threatening. He therefore smothered his anger, and made a pretence of believing the excuses of Elizabeth, which never deceived any one, except perhaps herself.

Although Elizabeth, when confronted with the peril of an open war, was ready enough to make excuses and promises to Philip, she could never bring herself, even if she had the power, to suppress the private war which her subjects were carrying on by sea. It is a great mistake, however, as I have already suggested, to look upon this contest, at least in its early stages, as a Protestant warfare. Elizabeth herself fully sympathized with Alva, and rejoiced over his successes in the Netherlands.* Her subjects, too, had at first as little religious feeling as she had herself. The Catholics were in a majority on the western coast of England, where the pirates had their headquarters. In 1569 they sent thirty thousand pounds to Coligny to support the Huguenot cause in France, because their privateers were sailing under his colors, and preying on the commerce of their fellowCatholics of France and Spain. Still, the Protestant leaven was at work, and the world was to advance even through English greed.

We have seen how Hawkins, in his last unfortunate expedition, left behind him in Mexico about a hundred of his crew who fell into the hands of the Spaniards. Most of them were sent to Spain, and there turned over to the Inquisition, gentle means having failed to suppress their practices. Subjected to the rack, their nominal Protestantism gave way, and almost all of them recanted. Still, recantation did not save them from punishment for piracy, and the story was brought to England of the cruelties to which they were subjected. It

* Froude, ix. 325.

FRANCIS DRAKE AND HIS EXPLOITS

401

is greatly to the credit of Hawkins and the other leading corsairs of the time that they never deserted their comrades when in trouble. Their wild life, and wild enough it was, never dulled the deep affection for men of their own blood which has always characterized the Anglo-Saxon race. In the frozen seas of the North, in the jungles of India, or in the deserts of Africa, the Englishman has always faced death with unflinching courage when the rescue of a countryman has been involved. Hawkins, to release his comrades, ventured into the very jaws of the Inquisition. Pretending to be a traitor to Elizabeth, and armed with a letter from Mary of Scotland, who was then a prisoner of her royal cousin, he went to Spain, deceived Philip himself, and returned with such of his crew as were still alive. The King of Spain expected them to be his allies, but they were soon at sea again under the old flag, each one with his tale of Spanish cruelty to fire the hearts of his comrades, and to nerve himself to new schemes of vengeance.

For about three years after the affair of the Italian money, Elizabeth seemed to feel some alarm for fear that she had gone too far; but in 1572 she took part in an expedition which sailed under the command of a hero who was destined to a fame much wider than that of the great Hawkins himself.

Francis Drake had accompanied Hawkins on his last ill-starred voyage, and could never forget the sufferings of his companions who had been taken by the Spaniards, nor cease to dream of the treasures which had once been within his grasp. Sailing from Plymouth, with the queen as one of his partners, he spent the summer in the West Indies, murdering Spaniards and plundering their houses. Then crossing to the mainland, he inter

cepted the treasure-train on the Isthmus of Panama, and after securing an enormous amount of gold and silver set sail for England, which he reached in safety, capturing another gold-ship on the return voyage.*

This expedition proved how vulnerable was Spain in her transatlantic possessions. The field of operations for the adventurers of England was expanding. Drake was soon to open to them all the oceans of the world. In 1577, he set out from Plymouth for a voyage to the Pacific, whose waters he had looked upon when he vis ited the Isthmus of Panama. He now sailed with a fleet of five small vessels, the queen being again his partner, and the Earl of Leicester one of his large stockholders. His commission was equivocal; Elizabeth, as usual, intending to repudiate him if it seemed to her advantage. On his part, however, there was no uncertainty of purpose.

This famous voyage lasted for three years, and its story reads like a romance. Creeping down the coast of South America, Drake passed through the Strait of Magellan. There the last of his companions deserted him, and he found himself on the waters of the broad Pacific with only eighty men and a single little vessel of one hundred and twenty tons' burden, about half the size of one of our fishing schooners which sail to Newfoundland from the ports of Maine. Making his way northward, he plundered the Spanish villages on the coast; seized great heaps of silver which had been brought down from the mines of Peru; captured a treasure-ship with its cargo of gold, silver, pearls, emeralds, and diamonds; and, almost without firing a shot or striking a blow, loaded down his vessel with a cargo such as

* Froude, xi. 31.

DISTRIBUTION OF DRAKE'S PLUNDER-THE PIRATE KNIGHTED 403

the world had never seen before, and never has seen since his day. Then, turning westward, he continued his furrow around the globe, crossed the Pacific, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and, in 1580, dropped anchor in Plymouth with his precious freight.*

What was its value no one ever knew. The Spanish ambassador threatened immediate war unless it was returned, and Elizabeth made a show of having it inventoried and safely guarded. But the officers who took the inventory were directed not to be too particular, and not to interfere with Drake if he wished to take any portion for himself. In the queen's council, opinion was divided as to the disposition of the plunder. Some were in favor of giving it up to Spain; others believed in sending it to the Prince of Orange or to the Huguenots in France. Elizabeth settled the controversy by making a liberal allowance to Drake, giving the shareholders who fitted out the expedition one hundred per cent. on their investment, and keeping the remainder for herself.+

The vessel which had sailed around the world was taken to London and placed on exhibition. In its cabin, Elizabeth dined with Drake, and took the occa sion to knight him for his exploits. He, in return, gave her a diamond cross, and a crown set with enormous emeralds. Most of her courtiers also became the recip ients of his bounty. Three, however-Sussex, Walsingham, and Burghley-who believed in war and not in

* Magellan's vessel, with fifteen of its crew, had made the same trip half a century before.

Froude, xi. 428.

Hentzner saw it there in 1598. He speaks of it as the ship of "that noble pirate, Francis Drake."

private pillage, declined his gifts, the latter saying that he did not see how in conscience he could receive presents from a man who had nothing but what he had made by piracy.*

But the conscientious scruples of Burghley were not shared by the people at large. To them Drake was a hero, and well might they admire his character. He was far from being a vulgar pirate, like some of his predecessors, cruising merely for plunder, and robbing friend and foe alike. He was a crusader of the modern type, possessing the qualities which have always excited the just admiration of his countrymen. He had a love of adventure, was of unflinching courage, had unbounded. confidence in himself, and an unalterable belief that no one in the world was a match for an Englishman. He was also a religious man, as religion then went among the majority of men in Europe. On his famous voyage around the world, he took a chaplain with him, as the Spaniards took a priest, who regularly administered the communion to the crew. He was an earnest Protestant, at least from a civil standpoint, and probably thought that by plundering the papists he was doing good service, not only to the State but to the Lord.

The voyages of Drake gave a great impetus to English Protestantism. More than ever before, the ocean swarmed with the corsairs, who were willing to face even the Inquisition in their search for Catholic gold. But it was not merely a mercenary spirit which in the end animated these rovers of the sea. It is, of course, absurd to invest them with a religious character, but it would be

* Froude, xi. 429. It must be remembered by the reader that all through this period England was at peace with Spain, and Elizabeth was resolutely opposed to open war.