king would visit him, if he might be assured of coming in safety. Being satisfied in this point, a numerous company soon appeared, in the front of which was a very comely person, bearing a kind of sceptre, on which hung two crowns, and three chains of great length. The chains were made of bones, and the crowns of net-work, curiously wrought with feathers of various colours.

The men being drawn up in line-of-battle, the admiral stood ready to receive the king within the fences of his tent. The company having halted at a distance, the sceptre-bearer made a speech, half an hour long, at the end of which he began singing and dancing, in which he was followed by the king and all the people, who, continuing to sing and dance, came quite up to the tents; when sitting down, the king took off his crown of feathers, placed it on the admiral's head, and put on him the other ensigns of royalty.

Sailing from this hospitable country, they lost sight of land till the 13th of October, when they saw the Ladrone islands, from whence came off a great number of small vessels, laden with cocoas, and other fruit. They came to other islands, which appeared to be very populous, on the 18th; and passed by the islands of Tagulada, Zewarra and Zelon, whose inhabitants were friends to the Portuguese. The admiral held on his course without delay, and, on the 4th of November, fell in with the Moluccas, and proposing to sail for Tirridore, coasted along the island of Mutyr, which belongs to the king of Ternate; but in the way met his viceroy, who, seeing the admiral's ship, went on board without fear, and advised him not to go to Tirridore, but sail directly for Ternate; because his master, who was an enemy to the Portuguese, would not deal with him, if he had any concerns with the people of Tirridore, or the Portuguese who were settled there. Hearing this, the commander steered for Ternate, and coming to an anchor before the town early the next morning, his first step was to send a messenger to the king, with a velvet cloak, as a present, and to assure him, that his only design in coming thither was to exchange his merchandize for such provisions as the island afforded. His majesty returned a kind answer to the admiral, assuring him that a friendly correspondence with the English would be highly agreeable to him; that they were welcome to the produce of his kingdom, which, together with himself, he should be proud to lay at the feet of his royal mistress, and acknowledge her for his sovereign.

Mr. Drake having dispatched all his business at Ternate, weighed anchor, and sailed to a little island south of Celebes, or Macassar, where they staid twenty-six days, in order to repair the iron-work of the ship, Setting sail hence, they run among a number of small islands, and the wind shifting about suddenly, drove them upon a rock, at eight in the evening of the 9th of January, 1579, and stuck fast till four in the after

noon of the next day, when they got off, and sailed for Java-Major, where they met with courteous and honourable entertainment. They sailed from hence on the 26th of March; on the 18th of June, they doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and on the 22d of July arrived at Sierra Leone, on the coast of Guinea. They were off the Canaries on the 26th; but, being in no want of provisions, held on their course for Plymouth, and arrived on Monday, the 26th of September, 1580; but, according to their own reckoning, on Sunday the 25th; having gone round the world in two years, ten months, and a few days.

On the 4th of April, 1581, Queen Elizabeth dined on board Admiral Drake's ship at Deptford; and, after dinner, conferred on him the honour of knighthood, telling him, at the same time, that his actions did him more honour than his title. His ship was preserved many years, and when she became decayed, a chair was made from some small remains of it, and is still shewn as a curiosity at Oxford. By this voyage, England acquired the honour of having the first commander-in-chief who had sailed round the world, Magellan, the Portuguese, having been killed on his voyage.

In the year 1585, Sir Francis, then admiral Drake, was sent on an expedition against the Spanish West India settlements, with a fleet of twenty-one sail, having on board 2000 land forces, under the command of Christopher Carlisle. Taking the Cape Verd Islands in their way, they landed at St. Jago, and taking the chief town of the same name, they sacked it, and carried off a considerable booty. From thence they proceeded to Hispaniola, and took St. Domingo, Carthagena, and St. Augustine; by which he exceeded the most sanguine hopes of his warmest friends. Yet the profits of this voyage were but moderate, Sir Francis's instructions being, rather to weaken the enemy, than to take prizes.

Two years after, he proceeded to Lisbon with a fleet of thirty sail ; and, receiving intelligence of a considerable fleet assembled in the bay of Cadiz, intended to make part of the Spanish Armada, he bravely entered that port, and burnt upwards of ten thousand tons of shipping; then, having advice of a large Caracca ship expected at the island of Tercera from the East Indies, he sailed thither; and, though his men were in great want of provisions, he prevailed on them to go through those hardships for a few days; in which time the East India ship arriving, he took and carried her home in triumph. This capture was of very great importance; for besides the value of the treasure on board, estimated at 200,000 crowns, it gave the English merchants the first idea of the profitable traffic carried on with the East Indies, and was the occasion of establishing the first East India company.

In the year 1588, Sir Francis undertook to convey water to the town of Plymouth, for want of which, till then, it was greatly distressed; and

performed it by bringing thither a stream from springs at the distance of eight miles, if the distance be measured in a straight line; but in the manner by which he conducted it, the course it runs is upwards of twenty miles.

This year also, he was appointed vice-admiral under Lord Charles Howard of Effingham, high-admiral of England, and signalized himself in the engagements with the Spanish Armada. Here he was as fortunate as ever, for he took a very large galleon, commanded by Don Pedro de Valdez.

In 1581, Sir Francis Drake was appointed admiral of the Fleet sent to restore Don Antonio, King of Portugal, and the command of the land forces was given to Sir John Norris. But the fleet was scarcely at sea before the commanders differed. On this occasion the general was earnest for landing at the Groyne, whereas the admiral and sea-officers were for sailing directly to Lisbon; in which, had their advice been taken, doubtless their enterprize had succeeded, and Don Antonio been restored; for the enemy made such good use of their time in fortifying Lisbon, that no impression could be made on it.

