CHAPTER TWO.
A goodly fleet of stout ships, with bulging sails, and gayly-colouredbanners and streamers flying, sailed down Plymouth Sound before afavouring breeze, which promised to waft them along steadily towards thesunny latitudes of the tropics. There sailed the Red Dragon, of fullthree hundred tons and forty pieces of ordnance--the admiral's ship; andthere was the Serpent, of not less than two hundred and fifty tons--thevice-admiral's ship; and the Lion, of not much less tonnage and armamentthan the Serpent; there was the Lion's Whelp, a tall ship, and twopinnaces, the Sunshine and Moonshine, the larger ships carrying eachfrom one hundred to one hundred and thirty men, and the pinnaces thirtymen each; and as for arms, besides great guns, they were amply providedwith culverins, sakers, falconets, and murtherers, the latterunpleasantly-named pieces being similar to blunderbusses on swivels, andloaded with small shot, and scraps of iron, lead, or stones. No littlesquadron in those days could have been more amply equipped, provisioned,and found in every way, or better manned or commanded.
It must be remarked that the pictorial representations of ships of thosedays give us a very erroneous notion of what ships really were. Shipscapable of performing long voyages in tempestuous seas, and ships ontapestry--worked by fair fingers, which, however ably they might haveplied their needles, were scarcely capable of delineating accuratelythose wonderful constructions on which the eyes of the workers hadprobably never rested--are very different from each other. The shipsnow described sailing down Plymouth Sound were strongly-built craft,with bows not over-bluff and sides not over-high. They had erections ondeck, both at the bows and stern, rising some five feet above it, or alittle more, perhaps, on the top of which men could stand for fightingor working some of the sheets and braces of the lighter sails, while thehalyards and other chief ropes lead to the main deck. In these saiderections, or castles, as they were called, still to be seen in mostforeign and many English merchantmen, somewhat modified and in morepacific guise, there were port-holes, with guns projecting from themboth at the sides and outer ends, and also along the deck. Thus anenemy having gained the deck would be exposed to a hot fire from thedefenders under shelter of the wooden walls of the two castles. On thefore and main mast the sails were square, and there were also staysailsfore and aft. On the mizzen-mast there was a large lateen yard andsail, such as is still seen in the Mediterranean. It was a useful andpowerful sail for plying to windward, gaff-sails not having then beeninvented. The tops were circular, and heavier than would now beapproved of, but certainly not the heavy constructions they arerepresented in pictures. The holds of those vessels were verycapacious, and the cabins were fitted not without regard to comfort andluxury, and were often richly ornamented.
Such was the squadron to which the Lion belonged, and on board the Lionsailed Antony Waymouth as master's mate or chief officer under thecaptain, and his friend Edward Raymond, to whom was awarded the officeof cosmographer, he being at the same time an adventurer of some threehundred pounds. Of the Lion an honourable gentleman, John Wood, wascaptain, and Master James Walker, a truly worthy man, and pious withal,the minister. Captain Lancaster, a man of renown and valour, was theadmiral and general; and Nicholas Parker, captain of the Serpent, thevice-admiral. Of the rest of the officers and gentlemen adventurers itis not necessary here to speak. That they were not a godless or alawless company, intent only on plunder, may be proved by the followingrules and articles set down for their guidance:
"The usual service appointed by the Church of England to be said twice aday. Due reverence to be given to the ministers. Not to sufferswearing, dicing, card-playing, or other vain talk. Conspiring againstthe life of the general or any other in authority to be punished bydeath. To follow the admiral day and night and no man to be so bold asto go before him. To speak with him every morning and night. Not to bemore than an English mile from him. Signals: Not to give chase withoutthe admiral's orders. Watchwords: `if God be with us;' answer, `Whoshall be against us?' If an enemy be encountered, rather to be on thedefensive than the offensive."
