20 
The V G Y 
which pleafes them beft. They manage their Women 
quite after another Rate than the Moluccans do ; for thefe 
latter will hardly let a Stranger fee them, whereas the 
former are fo far from that Nicety, that they will very 
civilly offer a Traveller a Bedfellow. And, as they are 
thus civil and hofpitable to Strangers, fo they are pleafant 
and fociable among themfelves ; for, in every Village, they 
have a Public Houfe, where they will meet, and bring 
their feveral Shares of Provifions, joining all their Forces 
together in one great Feaft, for the keeping up good Fel- 
lowfhip amongft the King’s Subjects. They have a way 
peculiar to themfelves of boiling Rice •, they put it into an 
earthen Pot, which is of a conical Figure, open at the 
greater End, and perforated all over. In the mean time, 
they provide another large earthen Pot full of boiling Wa- 
ter, into which they put this perforated Veffel, with the 
Rice, which fwelling, and filling the Holes of the Pot, but 
a fmall Quantity of Water can enter. By this fort of boil- 
ing, the Rice is brought to a very firm Confiftency, and, 
at laft, is caked into a fort of Bread ; of which, with 
Butter, Oil, Sugar, and Spices, they make feveral very 
pleafant Kinds of Food, The French Difeafe prevails 
among them in this Ifland ; but, inftead of fetching out 
the Poifon by a Salivation, they do it by a fort of Per- 
fpiration through all the Pores of the Body, and that by 
fitting naked in the Sun for fome Hours, whofe fcorching 
Rays open thofe Paffages, and give free Vent to the noxious 
Particles to difcharge themfelves. The Admiral here 
had News of fome great Ships that lay not far off ; fo, not 
knowing what they might prove, he would flay no longer. 
From hence they failed for the Cape of Good Hope, which 
was the firft Land they fell in withal, neither did they 
touch at any other till they came to Sierra Leona , upon 
the Coaft of Guiney. They paffed the Cape June 1 8. and, 
by the Pleafureof the Voyage that Way, found how much 
the Portuguefe had abufed the World in their falfe Repre- 
fentations of the Horrors and Dangers of it. July 22. 
they arrived at Sierra Leona , where they found great Store 
of Elephants, and Trees that had Oyfters fattened to them, 
upon which they lived and multiplied, with which, and 
with the Lemons that grew there, they were much re- 
frelhed. 
18. After Two Days Stay, which they fpent in wooding, 
watering, and taking in Refrelhments, they failed from 
thence. July 25. they found themfelves under the Tropic 
of Cancer , being then 50 Leagues off the neareft Land. On 
the 22d of the fame Month, they were in the Height of 
the Canaries ; but, being fufficiently Rocked with all Ne- 
cefiaries, they made no Stay there, but continued their 
Voyage to Plymouth , where they arrived on Monday Sep- 
tember 26. 1580. but, according to their Account, it was 
Sunday , the Caule of which different Computation we have 
before explained. In this Circum-navigation of the Globe 
he fpent Two Years, Ten Months, and a few Days. 
The Report of his Return was very i'oon fpread through 
the Kingdom *, and, as that was an Age when Virtue might 
be laid to be in Falhion, it made a great Noife, elpecially 
among fuch as affebted to diftinguilh themfelves either as 
the Patrons of Arms, or Arts, ail of them ftriving to ex- 
prefs their Senfe of his Worth, by the Praifes, and other 
Teftimonies of Regard, which they paid to Captain Drake : 
And of the Epigrams, Songs, Poems, and fuch-like Per- 
formances, in Commendation of him and his Ship, feveral 
Collections were made, which extended his Fame ftill far- 
ther ; though few or none of them can be truly faid to 
approach in any Degree the Worth of their Subject, which 
might not perhaps be fo much owing to the want of Genius 
in Poetry, as to the want of a competent Skill in other Sci- 
ences neceffary to enable them to form proper Defcrip- 
tions for the Illuftration of their Poems ; which has made 
me often wonder, that fome modern Writer has not en- 
deavoured to reach the Chara&er of the Englijh Homer , by 
dilplaying in Verfe the Labours of Sir Francis Drake. 
