within a couple of days the fleet fell in with a ship of M. Grourdan's, who, it will be remembered, had shelled the light-fingered mariners ' rummaging' the great galleass on Calais Bar. On board was a Mr. Neville Davis, lately liberated from a twelve years' captivity in the Spanish In- quisition. He said it was useless to pursue tlie under- taking, for that Philip knew all their plans, and had sent a despatch commanding the carracks to winter in the Indies. Tliis discouraging intelligence did not turn Raleigh back from his purpose. On the 1 1th, being off Finisterre, a sudden storm came upon them, scattering the fleet, destroying nearly all the boats and pinnaces, and very nigh engulfing the ' Garbnd ' and ' Raleigh.' This was enough. The season was so far advanced, the provisions so much exhausted, the means of landing so damaged, that it would be useless to prosecute the design ou i'auama. Recalling If If 4 314 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. the Queen's commands to mind, and perceiving that he could lay no conquered colony at her feet, he summoned Frobisher and Burroughs to the ' Garland ' and divided the fleet into two squadrons, giving one to each of the two admirals. Frobisher, taking command of the ' Garland,' was to lie off the coast of Spain, and amuse the men-of- war sent out annually to ' waft ' the Plate fleet home from the Azores, as the expression was in those days. Bur- roughs was to take his squadron to the Westward Islands and lie in wait for the expected carracks. Having given his instructions. Sir Walter descended from the deck of the ' Garland,' and stepping on board the ' Disdain,' re- luctantly shaped his course for England. The ' Garland ' was a bad sailer. And the two squad- rons, though following very nearly the same course, were not long in parting company. Coming off the coast of Portugal, Frobisher fell in with a Spanish ship of six hun- dred tons. After a sharp fight she struck her flag. Her name was the ' Santa Clara,' bound for the West Indies with a cargo of assorted iron- ware, which was valued in England at 7,000^. Thither she was sent with a prize crew, after being ' first rummaged ' for valuables. After this good beginning the voyage southwards was continued. The squadron of Burroughs coming athwart Lisbon espied a sail far down the wind. The Admiral in the swift sailer, the ' Roebuck,' went at once in pursuit. The Spa- niard was a fly-boat and also a fast ship. So the chase was a long one. But the ' Roebuck ' gradually drew up to the fugitive, which offer^^d no resistance and struck her flag. From the Spanish aptain intelligence was ob- tained of a powerful fleet fitting out at the port of St. Lucar, near Cadiz ; that it was under the command of Don Alonzo de Bassano, and under orders to proceed to the Azores and convoy the Plate ships into a safe harbour. But should the English fleet proceed towards the Indies, Troubled Waters. 315 as Philip had heard was their intention, Don Altnzo was LO follow and offer battle at all hazaxds. While Sir John was gleaning these facts from his prisoner, the ' Roebuck ' and her prize were leisurely tacking back towards the squadron, from which the chase had carried the Admiral a considerable distance. But be- fore the junction had been effected a Spanish fleet was seen to seawards extending the line, with the evident pur- pose of driving the English ships on shore. There was an immediate contest of seamanship, and it was never known that the English had yet been defeated in a competition of that kind. Sir John extricated bis ships with some dexterity and stood away for the Azores, having long enough delayed the execution of his part of the under- taking. In a little while Frobisher and his squadron fell in with this enemy ; and the Spaniards supposing that they had all the English fleet before tliem, warily followed Frobisher up and down, being attacked whenever they showed any inclination to go in search of the carracks, a,nd being eluded whenever they offered battle. Frobisher's squadron con- sisted of, some say, three, and others five ships ; for few liad cared to stay to fight while prizes were to be taken to the westward. He, too, was mistaken in his ad- versary, for he supposed himself opposed to Don Alonzo ; but that Admiral was still in the mouth of the Guadal- quiver, content to lie in port as long as the English fleet was known to be harmlessly cruising up and down the coast watched by a Spanish fleet. But the secret could not be kept always. Intelligence was received in Spain that the English had divided their fleet into two squadrons, one only of which was on the coast, while the other was already at the Azores. There- upon Don Alonzo was instantly ordered thither with his fleet of twenty-three galleons. iii'i 3 1 6 Life of Sir Martin Fro bis her. CHAPTER LXXIV. The Earl of Cumberland had, as usual, two or three ships cruising among the islands ready for any lucky windfall that might come their way ; though the Earl himself had remained at home this year, perhaps forbid- den by Her Majesty to sail, as a mark of her displeasure for liis misfortunes of the preceding summer. Burroughs took a few insignificant caravels in his voyage across from the mainland, passed by St. Michael's, Villa Franca, and came to anchor at Santa Cruz, in the island of Florez, where he was permitted to land unop- posed. Tliis was the port at which the carracks had been ordered to put in, and where they were to meet the fleet that was to guard them home. Two days after his arrival, Burroughs was startled at seeing a carrack under press of sail making for the island, and pursued by three English ships, with which she was maintaining a running fight. The carrack was the ' Santa Cruz,' and her pursuers the Earl of Cumberland's ships. Burroughs was not long in getting out of the harbour to assist in the capture. But the wind suddenly died away, and as the sun set the four- teen ships lay rolling helplessly on the ground-swell. With the morning it was intended to board the prize ; but a furious storm that followed the calm about midnight scattered that plan and the ships. When the dawn came the carrack was seen ashore on the island, with hundreds of busy hands conveying her valuable cargo inland. Boats were lowered, and a hundred men of the fleet rowed ashore. No opposition was offered. But the wreck had been set on fire by the retreating crew. Some plunder was taken ; the fire could not be extinguished ; and so the boats re- ' i ■'Mii" On the Watch for the Plate Fleet. 3 1 7 turned with the purser of the carrack, who had been made prisoner, and the stray handfuls of pillage which had been snatched from the flames. The purser of the * Santa Cruz ' gave the English in- formation which consoled them over their loss. Three other and larger carracks would arrive at Florez in about fifteen days. All the English ships, having taken in a full supply of water, put out to sea, and when six or seven leagues westward of the island formed a line across the path of the expected prizes. The ships took up their position two leagues apart, and thus covered two degrees of longitude. Ealeigh, in returning to England, had observed that the taking of the Plate fleet would be a work of patience ; and so it now promised to become, should the long line of observation formed by the ships of Burroughs and the Earl of Cumberland be left imdisturbed. But while they were watching and waiting, Don Alonzo De Bassano with his fleet of twenty-three galleons appeared at the islands. His orders were to go first of all in search of the carracks and escort them into some well-fortified harbour in the islands ; then he was to take certain heavy guns for the fortifications at St. Michael's. But Don Alonzo reversed these orders and spent some time landing the heavy ordnance, after which he proceeded towards Florez, arriving too late. For nearly five weeks did the English lie a-liuU at tlieir stations six leagues west of the island ; and their patience was at last rewarded. On August 3 'a pro- digious great carrack called the " Madre de Dios," one of the greatest burthen belonging to the Crown,' came sailing into the net so dexterously spread out. Captain Thomson was stationed in the line of her advance, and valiantly opened fire ; but be was so well received that