Waymouth showed these articles to Raymond, observing--"You see, Ned, weseamen are not, the godless reprobates some who grow rich upon our toiland danger would wish to make it appear. Where would you find a morehumble Christian man than good Master Walker, our minister? and surelythe example he and the other chaplains of the fleet set is not withoutits due influence among the crews."
Waymouth spoke the truth. It was not till many years after this thatthe character of the British seaman changed very much for the worse. Nochaplains were then sent to sea; religion was ignored, and, as aconsequence, the mass of seamen became godless, swearing, viciousreprobates, little better than heathens in their religion or morality.On board Captain Lancaster's fleet, however, order was well maintained,and the ministers setting a good example, religion flourished more thanamong most communities on shore.
All honour be to our sea-going ancestors! They were brave, sincere,zealous, and energetic men; black was black with them, and white white.They had, it must be owned, some queer notions as to right and wrong,and honest traders on the north of the line seemed to considerthemselves justified in acting the part of pirates to the south of it.Like the Arabs of the desert, their hand was against every man, andevery man's hand against them. In the East, Spaniards, Portugals,Hollanders, and English were at ceaseless war with each other; or whenthe Hollanders pretended to side with the latter, it was simply for thepurpose of betraying them and injuring their commerce in those parts.
As Raymond stood on the aftercastle of the Lion, watching thefast-receding shores of Old England, his spirit sank within him. He wasthinking--and shame, to him if he was not--of Beatrice. Not for amoment did he doubt her love and constancy; but he thought of thedangers to which she might be exposed should troublous times againarise--of her grief should he not be destined to return. He had others,also, whom he loved at home; his widowed mother, his brothers, and,above all, his sister Constance, the dear friend of his Beatrice, unlikeher in appearance, for Constance was a dark-eyed, dark-haired beauty,full of life and animation, but like her in goodness and sense, and thesweetness of her disposition. Hugh Willoughby affected her, but it wasevidently with a mere boyish admiration, and she regarded him in noother light than as her friend's brother.
Edward's reveries were broken in on by Waymouth, who sprang up on thedeck of the aftercastle and clapped him, as was his wont, on theshoulder, exclaiming--
"What! disconsolate, Ned? Turn thee about, lad; the old country willnot move till we come back, depend on that. Look ahead! that's the waywe seamen set our eyes. Even now the admiral has made a signal thatseveral sail are in sight under all canvas, steering for the south.Spaniards or Portugals I hope they may prove, and if so, and we come upwith them, thou'lt have the satisfaction of enjoying a sea fight beforewe've been forty-eight hours on the salt ocean."
Edward's attention was instantly aroused. Nothing in the then state ofhis feelings he would so much enjoy as a battle. Not that he had seenone, nor had he pictured its horrors very clearly to himself. Had he,possibly he would not have been so anxious for it. The hope of bootyanimated the ship's company generally, though some declared that it wasthe desire to destroy Papists, the born enemies of England, at whichtheir minister, Master Walker, severely rebuked them, telling them thatit was filthy lucre, and that alone, they desired, and that the swordwas not the weapon to win men over to the truth, or to use against menwho held not the truth.
"The sword repelleth friends," he continued. "Kind words and gentleusage attract those who have been our foes. Such are the weaponsProtestants should use against their Papist adversaries."
Master Walker's plain speaking and honest dealing with those over whosespiritual welfare he had the charge made him generally beloved, though afew bad tempers disliked him. To Waymouth and Raymond he was a sincereand warm friend, as he was in truth, as far as they would let him, toall who sailed on board the fleet. The chase continued; but thestrang
ers, whatever their nation, were fleet craft. So far they hadbeen gained on as to be seen from the tops of the Lion. Thoughoutnumbering the English, they continued their flight; southward theysailed, and southward after them sailed their pursuers. The Spaniardshad received so many severe lessons of late that they had learned toconsider discretion the best part of valour. Henceforth their historywas to show a retrogressive movement. Their black injustice andhorrible cruelties to the natives of Mexico and Peru were to meet withjust retribution. The cries of thousands ascending from theirinquisitorial prisons were not unheard. National sins were to meet withnational punishment. They had been tried in the balance, and foundwanting. So it has gone on. The land of Spain, bountifully blessed byNature, still holds a people grovelling in the dust of ignorance andsuperstition. At that time it is difficult to overstate, though not tobelieve, the utter detestation in which the Spaniards were held by alltrue-hearted Englishmen, and in which the Portugals over whom they heldsway had to share. The chase continued till night hid the strangersfrom the sharp eyes of the men on the lookout at the mast-heads. Invain were they looked for the next morning.
