"How is this news derived?" she said.
"William hath learnt so much from Martin, whom he has occasionally seen whilst Martin remained at Clopton; but latterly Martin seemed to grow uneasy, and as reports were circulated relative to the loss of that part of the expedition with which Master Arderne sailed, he at length left Clopton, where he had been residing almost alone, and went to London. Whilst there he met some of the adventurers who had returned with Sir Francis Drake, and of them he heard dire accounts of the dangers and hardships they had encountered. From them too he learned that Walter Arderne had greatly distinguished himself amongst the followers of Christopher Carlisle at the taking of St. Jago, near Cape de Verde; that he had afterwards sailed for Hispaniola, and assaulted and taken St. Domingo. He was also heard of on the coast of Florida; and it was at the burning of one of the towns, either St. Anthony or St. Helens, on that coast, that Master Arderne is supposed to have perished."
"Was he then not seen and identified amongst the slain or wounded?" inquired Clara.
"It appears not," said Anne. "The expedition, with the exception of some smaller ships separated from them in a storm, sailed along the coast o£ Virginia, where they found the remains of a colony previously planted there by Sir Walter Raleigh, and which had almost gone to decay. The miserable remnant of adventurers," continued Anne, "who were found by Sir Francis Drake at this place, and who are described to have appeared more like living mummies than Christian men, abandoned their settlement, and prevailed on Sir Francis Drake to bring them to England."
"And have no further tidings been since heard?" inquired Clara.
"Nothing certain. A small portion of the fleet which separated from Drake's squadron after this, and sailed along the coast of Florida, inflamed with rage against the Spaniards and the riches they had already gained, after a short cruise, returned with an account of their having observed a wreck near Raleigh's ruined colony;[9] and that they had even seen some individuals apparently again located there. They had, however, steadily pursued their course without inquiry; albeit they judged this wreck to have been one of the ships Walter Arderne had held command in."
"So then," said Clara, "these unfortunate men may have been left to perish, exposed to all the vicissitudes of war and climate, and half-naked in an enemy's country!"
"'Tis to be feared so," returned Anne, "although the dreadful mortality which the climate produced amongst Drake's followers is but a feeble restraint on the avidity and sanguine expectation of the young adventurers of England; nay, other expeditions are said to be about to set sail; should it be so, that coast may be again visited."
"And this you have learnt from your lover?" said Clara.
"I have, lady; he loves to talk to me in our walks about the wonders seen in these islands of the sea in the far West. I would you could hear him describe what he has learnt from one or two of the youths who have adventured and returned: how they have seen and landed upon islands inhabited by people of wondrous appearance; islands full of strange sounds, and in which the most ravishing melody floated in the air, the musicians being spirits and invisible to sight."