Sir Francis Drake Revived | Page 5

his Third he
made into the West Indies; after that [of] his excellent service, both by
sea and land, in Ireland, under WALTER, Earl of ESSEX; his next,
about the World; another, wherein he took St. Jago, Cartagena, St.
Domingo, St. Augustino; his doings at Cadiz; besides the first Carrack
taught by him to sail into England; his stirrings in Eighty-seven; his

remarkable actions in Eighty-eight; his endeavours in the Portugal
employment; his last enterprise, determined by death; and his filling
Plymouth with a plentiful stream of fresh water: but I pass by all these.
I had rather thou shouldest inquire of others! then to seem myself a
vainglorious man.
I intend not his praise! I strive only to set out the praise of his and our
good GOD! that guided him in his truth! and protected him in his
courses! My ends are to stir thee up to the worship of GOD, and service
of our King and Country, by his example! If anything be worth thy
consideration; conclude with me, that the LORD only, can do great
things!
FRANCIS DRAKE [Bart.]

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE REVIVED
Calling upon this dull or effeminate Age, to follow his noble steps for
gold and silver.

As there is a general Vengeance which secretly pursueth the doers of
wrong, and suffereth them not to prosper, albeit no man of purpose
empeach them: so is there a particular Indignation, engrafted in the
bosom of all that are wronged, which ceaseth not seeking, by all means
possible, to redress or remedy the wrong received. Insomuch as those
great and mighty men, in whom their prosperous estate hath bred such
an overweening of themselves, but they do not only wrong their
inferiors, but despise them being injured, seem to take a very unfit
course for their own safety, and far unfitter for their rest. For as ESOP
teacheth, even the fly hath her spleen, and the emmet [ant] is not
without her choler; and both together many times find means whereby,
though the eagle lays her eggs in JUPITER'S lap, yet by one way or
other, she escapeth not requital of her wrong done [to] the emmet.
Among the manifold examples hereof, which former Ages have

committed to memory, or our Time yielded to sight: I suppose, there
hath not been any more notable then this in hand; either in respect of
the greatness of the person in whom the first injury was offered, or the
meanness of him who righted himself. The one being, in his own
conceit, the mightiest Monarch of all the world! The other, an English
Captain, a mean subject of her Majesty's! Who (besides the wrongs
received at Rio de [la] Hacha with Captain JOHN LOVELL in the
years [15]65 and [15]66) having been grievously endamaged at San
Juan de Ulua in the Bay of Mexico, with captain JOHN HAWKINS, in
the years [15]67 and [15]68, not only in the loss of his goods of some
value, but also of his kinsmen and friends, and that by the falsehood of
DON MARTIN HENRIQUEZ then the Viceroy of Mexico; and finding
that no recompense could be recovered out of Spain, by any of his own
means, or by Her Majesty's letters; he used such helps as he might, by
two several voyages into the West Indies (the first with two ships, the
one called the /Dragon/, the other the /Swan/, in the year [15]70: the
other in the /Swan/ alone in the year [15]71), to gain such intelligences
as might further him, to get some amends for his loss.

On Whitsunday Eve, being the 24th of May, in the year 1572, Captain
DRAKE in the /Pascha/ of Plymouth of 70 tons, his admiral [flag-ship];
with the /Swan/ of the same port, of 25 tons, his vice-admiral, in which
his brother JOHN DRAKE was Captain (having in both of them, of
men and boys seventy-three, all voluntarily assembled; of which the
eldest was fifty, all the rest under thirty: so divided that there were
forty-seven in the one ship, and twenty-six in the other. Both richly
furnished with victuals and apparel for a whole year; and no less
heedfully provided of all manner of munition, artillery, artificers, stuff
and tools, that were requisite for such a Man-of-war in such an attempt:
but especially having three dainty pinnaces made in Plymouth, taken
asunder in all pieces, and stowed aboard, to be set up as occasion
served), set sail, from out of the Sound of Plymouth, with intent to land
at Nombre de Dios.
The wind continued prosperous and favourable at northeast, and gave
us a very good passage, without any alteration or change: so that albeit

we had sight (3rd June) of Porto Santo, one of the Madeiras, and of the
Canaries also within