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

or helpe set or
put thereunto. Such impossibilities can our God make possible. He that
helde the Lyons iawes from renting Daniel asunder, yea, or yet from
once touching him to his hurt: can not he hold the roring cannons of
this hellish force? He that kept the fiers rage in the hot burning Ouen,
from 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