ILLUSTRATIONS 



On 29th July they landed at Nombre de Dios 

 and after a sharp fight captured the town. Drake 

 however was severely wounded, and his men forcibly 

 removed him to the boats. After burning Porto 

 Bello, Drake with eighteen men and a few Maroons 

 marched across the Isthmus towards Panama. It 

 was on this march that Drake, climbing a tree 

 pointed out by his guides, first saw the Pacific, and 



* besought Almighty God of his goodness to give 

 him life and leave to sail once in an English ship 

 on that sea.' After sacking Venta Cruz and acquiring 

 much treasure, he sailed homeward and arrived in 

 Plymouth on Sunday, 9th August 1573, in church 

 hours, when * the news of Drake's return did so 

 speedily pass over all the church and surpass their 

 minds with delight and desire to see him that very 

 few or none remained with the preacher.' From 

 1573 to 1576 Drake saw service in Ireland. On 

 13th December 1577 he sailed in the ^Pelican' on 

 his voyage of circum-navigation, a detailed account 

 of which is given in Volume XI. On 26th Sep- 

 tember 1580 he arrived home Wery richly fraught 

 with gold, silver, silk, pearls and precious stones.' 

 On 4th April 1581 he was knighted by the 

 Queen on the deck of the * Golden Hind ' (as the 

 ^ Pelican ' had been re-christened on entering 

 Magellan Straits). In 1582 Drake was Mayor of 

 Plymouth. In the Parliament of 1584-5 he sat 

 as member for Bossiney, and was one of the Com- 

 mittee on the bill for supplying Plymouth with 

 water. On 14th September 1585 he sailed from 

 Plymouth on the expedition to the West Indies, the 

 account of which is given at page 97. Shortly after 

 his return home in July 1586 Drake was placed in 

 charge of the shipping at Plymouth. In November 

 1586 he was sent on a mission to the Netherlands. 

 On 2nd April i 587 he sailed for Spain commissioned 



* to impeach the joining together of the King of 

 Spain's fleet out of their several ports.' On the 



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