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"And we have busy task to do,

Old England's shores to clear
Of all the French and Flemish loons

That work our merchants fear.

"The Percy is our admiral,

A seaman stout and true;
The day his pennon was unfurl'd,
The knaves shall dearly rue."
"Oh! weary men are we, fair sirs,
Oh! weary men are we,
And wending home a weary way,
Over the summer sea;

"And we have toiled full many a day,
And watch'd full many a night,
And strain'd our canvas in the chase,
And struggled in the fight.

"But glory small our barque bears home, Small boot for all our pains,

Save true and loyal Cornish hearts,
Whom no dishonour stains."

"Turn then with us, brave mariners,
Fortune will yet betide,

For ye shall bear back fair renown,
And gold and gear beside."

"Ye speak in courteous guise, fair sirs,
But so it may not be,

For aye upon our voyage there hangs
An evil destiny.

"But an by God his grace we win
To Foye our haven good,
Right duly shall our vows be paid
Before the holy-rood.

"And ere this horned moon be full,
If Heaven it so ordain,
With brighter fortune on our sails,
We will to sea again."

They parted there with promise fair,
And words of kindly tone;
The stately fleet like castles strong,
That little barque alone.

A summer's day she scarce had sailed
Upon the summer sea,

When they were aware of a tall, tall ship,
Fast nearing on their lea.

"Now Heaven us aid," the captain said,
"Now Heaven us aid and save;
An these be Flemish loons, I trow
Short shrift our souls shall have."

And now the pirate Flemishers
Have laid the barque on board,
And fast and fell their deadly odds
Upon her deck have poured.

And they have slain her struggling crew,
Or bound them limb to limb,
And bored her sides with many a hole,
That she no more may swim.

And while the summer sun shone bright,
And while the breeze blew free,
A hundred gallant hearts went down
Into the summer sea.

Blythe hearts are yours, ye Flemishers,
Ye share the spoil with glee;--
Think ye the deep sea wave will hide
Your deed of villanie?

The breeze is fair, steady and fair,
And ere the close of day,

The blood-stain'd ship has gained the land
Within St. Austle's bay.

And when the evening lights shine out
From the good town of Foye,
The chain is past, they moor them fast
With anchor and with buoy.

They moor them fast in peaceful guise,
As merchants good and true;-

And where is he, the guilt shall see
Of that red-handed crew?

Now when the red town-lights grew dim
Across the midnight tide,

A sailor boy leapt lightly down
From off the Fleming's side.

And when he touched the salt sea wave,
He settled himself to swim,

And when he gained the harbour beach,
He ran with heart and limb.

Right onward through the town he sped
As fast as bolt can fly,

Till he knocketh at the castle gate

Of good Sir John Treffry.

"What cheer? what cheer?" the porter cried,

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Who knocketh here so late?

What hasty tidings have ye brought

To my good master's gate?"

"A stirring tale, thou porter grey!
And a sad tale thereby,

Will bring the red blood to thy cheek,
The tear-drop to thine eye.
There be false traitors in our port,

False traitors in our town,

That hide the pirate's bloody knife
Beneath the merchant's gown.
"For our good barque the Tiger
The Flemishers have ta'en,

And sunk her in the deep mid-sea,
The living with the slain.

"Borne back unseen amid the throng,
I gained their deck alone;
And Heaven their course hath hither led,
And marked them for our own.
"But they have sworn, before the morn,
Fresh deeds of blood to do,

And we must up with heart and hand,
Or ever their oath be true."

Now by our Ladye," quoth Sir John,
"An thou say'st truth to me,
When thou art grown to man's estate,
My captain shalt thou be."

God's watchful eye can guilt espy,

Even on the lonely sea;

No beacon raised it's warning flame,
No 'larum bell was rung;

Yet silent at the harbour beach
There gather old and young.
And silent at the harbour's mouth
They raise the ponderous chain.
Ye caitiffs! ye have crossed it once;
Ye pass it not again.

A hundred gallant men of Foye
Their captain good Sir John,
Straight to the treacherous merchantmen
Are stealing swiftly on.

And hark! upon the night-wind borne,
A pealing shout there rose,
With all the din of mortal strife,

Wild shrieks and clanging blows.

The summer sun came blythely up,

The birds their matins sung,

But cold and dead, from his top-mast head, The pirate chieftain hung.

His glorious might full well requite The deed of villainie.

X.

THE DISCOVERY OF MADEIRA.

A PORTUGUESE CHRONICLE.

In the early part of the fifteenth century, under the reign of Don Juan the First, the Portuguese, after having completely subdued the Moors, turned ail their thoughts to voyages of discovery. There appeared almost simultaneously Gilianez, who doubled the formidable Cape Bajador; Cintra, who conquered the islands of Arguin; Juan Gonsalvo Zarco and Tristan Tessora, two courageous explorers of the African seas; Fernandez, the first who ventured to navigate the river Senegal; Megno, killed while fighting against the negroes of the Cape Verd Islands; and Gonsalvo Vello, who discovered the Azores. Never had such a number of celebrated navigators appeared at the same time in any one nation. The better to direct their maritime expeditions, the Infant Don Henry, third son of the king, had taken up his residence at the castle of Ternaubal upon the Cape Sagres, thirty-two leagues to the west of Lisbon, from which place he was able to see the Portuguese vessels sailing towards the destination which either he himself, or Don Juan his father, had marked

out.

