The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, vol. 11 | Page 7

the three children, that praised his name, can not he keepe the fiers flaming blastes from among his elect?
Now is the road fraught with lustie souldiers, laborers, and mariners, who are faine to stand to their tackling, in setting to euery man his hand, some to the carying in of victuals, some munitions, some oares, and some one thing, some another, but most are keeping their enemie from the wall of the road. But to be short, there was no time mispent, no man idle, nor any mans labour ill bestowed, or in vaine. So that in short time, this gally was ready trimmed vp. Whereinto euery man leaped in all haste, hoyssing vp the sayles lustily, yeelding themselues to his mercie and grace, in whose hands are both winde and weather.
Now is this gally on flote, and out of the safetie of the roade: now haue the two Castles full power vpon the gally, now is there no remedy but to sinke: how can it be auoided? The canons let flie from both sides, and the gally is euen in the middest, and betweene them both. What man can deuise to saue it? there is no man, but would thinke it must needes be sunke.
There was not one of them that feared the shotte, which went thundring round about their eares, nor yet were once scarred or touched, with fiue and forty shot, which came from the Castles. Here did God hold foorth his buckler, he shieldeth now this gally, and hath tried their faith to the vttermost. Now commeth his speciall helpe: yea, euen when man thinks them past all helpe then commeth he himselfe downe from heauen with his mightie power, then is his present remedie most readie prest. For they saile away, being not once touched with the glaunce of a shot, and are quickly out of the Turkish canons reach. Then might they see them comming downe by heapes to the water side, in companies like vnto swarmes of bees, making shew to come after them with gallies, in bustling themselues to dresse vp the gallies, which would be a swift peece of worke for them to doe, for that they had neither oares, mastes, sailes, gables, nor any thing else ready in any gally. But yet they are carrying them into them, some into one gally, and some into another, so that, being such a confusion amongst them, without any certaine guide, it were a thing impossible to ouertake them: beside that, there was no man that would take charge of a gally, the weather was so rough, and there was such an amasednes amongst them. And verely I thinke their God was amased thereat: it could not be but he must blush for shame, he can speake neuer a word for dulnes, much lease can he helpe them in such an extremitie. Well, howsoeuer it is, he is very much to blame, to suffer them to receiue such a gibe. But howsoeuer their God behaued himselfe, our God shewed himselfe a God indeede, and that he was the onely liuing God: for the seas were swift vnder his faithfull, which made the enemies agast to behold them, a skilfuller Pilot leades them, and their mariners bestirre them lustily: but the Turkes had neither mariners, Pilot, nor any skilfull Master, that was in a readinesse at this pinch.
When the Christians were safe out of the enemies coast, Iohn Fox called to them all, willing them to be thankfull vnto almighty God for their deliuerie, and most humbly to fall downe vpon their knees, beseeching him to aide them vnto their friends land, and not to bring them into an other daunger, sith hee had most mightily deliuered them from so great a thraldome and bondage.
Thus when euery man had made his petition, they fell straight way to their labour with the oares, in helping one another, when they were wearied, and with great labour striuing to come to some Christian land, as neere as they could gesse by the starres. But the windes were so diuers, one while driuing them this way, that they were now in a newe maze, thinking that God had forsaken them, and left them to a greater danger. And forasmuch as there were no victuals now left in the gally, it might haue beene a cause to them (if they had beene the Israelites) to haue murmured against their God: but they knew how that their God, who had deliuered them out of ?gypt, was such a louing and mercifull God, as that hee would not suffer them to be confounded, in whom he had wrought so great a wonder: but what calamitie soeuer they sustained, they knew it was but for their further triall, and also (in putting