he 3i8 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, quickly sheered off, with the loss of several men. Bur- roughs himself dashed for the prey, and came to close quarters. The yards of the 'Roebuck' were locked to thoise of the 'Madre.' But Sir John was not long in sending men aloft to disentangle the ships. The ' Roe- buck ' was supposed to be in a sinking condition, having received one or more shot beneath the water-line. Bur- roughs succeeded in getting out of range to pump the ' Roebuck ' and stop her leaks. The ships lying on the extreme flanks of the line, hearing the sound of battle, hastened towards the prey. But for some of them it was a summer day's sail. Those that were near at hand having seen what had happened to Thomson and Burroughs, stood off at a safe distance while the ' Madre ' ploughed on towards Florez. The Englishmen were astonished at her magnitude. Such a ship had never been seen by them before. Her burthen was fifty tons more than that of the great galleass that grounded at the mouth of Calais harbour. She measured one hun- dred and sixty-five feet from stem to stern. She had seven decks ; and though built for the carrying trade was armed with two hundred and thirty brass cannon, and manned by a crew of six hundred. As this pretty procession of the * Madre,' with all her sails spread, four or five English ships a short distance astern, and others hastening up, came in sight of Florez, Captain Cross, in Her Majesty's ship, overtook the naval pageant. He was no sooner within range than he poured a broadside into the stern of the carrack, killing the helms- man and bringing the 'Madre' to. The 'Providence' ranged athwart the enemy's stern and continued pouring in large shot. Not a man could stand at the helm. The Spaniards were falling rapidly ; still no English ship was willing to get into the line of the ' Madre's ' broadsides. r^, The ' Madre de Dios ' Captured. 3 1 9 Cross drew nearer and added a fire of small shot to the large. The other ships now joined him, directing their fire also at the enemy's stern. The captain of the Spanish ship, finding his vessel unmanageable, and more English vultures still appearing above the horizon, lost heart. Captain Cross was appropriately the first man to board her. They found the Spaniards slaughtered in heaps upon her decks ; and the English had only narrowly saved her from sharing the fate of the ' Santa Cruz.' With this capture Burroughs was content. There were two more carracks due ; but Don Alonzo was coming up to try and repair his blunder. From Florez it seems to have been almost a chase between the English with their great prize and Bassano with his galleons. Only the year before some valuable captures had been retaken by the Spaniards ; and so the seven-decker was conveyed towards England with all possible haste. Frobisher was between them and the coast of Spain, and might form a rearguard, could he only be fallen in with. In this they seem to have been successful. CHAPTER LXXV. The tidings spread to England in advance. Perhaps Burroughs had come in the fast-sailing ' Roebuck ' to announce their good fortune, leaving the slow-sailing carrack to follow after. Great anxiety was felt by the venturers. Not only did they esteem her within the reach of recapture while on the sea, but even when at anchor in any of the Western ports. Raleigh and Hawkins had a consultation over the matter, and wrote to the Lord- Admiral saying they estimated the carrack to be worth 3 20 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, 500,000L There were Spanish men-of-war known to be lying upon the coast of Bretagne. In all likelihood these miglit make an attempt to recapture so great a prize ; and failing that, they might set her on fire. Would the Lord- Admiral therefore send the Cliannel fleet, now reduced to three ships, to her protection ' until the " Garland " and some of tlie same fleet be retm-ned, whose arrival cannot be any long time expected ' ? Frobislier had done his part of the undertaking. He had kept the Spanish fleet on the coast of the mainland, under the impression that his squadron was the whole of the Raleigh expedition, until it was too late to save the carracks. Two of the four had been lost to Spain. In tliat day they represented millions sterling, and the loss of them was the ruin of Don Alonzo. He lived awhile longer, but was never employed in the king's service, and died in disgrace. On the other hand, the rejoicing i England was very great when the ' Madre de Dios ' was brought into Ply- mouth. She was the largest vessel ever seen in the island ; but the estimate which Ealeigh and Hawkins had roughly made was found to have been born of a tropical imagination. A valuation made at Leaden Hall put her cargo down at 150,000^., or equal to about 900,000^. present value. It was composed of spices, incense, silk, cloth-of-gold, ivory, calico, ebony, &c. But there had been many jewels on board, which was supposed to ac- count for the difference in the two estimates of the cargo. The ' Madre,' too, had been ' first rummaged ' before she arrived in England. Fortunately Frobisher had not been within sight of her, or some of the personal enemies who seemed to be always springing up in his path would doubtless have sent in to Burghley a list of abuses by a nameless commander. The Missing yewels. 321 The t^hip was taken possession of in the Queen's name by Commissioners sent down for that pm-pose. There were some protests against this course, and chiefly from the Earl of Cumberland. But Her IMajesty pointed out tliat her ship the ' Providence,' under Captain Cross, liad been mainly instrumental in the capture of the carrack ; and, as between the different adventurers, her right could not well be questioned. Moreover, there was the Royal prerogative to support her action. The Commissioners set on foot a diligent f earcli for the lost jewels, but with no guccsss. A proclamation was next published warning all who had purloined any of the treasure of the ' Madre de Dies ' to produce the same to the Commissioners on pain of being prosecuted as thieves and pirates. Still the pilferers made no movement towards restitution. Finally, the suspected ones were brought up and examined. They denied on oath ; and, coming out from the presence of the inquisitors, re- marked, * We had rather trust a merciful God with our souls, though stained with perjury, tlian venture our money, which we have got with so much danger and pains, into the hands of unmerciful men.' It was considered a great hardship by the Earl of Cumberland that he should receive only 37,OOOZ. But inasmuch as that was the full share coming to his ship, and he himself had been ashore, no wrong was done him. We may be sure that Frobisher received all that was due to him in the distribution of the prize-money. The Queen would not forget her /^dmiral in the general scramble of the private venturers. There are good reasons f ^ believing that Frobisher hastened to his Yorkshire homt u?cer his return from the coast of Spain in September. The mansion which he liad begun was proceeded with, affording him employment of 322 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, a kin i conp;^ nial to a mariner retired. A new estate called the Manors of Warmfield-cum-Heath was pur- chased. But the prize-money was not soon spent. Other sums were invested in valuable leases in his neighbourhood. Thus Frobisher had become a large landed proprietor. In 1593 he was placed on the commission of the peace, being made a justice of the West Riding. For nearly a year Frobisher led the uneventful life of a coimtry squire — too happy to have a history. But the times had not ceased to be warlike. England was still threatened by many foes, and the Continent ever resounded with the marcli of armies. So able and brave a com- mander as Frobisher could not long be spared to the peaceful pursuits of draining, fencing, and improving estates. Though the Queen had many other great sailors ready to do her bidding, she seemed resolved to employ only Frobisher in her naval undertakings. And events on the Continent were even then preparing the last task of that busy life. CHAPTER LXXVI. As to the necessity of keeping the ports of the Nether- lands from falling into the power of Philip of Spain there had been no doubt in the mind of Elizabeth. With the same keen watchfulness that she had shown in following the motives of the Duke of Parma did she now observe the greater success of the League in gaining possession of tlie harbours on the north-western and northern coast of France. For the struggle between Madame League and Henry had not yet died out, though Henry had recanted the reformed ■*1** V ■1>^ 4 Cv "1 i> f? 6^ £?