The captain, who was accompanied by the priest, rowed up the river
to report the arrival of the ship and the events of his voyage to
the authorities, and to place in their hands the letter of the
governor of Tidore. Twenty-four hours later the captain returned,
with orders for the ship to sail up the river; and that, on their
arrival, the young Englishmen were to be landed and conducted to
the presence of the viceroy himself.
The young adventurers, much as they had traveled, were greatly
struck with the appearance of Goa. It was, indeed, a city of
palaces, most solidly built of stone, and possessing an amount of
magnificence and luxury which surpassed anything they had ever
seen. In the streets a few Portuguese, magnificently dressed and
escorted by guards, moved among a throng of gaily attired natives;
whose slight figures, upright carriage, and intelligent faces
struck the boys as most pleasing, after their experience of the
islanders of the South Seas. The immense variety of turbans and
headgear greatly astonished them, as well as the magnificence of
the dresses of some of these, who appeared to be men of importance
and who were attended by a retinue of armed followers.
The young men were escorted by two officers of the viceroy, who had
come on board ship as soon as she dropped anchor, to conduct them
to his presence. At the sight of these officials the natives
hastily cleared the way, and made every demonstration of respect,
as the party passed through them.
The vice-regal palace was a magnificent building, surpassing any
edifice the boys had ever seen, and they were still more struck by
the luxury of the interior. They were led through several
vestibules, until at last they arrived in a large chamber. At a
table here the viceroy was seated, while around him were a large
number of the councilors and leading men of the place. The viceroy
rose as the young men advanced, and bowed profoundly.
"You are, I hear, Englishmen; and I am told, but I can scarcely
believe it, that you belong to the ship of the Captain Drake whose
exploits in the West Indies, against the Spaniards, have made him
so famous. But how, belonging to him, you came to be cast on an
island in the South Seas is more than we are able to understand."
No news of the expedition had reached the Portuguese, and the
surprise of the viceroy was only natural.
"The Golden Hind, sir, the vessel in which we were gentlemen
adventurers, rounded Cape Horn, sailed up the American coast, and
then, keeping west, crossed through the islands; and has, we trust,
long since rounded the Cape of Good Hope and arrived in England,
having circumnavigated the globe."
An expression of surprise broke from the assembled Portuguese. But
a frown passed over the face of the viceroy.
"What was the object of your captain, in visiting these seas?" he
asked "They are the property of Portugal, and without the
permission of his majesty, no ship of any other nation may pass
through our waters."
"I can assure you," Ned said, "that there was no object, either of
conquest or of trade, on the part of our admiral in visiting these
seas. When he rounded the Cape his object was to discover, if
possible, a passage round the northern coast of America back to
England. But when we went north we found the cold was great, and
that the land stretched away so that it would join with Asia to the
north. Being convinced, then, that no passage could be obtained in
that way, he sailed for England round the Cape of Good Hope,
fearing the dangers of a passage round the Horn, by which he lost
on our passage out two of his ships, and was well-nigh wrecked
himself. He only abode in the islands of the South Seas for a few
days, to get provisions and water, and then sailed straight for
home."
Assured by this explanation, the viceroy now begged the boys to sit
down, and he and his council listened with admiration and
astonishment to the records of the expedition, and especially to
the passage across America of two of the young men before him. The
depredations which had been committed upon the Spaniards excited no
indignation among the Portuguese; for these nations were rivals,
and although they did not put their contentions to the test of the
sword, each was glad enough to hear of any misfortune befalling the
other.
The viceroy now assured the young men that he was proud to welcome
the members of so gallant a crew as that of the great English
navigator.
"England and Portugal," he said, "did not clash, and were always
natural allies."
He trusted they would always remain so, and in the meantime he
should be glad to treat the boys with all honor, and to forward
them home by the first ship which might be sailing.
Apartments were now assigned to them in the palace, and here they
were delighted to find a stock of clothes suited for them.