At the close of the month of January, 1421, in a miserable house in the suburbs of Sagres, three women were working in silence by the flickering light of a torch. The eldest, as she rose on hearing the neighbouring church-clock strike, said sadly,

"It is exactly four years ago since Juan Moralez, your father, left us at this very hour to go to sea. We have long awaited his return, but his prolonged absence extinguishes all our hopes. He has doubtless perished, my children,-perished amid the waves, or on some distant shore, deprived of the consolations of his family and the rites of the church. If we have been unable to attend him in his last moments, let us pray, at least, for his eternal salvation."

The mother and daughters knelt down together, weeping bitterly, and recited the psalm, Domine Deus, audi nunc orationem mortuorum Israel.

Hardly had they finished the first verse, when the door was hastily thrown open, and a man advanced into the room. In spite of the white mantle, the hood of which fell over his forehead, and the untrimmed beard which concealed the lower part of his face, the three women thought they recognized Juan Moralez; but the night-wind, rushing through the door of the dwelling, extinguished the torch, and thus prevented them from more fully ascertaining the identity of the stranger.

"It is Juan's spirit come back to visit us," exclained the mother, seized with superstitious dread. "No, Pepita," replied the new-comer; "I am no spirit, but your own husband, whom Providence has saved from shipwreck and captivity. Light the torch, that I may see and embrace you

all."

After the first effusion of joy, the eldest of the girls said to Juan,—

"We had lost all hope of seeing you again, dear father."

"Oh, yes!" added the second; "we wept for you as one lost to us in this world. We frequently seated ourselves on the sea-shore, as if questioning the immense ocean what had become of you, and supplicating heaven to restore you to our

prayers; and, when we returned in the evening, we returned with despair in our hearts."

"I was indeed near being taken from you, my children,” replied Moralez. "I long believed that I should never be permitted to return to my family and my country. I have suffered much, but this night repays me for all."

"Where have you come from just now?" inquired Pepita.

"From the prisons of Morocco."
"You have been a prisoner, then?"

"But six days ago I was a slave to the unbelieving dogs. Weary of my wretched fate, I resolved to obtain my liberty at all hazards. Escaping by a miracle, I dared to cross the sea in a mere skiff: the hope of again seeing you redoubled my courage. Besides, I knew that you were in want of my assistance, and that, during my absence, you could scarcely have been able to earn enough for your support; and I longed to make you acquainted with a secret of which I alone am the possessor, and which cannot fail to enrich us. At this very moment, miserable and destitute as I am, I have it in my power to do inestimable service to Portugal. To-morrow I will explain to you my meaning; this evening I have need of repose, and have not strength to undertake so long a recital." The next day Moralez related to his wife the circumstances which had so long detained him from her.

"You know," said he, "that I set sail in the spring of 1417, to pilot a merchant vessel which was returning to England. Being one day on the quay at Bristol, I was accosted by a young Englishman, who abruptly said to me,"Your name is Juan Moralez, and you are a pilot?'

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Yes, sir.'

"I have heard a great deal of your skill and experience. Will you undertake to pilot a vessel which I have freighted to Cadiz?'

"I am at your service. When do you set out?" "This very night.'

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To-night! But the sea looks angry, and the wind is contrary.'

"No matter! my affairs require me to leave England immediately. If you agree to accompany me, I will pay you royally.'

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Though such great haste appeared most suspicious to me, the thought of seeing you once again, and increasing the sum I should bring you, determined me to follow the young man on board his vessel, which was lying within a mile of the coast. We set sail as soon as the boat which had brought us was hoisted up to the side of the vessel.. The wind was south-south-west, and blew hard at intervals. We kept at first a direct course, but were soon obliged to lower our smack-sails, and hoist the lug and flying top-sails, and fly before the wind, without any regard to our destination. The storm lasted till the next day, and carried away our mizen-mast. For thirteen days we thus continued the sport of wind and waves,-lost in the solitude of the ocean,-when, at length, on the fourteenth day, land appeared in sight,- - a beautiful and verdant land. Birds of brilliant plumage came and perched on our yards, and unknown animals came out of the woods to stare at us. It was Paradise, Pepita, with all its joys! Masham, our captain, ordered us to land, and descended the first into the boat, and with him a lady whom I had

"To whom, then, am I to apply?"

"To his Majesty, Don Juan, at his royal palace at Lisbon."