"Never mind," said Waymouth as he walked the deck; "the world is round:Sir Francis Drake has proved it so. We'll come up with them in thecourse of the circle."
The belief that the enemy were ahead urged the bold mariners to carrysail night and day, so that their run to the south was unusually rapid.Raymond devoted himself to the study of navigation and to practising theuse of such nautical instruments as were then invented; nor did heneglect to gain a knowledge of the object of the ropes and sails, andthe mode of dealing with a ship under various circumstances, so thatWaymouth soon pronounced him an accomplished seaman. There occurred butone event worth narrating for some time. Sixteen sail were seenapproaching, and the fleet got ready for action. The strangers,however, turned out to be Hamburg hulks from Lisbon; but the obstinateHollanders refused to strike to the English flag--a piece of folly notto be borne--so they were fired into and compelled to heave to. Boatswere then sent on board, and such articles as were likely to proveuseful were taken out of them, it being evident that they were loadedwith Spanish property. They were then charitably allowed to proceed ontheir voyage. We will not describe the mummeries and other ceremonieswhich took place on crossing the line, introduced by some Genoese seamenon board, such as they said their countrymen were wont to indulge informerly on passing through the "Gut of Gibbelterra," and now of late inthese same latitudes. It was not much to good Master Walker's taste,seeing that numerous profane gods and goddesses of the sea wereintroduced--Hercules and Orion, and Venus and Neptune, and others,Tritons and odd fish of all sorts. Without misadventure the squadronreached Sierra Leone, where the blacks were friendly, and, taking inwater and fresh provisions, stood across to the coast of Brazil. Here abrighter lookout than ever was kept, and not without avail, for whenabout eight leagues from the shore they descried a small Portugal ship,which they chased and took, of about fifty tons' burden, bound up theRiver Plate. She had forty-two negroes on board for Peru, and twoPortugal women and a child passengers, with some sugar, rice, andsweetmeats. The next day another Portugal ship was captured. Waymouthin his journal remarked, "that the only riches in her besides slaves andfriars were beads, pictures, and other spiritual trinkets--furnituredesigned for the use of a new monastery."
The pilot of this ship turned out to be an Englishman--one Dick Carter,from Limehouse--who had been so long away from home that he had almostlost all use of his native tongue.
"Why, lad, we have a man aboard--Tom Carter--from the same place,"observed Waymouth, as the man tried in broken accents to narrate hishistory.
Tom was sent for, and, sure enough, the two proved to be brothers. Dickgladly consented to serve on board the Lion, and informed Waymouth, ingratitude for his kind treatment, that a Spanish squadron ofconsiderable force was daily expected in the Plate. The admiral,however, instead of trying to avoid them, resolved to await theircoming, and, entering the river, cast anchor.
"Now, Ned, we shall have our hearts' desire," exclaimed Waymouth, as hestopped for a minute near his friend while going round the decks to seethat the ship was ready for a fight.