< Q>- C?, 336 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. CHAPTER LXXIX. When Frobisher first emerged out of the seclusion of home and Yorkshire, a lad ' of great spirit and bold courage and natural hardness of body,' he came not, as a young Hannibal or Drake, with a paternal vengeance to be wreaked on the enemy of his nation and religion. He was just such an ardent, adventure-loving boy as one may find in a mess of middies on board any of our own Queen's ships. With superabundant faith in the heroic, and happily endowed with the strength and courage necessary for bringing forth the works of that faith, he was flung off by his maternal uncle and fell on his feet in that paradise of boys, the forecastle of a rover, and perhaps a slaver. He possessed only the education which a mother gives to her youngest boy ; he could read and almost write a large round hand. But he was overflowing with latent greatness. He took with him a fortune which can be estimated in no symbols arithmetical or algebraic — the inheritance of noble qualities descended from an ancestry of gentlemen bound to honour and duty more than life. .In such a school, where right must always ally itself with might, where authority is only to be preserved with a hard word, and sometimes a harder blow, the noble qualities developed. It was the case of an oak planted on a seaward clitf, whose branches are toughened by the boisterous gales, and are at the same time stunted and deformed. The rough life of the privateering captain, with its ready expediencies in the face of unexpected perils, its many temptations to plunge into piracy, its sufferings ■ 'y A New Leaf. 337 from hunger and thirst, its quelling of mutinies with a keen, broad partizan, — all this is lost for us. Yet one needs no predominance of imagination to picture Frobisher's ten years of roving. He was a youthful com- mander. A voyage out of the sight of land was almost a novelty ; the rocks, shoals, and currents of the ocean were marked on no chart ; the degrees of longitude were put down of the same width from pole to pole; no law was acknowledged on the high seas ; pirates infested even the mouth of the Thames ; and yet in a Liliputian bark the English mariner was prepared to roam over unknown seas. Either his meeting with Michael Lock or Humphrey Grilbert touched a secret spring in the young captain's soul which opened a, chamber hitherto dark and unin- habited. Lock had long been dr^wn * to the study of cosmography,' and had convinced himself of tlie existence of a North- West Passage to Cathay. Humphrey Gilbert had arrived at the same conclusion, and published a pamphlet to prove it, in which he mingles Homer and mathematics, deducing a second Magellan's Straits from the primum raobile, and quoting Esther and Ahasuerus to show that there was a good market for calicoes in the far East. The interest awakened by the speculations of these theorists doubtless saved Frobisher from sinking into lawlessness. He was on the point of becoming a con- firmed buccaneer. Henceforth he had a noble object which lifted him above the low level into which he had drifted, and privateering became a means to an end, as the primary school to the youthful village master who spends his evenings reading for a profession. After his return from each voyage he hastened to Lock's house to listen to the conjectures of tlie retired master mariner, ■■ ' z ii'i 33^ Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. pore over his charts of imaginary coasts and channels, and gather from Doctor Dee all that the great astrologer and cosmographer was pleased to communicate. To pursue for fifteen years the noble purpose of sailing a ship ' by the West to the East ' was in itself something, though the quest had never been made. His unmeasured courage and perseverance were exhibited in the voyage and dangers of the ' Gabriel.' His readiness of resource came out on every occasion of dismaying peril. His great physical strength completed his endowment for the work before him. His skill in seamanship was tried in making three successful entrances into Frobisher's Straits, which to this day are a region avoided by every mariner. He was the first man who ever went in search of the North-West Passage ; and he was the first Englishman who ever at- tempted to establish a colony on the American continent, althougli the spirit of discovery within him was by the force of circumstances subordinated to the venturers' greed for gold. He took the first Protestant missionary to the New World, and by him the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was for the first time administered accord- ing to Protestant rites on that continent. Fuller says of his character : ' He was very valiant, but withal harsh and violent (faults which may be dispensed wivh in one of his profession).' This has been repeated by almost every subsequent writer who has made any sketch of the Admiral's life. Campbell's paraphrase of this charge is : 'A true patriot, yet in his carriage blunt, and a very strict observer of discipline, even to a degree of severity, which hindered his being beloved.' If Campbell supposed any of Queen Elizabeth's great captains was ' perfumed like a milliner,' holding a pouncet-box ' 'twixt his finger and his thumb,' he is not wrong in applying to Frobisher the word ' blunt.' It is a quality not more rare Fullers Estimate. 339 els, and rer and pursue bip 'ty ugb the courage dangers ! out on physical k before ng three ;h to this was the >rth-West ever at- jontinent, as by the venturers' nissionary jnt of the id accord- liant, but dispensed repeated made any iphrase of age blunt, degree of Campbell )tains was jox ''twixt )plying to more rare 1 in a sailor than courtliness in a groom of the chamber. But Campbell is not justified in making Fuller's words mean that Frobisher was a martinet and unbeloved. The only circumstance that could be wrung to support sucli an assertion is a phrase in a letter of Kaleigh's to Sir Robert Cecil when the command of the expedition of 1592 was transferred from himself to Frobisher. ' I have promised Her Majesty,' writes Ealeigh, 'that if I cmi persuade the Companies to follow Sir Martin Frobisher I will without fail return.' The hypothesis means no more than that the expedition being composed of and equipped by the personal friends of Raleigh, they would naturally be unwilling to trust their lives and fortunes to any other commander, though he should be the most skilful in the world. There are many reasons for holding the contrary opinion of the knight's character. One of Master Sellman's accusations was that Frobisher was so lax in his discipline and lenient to the petty officers and mariners that no order could be kept on board. Again, no voyager of his time had so few mutinies. The 'Michael' and 'Thomas' of Ipswich alone deserted him. But the officers of both those vessels thought their Admiral drowned before they turned cravens. The ex- perience of Drake, with the ready execution block, and of gentle John Davis was to have their subalterns mutiny in their very presence. Frobisher's oft-repeated efforts to regain his live men captured by the Esquimaux, and the sacrifices he was prepared to make to accomplish that purpose, exhibit the humane side of his character. In his letter after the capture of Fort Crozon lie says, when referring to Norris's request for some of his men : ' The mariners are very unwilling to go except I go with them myself, yet if I find it come to an extremity we will try what we are able.' t: 340 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. Fuller's meaning is^ doubtless, that Frobisher was possessed of a violent tenaper. But the passionate men are not usually the unbeloved. The severe martinet is more often the dapper, cultured, cool, low-speaking officer than the rude, herculean, boisterous sailor. Frobisher liad never learned how to put