THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



Thomas become pirates on their own account. His suspicions 

 executed ^^ ^^ Thomas Doughty, a gentleman of good parts, 

 whom he had met in Ireland, and to whom he had given 

 a place of trust and honour in his enterprise. The rights 

 and wrongs of this dark business are beyond our recovery. 

 Drake believed, not without grounds, that Doughty had 

 betrayed his plans to Burghley before starting, and was 

 doing what in him lay to wreck the success of the voyage. 

 Doughty, for his part, believed that Drake, being 

 embarked on piracy, could claim no ultimate legal 

 authority over his followers. At Port St. Julian, where 

 Magellan, almost sixty years before, had hanged one of 

 his captains. Doughty was tried by jury and condemned 

 to death ; and Drake, after receiving the sacrament with 

 the prisoner, and dining with him by way of farewell, 

 executed the sentence with his own hand. The speech 

 that he made, a few weeks thereafter, still glows, in the 

 imperfect report which has come down to us, with the 

 passion of that tragedy. When the men were assembled 

 by command in a tent on shore, Master Fletcher, the 

 chaplain, offered himself to make a sermon. * Nay, soft, 

 Drake's Master Fletcher,' quoth he, ' I must preach this day 

 myself, although I have small skill in preaching. Well, 

 be all the company here, yea or not.''' Answer was made 

 that they were all there. Then he commanded every 

 ship's company to stand severally together, which was 

 also done. Then he said, ' My masters, I am a very 

 bad orator, for my bringing up hath not been in learning, 

 but what so I shall here speak, let any man take notice 

 of what I shall say, and let him write it down if he list, 

 for I will speak nothing but I will answer it in England, 

 yea, and before her Majesty, and I have it here already 



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