"Amyas Leigh to the Worshipful Sir F. Drake, Admiral of her Majesty'sFleet in Plymouth.
"MOST HONORED SIR,
"A magician keeps me here, in bilboes for which you have no picklock;namely, a mother who forbids. The loss is mine: but Antichrist I canfight any year (for he will not die this bout, nor the next), while mymother--but I will not trouble your patience more than to ask from youto get me news, if you can, from any prisoners of one Don Guzman MariaMagdalena Sotomayor de Soto; whether he is in Spain or in the Indies;and what the villain does, and where he is to be found. This only Ientreat of you, and so remain behind with a heavy heart.
"Yours to command in all else, and I would to Heaven, in this also,
"AMYAS LEIGH."
I am sorry to have to say, that after having thus obeyed his mother,Master Amyas, as men are too apt to do, revenged himself on her by beingmore and more cross and disagreeable. But his temper amended much,when, a few months after, Drake returned triumphant, having destroyeda hundred sail in Cadiz alone, taken three great galleons with immensewealth on board, burnt the small craft all along the shore, and offeredbattle to Santa Cruz at the mouth of the Tagus. After which it isunnecessary to say, that the Armada was put off for yet another year.
This news, indeed, gave Amyas little comfort; for he merely observed,grumbling, that Drake had gone and spoiled everybody else's sport: butwhat cheered him was news from Drake that Don Guzman had been heard offrom the captain of one of the galleons; that he was high in favor inSpain, and commandant of soldiers on board one of the largest of themarquis's ships.
And when Amyas heard that, a terrible joy took possession of him. Whenthe Armada came, as come it would, he should meet his enemy at last! Hecould wait now patiently: if--and he shuddered at himself, as he foundhimself in the very act of breathing a prayer that Don Guzman might notdie before that meeting.
In the meanwhile, rumor flew thousand-tongued through the length andbreadth of the land; of vast preparations going on in Spain and Italy;of timber felled long before for some such purpose, brought down to thesea, and sawn out for shipbuilding; of casting of cannon, and drillingof soldiers; of ships in hundreds collecting at Lisbon; of a crusadepreached by Pope Sixtus the Fifth, who had bestowed the kingdom ofEngland on the Spaniard, to be enjoyed by him as vassal tributary toRome; of a million of gold to be paid by the pope, one-half down atonce, the other half when London was taken; of Cardinal Allen writingand printing busily in the Netherlands, calling on all good Englishmento carry out, by rebelling against Elizabeth, the bull of Sixtus theFifth, said (I blush to repeat it) to have been dictated by the HolyGhost; of Inquisitors getting ready fetters and devil's engines of allsorts; of princes and noblemen, flocking from all quarters, gentlemenselling their private estates to fit out ships; how the Prince ofMelito, the Marquess of Burgrave, Vespasian Gonzaga, John Medicis,Amadas of Savoy, in short, the illegitimate sons of all the southernprinces, having no lands of their own, were coming to find thatnecessary of life in this pleasant little wheat-garden. Nay, the Duke ofMedina Sidonia had already engaged Mount-Edgecombe for himself, as thefairest jewel of the south; which when good old Sir Richard Edgecombeheard, he observed quietly, that in 1555 he had the pleasure ofreceiving at his table at one time the admirals of England, Spain, andthe Netherlands, and therefore had experience in entertaining Dons; andmade preparations for the visit by filling his cellars with gunpowder,with a view to a house-warming and feu-de-joie on the occasion. But asold Fuller says, "The bear was not yet killed, and Medina Sidonia mighthave catched a great cold, had he no other clothes to wear than the skinthereof."
So flew rumor, false and true, till poor John Bull's wits were well-nighturned: but to the very last, after his lazy fashion, he persuadedhimself that it would all come right somehow; that it was too great newsto be true; that if it was true, the expedition was only meant for theNetherlands; and, in short, sat quietly over his beef and beer for manya day after the French king had sent him fair warning, and the queen,the ministry, and the admirals had been assuring him again and againthat he, and not the Dutchman, was the destined prey of this greatflight of ravenous birds.