The war with Spain still continuing in 1595, the Queen furnished a stout squadron of ships of war, under Sir John Hawkins and Drake. Their whole force consisted of twenty-seven ships and barks, having on board a land force consisting of 2500 men. But when out at sea, the admirals differed: Drake and Baskerville, the commander of the landforces, determined, against the advice of Hawkins, to attack the chief of the Canary islands, instead of proceeding directly to Porto Rico, where the richest of the galleons lay at anchor.

After the death of Admiral Hawkins, Sir Francis made a desperate attack on the shipping in the harbour of Porto Rico. This was performed with all imaginable courage, and with considerable advantage to the Spaniards, but with little advantage to the English, who, meeting with a stronger resistance, and better fortifications than they expected, were obliged to sheer off. The Admiral then steered for the main, where he took the town of Rio de la Hacha, which he burnt to the ground. After this, destroying some other villages, he proceeded to Santa Martha, which he also burned. Nombre de Dios finally shared the same fate, the Spaniards refusing to ransom these places, and in them an inconsiderable booty was taken. On the 29th of December, Sir Thomas Baskerville, commander of the troops, marched with 750 men towards Panama, but returned on the 2nd of January, finding the design of reducing that place wholly impracticable; so that the whole of this expedition was a series of misfortunes.

A very strong sense of this threw Sir Francis Drake into a deep melancholy, and brought on a bloody flux, the natural disease of the country, which put a period to his useful life, in 1596. His body, ac

cording to the custom of the sca, was sunk very near the place where he first laid the foundation of his fame and fortune.

He was low of stature, but well set, had a broad open chest, his eyes large and clear, of a fair complexion, with a fresh, cheerful, and engaging countenance. He is represented as having been choleric in his temper, and too fond of flattery; but to counterbalance these foibles, he was a steady friend, and was liberal to those who served under him. It is also observed, that in his prosperity he was always affable and easy of

access.

SIR WALTER RALEIGH.

THIS illustrious ornament of his country, was the son of Walter Raleigh, or Ralegh, Esq. of a respectable family in Devonshire. His mother was the daughter of Sir Philip Champernon, of Modbury. He was born at Budley, in Devonshire, in 1552; and at fourteen years of age was sent to finish his education at the university of Oxford, where he became a gentleman commoner of Oriel college. His father, finding that the thirst of fame was his ruling passion, resolved to place, him in the road to it, by introducing him into the military service. He therefore remained only three years at Oxford, and in 1569, he was one of the troop of a hundred gentlemen volunteers, whom Queen Elizabeth permitted Henry Champernon to transport into France, for the service of the Protestant princes. He did not return till the end of the year 1575, having spent six years in France.

The activity of his temper did not suffer him to rest long at home; for in 1578, he went into the service of the Prince of Orange, against the Spaniards. Soon after this he had an opportunity of trying his fortune at sea. His half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, having obtained a patent to plant and settle some northern parts of America, not claimed by any nation in alliance with the Queen of England, Mr. Raleigh engaged with a considerable number of gentlemen in an expedition to Newfoundland; but this proved unsuccessful.

The next year, 1580, upon the descent of the Spanish and Italian forces into Ireland, under the pope's banner, for the support of the Desmonds

in rebellion in the province of Munster, he obtained a captain's commission; where, under the command of Thomas, Earl of Ormond, governor of Munster, he surprised the Irish Kerns at Rakele, and having inclosed them took every rebel upon the spot; among them was one loaded with withies, who being asked, what he intended to have done with them? rudely answered, to have hung up the English churls; upon which captain Raleigh said, they should now serve for an Irish Kern, and ordered him to be hanged immediately. He assisted likewise at the siege of Fort Del Ore, which the Spanish succours under San Josepho, their commander, assisted by their Irish confederates, had built and fortified as a place of retreat. The lord deputy himself besieged this fort by land; Sir William Winter, the admiral, attacked it by sea; and captain Raleigh commanded in the trenches; it was, however, obliged to surrender at discretion, on the 9th of November, 1580; when, by order of the lord deputy, the greatest part of the garrison were put to the sword, the exccution of which fell to the share of the captains Raleigh and Mackworth, who first entered the castle.

In 1581, the Earl of Ormond going to England, his government of Munster was given to captain Raleigh, in commission with Sir William Morgan and captain Peers. At Cork, Raleigh performed several signal services, for which he received a grant from the crown of a large estate in Ireland. But a misunderstanding between Raleigh and Lord Grey, the lord deputy of Ireland, prevented his rising in the army, and he returned to England.

Raleigh was now very attentive to gain the royal favour; and an opportunity soon offered, which shewed that gallantry was not the least of the necessary qualifications he possessed for pushing his fortune at court. The queen taking the air, in a walk, stopped at a plashy place, in doubt whether to go on; when Raleigh, dressed in a gay and genteel habit of the times, immediately cast off, and spread his new plush-cloak on the ground; on which her majesty, gently treading, was conducted over clean and dry. This adventure, joined to a handsome person, a polite address and ready wit, could not fail to recommend him to a female sovereign. Accordingly, coming to court soon after, and meeting with a reception which seemed to favour his ambition, he took an opportunity of writing with a diamond upon a window, in a conspicuous manner, the following

line

"Fain would I climb, yet fear I to fall."

which the queen elegantly turned to a couplet, which contained a hint, that, if he did not rise, it would be his own fault:

"If thy heart fail thee, climb not all."

After such a poetic challenge, it is no wonder Raleigh made such a