a bridle on his indignation. Any suspicion of sham or wrong put him instantly ablaze, the consequence being that he raised against himself a liost of needless enemies. He was a man heartily loved and heartily hated. And as for the coarse epithets which he employed in his moments of anger, his Queen was painted with the same brush ; while for the Admiral ' there is the excuse that with all men the ugly phrases, half-forgotten, which still linger in the memory as the fruit of association with base companions, find free utter- ance from the choleric tongue. He was ' full of strange oaths. . . . jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel.' Although Frobisher was not tainted with the love of jnoney he allowed himself to be led by circumstances to the commission of that which his sense of honour must liave condemned, in order to procure the means for the prosecution of his great purpose. The story of Palissy pursuing his heroic quest of the glaze, deaf to a hunger- ing family crying to him for bread, had only been told ten years before. Martin Frobisher's search for the North-West Passage, with the widow Eiggatt and her numerous brood hungering at Hampstead, was a repe- tition of it. . Of such conduct it is hard to form a just opinion, inasmuch as the judgment and the sympathies do not coincide. He was not a man devoid of domestic virtues. He had a strong love of his kindred and a kindly affection for his faithful servants, as we learn from the provisions of his will. . ^ 'Master Spirits of this Age! 341 her was ate men rtinet is ig officer I'robisher ignation. y ablaze, limself a ,ily loved 3ts which leen was Admiral J phrases, ry as the I'ee iitter- )f strange 1 quarrel.' tie love of stances to our must as for the )f Palissy a hunger- been told for the and her ls a repe- •rm a just ympathies •tues. He y affection provisions But ' the signal service in eighty-eight ' is the chapter in his history which will always gain for him the readiest admiration. His share in the defeat of the Armada has been almost entirely attributed to Drake. Nowhere else have his achievements been so completely overshadowed. The Spaniards knew of only one English admiral, wliose name was Drake, and so every desperate charge made upon the Armada was attributed to him. But no Eng- lish authority has any achievement of his to record from the taking of Don Pedro's ship to the battle of Gravelines ; while the Queen was so pleased with Fro- bisher during that crisis to the realm, that she employed no other admiral during his lifetime after the year 1589. He had the prudence of Hawkins with the resolution and quickness of Drake, while his dauntless courage was all his own. It was valour spiced with what can only be called devilry, acquired in his privateering days. His seamanship has perhaps never been surpassed. Elizabeth's admirals were all great men. They had great faults as well as great virtues. It was fertile soil that produced gigantic weeds as well as heavy ear;^; of corn. They trod the rough, thorny path of heroes. They knew not where their bodies should lie : their roving, perilous life made that uncertain. It was ii; God's keep- ing. But for their souls they were certain. Their faitli in their religion and in an overruling Providence — who helped them in storms and among icebergs, who wrought for them continual miracles of deliverance, who con- founded the knavish designs of their foes, and always protected their Queen, giving ' her the victory over all her enemies ' — would raise a laugh of scorn in the barracks or forecastle of our day. They had an adoring loyalty, an unwavering faith in the unseen, both good and evil, very rare now. Satan is not terrible to men who 342 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher, have refined him out of their creed ; but those old worthies believed in the Devil, and yet feared him no more than the Spaniard. The man who did his duty to God and his country needed not to fear anything, seen or uuseen. That much they knew and lived ; and in that faith they died, leaving the rest to God and their Saviour. APPENDIX. THE WILL OF SIR MARTIN FROBISHER, KNIGHT. (Somerset House) 2 Scott, 86, page 46. In the name of God. Amen. The day of In the yeare of our Lord God one thousand fyve hundred nynetie and ffowre, I Martyn Ffrobissher knighte beinge in perfecte Domini healthe and of good remembraunce thanked be Al- pfj'l'j'shcr mightie God with good advice and consideracion doe Miiietis. make and ordeyne this my laste will and testament in writinge in manner and forme folio winge. That is to sale, Ffirste I com- mend my Sowle into the handes of Almightie God my maker hopinge assuredlie throughe the onlie merritts of Jesus Christe my Savioure and Redeemer to be made partaker of Liffe everlastingo And as conceminge my Bodie I commend yt to my mothei' the Earthe from whence it came to be interred where it shall please God to call me at the discreacion and disposicion of my Executor. But my will and myntie is that the solempnizacion of my ffuneralls shalbe kepte at the parishe churche of Normanton and my house called Ffrobisher hall in Altoftes in the Countie of Yeorke. As towchinge provision to be hadd and made for Dame Dorothie my welbeloved wief by this my laste will and testament my will and mynde is and by theis pi'esents I give, will and bequeathe unto the said Dame Dorothie my wiffe in full recom- pence of all claymes, challenges or demaundes whiche she may make unto my goodes chattells or moveables whatsoever either by common lawe custome or other wise after my decease (and in consideracion she shall refuse to take nor shall take any other 344 Life of Sir Mar I in Frobishcr. benefitt or profitt use or commoditie of my said goodes or ehattells other then I shall give lymitt and appointe by this my laste will and testament). All her Jewells chaynes Braceletts {)eailos Bnttons of goulde and pearle egletts and I'ynges wliiche she hathe nowe in her jjossession and I give her bothe these Jewells, soe I have croste it oute the vij'^h ^f Auguste 1594. And I give her all her wearinge apparell what soever and p«s mnche of my plate which I nowe have at my house called Ffiobisher Hall in Altoftes in the Countie of Yoi'ke, as shall amount/e to the value of twoe hundred poundes the one half thereof in silver plate valued at ffive shillingesthe ounce and the o'jher lialf to be of parcell guilte at sixe shillinges the ounce in value. Alsoe I will give and bequeathe to the said Dame Dorothie my wifFe the thirde pai'teof all my lynnen and naperie in the stvme house beinge lyinge or in use there to be equallie divided in to three equall partes of the worste a third parte of the better sorte a third parte and of the beste sorte a third parte and the same to be delivered by Executor if he be then livinge or by him or them w°*> shall be appointed by this my laste will to be a dealer herein my executor beinge deceassed. Item. I give will and bequeathe unto the said Dame Dorothie my wief the betlsteades and Beddes with there furniture to them, whiche I lefte standinge lyinge and beinge in that chamber of my said house, wherein my said wiffe doeth usuallie lie and lodge in, and the bedsteades Beddes and there furniture whiche I lefte standinge lyinge and beinge in the chamber in my said house wherein her daughter and waytinge women and chamber maides lye and lodge and all suche houshold stuffe as I shall leave at in and aboute my house in Wathamstowe in the Countie of Essex and none other. Item. I give will and bequeathe unto her my said v/iffe my twoe coches with there furnitures and my twoe white coche horses and after that the other horses, mares, Geldinges and Coltes mencioned and par- ticulerlie named limited or appointed by me to others in this my will given and they chosen oute by my Executor to dispose them accordinge to my said will. Then my will and mynde is that my said .wiffe shall make her choyse oute of all Appendix. 