The day was passing away, when, about four o'clock in the afternoon,five sail of large ships and several smaller ones were seen rounding apoint in the river. The English, therefore, in warlike manner set theirwatch, the trumpets sounded, the drums beat, and the admiral opened fireon the approaching enemy, who, however, anchored out of shot, the betterto prepare for the expected fight. They were some little time in doingthis, and then once more they advanced, it being now nightfall. Thewind had dropped, so the Spaniards' boats towed on their big ships withthe intent of boarding the English. Both sides were, meantime, plyingtheir guns and small arms with vigour; the English with the greatersuccess, as their men were more at liberty. The Spanish vice-admiralwas seen with two smaller ships bearing down on the Lion; Captain Woodwas, therefore, compelled to slip his cable, to prevent them drivingathwart his hawse. A breeze springing up, he was able to make sail andlay the galleon alongside, caring little for the smaller ships. Nowbegan a most desperate fight, the bright flashes of the guns makingnight appear like day; the rattle of the small arms, the roar of theheavy ordnance, the sounding of the trumpets and drums, the shouts andshrieks of combatants, creating a turmoil terrible to novices--andconfusing to the senses.
The Lion enjoyed a large share of the fight, everybody being activelyengaged, the captain himself firing a musket like the rest. One of theSpanish frigates, coming too near her, received so heavy a storm ofshot, that, one penetrating her magazine, with a loud roar she blew up,when her companion sheered off, not wishing to share the same fate. TheLion now turned her whole fury on the galleon, which she kept at arespectful distance. Suddenly the galleon's fire ceased. The darknesswas great; she could nowhere be seen. Captain Wood now stood away tosupport the admiral and the other ships; they were hard pressed, thoughfighting valiantly. The Lion soon had an enemy worthy to contend within a Portugal galleon which had come in with the Spaniards, and nowhoped, by attacking a ship partly disabled by a long combat, to come offthe conqueror. The English captain, as did his young lieutenant, calledon their men to exert themselves to the utmost to fight for the honourof Old England. Raymond supported them bravely, and, though at lengthwounded in the arm, he refused to leave the deck. Thus the fightcontinued, Captain Wood making several attempts to board his opponent,which the latter nimbly avoided. The admiral and vice-admiral were allthe time hotly engaged. The former was seen to run a large Spaniardaboard, when, after a hot discharge of great guns, flames were observedto burst forth from one ship or the other, and thus they drove by tillno longer to be distinguished. The last seen of the Serpent was inchase of some Spaniard, as her tall masts, like some huge monster of thedeep, glided by past the Lion. Towards morning the moon disappeared,clouds overspread the sky, the Portugal thought it wise to sheer off,and the brave ship's company of the Lion waited anxiously for daylightto ascertain the fate of their friends and foes. For fear of the shipbeing drifted on shore, Captain Wood again anchored.
As soon as the fight was over, Waymouth hastened to look for his friend.He found him below in the hands of the surgeon. Raymond bore the painbravely. Waymouth congratulated him.
"You've had a taste of what a sea fight is like, Ned," he observed."Maybe before we get back to Old England we may have to count scoressuch, for, no doubt, the Portugals and Spaniards, and even theHollanders, will give us plenty of occasions to prove our valour."
Raymond replied that he was ready for another fight, and should bewilling to meet the foes of England wherever they were to be found.
It appeared probable that he would at once have another opportunity,for, as daylight broke, a large ship was discerned bearing down on themunder all sail. She was the Portugal. The Lion's crew flew to theirguns, and as she came near plied her so well with their shot that shewas fain to sheer off, a
nd to stand down towards the river's mouth. Asshe stood away, an officer of rank--so he seemed by his fine garmentsand feather in his cap--sprang on the aftercastle, and, shaking hisfist, cried out through his trumpet--
"We shall meet you again ere long, you hated English, and then we shallhave our revenge."
"Let the dog bark who runs away. Though he shows his teeth he dare notuse them," exclaimed Waymouth with a scornful laugh.
The increasing light had shown some way astern the topmasts of a shipout of the water, crowded with people. Was the foundered ship a friendor foe? As soon as they were clear of the Portugal ship two boats werelowered, and made towards the spot where the masts appeared. At thesame time several boats were seen putting off from the shore, clearlybelonging to Spaniards. When they, on their part, beheld the Englishapproaching, fearing their prowess, from which they had suffered somuch, they put back, leaving their countrymen to their fate.