At last the Spaniard, in order that there should be no mistake about thematter, kindly printed a complete bill of the play, to be seen still inVan Meteran, for the comfort of all true Catholics, and confusion of allpestilent heretics; which document, of course, the seminary priests usedto enforce the duty of helping the invaders, and the certainty of theirsuccess; and from their hands it soon passed into those of the devoutladies, who were not very likely to keep it to themselves; till JohnBull himself found his daughters buzzing over it with very pale faces(as young ladies well might who had no wish to follow the fate ofthe damsels of Antwerp), and condescending to run his eye through it,discovered, what all the rest of Europe had known for months past, thathe was in a very great scrape.
Well it was for England, then, that her Tudor sovereigns had compelledevery man (though they kept up no standing army) to be a trainedsoldier. Well it was that Elizabeth, even in those dangerous days ofintrigue and rebellion, had trusted her people enough, not only to leavethem their weapons, but (what we, forsooth, in these more "free" and"liberal" days dare not do) to teach them how to use them. Well itwas, that by careful legislation for the comfort and employment of "themasses" (term then, thank God, unknown), she had both won their hearts,and kept their bodies in fighting order. Well it was that, acting asfully as Napoleon did on "la carriere ouverte aux talens," she hadraised to the highest posts in her councils, her army, and her navy, menof business, who had not been ashamed to buy and sell as merchants andadventurers. Well for England, in a word, that Elizabeth had pursuedfor thirty years a very different course from that which we have beenpursuing for the last thirty, with one exception, namely, the leaving asmuch as possible to private enterprise.
There we have copied her: would to Heaven that we had in some othermatters! It is the fashion now to call her a despot: but unless everymonarch is to be branded with that epithet whose power is not ascircumscribed as Queen Victoria's is now, we ought rather to call herthe most popular sovereign, obeyed of their own free will by the freestsubjects which England has ever seen; confess the Armada fight to havebeen as great a moral triumph as it was a political one; and (now thatour late boasting is a little silenced by Crimean disasters) inquirewhether we have not something to learn from those old Tudor times, asto how to choose officials, how to train a people, and how to defend acountry.
To return to the thread of my story.
January, 1587-8, had well-nigh run through, before Sir Richard Grenvillemade his appearance on the streets of Bideford. He had been appointed inNovember one of the council of war for providing for the safety of thenation, and the West Country had seen nothing of him since. But onemorning, just before Christmas, his stately figure darkened the oldbay-window at Burrough, and Amyas rushed out to meet him, and bring himin, and ask what news from Court.
"All good news, dear lad, and dearer madam. The queen shows the spiritof a very Boadicea or Semiramis; ay, a very Scythian Tomyris, and if shehad the Spaniard before her now, would verily, for aught I know, feasthim as the Scythian queen did Cyrus, with 'Satia te sanguine, quodsitisti.'"
"I trust her most merciful spirit is not so changed already," said Mrs.Leigh.
"Well, if she would not do it, I would, and ask pardon afterwards, asRaleigh did about the rascals at Smerwick, whom Amyas knows of. Mrs.Leigh, these are times in which mercy is cruelty. Not England alone,but the world, the Bible, the Gospel itself, is at stake; and we must doterrible things, lest we suffer more terrible ones."
"God will take care of world and Bible better than any cruelty of ours,dear Sir Richard."
"Nay, but, Mrs. Leigh, we must help Him to take care of them! If thoseSmerwick Spaniards had not been--"
"The Spaniard would not have been exasperated into invading us."
"And we should not have had this chance of crushing him once and forall; but the quarrel is of older
standing, madam, eh, Amyas? Amyas, hasRaleigh written to you of late?"
"Not a word, and I wonder why."