345 the i-este and residue of my said horses, Mares, Geldinges and Coltea of Hixe whiche she shall beste like of and them to take and have to her owne projier use for ever. Item. I give and bequeathe unto her my said wiof Tenne of mylche kyne and halfe the stocke of sheepe tfatt and leane whiehe I have, to have to her use as her owne goodes. The Residue of all my Jewells plate money debts obligacions goodes chattells reall and personall, housholde stuflfe moveables and impleaments of houshold whatsoever I have (and whiehe I have not expressed, given and before bequeathed and devised to the said Dame Dorothie my wife) by this my will I give, will and bequeathe towardes the performance of my fFuneialls pjxymente of my debtes and suche legacies as hereafter shalbe by me in my Testament expressed lymitted and appointed to be paid and pei-formed to Peter Ffrobisher sonne to my eldeste Brother John Ffrobisher deceased. Whiehe said Peter Ffrobisher I ordeyne appojnte constitute and make my sole Executor of this my presente laate will and Testament And doe make and appointe Ffrauncis Boynton of Barmestone in the said Countie of Yorke Esquier, and Ffrauncis Vaughan of in the said Countie Esquire my overseers of this my said laste will and Testament, and I give to every of them one Coulte ffole of my Turke to chose them owte amongeste my coltes. " This is the laste will and Testament of me the said Martyn Ffrobisher knighte towchinge and concerninge the disposicion of all my landes, tenementes, hereditaments, tithes and ffee ffarmes aswell those whiehe I nowe have in possession as those whiehe I have to come in revercion or remaynder whatsoever within the realme of England. Ffirste I w^ill give and devise unto Peter Ffrobisher beinge sonne to my eldeste Brother John Ffr-obisher deceassed for tearme of his liffe all my Mannor of White^vood withall the demeanes and services courtes rentes proffites ard all other Commodities, liberties royalties commons fisshings waters landes tenements Meadowes, feadinges, pastures, woods, underwoodes Mores, Heathes, marshes, and all howses, edifices and Buildinges whatsoever scituate sett and beinge in and uppon the said Mannor and all other the appui-tenaunces 346 Life of Sir Martin Fr obis her. wliatsoever to the Mannor }>elon^'inge, apperteyninge or hereto- foi"e have hyn with the same occupied, letten, reputed or tjiken to 1)0 a8 parte, pai'coll or member of the Raid Mannor withall other hei-er^'tamentes revercion and revei'cions remaynder and remaynden .vliicho Hayed Mannor is scitnate lyinge and beinge in the parrislie fcikles or Towne of Ffetherstone in the couutie of Yorke and whiche I late ])«i'chased or had of our soveraiajne Ladie Queene Eli/abethe to me ard to my heii*es as by Her gi-aces letters patent more at large appearethe. And all that my house called or knowen by the name of Ffrobiaher Hall or called by any other name or names whatsoever scituate sett and beinge in Altoftes in the parishe of Normanton within the Countie of Yorke withall my landes, tenements, meadowes, pastures, woodes underwoodes as well free holde as coppie holde, whiche I have in the Lordshippe or Mannor of Altoftes or ells where within the Mannor of Warmfeilde and Heathe and within any other Towne feilde parrishe hamlett or any other place in the saide Couutie of Yorke or by what name or names soever they be called or knowen or have byn knowne, letten reputed or taken with all and singuler there appurte- naunces, And all that my Mannor or capitall messuage called or knowne by the name of Brockholls or by what name or names soever yt is or hathe byn called or knowne and all those my landes, tenementes rentes revercions or revercon remaynder or remaynders and all other hereditamentes withall and singuler theire appurtenaunces whatsoever I have scituate, sett, lyinge or beinge in the parrishe towne feildes hamlett or circute of the parrishe or Towne of Canteley or in any other towne or parrishe theire adioyninge or ells where within the said Countie of Yorke. And all that Graunge called or knowne by the name of Ffyninglye Graunge or by what name or names soever it be called or knowne or bathe byn called or knowne. And all my landes, howses, tenementes meadowes feadinges pastures, commons and all other hereditaments with there appurtenaunces whatsoever I have scituate, sett, lyinge and beinge within the parrishes, ffyeldes townes, hameletts or liberties of Ffyninglie, Blackstone, and Auckeley or any of them beinge within the counties of Yorke Appendix. 347 and Nottingham or any or bothe of them or ells where within the said Counties. And all other my landes tenomentes, Manners revercion and revertions, remayndors and heredita- ments tythes and ffee ffarmos, whiche I have piirchaised to nie and to my heires whatsoever and whiche are not yett come to my possession whei-osoever they be in this realme of Enfifland and whensoever they or nny of them shall come fall happen and accrewe I fi-eely give with all other my landes in possession and hereditamentes, tithes and fee farmes whatsoever I have within the said realme of England to the said Peter Ffrobisher beinge Sonne to my eldeste Brother John Ffrobisher, to have and to holde all and singiiler my Manners, lands Tenements heredita- ments and all other the premisses with thei-e appurtenaunces befoi-e resited by this my laste will and Testament to be devised willed and given, and mencioned or ment to be willed devised and given and by this my said laste will devised willed and given unto the said Peter Ffiobiisher for by and duringe the tearme of his naturall life without ympeachment of waste And after his decease to remayne goe and be to the heire male of hia bodie, lawfullie begotten or to be begotten for tearme of liffe of the said heire male withoute impeachment of waste, and soe from heu*e male to heire male for terme of life withoute impaichment of waste untill the heires males of the issues male commynge from the bodie of the said Peter be deceased, And for dofaulte of suche yssue and heire male as is before mencioned and mente, Then all the before devised premisses with the appurtenaunces and all hei*editamentes ment and mencioned by this my laste will and testament to be devised willed and given to goe remayne come and be to Darbie Ffrobisher sonne to Davye Ffrobisher my deceased bi-other, to have and to holde to the said Darbie for tearme of his naturall life without impeachment of any manner of waste, and after his decease to remayne come and be to the firste heyre male of his bodie, begotten, then livinge, to have and to holde to the said firste heire male of his Bodie begotten for by and duringe the tearme of his life and soe lyniallye to everie heii*e male of the bodyes of the heires males of the said Darbye, begotten untill theire be noe heire male lefte of there Bodies be- 348 Life of Sir Martin Frobishcr. gotten and for defaulte of suche heire male then all the before de- vised premisses with there appurtenaimces, I will shall remayne gee and be unto Ffraimcis Brackenburie, eldeste sonne unto my sister Jane Brackenburye for tearme of his naturall liffe withoute any impeachment of waste and after his deceasse to the heire male of his bodie lawfullye begotten, to have and to houlde to him for tearme of his naturall life without impeachment of waste and soe lyniallye from heire male ' "> heyre male of theire Bodyes la,wfullie begotten withe like estate untill there be noe heire male lefte of the bodies of the said heires male discended from the said Ffrauncis Brackenburie and for defaulte of suche heii-e male then all the befo)'G devised premisses whatsoever withe theire appur- tenaunces I give and will shall remayne come and be forever unto Richard Jacksonne, sonne to my sister Margarett Jackson deceassed and to his heu-es forever. As towchinge the devise of all my leases whiche I have in possession and whiche are to come to me in revercion whiche I doe exempte and accompte to be noe parte of my goodes for that my meaninge and intente Ls that they shall have there contynewaunce and goe from heire to heire untill there severall tearmes be ended and not be solde or delte by my Executor as parte of my goodes for that there wilbe suflficient otherwise to dischai-ge bothe my Ffuneralls, debtes and legacies my will and mynde is that my nephewe Peter Ffrobisher my Executor shall duringe there severall tearmes receive, per- ceive and take the yearlie proffitts and commodities of all my said leases and them improve for greater rentes as he shall thinke fytt but neither to sell them nor to take greate fynes and soe to dymin- ishe there rentes but shall soe order them as they shall and may continewe unto his heire that shall sucseed him accordinge to the intente and true meaninge of this my said laste will, excepte suche leases as I shall by this my laste will and Testament dispose and appointe of in manner and forme hereunder written. Therefore my will and mynde is that if the said Dame Dorothie my wiffe will and doe refuse and not ^ake any Benefitt or commoditie either by common lawe or custome to clayme challenge or have her dower or thirde parte in all my landes and Tenementes nor make clayme or demaunde to any of my goodes or chattells, other then ■ Appendix. 