nished with gold and precious stones; a Janizary before him, bearing his Lance; on each side, another leading his horse: where long hee stayed not, ere Smith with a noise of Trumpets, only a Page bearing his Lance, passing by him with a courteous salute, tooke his ground with such good successe, that at the sound of the charge, he passed the Turke throw the sight of his Beaver, face, head, and all, that he fell dead to the ground; where alighting and unbracing his Helmet, cut off his head, and the Turkes tooke his body; and so returned without any hurt at all. The head hee presented to the Lord Moses, the Generall, who kindly accepted it; and with joy to the whole armie he was generally welcomed. The death of this Captaine so swelled in the heart of one Grualgo, his vowed friend, as, rather inraged with madnesse than choller, he directed a particular challenge to the Conqueror, to regaine his friends head, or lose his owne, with his horse and Armour for advantage: which according to his desire, was the next day undertaken. As before, upon the sound of the Trumpets, their Lances flew in peeces upon a cleare passage; but the Turke was neere unhorsed. Their Pistolls was the next, which marked Smith upon the placard; but the next shot the Turke was so wounded in the left arme, that being not able to rule his horse, and defend himselfe, he was throwne to the ground; and so bruised with the fall, that he lost his head, as his friend before him; with his horse and Armour: but his body and his rich apparell was sent backe to the Towne. Every day the Turkes made some sallies, but few skirmishes would they endure to any purpose. Our workes and approaches being not yet advanced to that height and effect which was of necessitie to be performed; to delude time, Smith, with so many incontradictible perswading reasons, obtained leave that the Ladies might know he was not so much enamoured of their servants heads, but if any Turke of their ranke would come to the place of combate to redeeme them, should have his also upon the like conditions, if he could winne it. The challenge presently was accepted by Bonny Mulgro. C The next day both the champions entring the field as before, each discharging their Pistoll (having no Lances, but such martiall weapons as the defendant appointed), no hurt was done; their Battle-axes was the next, whose piercing bils made sometime the one, sometime the other to have scarce sense to keepe their saddles: specially the Christian received such a blow that he lost his Battle-axe, and failed not much to have fallen after it; whereat the supposing conquering Turk, had a great shout from the Rampiers. The Turk prosecuted his advantage to the uttermost of his power; yet the other, what by the readinesse of his horse, and his judgement and dexterity in such a businesse, beyond all mens expectation, by Gods assistance, not onely avoided the Turkes violence, but having drawne his Faulchion, pierced the Turke so under the Culets thorow backe and body, that although he alighted from his horse, he stood not long ere hee lost his head, as the rest had done. WILLIAM STRACHEY [Little is known of William Strachey except that he accompanied Sir Thomas Gates on his unfortunate expedition to Virginia in 1609, and served as secretary of the colony for about three years. The ship bearing Gates and Strachey was separated from the rest of the fleet and wrecked on the Bermudas, from which the survivors escaped to Jamestown nearly a year later. Strachey's chief work written while he was in America is an account of these and subsequent experiences, which he sent to London in 1610, and which was published in "Purchas His Pilgrimes" under the title of "A true reportory of the wracke, and redemption of Sir Thomas Gates Knight; upon, and from the Ilands of the Bermudas: his comming to Virginia, and the estate of that Colonie then, and after, under the government of the Lord La Warre." As secretary he compiled for the colony "Lawes Divine, Morall, and Martiall," published in London in 1612; and after his return to England he wrote "The Historie of Travaile into Virginia Brittahia," which remained in manuscript until 1849. William Strachey was evidently a man of education who had seen something of the world. His writings are, however, very uneven, and it is only when he is inspired by his subject that he attains any distinction of style. That he is remembered above his contemporaries is due in part to the fact that the powerful description of a storm, given in the following pages, has been supposed by some critics to have given Shakespeare suggestions for "The Tempest." The evidence on this point is purely circumstantial, and unless new facts are brought to light, it will always be impossible to reach a definite conclusion. An impartial statement of the case may be found in Furness's Variorum edition of "The Tempest." The text which follows is from "Purchas His Pilgrimes," London, 1625, reprinted Glasgow, 1906.] A STORM AND A SHIPWRECK [From "The Wrack and