"Well; no wonder at that, if you knew how he has been laboring. Thewonder is, whence he got the knowledge wherewith to labor; for he neversaw sea-work to my remembrance."
"Never saw a shot fired by sea, except ours at Smerwick, and thatbrush with the Spaniards in 1579, when he sailed for Virginia with SirHumphrey; and he was a mere crack then."
"So you consider him as your pupil, eh? But he learnt enough in theNetherland wars, and in Ireland too, if not of the strength of ships,yet still of the weakness of land forces; and would you believe it, theman has twisted the whole council round his finger, and made them giveup the land defences to the naval ones."
"Quite right he, and wooden walls against stone ones for ever! But asfor twisting, he would persuade Satan, if he got him alone for half anhour."
"I wish he would sail for Spain then, just now, and try the powers ofhis tongue," said Mrs. Leigh.
"But are we to have the honor, really?"
"We are, lad. There were many in the council who were for disputing thelanding on shore, and said--which I do not deny--that the 'prenticeboys of London could face the bluest blood in Spain. But Raleigh argued(following my Lord Burleigh in that) that we differed from the LowCountries, and all other lands, in that we had not a castle or townthroughout, which would stand a ten days' siege, and that our ramparts,as he well said, were, after all, only a body of men. So, he argued, aslong as the enemy has power to land where he will, prevention, ratherthan cure, is our only hope; and that belongs to the office, not of anarmy, but of a fleet. So the fleet was agreed on, and a fleet we shallhave."
"Then here is his health, the health of a true friend to all boldmariners, and myself in particular! But where is he now?"
"Coming here to-morrow, as I hope--for he left London with me, and sodown by us into Cornwall, to drill the train-bands, as he is boundto do, being Seneschal of the Duchies and Lieutenant-General of thecounty."
"Besides Lord Warden of the Stanneries! How the man thrives!" said Mrs.Leigh.
"How the man deserves to thrive!" said Amyas; "but what are we to do?"
"That is the rub. I would fain stay and fight the Spaniards."
"So would I; and will."
"But he has other plans in his head for us."
"We can make our own plans without his help."
"Heyday, Amyas! How long? When did he ask you to do a thing yet and yourefuse him?"
"Not often, certainly; but Spaniards I must fight."
"Well, so must I, boy: but I have given a sort of promise to him,nevertheless."
"Not for me too, I hope?"
"No: he will extract that himself when he comes; you must come and supto-morrow, and talk it over."
"Be talked over, rather. What chestnut does the cat want us monkeys topull out of the fire for him now, I wonder?"
"Sir Richard Grenville is hardly accustomed to be called a monkey," saidMrs. Leigh.
"I meant no harm; and his worship knows it, none better: but where isRaleigh going to send us, with a murrain?"
"To Virginia. The settlers must have help: and, as I trust in God, weshall be back again long before this armament can bestir itself."
So Raleigh came, saw, and conquered. Mrs. Leigh consented to Amyas'sgoing (for his twelve-month would be over ere the fleet could start)upon so peaceful and useful an errand; and the next five months werespent in continual labor on the part of Amyas and Grenville, till sevenships were all but ready in Bideford river, the admiral whereof wasAmyas Leigh.
But that fleet was not destined ever to see the shores of the New World:it had nobler work to do (if Americans will forgive the speech) thaneven settling the United States.