349 to suche as I have and shall give bequeathe and assigne to her by this my laste will. Then in full recompence of bar tliirdes or dower of all my landes and Tenementes my will and mynde is that she shall have all suche legacies guiftes and bequeastea whiche I have before in this my will mencioned to give and bequeathe unto her and in like manner that if she the said Dorothie my wiflfe will inhabite and dwell in my mansion and dwellinge house in Altoftes aforesaide for by and duiinge the tearme of Ffortie yeares (yf she hapj^en to live soe longe) Then my will intente and meanynge is that she shall have the occupa- cion use and manuraunce (to her proper use and Benyfitt) of my said dwellinge house and all my landes and tenementes in Altoftes whiche I have there aswell ffree holde as coppie holde lyjnge and beinge in the parishe of Normanton and that my heire by this my will shall accordinge to the custome of the said Mannor of Altoftes make her a lease of the coppie holde, landes and alsoe shall have the manuraunce and occupacion to the use aforesaid of the Mannor of Altoftes and all the landes tenementes and hereditaments and pei-ceyve and take the profittes thereof accordinge to the iymitacion of Ffortie yeares above mencioned if she live soe longe uppon theis condicions hereafter follow inge That is to saie that she the said Dame Dorothie my wifFe shall at all tymes hereafter and from tyme to tyme duringe her dwell- inge and habytacion therein at twoe feastes in the yeare, that is to saye at the feaste of the Annunciacion of owre Blessed Ladie Sainte Marie the Virgin and Saincte Michaell the Archangell by even porcions or in the tenthe day nexte ensuinge every of the said ffeastes at or in the Curche porche of the parrishe churche of Normanton aforesaid betweene the howres of one and fFowre of the clocke in the afternoone of the said severall dayes for the preservacion of my lease of the Mannor of Altoftes from beinge forfeited ; pay or cause to be paid unto the my said Executor of this my laste will and to him to whome the said lease shall come and acerewe accordinge to the true intente of this my laste will and testament all suche rentes and ftarmes as are reserved at the said feastes by the said lease or to be i)ayde within certeyne dayes nexte after the said ffeastes yerelie or 350 Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. halfe yerelie as they shall growe due and payable and alsoe doe performe fullfiU and keepo all and all manner of covenauntes grauntes articles and agreementes whiche I my executors and assignes are tyed by the saide lease to performe and uppon and under this condicion that she the saide Dame Dorothie my wief shall not doe any manner of strippe nor waste or willinglie sujffer to be done in or uppon any the landes tenementes or heredita- ments in her use or occupacion and if the said Dame Dorothie my wief will not inhabite in my said house at Altoftes and accepte of this my bequeaste (in recompence of all thirdes and dowerie) before to her willed and will departe and leave all to mv Executor, Then I will that she shall have all suche moveable goodes, Jewells plate and housholde stuffe as I before in the firste parte of my will of my moveable goodes have given and bequeathed vinto her, and alsoe by this my will doe give will and devise unto her for by and diu-inge her naturall liffe one annuytie or yerelie rente of Twoe hundi-ed Markes by yeare of lawf ull money of England to be yssuinge goinge out receyved and taken of all my landes tenementes leases and hereditamentes lyinge and beinge witnin the parrishe of Normanton in the saide countye of Yorke to have and to houlde the said annuytie or yearelye rente of Twoe hundred Markes to the said Dame Dorothie my wife and her assignes from the tyme of her refusall disclayminge and renownsinge to take the benyfitt of her dowerie and third parte of my landes and likwise to disclayme to take any other benyfitt by this my will, then this annuitye or yearelye rente and the goodes to her in the fibrmer parte of this my will bequeathed willed and given for by and dminge her naturall lifie the said annuytie to be paid at twoe teai'mes or feastes in the yeare, That is to saye at the feaste of the Anuunciacion of our Ladie Sainte Marie the Virgine and Saincte Michaell the Archangell by even porcions, The firste paymente thereof to beginne be had and made at suche of the said twoe feastes as happen nexte after her refusall, disclayminge and renownsing as before is lymitted appointed or mente, and my further will is and I doe appointe that if the said annuytie or any parte thereof after my wife hathe made her election of the same Appendix, 351 shalbe behinde and unpaid att anye of the feastes and dayes at which the same is before herein lymitted to be paid and by the space of eighte and thii-tie daye nexte after the said ffeastes or anye of them the same beinge lawfullie demaunded by the said Dame Dorothie my wief or her assignes in or att my said mansion howse at Altoftes p \d an acquittaunce offred or ten- dered to be made sealed and to be delivered uppon the payment thereof for dischardge of the same, That then and at all tymes after suche defaulte of payment yt shall and may be lawful! to and for the said Dame Dorothie my wiffe to enter into all my landes, tenementes leiises bowses and hereditamentes w^^ I have in the parrishe of Normanton aforesaid and the same to have occupie and take the proffitt thereof to her and there use untill my said Executor or he or they to whome the said landes or Tenementes shall come and be according to this my laste will or theire or his assignes doe pay or cause to be paide unto the sayed Dame Dorotliie my wife or her assignes all the said rent or parte of that annuytie whiche shalbe behinde and then due to be paid and the somme of lawfull money of England in the name of a peyne over and above the said annuytie for that the said annuytie or rente was not payed accordinge to the lymita- cion of this my laste will and if the saied Dame Dorothie my wief shall refuse and doe not accepte of neither of theise my bequeathes observing and performynge the orders and manner of refusall and disclaymes before in this my will lymyted and appointed or mente by the same to be done but will have the benyfitt of her thirdes of all my landes and challenge what the lawe will give her, Then my will and meaninge is that she shall take noe benyfitt or advauntage of this my will other then the Jewells apparrell and the twoe hundred poundes worthe of plate and the third parte of lynnen and the twoe coches, and twoe hoi'ses withe theyre furniture and the Beddes and theire fui'nyture whiche I have in the former parte of my will given unto her and noe other of my goodcs, Jewells, plate or move- ables to have, and if she make challenge and suite to i-ecover or have from my Executor the thirde parte of my goodes and chat- tells or to have and recover them by any lawe or custome and 352 Lije of Sir Martin Frobisher, "B will nor doe contente her self with this porcion of my goodes to her before bequeathed in liewe of her thii-des thereof. Then I will and my mynde is that she shall take noe benyfitt of this my laste will but she to have what parte thereof the lawe will allowe her. Notwithstandinge I have given by this my will to my Executor all my leases as well in possession as tliose to eoioe in revercion. Neverthelesse my will and mynde is and I will give and bequeathe to Richard Jackson my Nepliewe and to his assignes my lease and teanne of yeares whiche I have to come in revei'cion of the Manner of Hawghton in the countie of Yorke and all the landes, howses tenements hereditaments and appurtenaunces with the same letten or demised in as full and ample manner as I was