The poor people on the masts, who had been clinging there for thegreater part of the night, held out their hands, imploring succour.This English sailors have ever been ready to give to those in distress,whether friends or foes. The boats, therefore, approached to take offthe nearly-exhausted people. Waymouth, who was in the first boat,perceived, as he fancied, the flutter of a female's dress. On thecross-trees, just above the water, lay a young lady, her head resting onthe arm of an old and dignified-looking man, while the two were furthersupported by four or five faithful seamen who clung near them. Theseamen waved their hands to attract the notice of the English.
"Take this lady off first," they cried out. "Save her and her father;mind not us."
Waymouth required no further inducement to exertion than the sight thatfeminine gear had excited. The Spanish seamen refrained from leapinginto the boat as she came up to the mast, allowing Waymouth to climb upand release the lady from her painful and perilous position. Carefullyhe lifted her into the boat, and placed her in the after-part.
"Oh, meu pai! meu pai!" she cried out in the tongue of thePortugals--"Oh, my father! my father!"
"Have no fear, fair lady," cried Waymouth, who understood it slightly;"he is safe." And, springing back, he assisted the old gentleman intothe boat. The latter, as far as his exhausted slate would allow,expressed his thanks.
Not till now did the Spanish seamen descend into the boat. As soon ashe had received as many as she could carry, Waymouth returned with themto the Lion. The care of the surgeon and good Master Walker soonrestored the young lady--for young she was and beautiful--to a state ofconsciousness and quietude. Her nerves had been sorely shaken by thecombat, the sinking of the ship, and terrible danger to which she hadbeen exposed. Her father, the old gentleman, was, it appeared, Don JoaoPinto d'Almeida, the governor of a Portugal settlement in the East; shewas the Donna Isabel d'Almeida, his only child. Though Portugals, theyhad taken passage aboard this Spanish ship, intending to proceed ontheir farther voyage in the one which had escaped and left them to theirfate. The Portugal ship was the Santa Barba, and her captain Don Pedrode Lima. Don Joao seemed glad to hear that the Santa Barba had escapedcapture, and supposed that in the darkness Don Pedro had not seen thewreck. Meantime most of the people from the masts had been rescued andbrought on board the Lion.
While the boats were thus engaged, firing was heard, and several shipswere seen approaching, hotly engaged, down the mighty Plate stream,compared to which the rivers of Europe seem but purling brooks. It wasa sad fate for the poor wretches on the masts to be thus left to starveor fall off and be drowned, but there was no time for delay. The Lionlifted her anchor, and made sail to join in the combat. Her rigging hadbeen repaired as far as practicable, so that she was fresh for thefight. The rest of the English squadron and four Spaniards or Portugalswere observed fiercely exchanging shots with each other. The enemy,probably, had already enjoyed a sufficient taste of the quality of theEnglish to be tired of the fight, for no sooner was the Lion observeddrawing near with drums beating, trumpets braying forth defiance, andordnance speaking a still more decided language, than they steered forthe shore on either side, and ran hard and fast aground. Some of thepeople in the enemy's ships took to their boats, others leaped overboardand swam to the shore, and several were seen running backwards andforwards at their wits' end, the English cannon thundering furiously atthem; while a few bold spirits stood at their quarters, and returned thefire from their own pieces. However, they could not long maintain theunequal fight; flames burst forth from the ports of the ships, and oneafter the other, before any booty could be obtained from them, they blewup, till not a Spaniard remained to dispute the passage of the river.Now the English admiral thought fit to anchor his fleet opposite apleasant spot near the mouth of the river, and, the larger number of thecompany landing, a fort was erected to guard against surprise, and therepairing of the ships commenced.