For the next fortnight they passed a pleasant time at Goa. They
were the objects of much attention on the part of the Portuguese,
and all vied in the attempt to make their stay pleasant to them.
They found that the town of Goa occupied but a small space, and
that it was strongly fortified, and the Portuguese made no attempt
to conceal their very high estimate of the fighting power of the
natives. One young officer, who was specially told off to accompany
the lads, and who spoke Spanish fluently, was particularly frank in
his description of the state of affairs.
"All these gaily dressed natives that one sees in the streets are,
I suppose, Christians?" Ned asked.
"No, indeed," the other said surprised. "What should make you think
so?"
Ned replied that, in America, he had found that the Spaniards
insisted on all the natives at once embracing Christianity, on pain
of death.
"The Spaniards," the young Portuguese said, "are lords and masters
there. The natives are weak and timid, and able to offer no
resistance, whatever. That is very far from being our position
here. We are, I can assure you, only here on sufferance. You can
have no idea of the power of some of these native sovereigns of
India. The Mahrattas, who live beyond the mountains you see on the
horizon, could pour down such hosts of armed men that, if they
combined against us, no resistance that we could offer would be
likely to be successful. And yet they are but one among a score of
warlike peoples.
"So long as we do not attempt to proselytize, and are content to
appear as merchants and traders, no general feeling exists against
our residence here. But I can assure you that, if it became known
in India that we were forcing the natives to accept Christianity,
the footing which we have obtained here would be speedily lost.
These people have regular armies. They may not, indeed, be trained
as are ours at home but individually they are very brave. They have
artillery of heavy caliber.
"In the South Seas, as you know, we endeavor to convert the
heathen. The people there are degraded savages by the side of these
Indians. But we do not adopt the strong methods which the Spaniards
have done. We have, in Portugal, a good deal of your English
freedom of opinion, and the Inquisition has never gained any firm
footing amongst us."
Upon one occasion the boys had the satisfaction of seeing a grand
Indian durbar; for the chief, on the corner of whose territory the
Portuguese had built their town with his permission, came in to see
the viceroy. The boys were surprised at the magnificence of his
cavalcade, in which elephants, camels, and other animals took part,
and in which the trappings and appointments were gorgeous, indeed,
while the dresses of the chiefs absolutely shone with jewels. The
attendants, however, made but a poor show, according to European
ideas.
There was at this time, in European armies, no attempt at regular
uniform, but there was a certain resemblance between the attire and
arms of the men who fought side by side. When upon the march
regularity and order were maintained, and the men kept together in
step. Nothing of this kind was apparent among the troops who
accompanied the Indian chief. They marched along by the side of the
elephants, and in groups ahead and in rear of them, in a confused
disorder; and it seemed to the lads that a mere handful of European
troops would rout such a rabble as this. They said as much to their
Portuguese friend, but he told them that the people on the coast
could scarcely be considered as a fair sample of those who dwelt in
the hill country behind.
"The climate here," he said, "is much more relaxing. Vegetation is
extremely abundant, and all the necessities of life can be obtained
in the easiest manner. Consequently the people here are enervated,
and cannot be compared to the horsemen of the plains. The seat of
the Indian power lies at Agra and Delhi--sometimes one and
sometimes the other. The emperors there can take the field with two
hundred thousand men, if necessary; and even these, with all their
power, have difficulty in maintaining their authority throughout
India. You may judge, therefore, of the power of the various
territorial chiefs."
A fortnight later, to their great delight, the lads heard that a
vessel would start in three days for Lisbon. She was taking home a
large cargo of spice, and articles of Indian manufacture, and a
number of invalided soldiers. She was said to be a slow sailer, but
as no other was likely to start for some months, the lads did not
hesitate to avail themselves of the offer of the viceroy.
At parting he presented them each with a sword set with diamonds,
and also purses of money, in token of his appreciation of the valor
displayed by them in the defense of Tidore.
