The only cause of their prosperities.
Yea, I cannot attribute the good successe the Spaniard hath had in his voyages and peoplings, to any extraordinary vertue more in him then in any other man, were not discipline, patience, and justice far superior. For in valour, experience, and travell, he surpasseth us not; in shipping, preparation, and plentie of vitualls, hee commeth not neere us; in paying and rewarding our people, no nation did goe beyond us: but God, who is a just and bountifull rewarder, regarding obedience farre above sacrifice, doubtlesse, in recompence of their indurance, resolution, and subjection to commandment, bestoweth upon them the blessing due unto it. And this, not for that the Spaniard is of a more tractable disposition, or more docible nature than wee, but that justice halteth with us, and so the old proverbe is verified, Pittie marreth the whole cittie.
Thus come we to be deprived of the sweet fruit, which the rod of dicipline bringeth with it, represented unto us in auncient verses, which as a relique of experience I have heard in my youth recorded by a wise man, and a great captaine, thus:
The rod by power divine, and earthly regall law,
Makes good men live in peace, and bad to stand in awe:
For with a severe stroke the bad corrected be,
Which makes the good to joy such justice for to see;
The rod of dicipline breeds feare in every part,
Reward by due desert doth joy and glad the heart.
The cunning of runnawayes.
These absentings and escapes are made most times onely to pilfer and steale, as well by taking of some prise when they are alone, and without commaund, to hinder or order their bad proceedings, as to appropriate that which is in their intrusted ship; casting the fault, if they be called to account, upon some poore and unknowne mariners, whom they suffer with a little pillage to absent themselves, the cunninglier to colour their greatest disorders, and robberies.
And ignoble captaines.
For doubtlesse, if he would, hee might have come unto us with great facilitie; because within sixteene houres the storme ceased, and the winde came fayre, which brought us to the Straites, and dured many days after with us at north-east. This was good for them, though naught for us: if he had perished any mast or yard, sprung any leake, wanted victuals, or instruments for finding us, or had had any other impediment of importance, hee might have had some colour to cloake his lewdnes:[146] but his masts and yards being sound, his shippe staunch and loaden with victuales for two yeares at the least, and having order from place to place, where to finde us, his intention is easily seene to bee bad, and his fault such, as worthily deserved to bee made Verified at their returne. exemplary unto others. Which he manifested at his returne, by his manner of proceeding, making a spoyle of the prise hee tooke in the way homewards, as also of that which was in the ship, putting it into a port fit for his purpose, where he might have time and commodity to doe what hee would.
Wee made account that they had beene swallowed up of the sea, for we never suspected that anything could make them forsake us; so, we much lamented them. The storme ceasing, and being out of all hope, we set sayle and went Birds like swans. on our course. During this storme, certaine great fowles, as big as swannes, soared about us, and the winde calming, setled themselves in the sea, and fed upon the sweepings of our ship; which I perceiving, and desirous to see of them, because they seemed farre Caught with line and hooke. greater then in truth they were, I caused a hooke and lyne to be brought me; and with a peece of a pilchard I bayted the hook, and a foot from it, tyed a peece of corke, that it might not sinke deepe, and threw it into the sea, which, our ship driving with the sea, in a little time was a good space from us, and one of the fowles being hungry, presently seized upon it, and the hooke in his upper beake. It is like to a faulcons bill, but that the poynt is more crooked, in that maner, as by no meanes he could cleare himselfe, except that the lyne brake, or the hooke righted: plucking him towards the ship, with the waving of his wings he eased the waight of his body; and being brought to the sterne of our ship, two of our company went downe by the ladder of the poope, and seized on his necke and wings; but such were the blowes he gave them with his pinnions, as both left their hand-fast, being beaten blacke and blewe; we cast a snare about his necke, and so tryced him into the ship.
Prove good refreshment.