DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

bullion near the Isthmus of Panama; but five years later, when thirty-two years of age, he achieved his first and most splendid success. He left Plymouth harbour in November 1577, with a squadron com- posed of his own ship, the Pelican, a vessel of one hundred and twenty tons, the size of an ordinary Channel coaster; two barques, one of fifty and one of thirty tons; one ship called the Elizabeth, of eighty tons, and a pinnace the size of an ordinary rowing-boat. With this Lilliputian fleet, and a force all told of one hundred and sixty-four men, he ventured forth into a chartless ocean, and on an invasion of the dominions of the King of Spain. His fleet having crossed the Atlantic, arrived safely on the coast of South America. Then the first mishap occurred. The second officer in command mutinied ; he was brought on board the Pelican, and his ship was fired. Drake sailed onward, and now encountered the real perils of the voyage. No Englishman had as yet passed Magellan Straits; Cape Horn was unknown ; there were no charts, no records of past experiences; it was the worst season of the year, and the vessels were mere cockleshells. | Nevertheless, after three weeks’ toil and anxiety, they accomplished the passage of the Straits and found themselves in the Pacific Ocean. Here they were immediately caught in a gale which swept them six hundred miles to the south-west.