to have had it if it had byn in my possession, to have and to holde the same lease nowe in rever- sion and when it shall fortune to come in possession to him his executore and assignes for soe longe tyme and tearme as it is to me gi'aunted demised or lett n and under the same condicions and covenaunts and my Executor not to meadle or deale there- withe, Provided alwayes and it is my will that the saide Eichard my Nephewe his Executors and assignes when and as soone as the said lease shall come in possession that he they or some one of them from the comensment and begynninge of the saide lease shall yerely duringe the whole tyme and tearme of the saied lease at Twoe feastes or termes in the yeare viz* at the ffeaste of the Annunciacion of oure blessed Ladie S* Marie the Virgine and Saincte Michaell the Archangell or att or in the eighte and twentie daye nexte ensninge eveiie of the saied ifeastes by even and equall porcions paye or cause to be payde in the Chui-che porche of the parrishe Churche of Castelforthe in the Countie of Yorke unto William Jacksonne Brother to the sayed Riohai-d to his executors administrators or assignes the somme of Tenne poundes of lawful! money of England viz at the dayes befoie lymited at everie paymente ffive poundes and if it shall happen the said paymentes yearelye duringe the tearme or any of them to be behinde and not paide accordinge to the lymittacions and appointmentes of this my will. Then I will that it shalbe lawfull to and for the said William Jackson my nephewe and Appendix. 353 Brother to the said Ricliard his executors administrators or assignes to enter into the said Mannor and all the landes with the same demysed and letten and them to occupie manner and take the proffittes thereof to his and there owne use until 1 the said Richai-d oi* his assignos doe jmy or cause to be paid unto the saied William his executors administrators or assignes all suche sommos of money as shall then be due to be paid of the saide paymentes befoi-e lymited and not paied as before is by me willed. Item. I will and my mynd9 is and I give unto Wil- liam Haykes my olde servaunte in recompence of his good and faythfull service to me heretofore done, one annuytie or yearelye rente of Sixe poundes thirteene shillinges and ffowre pence to be goinge owte hadd and taken of and in my Mannor of Whitwood and all my landes and Tenementes with there appurtenauncss to the same belonginge or apperteyninge lyinge sett and boinge in the Countie of Yorke to Ije paied by my said Executor and by those to whorae the said Mannor shall here- after come att twoe severall ffeastes or dayes of payment in the yeare viz the Annunciacion of our Ladie Saincte Marye the Virgine and the feaste of Saincte INIichaell the Archancfell bv even porcions the firste paymente to begynne at the firste feaste of the saied Twoe feastes whiclie shall firste happen and come by and after my deathe, to have and to lioulde the sayed an- nuytie or yearelie rente to the sayed William Haykes and his assignes for by and duringe the natui-all lilfe of him the saied William and if the sayed yeai-elie rente or annuitie or any pai-tn thereof ra.2e« of the same if any happen to be unpayde. Ffurthei- eceive of )r of my •inge the the lease and all ^e called le devise the said 3 receive Df dothe the said tersonne lease in er he be My will he same yearelie le or her 3e usuall poimdes ^orcions. re Ladie Michaell !Cutor or lessuage faulte of 3 intente lawfullie tiessuage 1 for her id Man- ites and occupie, le sayed n payed Lyed and Ffurther r JJ/luini|fU \ ^ /. l/?ti c/V tM' -A' r^.O^^^^/^'^ ^P^^^VVCM ^^ ^^i^ CI "^fc^ ryi i/r a ,Ua^<. T '^'^ ^ /le/zc^'^f'^ ,,. ^'^-/ .:::,./, fA ^f «:/' '^^X^ 'Jf> 40fMP^'.^^ h - -/ Faciimilp of Letter of Maj- (i, 1")S:>, roliicj'l tii oiio-fnnrth the size. AppendLx. 355 my will and mynde is and this my will I give and bequeathe unto Jane Brackenburie my sister for by and duringe her na- turall liffe one annuytie or yearelyo rent of Tenne poundes of lawfull money of Elngland to bo yssuinge received had and taken owte of all my landes and Tenementes in the Countie of Yorke to be payed to her or her assignes by my Executor or by him or them to whome the same Landes after my decease shall come att twoe usuall feastes or tearmes of payment in the yeare l)y even and equall porcions, that is to saye at the feastes of the Annunciacion of oure Ladie and S* Michaell the Archangell and yf ytt shall happen the sayed yearelie annuytie or rente to be be- hinde and unpayed att anye of the sayed fFeastes and dayes of pay- ment before lymitted in whiche it oughte to be payed and not payed in or att the Churche porche of the parrishe Churche of Kyi'thope, she or her assignes there demaundinge the same, tliat then my will and mynde is and I will it to lawfull for her or her assignes into anye parte or parcell of the saied landes or Tene- mentes charged withe the same annuytie or rente to enter and the same to occupye to her owne use and take the profittes there- of untyll she the saied Jane or her assignes be of the sayed an- nuytie or rente and the arrerages thereof whiche shalbe then unpayed fullie satisfied and payed. Ffurther I will that my Executor shall paye unto Katherine my Sister Jane her daughter and my neece, the somme of Tenne poundes of lawfull money of England within one yeare after my decease and that she and her husband yf she shall then be married to make a dischardge uppoii the payment thereof yf not then she sole to make a discharge. Item. I will and give unto Margaret being the Daughter of the laste before named my sister Jane her Daughter other Tenne poundes to be paide to her in the like manner and she to make like discharge uppon the receipte thereof. Item. I will and give unto Katherine Boroughes graunde childe to my Sister Jane Brac- kenburie ffortie poundes to be payed by my Executor or him or them whiche shall have my landes by vertue of this my will within Twoe yeares nexte after my decease ; That is to saie, Twentie poundes the ffirste yeare and the other Twentie poundes the nexte yeare for whiche legacie and somme of money yf it be I 35^ Life of Sir Martin Frobisher. not payed accoidinglie I give her or her assignes (slie haveinge overUved the sayed twoe yearen) full power and aucthoretye to distreyne for the namo in any my landes in the Countie of Yorke. Item. I give and bequeatlio unto Anm^ my brother Davy Ffrobisher his daugliter Tenne poundiH of hiwfuU money of Enghind to be payed to her within one yeare Jifter my decease by my Executor or by him or them which shall hereafter have the dealinge and disposicion of this my landes and goodes. Item. I will and give to Edithe Ffrobisher my Brother Davyes Daughter beinge unmaried Ffortio poundes to be payed by my Executor or by him or them whiche shall have the j^ei-formannce of this my will within Twoo yeares nexte ensuinge after my deceasse, that is to saye Twentie poundes within the tirste yeare nexte after my decease and the other Twentie poundes the seconde yeare nexte after my decease and she to make a dis- chardgo uppon the receipte thereof. Item. I will give and de- vise unto Maiye Ffrobisher wydowe, my wifes Daughter, Twoe hundred poundes of lawful! money of England to be paied to her by my Executor or by him or them whiche shall have the performaunce and disposinge of this my will within one yeare nexte after my decease and she to make upon the payment thereof a dischardge for receipte of the same and for defaulte of payment thereof within one monethe after her demaunde made by her or her assignes and the yeare expired after my decease and she then livinge I will that then and from thensforthe it shall and may be lawfull for her and her assignes to enter into my Mannor called Whitwood and the landes and Tenements thereto belonginge before mencioned in this my will and to t)ccupie manure and take the proffittes thereof untill she be thereof or soe muche of the sayed somme of Twoe hundred poundes as shalbe then unpayed well and truelie payed and uppon paymente thereof to avoyde and he or they uppon whose possession she or her assignes dyd enter, to have the same Mannor and landes agayne. Item. I will give and bequeathe to Dorothie Ffrobisher my wives Graunde childe, Twoe hundred pounds to be payed to her by my Executor whenn she shall