It was in the long June evenings, in the year 1588; Mrs. Leigh sat inthe open window, busy at her needle-work; Ayacanora sat opposite to her,on the seat of the bay, trying diligently to read "The History of theNine Worthies," and stealing a glance every now and then towards thegarden, where Amyas stalked up and down as he had used to do in happierdays gone by. But his brow was contracted now, his eyes fixed on theground, as he plodded backwards and forwards, his hands behind his back,and a huge cigar in his mouth, the wonder of the little boys of Northam,who peeped in stealthily as they passed the iron-work gates, to see theback of the famous fire-breathing captain who had sailed round the worldand been in the country of headless men and flying dragons, and thenpopped back their heads suddenly, as he turned toward them in his walk.And Ayacanora looked, and looked, with no less admiration than theurchins at the gate: but she got no more of an answering look from Amyasthan they did; for his head was full of calculations of tonnage andstowage, of salt pork and ale-barrels, and the packing of tools andseeds; for he had promised Raleigh to do his best for the new colony,and he was doing it with all his might; so Ayacanora looked back againto her book, and heaved a deep sigh. It was answered by one from Mrs.Leigh.
"We are a melancholy pair, sweet chuck," said the fair widow. "What ismy maid sighing about, there?"
"Because I cannot make out the long words," said Ayacanora, telling avery white fib.
"Is that all? Come to me, and I will tell you."
Ayacanora moved over to her, and sat down at her feet.
"H--e, he, r--o, ro, i--c--a--l, heroical," said Mrs. Leigh.
"But what does that mean?"
"Grand, good, and brave, like--"
Mrs. Leigh was about to have said the name of one who was lost to heron earth. His fair angelic face hung opposite upon the wall. She pausedunable to pronounce his name; and lifted up her eyes, and gazed on theportrait, and breathed a prayer between closed lips, and drooped herhead again.
Her pupil caught at the pause, and filled it up for herself--
"Like him?" and she turned her head quickly toward the window.
"Yes, like him, too," said Mrs. Leigh, with a half-smile at the gesture."Now, mind your book. Maidens must not look out of the window in schoolhours."
"Shall I ever be an English girl?" asked Ayacanora.
"You are one now, sweet; your father was an English gentleman."
Amyas looked in, and saw the two sitting together.
"You seem quite merry there," said he.
"Come in, then, and be merry with us."
He entered, and sat down; while Ayacanora fixed her eyes moststeadfastly on her book.
"Well, how goes on the reading?" said he; and then, without waiting foran answer--"We shall be ready to clear out this day week, mother, I dobelieve; that is, if the hatchets are made in time to pack them."
"I hope they will be better than the last," said Mrs. Leigh. "It seemsto me a shameful sin to palm off on poor ignorant savages goods which weshould consider worthless for ourselves."
"Well, it's not over fair: but still, they are a sight better than theyever had before. An old hoop is better than a deer's bone, as Ayacanoraknows,--eh?"
"I don't know anything about it," said she, who was always nettled atthe least allusion to her past wild life. "I am an English girl now, andall that is gone--I forget it."
"Forget it?" said he, teasing her for want of something better to do."Should not you like to sail with us, now, and see the Indians in theforests once again?"
"Sail with you?" and she looked up eagerly.
"There! I knew it! She would not be four-and-twenty hours ashore, butshe would be off into the woods again, bow in hand, like any runawaynymph, and we should never see her more."
"It is false, bad man!" and she burst into violent tears, and hid herface in Mrs. Leigh's lap.
"Amyas, Amyas, why do you tease the poor fatherless thing?"
"I was only jesting, I'm sure," said Amyas, like a repentant schoolboy."Don't cry now, don't cry, my child, see here," and he began fumbling inhis pockets; "see what I bought of a chapman in town to-day, for you, mymaid, indeed, I did."
And out he pulled some smart kerchief or other, which had taken hissailor's
fancy.
"Look at it now, blue, and crimson, and green, like any parrot!" and heheld it out.
She looked round sharply, snatched it out of his hand, and tore it toshreds.
"I hate it, and I hate you!" and she sprang up and darted out of theroom.
"Oh, boy, boy!" said Mrs. Leigh, "will you kill that poor child? Itmatters little for an old heart like mine, which has but one or twochords left whole, how soon it be broken altogether; but a young heartis one of God's precious treasures, Amyas, and suffers many a long pangin the breaking; and woe to them who despise Christ's little ones!"