Redemption of Sir Thomas Gates"] Excellent Lady, know that upon Friday late in the evening, we brake ground out of the Sound of Plymouth, our whole Fleete then consisting of seven good Ships, and two Pinnaces, all which from the said second of June, unto the twenty three of July, kept in friendly consort together, not a whole watch at any time loosing the sight each of other. Our course when we came about the height of betweene 26. and 27. degrees, we declined to the Northward, and according to our Governours instructions altered the trade and ordinary way used heretofore by Dominico, and Mevis, in the West Indies, and found the winde to this course indeede as friendly, as in the judgement of all Sea-men, it is upon a more direct line, and by Sir George Summers our Admirall had bin likewise in former time sailed, being a Gentleman of approved assurednesse, and ready knowledge in Sea-faring actions, having often carried command, and chiefe charge in many Ships Royall of her Majesties, and in sundry Voyages made many defeats and attempts in the time of the Spaniards quarrelling with us, upon the Ilands and Indies, &c. We had followed this course so long, as now we were within seven or eight dayes at the most, by Cap. Newports reckoning of making Cape Henry upon the coast of Virginia: When on S. James his day, July 24. being Monday (preparing for no lesse all the blacke night before) the cloudes gathering thicke upon us, and the windes singing, and whistling most unusually, which made us to cast off our Pinnace, towing the same untill then asterne, a dreadfull storme and hideous began to blow from out the North-east, which swelling, and roaring as it were by fits, some houres with more violence then others, at length did beate all light from heaven; which like an hell of darknesse turned blacke upon us, so much the more fuller of horror, as in such cases horror and feare use to overrunne the troubled, and overmastered sences of all, which (taken up with amazement) the eares lay so sensible to the terrible cries, and murmurs of the windes, and distraction of our Company, as who was most armed, and best prepared, was not a little shaken. For surely (Noble Lady) as death comes not so sodaine nor apparant, so he comes not so elvish and painfull (to men especially even then in health and perfect habitudes of body) as at Sea; who comes at no time so welcome, but our frailty (so weake is the hold of hope in miserable demonstrations of danger) it makes guilty of many contrary changes, and conflicts: For indeede death is accompanied at no time, nor place with circumstances every way so uncapable of particularities of goodnesse and inward comforts as at Sea. For it is most true, there ariseth commonly no such unmercifull tempest, compound of so many contrary and divers Nations, but that it worketh upon the whole frame of the body, and most loathsomely affecteth all the powers thereof: and the manner of the sickenesse it laies upon the body, being so unsufferable, gives not the minde any free and quiet time, to use her judgement and Empire: which made the poet say: Hostium uxores, puerique caecos Sentiant motus orientis Haedi, & Æquoris nigri fremitum, & trementes For foure and twenty houres the storme in a restlesse tumult, had blowne so exceedingly, as we could not apprehend in our imaginations any possibility of greater violence, yet did wee still finde it, not onely more terrible, but more constant, fury added to fury, and one storme urging a second more outragious then the former; whether it so wrought upon our feares, or indeede met with new forces: Sometimes strikes in our Ship amongst women, and passengers, not used to such hurly and discomforts, made us looke one upon the other with troubled hearts, and panting bosomes: our clamours dround in the windes, and the windes in thunder. Prayers might well be in the heart and lips, but drowned in the outcries of the Officers: nothing heard that could give comfort, nothing seene that might incourage hope. It is impossible for me, had I the voyce of Stentor, and expression of as many tongues, as his throate of voyces, to expresse the outcries and miseries, not languishing, but wasting his spirits, and art constant to his owne principles, but not prevailing. Our sailes wound up lay without their use, and if at any time wee bore but a Hollocke, or halfe forecourse, to guide her before the Sea, six and sometimes eight men were not inough to hold the whipstaffe in the steerage, and the tiller below in the Gunner roome, by which may be imagined the strength of the storme: In which, the Sea swelled above the Clouds, and gave battell unto Heaven. It could not be said to raine, the waters like whole Rivers did flood in the ayre. And this I did still observe, that wheras upon the Land, when a storme hath powred it selfe forth once in drifts of raine, the winde as beaten downe, and vanquished therewith, not long after indureth: here the glut of water (as if throatling the winde ere while) was no sooner a little emptied |