As yet they had gained much of what men call glory and renown,concerning the value of which there may be some dispute; but they hadobtained no booty, about the desirableness of which there cannot be twoopinions. So thought the adventurers. They were all eager, therefore,to proceed to the East, where they expected to find it in abundance, andaccordingly hurried on the refitting of the ships. It was well thatthey did so, for scarcely was the squadron once more clear of the landthan a large fleet was seen approaching the mouth of the river. TheEnglish ships stood on their course, for the strangers, undoubtedlySpaniards and Portugals, were too numerous to be trifled with. Theenemy were soon seen to make sail in chase. The English set all theircanvas, not to avoid the fight, but to separate the ships of the enemy,so as to deal first with the faster sailers. The plan answered; but theleading Spanish ships soon got such a taste of the guns of the Dragon,the Serpent, and the Lion, that they dropped astern, the rest notdeeming it prudent to take their places, content with boasting that theyhad put an English squadron to flight.
Thus triumphantly the English ships sailed on their way across theAtlantic till they neared the Cape Bona Spei, or Bona Speranza, as inthose days the Cape of Good Hope was frequently called. Once more theydropped anchor in Saldanha Bay, a place at which most vessels sailing toCathay were wont to touch. The common people among the prisoners hadbeen left on shore in America; but the officers and the Portugalgovernor and his daughter, and some attendants, had been carried on, theadmiral deeming that they might be useful to exchange with any Englishpersons of quality who might have been captured by the Portugals; or, ifnot, that a good ransom might be obtained for them. Don Joao and DonnaIsabel remained accordingly on board the Lion, where Captain Wood, asdid his young lieutenant, paid them all the attention in their power.
Waymouth admired the fair captive. He could speak her language betterthan most on board, and many an hour, not unnaturally, he passed in hercompany. It is possible that his feelings might have run away with himaltogether had he not had so grave a monitor as Edward Raymond by hisside, who was ever whispering that Donna Isabel was of a country atenmity with his, of a faith differing greatly from his, and that, thoughher attractions were great, there were many fair ladies in Englandpossessed of still greater, and more suited to be his bride. Theseremarks did not exactly go in at one ear and out the other; but nosooner did Donna Isabel appear on deck than they were forgotten for thetime. That Donna Isabel had, however, any other feeling than that ofgratitude for Antony Waymouth, no one on board could say, for she wasequally courteous to Raymond and to all the other officers.
Don Joao meantime was very anxious to be liberated, as he wanted to getto his government, and he was continually urging his captors to allowhim to depart on board the first Portugal ship they might meet, heundertaking to pay a large ransom for himself and daughter. CaptainWood was a jovial-hearted and mannered man. He laughed loudly at theproposal.
"Thine own ransom, worthy senhor, we shall fix at not less than fivehundred golden pieces; and for thy daughter, we must allow AntonyWaymouth to arrange that."
The captain spoke in jest, but to Waymouth the pro
posal caused soreperplexity. He was grieved to have to part with her, in the firstplace. In the second, if he named a ransom at what he considered hervalue, it would be high indeed; if he mentioned a small sum, it wouldappear as if he held her in low esteem. He was very much inclined toquarrel with his captain on the matter; but the more perplexed heappeared the more determined Captain Wood became to fix him to thepoint. He walked the deck in a state of great agitation. All sorts ofmad schemes occurred to him.
He had paced up and down for some time when he was joined by Raymond,who had heard of his perplexity.
"Let me judge if I may help to get thee free of thy difficulty," saidRaymond, who, having an older head on his shoulders, was not so troubledas his younger friend about the matter. "You have to name the value ofthis fair Portugal donna; you esteem her very highly too."
"Yes, indeed I do. She is the most charming, sweet, enchanting creaturemy eyes have ever beheld or expect to behold," exclaimed Waymouth,uttering many other rhapsodical expressions, which his friend did notinterrupt. When he ceased, the latter quietly remarked--
"Well, repeat all you have said to our captain, and then declare that,as she is above all price, so no price would pay her ransom, and that,therefore, she is entitled to go free."
Waymouth struck his forehead, surprised that so bright a thought hadnever occurred to him, and, thanking Edward, hastened to the captain togive his reply.