"Break your heart, mother?"
"Never mind my heart, dear son; yet how can you break it more surelythan by tormenting one whom I love, because she loves you?"
"Tut! play, mother, and maids' tempers. But how can I break your heart?What have I done? Have I not given up going again to the West Indies foryour sake? Have I not given up going to Virginia, and now again settledto go after all, just because you commanded? Was it not your will? HaveI not obeyed you, mother, mother? I will stay at home now, if you will.I would rather rust here on land, I vow I would, than grieve you--" andhe threw himself at his mother's knees.
"Have I asked you not to go to Virginia? No, dear boy, though everythought of a fresh parting seems to crack some new fibre within me, youmust go! It is your calling. Yes; you were not sent into the world toamuse me, but to work. I have had pleasure enough of you, my darling,for many a year, and too much, perhaps; till I shrank from lending youto the Lord. But He must have you. . . . It is enough for the poor oldwidow to know that her boy is what he is, and to forget all her anguishday by day, for joy that a man is born into the world. But, Amyas,Amyas, are you so blind as not to see that Ayacanora--"
"Don't talk about her, poor child. Talk about yourself."
"How long have I been worth talking about? No, Amyas, you must see it;and if you will not see it now, you will see it one day in some sad andfearful prodigy; for she is not one to die tamely. She loves you, Amyas,as a woman only can love."
"Loves me? Well, of course. I found her, and brought her home; and Idon't deny she may think that she owes me somewhat--though it was nomore than a Christian man's duty. But as for her caring much for me,mother, you measure every one else's tenderness by your own."
"Think that she owes you somewhat? Silly boy, this is not gratitude,but a deeper affection, which may be more heavenly than gratitude, asit may, too, become a horrible cause of ruin. It rests with you, Amyas,which of the two it will be."
"You are in earnest?"
"Have I the heart or the time to jest?"
"No, no, of course not; but, mother, I thought it was not comely forwomen to fall in love with men?"
"Not comely, at least, to confess their love to men. But she has neverdone that, Amyas; not even by a look or a tone of voice, though I havewatched her for months."
"To be sure, she is as demure as any cat when I am in the way. I onlywonder how you found it out."
"Ah," said she, smiling sadly, "even in the saddest woman's soul therelinger snatches of old music, odors of flowers long dead and turned todust--pleasant ghosts, which still keep her mind attuned to that whichmay be in others, though in her never more; till she can hear her ownwedding-hymn re-echoed in the tones of every girl who loves, and seesher own wedding-torch re-lighted in the eyes of every bride."
"You would not have me marry her?" asked blunt, practical Amyas.
"God knows what I would have--I know not; I see neither your path normy own--no, not after weeks and months of prayer. All things beyond arewrapped in mist; and what will be, I know not, save that whatever elseis wrong, mercy at least is right."
"I'd sail to-morrow, if I could. As for marrying her, mother--her birth,mind me--"
"Ah, boy, boy! Are you God, to visit the sins of the parents upon thechildren?"
"Not that. I don't mean that; but I mean this, that she is half aSpaniard, mother; and I cannot!--Her blood may be as blue as KingPhilip's own, but it is Spanish still! I cannot bear the thought that mychildren should have in their veins one drop of that poison."
"Amyas! Amyas!" interrupted she, "is this not, too, visiting theparents' sins on the children?"
"Not a whit; it is common sense,--she must have the taint of theirbloodthirsty humor. She has it--I have seen it in her again and again.I have told you, have I not? Can I forget the look of her eyes asshe stood over that galleon's captain, with the smoking knife in herhand.--Ugh! And she is not tamed yet, as you can see, and never willbe:--not that I care, except for her own sake, poor thing!"
"Cruel boy! to impute as a blame to the poor child, not only the errorsof her training, but the very madness of her love!"
"Of her love?"
"Of what else, blind buzzard? From the moment that you told me the storyof that captain's death, I knew what was in her heart--and thus it isthat you requite her for having saved your life!"