19. Itwas not, however, reafonable to expedt, that fo bold 
and brave an Adtion, attended likewife byfuchvaft Applaufe, 
Ihould pafs altogether uncenfured ; and therefore we need 
not be furprifed, that there were many who endeavoured to 
give a wrong Colour to this gallant Adtion. They gave 
qut, that his furrounding the Qjbbe ferved only to amufe 
- 5 
AGES of Boot 1; 
common Minds, and that the main Bufineis of his Voyage 
was Plunder, of which, they faid, he had acquired enough 
to exempt the Nation from Taxes for Seven Years : That 
as there was no War proclaimed againff Spain , it was a dan- 
gerous Thing to own fuch ah Adventurer, iince the Pub- 
lic might come to pay dear for the Prizes he had taken • 
That our Merchants had great Effedts in Spain, and there- 
fore Reafon to doubt, that a Handle might be taken to feize 
our Merchants Goods to makegood his Depredations. Thefe 
Objedlions really weighed much with' fome People, and 1 
others thought fit to countenance them, though they did 
not believe them. The Spanijh Embaffador alfo attacked 
him by very warm Memorials, his Party ftyling him the 
Matter Thief of the unknown World. The Friends and 
Patrons of Captain Drake , however, who found them- 
felves wounded through his Sides, took abundance of Pains 
Con udt , ^ alle^in^, on his Behalf, that 
he had the Queen’s Commiffion to juftify his making Re- 
prifals ; that the more Wealth he had brought Home, the 
more the Nation was obliged to him ; that the Spaniards 
had already done us very great Injuries, and therefore 
they had more Reafon to fear us, than we them ; that, in 
fine, if the King of Spain had a mind to feize pur Mer- 
chants Effects, the Public would do well to receive this 
Indian Treafure by way of Equivalent*, and that, if they 
did not, it would break the Spirit of that fort of Men, who 
were otherwife moft like to break the Spirits of the Spa- 
niards. Such were the Reafonings on both Sides, while 
the Thing remained in Sufpenfe, as if Queen Elizabeth in- 
tended to hear every body’s Sentiments, before fhe de- 
cided the Merits of fo great a Caufe. 
20. Things remained for a confiderable Time in this Si- 
tuation, during which Captain Drake , no doubt, was ex- 
tremely uneafy, as not knowing, whether, after all his 
Toils Abroad, he might not be declared a Pirate at Home. 
There is, however, Reafon to believe, that, the Queen de- 
layed difclofing her Sentiments from Motives of true Po- 
licy, as inclining to fee what Effects this Conduct of hers 
might have had upon the Court of Spain, which was cer- 
tainly withheld from meddling, fo far as was otherwife in- 
tended in her Affairs, by the Hopes of drawing fo great a 
Treafure out of her Hands j and, to keep them in this 
Hope, fhe very artfully confented to part with fome fmall 
Sums to Mendoza the Spanijh Agent. At laft, when Things 
were come to a Crifis, the Queen threw off the Veil at once 5 
and Notice being given to Captain Drake of her Intention, 
fhe, on the 4th of April 1581. went on board his Ship 
at Deptford , where fhe was magnificently entertained j and, 
after Dinner, was gracioufly pleafed to confer the Honour 
of Knighthood on Captain Drake ; telling him, at the fame 
time, that his Actions did him more Honour than his Ti- 
tle. There was a prodigious Croud attended her Majefty 
upon this Occafion, fo that they broke down the Bridge 
laid from the Shore to the Ship, by that time fhe was got 
on board it ; yet of 200 Perfons, who by this Accident fell 
into the Thames , not one was either drowned or hurt, which 
her Majefty was pleafed to attribute to the Fortune of Sir 
Francis Drake. After this public Approbation of the So- 
vereign, all Ranks of People redoubled their Congratula- 
tions ; and Sir Francis Drake himfelf is faid thenceforward 
to have given for his Device the Terraqueous Globe, with 
this Motto, Tu primus, circumdedijti me, i. e. Thou firft 
encompajfedft me \ but not excluding his former Motto, Di- 
vino Auxilio, i. e. By the Help of God. Henceforward the 
Reputation of Sir Francis Drake was continually increafing, 
till he came to be confidered as a kind of Oracle in Mari- 
time Affairs, both by the Country and the Court. 
21. I have dwelt the longer upon thefe Circum fiances, 
not only becaufe they have a near Relation to the Affair be- 
fore us, and a ftill nearer to the Man, of whom we are 
writing, but alfo becaufe I have found them fcarce taken 
notice of by any of thofe who have undertaken to record 
his Exploits, I fhail next point out fome of the moft re- 
markable Advantages that arofe from his fuccefsful Execu- 
tion of this noble Undertaking, that the Benefit of this 
kind of Reading may appear j and that whoever perufes 
this Work, may be fatisfied we do not barely tranferibe the 
Writings of Authors, who have gone before us in this Way, 
but are inclined to add our Endeavours, to render thefe Re- 
lations 