"It is," the viceroy said, "an honor to us to honor the members of
the greatest marine expedition which has yet been made. We
Portuguese may boast that we have been among the foremost in
maritime discovery, and we can therefore the more admire the feats
of your valiant Captain Drake."
The ship, the Maria Pia, was a large one, far greater, indeed, than
the Golden Hind, and the boys felt that in a floating castle of
this description, their voyage ought to be a safe and pleasant one.
The captain had received instructions to do all in his power to
make the voyage agreeable to them. A handsome cabin had been placed
at their disposal, and their position on board was altogether an
honorable one.
The result justified their expectations. The voyage, although long,
passed without incident. The Maria Pia experienced fine weather
round the Cape and, catching the trade winds, made her course
northward, and arrived off the mouth of the Tagus without accident
or adventure of any kind.
Sailing up the river, she fired a salute with her guns, which was
answered by those of the fort at the entrance. The news had been
signaled to the capital of the arrival of a ship from the Indies,
and officials boarded her, as soon as she cast anchor. The captain
at once went on shore, and reported to the minister of the Indies
the news which he had brought from Goa, and gave an account of his
voyage. He delivered a letter from the viceroy, stating that he had
given a passage to four English gentlemen, who had formed part of
Captain Drake's equipage, and who had rendered very great services
in defeating an attack upon the island of Tidore by the people of
Ternate, of which matters, the viceroy added, the gentlemen would
themselves give a full account.
The minister at once sent on board an official, to request the
young men to land; and upon their so doing, he received them with
great courtesy, and gave a grand banquet the next day, at which the
British minister was present.
The lads were delighted, upon landing, to receive the news that the
Golden Hind had arrived safely in England four months before, and
that all Europe was ringing with the great feat which she had
accomplished. The lads found that they were received, by the
distinguished company which met them at the table of the minister,
with much honor and respect, and this was heightened upon their
giving a detailed account of the adventures which had befallen them
since leaving England. The British minister offered them a passage
to England in one of the Queen's ships; and having provided them
amply with money, they were enabled to make a good appearance, and
to enter with zest into the round of festivities of which they were
made the objects during their stay. They were presented to the
king, who received them most graciously, and presented each with a
sword of honor.
Three weeks later they sailed up the Thames, and upon landing in
London at once inquired for the residence of Captain Drake. This
they had no difficulty in discovering, as he was the hero of the
hour.
It was with great pleasure that they were received by the
commander. He expressed but little surprise at seeing them; for, as
he told them, he made sure that sooner or later they would arrive,
and had given orders that, upon the division of the great sums
which had been gained by the Golden Hind on her voyage, their
shares should be scrupulously set aside.
"You had twice before," he said to Ned, "appeared after we had all
given you up as dead; and I could not believe that the four of you,
together, could all have succumbed.
"We got off the reef the next day, shifting her cargo all upon one
side and hoisting some sail, so that the wind bore her down, her
keel lifted from the reef upon which she had fastened, and without
damage she went into deep water. We spent four days in looking for
you. We landed at the island to which you had been directed, and
searched it thoroughly. We then went to an island further to the
south, and spent three days in cruising round its shores. We landed
and captured some natives, but could not learn from them that they
had seen any traces of you, whatever. Most on board conceived that
the canoe must have upset, and that you must have been drowned; but
I never believed this, and felt convinced that, from some unknown
reason, you had been unable to return to the ship, but that sooner
or later you would arrive.
"From that point all went well with us. We had a rapid voyage down
to the Cape, and coasted along it at a short distance. The weather
was fair, and we turned our head north without loss of time; and
so, by the help of Providence, and a fair wind, we made our course
to England, where our gracious sovereign has been pleased to
express her approval of our doings.
"I told her something of your journey across the south of the
American continent, and she was pleased to express her sorrow at
the loss of such gallant and promising gentlemen. I am sure that
her majesty will receive, with pleasure, the news of your return.
