The
Viceroy Was Furnished With Abundance Of All Things The Country Could
Afford, And Only Wanted An Upright Cause.
He found what he was in search
of, - four poor merchant ships, having few men, many being dead, and
More
sick; and these bragadocios, measuring our hearts by their own, thought
we could never stand against what they esteemed so superior a force;
and, seeing their intent, I baited my hook, which the fish presently ran
after.
The Hope, being heavily laden, was in tow of the Hector, and being
sternmost, three of the Portuguese ships, and thirty or forty of their
frigates, as I had expected, boarded her with the flower of all their
chivalry. But, by the hand of God, and to their great amazement, they
received such a blow that few of them escaped, and these by
extraordinary chance, and three of their ships were burnt.[130] Thus it
pleased God to baffle this their first assault. Ever after, though they
beleaguered us round about for many days together, with all sorts of
ships, our people still in action, and sadly worn out with continual
labour, even shifting goods from ship to ship in that time, yet did they
never gain from us even the value of a louse in all that time, except
our bullets, which we most willingly gave them roundly, their fire-boats
always failing, and nothing prospering in all their efforts. For many
days together I sent the viceroy a defiance once every twenty-four
hours, which must needs lie heavy on the stomach of so courageous a
gentleman.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 317 of 910
Words from 86272 to 86536
of 247546
