Was born at Bristol, of Venetian ancestry; became a celebrated navigator. He was the first to see the coast of Labrador from the ship Matthew, and discovered a great part of America.
SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.
Born 1554.—Died 1586.—Mary.—Elizabeth.
This eminent gentleman, poet, and man of letters was born at Penshurst in Kent. He was General of the Horse under Queen Elizabeth, and distinguished himself in many engagements. He wrote a romance called Arcadia and The Defence of Poesie. He was killed at the battle of Zutphen in Holland, where, when a draught of water was brought him, he showed his unselfishness by sending it to a poor dying soldier near him, saying, “He wants it more than I do.”
SIR FRANCIS WALSINGHAM.
Born 1536.—Died 1590.—Henry VIII.—Edward VI.—Mary.—Elizabeth.
Sir Francis Walsingham was one of Elizabeth’s most devoted ministers, and one of the craftiest and wiliest of men. He had an army of spies in pay, and was the chief mover in the cruelties practised in Elizabeth’s reign, and in the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots.
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.
Born 1545.—Died 1596.—Henry VIII.—Edward VI.—Mary.—Elizabeth.
One of the “Devonshire Worthies,” born at Tavistock. Sailing from Plymouth with five ships, he passed through the Straits of Magellan to the South Seas, captured many large Spanish galleons with his famous Golden Hind, and returned to Plymouth by the Cape of Good Hope. He had been two years and ten months sailing round the world (December 1577 to 1580). Queen Elizabeth dined with Drake on board the Golden Hind at Deptford and knighted him with her own hands. Some of the timbers of Drake’s famous ship were made into a chair, which was given to the university of Oxford. Drake took a distinguished part in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.