"Now, tell me all that has happened since I last saw you."
Ned recited the history of their adventures, and Captain Francis
approved of the course which they had taken, in making for Tidore
instead of Ternate. He was greatly amused at their experiences as
South Sea deities, and said that henceforth, let them be lost where
they would, or for as long as they might be, he would never again
feel any uneasiness as to their fate. He invited them to take up
their abode with him, while they stayed in London; and although
they were eager to return to Devonshire, he told them that he
thought they ought to wait until he had communicated with the
Queen, and had seen whether she would wish to see the gentlemen in
whom she had kindly expressed interest.
Captain Drake had received the honor of knighthood from the Queen's
hand on his return from his voyage, and was now Sir Francis Drake,
and was for the time the popular idol of the people, whose national
pride was deeply gratified at the feat of circumnavigation, now for
the first time performed by one of their countrymen.
Captain Drake dispatched a letter to her majesty at Westminster,
and the following day a royal messenger arrived, with an order that
he should bring the four gentlemen adventurers with him, and
present them to her majesty. The young men felt not a little awed
at the thought of being received by Queen Elizabeth. But upon their
presentation by Sir Francis, the Queen received them with so much
condescension and grace that their fears were speedily removed.
"I thought," she said to Captain Drake, "that I should see four
huge and bearded paladins. You told me indeed that they were young,
but I had not pictured to myself that they were still beardless
striplings, although in point of size they do credit to their
native country.
"I love to listen to tales of adventure," she continued, "and beg
that you will now recite to me the story of those portions of your
voyage, and journeyings, of which I have not heard from the lips of
Sir Francis."
Then, modestly, Ned recited the story of their journey across
America, and afterwards took up the narrative at the point when
they left the ship, and her majesty was pleased to laugh hugely at
the story of their masquerading as gods. When they had finished she
invited them to a banquet, to be given at Greenwich on the
following day, gave them her hand to kiss, and presented each with
a diamond ring, in token of her royal favor.
The following day they went down in the barge of Sir Francis Drake,
which formed part of the grand cortege which accompanied her
majesty on her water passage to Greenwich. There a royal banquet
was held, with much splendor and display; after which a masque,
prepared by those ingenious authors Mr. Beaumont and Mr. Fletcher,
was enacted before her.
Three days later they embarked upon a country ship, bound for
Plymouth, and after a rough tossing in the Channel, landed there.
They were received with much honor by the mayor and dignitaries of
Plymouth, for Sir Francis had already written down, giving a brief
account of their adventures, and of the marks of esteem which the
Queen had been pleased to bestow upon them; and Plymouth, as the
representative of the county of Devon, rejoiced in giving a hearty
welcome to her sons, who had brought so much credit upon them.
After a stay of a few hours the lads separated, Tom and Reuben each
starting for their respective homes, while Ned, who had no family
of his own, accompanied Gerald, in whose home he was looked upon
almost as a son, and where the welcome which awaited him was as
cordial as that given to Gerald. The share of each of the
adventurers in the Golden Hind was a very large one, and Ned
purchased a nice little property and settled down upon it, having
had enough of the dangers of the seas, and resolving no more to
leave his native country, unless his duty to his Queen should
demand his services.
That time was not long in arriving, for towards the end of 1586 all
Europe rang with the preparations which Philip of Spain was making
to invade England. The Devonshire gentlemen who had fought on the
Spanish Main, and who but lightly esteemed Spanish valor at sea, at
first scoffed at the news, but soon no doubt could be entertained.
Early in 1587 Sir Francis Drake wrote, to his friends who had
fought under him, that her majesty had honored him with a
commission to beat up the Spanish coast, and invited them to
accompany him. The four friends hastened, with many others, to obey
the summons; and on joining him at Plymouth, he was pleased to
appoint each to the command of a ship. Some weeks were spent in
earnest preparation, and in March a fleet of thirty vessels set
forth, full manned and equipped.