"Umph! that is one word too much, mother. If you don't want to send mecrazy, don't put the thing on the score of gratitude or duty. As it is,I can hardly speak civilly to her (God forgive me!) when I recollectthat she belongs to the crew who murdered him"--and he pointed to thepicture, and Mrs. Leigh shuddered as he did so.
"You feel it! You know you feel it, tender-hearted, forgiving angel asyou are; and what do you think I must feel?"
"Oh, my son, my son!" cried she, wringing her hands, "if I be wretchenough to give place to the devil for a moment, does that give you aright to entertain and cherish him thus day by day?"
"I should cherish him with a vengeance, if I brought up a crew ofchildren who could boast of a pedigree of idolaters and tyrants, huntersof Indians, and torturers of women! How pleasant to hear her tellingMaster Jack, 'Your illustrious grand-uncle the pope's legate, wasthe man who burned Rose Salterne at Cartagena;' or Miss Grace, 'Yourgreat-grandfather of sixteen quarterings, the Marquis of this, son ofthe Grand-equerry that, and husband of the Princess t'other, used tofeed his bloodhounds, when beef was scarce, with Indians' babies!' Eh,mother? These things are true, and if you can forget them, I cannot. Isit not enough to have made me forego for awhile my purpose, my business,the one thing I live for, and that is, hunting down the Spaniards as Iwould adders or foxes, but you must ask me over and above to take one tomy bosom?"
"Oh, my son, my son! I have not asked you to do that; I have onlycommanded you, in God's name, to be merciful, if you wish to obtainmercy. Oh, if you will not pity this poor maiden, pity yourself; for Godknows you stand in more need of it than she does!"
Amyas was silent for a minute or two; and then,--
"If it were not for you, mother, would God that the Armada would come!"
"What, and ruin England?"
"No! Curse them! Not a foot will they ever set on English soil, such awelcome would we give them. If I were but in the midst of that fleet,fighting like a man--to forget it all, with a galleon on board of me tolarboard, and another to starboard--and then to put a linstock in themagazine, and go aloft in good company--I don't care how soon it comes,mother, if it were not for you."
"If I am in your way, Amyas, do not fear that I shall trouble you long."
"Oh, mother, mother, do not talk in that way! I am half-mad, I think,already, and don't know what I say. Yes, I am mad; mad at heart, thoughnot at head. There's a fire burning me up, night and day, and nothingbut Spanish blood will put it out."
"Or the grace of God, my poor wilful child! Who comes to the door?--soquickly, too?"
There was a loud hurried knocking, and in another minute a serving-manhurried in with a letter.
"This to Captain Amyas Leigh with haste, haste!"
It was Sir Richard's hand. Amyas tore it open; and "a loud laugh laughedhe."
"The Armada is coming! My wish has come true, mother!"
"God help us, it has! Show me the letter."
It was a hurried scrawl.
"DR. GODSON,--Walsingham sends word that the Ada. sailed from Lisbon tothe Groyne the 1
8. of May. We know no more, but have commandment to staythe ships. Come down, dear lad, and give us counsel; and may the Lordhelp His Church in this great strait.
"Your loving godfather,
"R. G."
"Forgive me, mother, mother, once for all!" cried Amyas, throwing hisarms round her neck.
"I have nothing to forgive, my son, my son! And shall I lose thee,also?"
"If I be killed, you will have two martyrs of your blood, mother!--"
Mrs. Leigh bowed her head, and was silent. Amyas caught up his hat andsword, and darted forth toward Bideford.
Amyas literally danced into Sir Richard's hall, where he stood talkingearnestly with various merchants and captains.
"Gloria, gloria! gentles all! The devil is broke loose at last; and nowwe know where to have him on the hip!"
"Why so merry, Captain Leigh, when all else are sad?" said a gentlevoice by his side.