It was taken in good part; no one was inclined to gainsay it; and DonJoao undertook to pay the required sum, how, when, and where it might bedemanded.
"At your own castle, when we can get there, and to whomsoever we maydepute," was the reply.
Perfect confidence was placed in Don Joao that he would pay the money.At that time the Portugals and the Spaniards were held in respect fortheir rigid adherence to the code of honour which they had laid down forthemselves.
The difficulty was to find a ship by which to send them, as the admiralwas unwilling to go out of his course to land them. Hitherto thesquadron had avoided all disaster, though not successful in makingprizes. They were now in a part of the ocean where fearful hurricaneswere at times to be expected, and in a latitude full of little-knownislands and rocks; at the same time, they might hope to meet withnumerous ships of the enemy.
Waymouth, as he thought on having to part with Donna Isabel so soon,became more and more downcast, though Edward and good Master Walker, theminister, and the other officers, did their utmost to keep up hisspirits; some, like Raymond and Master Walker, by entering into hisfeelings; others, like Captain Wood, by bantering and quizzing.
"A sail! a sail!" was shouted from the mast-head, whence a brightlookout was constantly kept. Chase was made--the stranger wasovertaken. She proved to be a Portugal, a straggler from a largesquadron supposed to be far ahead.
Not a moment was to be lost. Every article of value was taken from herexcept the fittings of her chief cabin, some guns for signals, andprovisions sufficient to last her till she could reach the Malabarcoast. The admiral then ordered the prisoners to be placed in her.Waymouth had the duty of conveying them.
Donna Isabel spoke but little, keeping her head muffled in her hood.The English lieutenant tried to talk, but never had he felt sotongue-tied. This was not surprising. He could say nothing definiteabout the future, and he had little to say about the past. He carefullyhelped her up the side, and placed her on a seat on the deck of theTiger. Don Joao was profuse in his expressions of gratitude for thetreatment he and his daughter had received, and over and over againdeclared that it would afford him intense satisfaction to pay his ransomwhenever demanded. Waymouth, like a true sailor, had hurried below tosee what arrangements could be made for the comfort and convenience ofDonna Isabel, and, having pointed out to the officers of the ship whatwas to be done, had returned on deck resolved to pour out all hisfeelings into her ear, when a gun from the admiral, repeated by theLion, warned him that he must not delay another moment. All he could dowas to bow low as he passed the lady and her father, utter a lowfarewell, and, leaping into his boat, pull back to the Lion as fast ashis men could bend to their oars. The squadron instantly made all sailin chase of the enemy supposed to be ahead. For some time Waymouth hadtoo much to do to look towards the ship on board which he had left thePortugal governor and his daughter, and when he did look she appearedbut a speck on the horizon. He stood gazing, lost in a reverie. He wasaroused by a slap on the shoulder.
"Look ahead! that's the way we seamen set our faces," said a voice nearhim, "quoting your own words, coz. We have changed places, methinks."
Waymouth, looking round, saw Raymond and several other officers standingbehind him. He heaved a sigh, and then joined in the laugh in which therest were indulging. He had been too long at sea not to know the follyof growing angry under such circumstances. Besides, as he confessed toRaymond, he could not help feeling relieved at having no longer soimportant a charge. A brighter lookout than ever was kept on board thesquadron, that they might not pass the enemy. Just before noon on thethird day some strange sail were descried ahead. They increased innumbers: they were tall ships. There could be no doubt that they werethose of the Portugal fleet they were in chase of, but far more numerousthan they had been led to expect. Still undaunted, the brave admiraland his officers resolved to attack them. The Portugals saw the Englishapproaching, and no longer, like caitiffs, flying before the foe, hauledtheir wind, and, forming a semicircle, prepared to receive them. Inspite of the mighty superiority of the Portugals, the English sailed onin compact order, the men at their guns, their matches in their handsready to open fire, every one in the fleet prepared for death orvictory.
Antony Waymouth; Or, The Gentlemen Adventurers Page 2