Accustomed as the young men were to see great Spanish ships taken
by single boats, and a whole fleet submissive before one ship, it
seemed to them that with such an armament they could destroy the
whole navies of Spain, and even then that little glory would be
divided between each vessel.
Upon the 18th of April the fleet was off Cadiz, and Sir Francis
made the signal for the captains of the fleet to go on board the
flagship. There he unfolded to them his plan of forcing the
entrance to the port, and destroying the Spanish fleet gathered
there. Cadiz was one of the strongest places of Spain, and the
enterprise would, to most men, have seemed a desperate one. But to
men who had fought in the Spanish Main it seemed but a light thing.
As they left the admiral's cabin, Ned invited his three friends to
dine on board his ship, the Sovereign; and a right merry gathering
it was, as they talked over their past adventures, and marveled to
find themselves each commanding a ship, about to attack the fleet
of Spain in its own harbor.
Upon the following day the fleet sailed boldly towards the port of
Cadiz, where the people could scarce believe that the British
intended to force the entrance to the fort. When they saw that such
was indeed their purpose, they opened fire with all their
batteries, great and small. The English ships sailed on, unheeding
their reception, and delivering their broadsides as they neared the
port.
Although they had been in many fights, this was the first great
battle at which the friends had been present; and the roar and din
of the combat, the sound of their own guns and of those of the
enemy, the crash and rending of wood, and the cheers of the sailors
in no little surprised them. The Spanish gunners in their haste
shot but badly, and with Sir Francis Drake's ship leading the way,
the fleet forced the entrance into the port. As they entered they
were saluted by the cannon of the Spanish vessels within, but
without more ado they lay these aboard.
So mightily were the Spaniards amazed by the valor, and boldness of
the English that they fought but feebly, jumping over for the most
part, or making their way in their boats to shore. Then Sir Francis
caused fire to be applied to the Spanish ships, and thirty great
war vessels were destroyed before the eyes of the townspeople,
while the English fleet sailed triumphantly away.
Then, following the line of coast as far as Saint Vincent, the
admiral captured and burned a hundred other ships, and destroyed
four great land forts.
Looking into the Tagus, the King of Portugal having been forced by
Spain to aid her, Captain Drake captured the Saint Philip, the
largest ship of their navy; which was, to the gratification of the
sailors, laden with a precious cargo.
After these exploits the fleet returned to England in triumph,
having for the time crippled the forces of Spain. Philip, however,
redoubled his preparations. The fleets of Naples and Sicily, of
Venice and Genoa, were added to those of Spain. The dockyards
worked night and day, and by the end of the year all was in
readiness.
In England men had not been idle. A great army was raised of people
of every rank and condition, Catholics as well as Protestants
uniting in the defense of the country; while in every port round,
the din of preparation was heard. The army was destined to combat
the thirty thousand Spanish soldiers commanded by the Duke of Parma
in the Netherlands, where a fleet of transports had been prepared
to bring them across, when the great armada should have cleared the
sea of English ships. By dint of great efforts, 191 English ships
of various sizes, these mostly being small merchantmen--mere
pygmies in comparison with the great Spanish galleons--were
collected, while the Dutch dispatched sixty others to aid in the
struggle against Spain.
On the 29th of May the Spanish armada sailed from the Tagus but,
being delayed by a storm, it was not till the 19th of June that its
advance was first signaled by the lookout near Plymouth. Then from
every hill throughout England beacon fires blazed to carry the
tidings, and every Englishman betook himself to his arms, and
prepared to repel the invaders.
Instead, however, of attempting to land at once, as had been
expected, the Spanish fleet kept up channel; the orders of the king
being that it should make first for Flanders, there form junction
with the fleet of the Duke of Parma, and so effect a landing upon
the English coast. As the great fleet, numbering a hundred and
thirty large war vessels, and extending in the form of a crescent
nine miles in length from horn to horn, sailed up channel, the
spectacle, although terrible, was magnificent indeed.