"Because I have been sad a long time, while all else were merry, dearlady. Is the hawk doleful when his hood is pulled off, and he sees theheron flapping right ahead of him?"
"You seem to forget the danger and the woe of us weak women, sir?"
"I don't forget the danger and the woe of one weak woman, madam, and shethe daughter of a man who once stood in this room," said Amyas, suddenlycollecting himself, in a low stern voice. "And I don't forget the dangerand the woe of one who was worth a thousand even of her. I don't forgetanything, madam."
"Nor forgive either, it seems."
"It will be time to talk of forgiveness after the offender has repentedand amended; and does the sailing of the Armada look like that?"
"Alas, no! God help us!"
"He will help us, madam," said Amyas.
"Admiral Leigh," said Sir Richard, "we need you now, if ever. Here arethe queen's orders to furnish as many ships as we can; though from thesegentlemen's spirit, I should say the orders were well-nigh needless."
"Not a doubt, sir; for my part, I will fit my ship at my own charges,and fight her too, as long as I have a leg or an arm left."
"Or a tongue to say, never surrender, I'll warrant!" said an oldmerchant. "You put life into us old fellows, Admiral Leigh: but itwill be a heavy matter for those poor fellows in Virginia, and for mydaughter too, Madam Dare, with her young babe, as I hear, just born."
"And a very heavy matter," said some one else, "for those who haveventured their money in these cargoes, which must lie idle, you see, nowfor a year maybe--and then all the cost of unlading again--"
"My good sir," said Grenville, "what have private interests to dowith this day? Let us thank God if He only please to leave us the barefee-simple of this English soil, the honor of our wives and daughters,and bodies safe from rack and fagot, to wield the swords of freemen indefence of a free land, even though every town and homestead in Englandwere wasted with fire, and we left to rebuild over again all which ourancestors have wrought for us in now six hundred years."
"Right, sir!" said Amyas. "For my part, let my Virginian goods roton the quay, if the worst comes to the worst. I begin unloading theVengeance to-morrow; and to sea as soon as I can fill up my crew to agood fighting number."
And so the talk ran on; and ere two days were past, most of theneighboring gentlemen, summoned by Sir Richard, had come in, and greatwas the bidding against each other as to who should do most. Cary andBrimblecombe, with thirty tall Clovelly men, came across the bay, andwithout even asking leave of Amyas, took up their berths as a matter ofcourse on board the Vengeance. In the meanwhile, the matter was takenup by families. The Fortescues (a numberless clan) offered to furnisha ship; the Chichesters another, the Stukelys a third; while themerchantmen were not backward. The Bucks, the Stranges, the Heards,joyfully unloaded their Virginian goods, and replaced them with powderand shot; and in a week's time the whole seven were ready once more forsea, and dropped down into Appledore pool, with Amyas as their admiralfor the time being (for Sir Richard had gone by land to Plymouth to jointhe deliberations there), and waited for the first favorable wind tostart for the rendezvous in the Sound.
At last, upon the twenty-first of June, the clank of the capstans rangmerrily across the flats, and amid prayers and blessings, forth sailedthat gallant squadron over the bar, to play their part in Britain'sSalamis; while Mrs. Leigh stood watching as she stood once before,beside the churchyard wall: but not alone this time; for Ayacanora stoodby her side, and gazed and gazed, till her eyes seemed ready to burstfrom their sockets. At last she turned away with a sob,--
"And he never bade me good-bye, mother!"
"God forgive him! Come home and pray, my child; there is no other reston earth than prayer for woman's heart!"
They were calling each other mother and daughter then? Yes. The sacredfire of sorrow was fast burning out all Ayacanora's fallen savageness;and, like a Phoenix, the true woman was rising from those ashes, fair,noble, and all-enduring, as God had made her.
Westward Ho! Or, The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, of Burrough, in the County of Devon, in the Reign of Her Most Glorious Majesty Queen Elizabeth Page 30