accomplishe her age of fFyfteene yeares and if he be not then AppcndLw 67 liveinge then by suclio as slmll have the porformaunce of thiH my htste will and if defaulte of paymcntc bo made of the same Twoe hundred poiindes Then I will that at the end of the sayed ffifteene yeares and and (aic) within one monethe nexte after demaunde mudc by her or her assignea of the Hfinie of uiy sayed Executor or of him that then shalbe reputed my heire by vertue of this my will and the same not payed, Then I will that she the sayed Dorothie or herassignes shall enter into that my Manner of Whitewood and all the Landes and Tenementes to the same be- longinge and appertyninge before in this my will mencioned and the same to use occupie and to take the proftittes thereof untill she the sayed Dorothie be well and truelie satisfied and payde the foresayed somme of Twoe hundred [)oundes or soe muche thereof as shall then be behinde and unpayed. And flurther my will and mynde is that after the sayed Dorothie bathe accomplished her age of Tenne yeares then my Executor or he or they whiche by this my will shall have and take the benifitt of my landes and Tenementes in the same willed and bequeathed as my reputed heire shall pay or cause to be payed unto her the sayed Dorothie untill she accomplishe her sayed age of ffifteene yeares viz for five yeres Tenne poundes eveiy yeare att twoe severall pay- mentes by even porcyons at the flieastes of the Annunciacion of oure Ladye Saincte Marie the Vii'gino and Sainte Michaell the Archangell ; the ffirste payment to begiinie at the feaste of the foresayed feastes that shall happen nexte after her age of Tenne yeares is accomplished and if defuulte of paymente be made of the said annuall pensyon the same beiuge by her on her assignes as Gardians lawfullie demaunded of my sayed Executor, she the sayed Dorothie or her gaidians shall have full power and aucthoritie to enter into any parte of my foresaid Mannor of Whitewood and take the vise occupacion and Manuraunce of soe muche of the saied landes and Tenements as in all Judgment shalbe worthe Twentie poundes by yeare to be letten and the profitt thereof commynge to take to her use untill the sayed annuall pension be mito her or her assignes as is before ex- pressed be fullie satisfied and paved. Provided alwayes and d intente is tl my mynde yf any ;acyes 35^ Life of Sir Martin Frobishcr. this my will to whome I have given any giftes of money or othnr legacies tloe fortune to dye and ducoase before thoiie dayea or tymes of })aymentes come and bo ox[)yrcd whicho are In^fore lyniited and sett downe in this my will and tlie same legucyeH or guiftes nott expresslie sett downe bequeathed assigned or appointed to whome they shall goe be and remayne that then the same guifte or bequeaste or parcell of any guifte or bequeaste w<^** is not all to be payed at one tyme (as such there be in my saiod will) be it money or other thiuge or paymente to be made whatsoever shalbe and remayne to the onelie benifitt and use of my Executor or those whoe shall succeed him in estate accord- inge to the lymitacion, of this my laste will and that they to whome suche guifte or bequeaste was made shall have noe powre to will give bequeathe or dispose of the same for that is my true intente and meanynge. And that all distresses, entryes or any other flforfeytures or devise sett downe in this my will for the better obteyninge of any legacie gifte or beqneaste to him or them soe deade or deceased before there tyme of pay- ment shall come shall utterlie cease as if noe suche meanes had byn lymited appoynted or devised. And fynallie notwithstand- inge any guifte, lymitacion or aucthoritye of entrie into any Manners, landes and Tenementes and occupacion use or Manur- aunce thereof for non paymente of legacyes or other bequeastes in this my will mencioned expressed or willed. That my executor his heyres nor the heyres of any that shall clayme by vertue of this my will by from or under me for non performaunco of the paymentes and porcyons lymytted to be payed in the same unto my wife or any others in this my will mencioned in the same stricte manner sorte and condicion as before in this my laste will and Testament is lymytted and expressed. Yett neverthelesse my will mynde and intente is that neither he the sayed Peter Ffrobissher my Executor nor any other succeedinge in estate after him by vertue of this my will to whome I have lymitted any estate of Inheritaunce or ffreeholde shall forfeyte there estate or estates to them or any of them given lymitted and appointed by this my will eyther in Landes or leases but that they to whome any benyfitt of entrie occupacion use manur- Appendix, 359 I manur- aunce or tiikinpe tho proffittes of Lantlos, Tonomentes or leases for tho better and H[)e(;dyer obteyniuge of there logacyes guiftes annuytios rents pensyons devises or be(jueaste8 for nou pay- mente of them, shall have the sayd Landes Tenementes or leases as a pledge untill they be payed and satisfied of there sayeJ legacyes or giiiftes whatsoever and then the heire to enter agayne. My will is that my Executor shall give to my lovinge ffreiudc Maister Thomas Col well, a gcldinge of Tenne poundes price or Twentie Anglells or Tenno poinides in money for his paynes he hathe taken at the deliverye of this my will or other- waye he to detayno this my will till ho be satisfied for the geldinge or the money. In witnes whereof this to be the true will of me the sayed Sir Martyn Ffrobisher, I have to everyo leaffe of tho same will sett and subscribed my name beingo six- teene leaves in nomber and put to my scale beingo labelled upon the toppe the ffowreth daye of Auguste in the sixe and thirtie yeare of the raygne of oure soveraigne Ladie queene Elizal)ethe in the presence of those whose names are under written as witnesses to the same. INIartyn Ffrobiser. Witnesses to this presente will we Thomas Colwell writer of the sayed will, Anthonie Lewes, Tymothie Perroll, Richard Ffarrer his marke. Item. My will and mynde is that my Executor or he whoe shall by vertue of this my will after my deceasse have and take the benifitte of the same by vertue of any legacyes lymitacion of appointmente eyther as my heires or otherwise shall directe advise councell in all pointes towchinge this my will by my lovinge freinde Maister Thomas Colwell shalbe iimpyre in any thinge towchinge any controversie or any legacie that may rise growe or be question betwixte him or them, And by this make him overseer and delar in this my saied will for which e his paynes I will my Executor or he or they that shall take the l^enifitt of this my will as my heire shall give him Twentie poundes within one yeare or three monethes if my will be per- fected after my death when he shall call for the same. Item. The Coppie of this here inclosed under my hande this Seaventhe of Auguste, One Thousand ffive hundred Nynetie and ifowre. Probatum fuit suprascriptum testamentum apud London 6o Life of Sir Martin Frobishcr. coram Magistro Thoma Creake legum dcoi-e Surrogato venera- bilis viri Magri Willmi Lewin legum etiam dcoris curie prero- gative cant ma^i custodis sive commissarii Itime constitut Vicesimo quinto die mens Julii Anno dni Millimo Quingen- tesimo Nonagesimo Quinto Juramento mri Thome Browne Notaiii publici procuratoria Petri Ffrobisher Executoris in Iimodi testamento nominati cui commissa fuit administraco omni et singulof jurium et creditorum dicti defuncti. De bene et fidelir admistrand etc. Ad Sancta dei Evangelia Jurat. (Proved was the above written will at London before Master Thomas Creake Doctor of Laws, surrogate of the venerable man Master W"^ Lewin, also Doctor of Laws, of the Prerogative court of Canterbury, Master, keeper or commissary lawfully constituted, on the 25*^ day of the month of July a.d. 1595, by the oath of Master Thomas Browne, Notary public, proctor of Peter Frobisher executor in the same will named, to whom committed was administration of all and singular the rights and credits of the said deceased, concerning the well and faithfully administering etc being sworn upon the holy gospels.) i • LOXDON" : rnijTED BY SPtTTlSWOODE AXD CO.. XKW-STHEET bQCABE ASD PAULIAMEST STREET xT wm enera- prero- istitut Ingen- rowne •is in straco 3 bene b. laster B man ^ative v^fully }5, by bor of svhom :s and hfully .r