The ships at Plymouth at once slipped anchor and set out in
pursuit. Sir Francis Drake led, and close by him were the vessels
commanded by the four friends. Paltry, indeed, did the squadron
appear by the side of the great fleet, but from every port as they
passed along came reinforcements, until in numbers they equaled
those of the great ships of Spain. These reinforcements were
commanded by Admirals Hawkins, Frobisher, and other gallant seamen;
while Lord Howard, lord high admiral of England, was in chief
command.
There was no general action attempted, for the floating Spanish
castles could have ridden over the light ships of England; but each
commander fell upon the enemy, like dogs upon the flank of an array
of lions. Sir Francis threw himself into the center of the Spanish
lines, followed by many other English ships, and thus separated
several of the great galleons from their consorts, and then fell to
work battering them.
The Spaniards fought valiantly, but at a disadvantage, for the
smaller ships of the English were so quickly handled that they were
able to take up positions to rake their enemy, without exposing
themselves to the broadsides which would have sunk them. When at
last they had crippled their foes, they would either close upon
them and carry them by boarding, or, leaving them helpless wrecks
upon the water, would hoist all sail and again overtake the Spanish
fleet.
The battle continued day and night for five days, with scarce an
intermission, the various English admirals sometimes attacking all
together, sometimes separately. The same tactics ever prevailed,
the Spaniards sailing on and striving to keep in a compact body,
the English hovering round them, cutting off every ship which
lagged behind, breaking the ranks of the enemy, and separating
vessels from their consorts. Hard was it to say that, in that long
struggle, one man showed more valor than another, but the deeds of
the ships commanded by the Devonshire gentlemen were second to
none.
On the 27th their ships were signaled to sail to join those
assembled near Dunkirk, to check the progress of the Duke of
Parma's fleet. They reached the English fleet in time, and soon the
Spaniards were seen approaching. They kept in a compact mass, which
the English ships could not break.
For a while the fight went badly, and then a number of fire ships
were launched at the Spaniards. Seized with panic, these at once
scattered and, the English falling upon them, a series of desperate
conflicts ensued, ending almost always in the capture or
destruction of the enemy.
The Duke of Medina-Sidonia, who commanded the main Spanish fleet,
sailed north, intending to coast round the north of Scotland and so
return to Spain. The English ships followed for a while, but were,
from the shortness of the supplies which had been placed on board,
forced to put into harbor; and a great storm scattering the Spanish
fleet, and wrecking many, only 60 vessels, and these with their
crews disabled by hardship and fatigue, ever returned to Spain.
As a consequence of their gallantry in these battles, and upon the
urgent recommendations of Sir Francis Drake, her majesty was
pleased to bestow the honor of knighthood upon each of the four
young Devonshire gentlemen, as upon many other brave captains.
After this they went no more to sea, nor took any part in the
disastrous expedition which Admirals Drake and Hawkins, together,
made to the Spanish Main, when the brave Sir Francis lost his life,
from fever and disappointment.
Soon after their return from the defeat of the armada, Sir Edward
Hearne married the only sister of his friend Gerald, and lived with
her happily to a green old age. The friendship between the four
friends never diminished, but rather increased as they grew in
years, and many marriages took place between their children and
grandchildren. Four times a year, upon the occasion of special
events in their lives, great family gatherings were held at the
house of one or other. Sir Gerald generally held festival on the
anniversary of the defeat of the Spanish attack on the forest
fortress in Porto Rico; Tom upon that of his escape from the prison
of the Inquisition; Reuben generally celebrated the day when, in
the character of a South Sea idol, he aided to defeat the hostile
islanders; while Ned kept up the anniversary of their return to
England. As to the victory over the armada, they always had to draw
lots as to the house in which that great event should be
celebrated.
Upon all these occasions stories were told at great length, and
their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, for all
lived to see these growing up, were never tired of listening to
tales of the Spanish Main.