A DIFFICULT QUESTION. 275 



endanger his soul by being left among savage infidels that, as 

 for returning to England, if any one could be found willing to 

 accompany him on so disgraceful an errand, the shame of the 

 return would be more grievous than death ; that he therefore 

 preferred ending his life where he was, — a choice from which no 

 argument could persuade him. These assertions can hardly be 

 correct, as nothing of the kind is set forth in the account of 

 the voyage given by Fletcher, the chaplain of the expedition. 

 It is highly improbable that Doughty, if conscious of innocence, 

 would have rejected the offer of a trial in England ; while it is 

 unlikely that the offer was ever made, as Drake could ill spare 

 a ship in which to send the prisoner home. Different opinions are 

 held in the matter by different writers. Admiral Burney thought 

 the statements too imperfect for forming, and the whole matter 

 too delicate to express, an opinion. Dr. Johnson wrote thus on 

 the subject: — "What designs Doughty could have formed with 

 any hope of success, or to what actions worthy of death he could 

 have proceeded without accomplices, it is difficult to imagine. 

 Nor, on the other hand, does there appear any temptation, from 

 either hope, fear, or interest, that might induce Drake, or any 

 commander in his state, to put to death an innocent man 

 on false pretences." Southey, in his Lives of the Admirals, is 

 disposed to consider Drake as justified in making a severe ex- 

 ample. Harris is of opinion that the act was "the most rash 

 and blameworthy of the admiral's career." Sylva, Drake's 

 Portuguese pilot, once said that Doughty was punished for 

 attempting to abandon the expedition and return to England, 

 and thus evidently thought that a sufficient motive existed for 

 his execution. And it is worth remarking that the Spaniards, 

 who never neglected an opportunity of loading Drake with ob- 

 loquy, extolled him in this case for his vigilance and decision. 

 Doughty was buried on an island in the harbor, together with 

 the bodies of the two men slain in the fray with the savages. 

 The Portuguese prize, being now found leaky and trouble- 