Moralez returned sorrowfully home, and communicated his disappointment to his wife.

not before seen, as she had not left her cabin | labours or his hard study; and the strictest repose during the voyage. She was weak and pale; grief has been ordered him." and fatigue had overcome her. Poor lady! the history of her life was like that of many others: a youthful love, whose course proverbially never runs smooth-a marriage of interest-an elopement-a violation of her sworn faith. Alas! the two guilty ones have cruelly expiated their crime. They are both dead, Pepita! They escaped the tempest but to perish on the desert land. The woman, Anne Dorset, expired first; Masham followed a few days afterwards; and both are laid in that distant isle.

"After having paid them the last duties, we again set sail. A dreadful hurricane cast our vessels on the coast of Africa; half of our crew were engulfed in the waves; the rest, by clinging to the wreck, were enabled to reach the shore, where the Moors awaited us. I am the only survivor of all that had to endure the sorrows of captivity; God seems to have preserved me, lest that island, to which I only know the route, should remain uninhabited. He has chosen me to show it to my fellow-countrymen,-to enlarge, by a new conquest, the Portuguese possessions,-to increase the riches of my country,-and to ensure to myself, together with a brilliant position, an imperishable re

nown."

Juan Moralez pronounced these last words with such enthusiasm, that his wife caught the infection, and already saw him in command of a vessel, and discovering, like Marco Paulo, a new island of Cipango.

"I approve of your projects," said she, "though they will be the means of again separating us; they are those of a good patriot and a man of honour. But are you quite sure of the exact position of this unknown island?"

"I would go at once to Lisbon," said he, "but it is a long way, and we have no money. I will wait, and go every day to inquire after the health of the Prince. Every moment that I am not engaged as a pilot, I will stand sentinel at the gates of the palace."

Faithful to this plan of conduct, Moralez for two months passed the greater part of the day in piloting vessels which were either coasting or entering the harbour. Every evening he went to inquire after the Infant, who was now recovering his exhausted strength. The guards and domestics of Ternaubal were become familiar with the indefatigable petitioner. Without acquainting them with his object, he spoke eagerly of the discovery of a land, whose magnificent forests he so enthusiastically described that they named him—“The Man of the Woods. (El Nuemo de Madèra.)"

Moralez was almost beginning to despair, when, one morning on awaking, he heard his daughter say to some one at the door

"Yes, Senor, it is here he lives; but he does not bear the title you have given him. His name is not Don Juan Moralez, but simply Juan Moralez, coasting-pilot by trade."

"Whatever his condition may be, Senora," replied the stranger, "he is a man of merit, honoured by the esteem of the Prince in whose name I present myself here."

"Welcome, Senor," cried the pilot, running to him half-dressed. 66 May God protect Don Henry, "Am I sure?" replied Moralez, drawing a roll for having at length thought of his faithful servant! of parchment from his portfolio. "Look, here is Pepita," cried he to his wife, "open a bottle of old the plan I have drawn of it. This point is Cape port, and bring a feed of oats for the gentleman's Sagres, where we are at this moment; to the south horse. Well," added he, addressing the stranger, are the coasts of the states of Barbary; by fol-"the Prince is then restored to health, and is dislowing them you will arrive at the mouth of a little posed to hear me?" river called Mulaya; I know it but too well, for it was there those cursed Mussulmen attacked our wrecked vessel. Well! almost opposite, to the west, observe the circle I have drawn; it is my island, the island which we have discovered. Suppose, now, that we have set out from Sagres, by steering to the south-west we shall come directly to my dominion."

"But first," replied Pepita, "you must solicit an audience of the King, or rather of the Infant, who chiefly superintends the maritime affairs."

"I have thought of that, and I will spend this day in drawing up a petition. Quick, give me my desk; I feel quite inspired."

Moralez spent more than a week in composing and copying a detailed memorial. Then he presented himself at the gates of the Castle of Ternaubal, and demanded an audience of the Prince. "Impossible, my good man," answered the officer of the guard. "Tormented by the number of solicitors, Don Henry has determined to refuse them all."

"May you not, at least, present him with a petition?"

"No; he has solemnly declared he will receive He has been confined to bed for some time. His physicians attribute his illness either to his

none.

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Unfortunately, not just yet; before granting you an audience, he wishes to obtain some information as to what you require, and he has deputed me to learn the object of your petition."

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Nothing can be more casy, Senor; I will give it to you, if you will be kind enough to be the bearer of it." "Such was the object of my visit, Senor. Give me your memorial, and it shall be laid this very day before Don Henry."

"Can it be possible?" cried the pilot.

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'Nothing more certain; and, in three days, I myself will bring you the answer."

"In three days! Do you hear that, Pepita? In three days the Prince will know my project,he will grant me a vessel for its accomplishment. I shall go out with the title of captain, take possession of the island in the name of His Majesty Don Juan the First, and on my return I shall be loaded with honours and riches. Ah! Senor, you are my good genius."

"You owe me no thanks;" replied the stranger, quietly. "I am only obeying the orders of my master. Where is your petition?"

"Here it is."

"Have you carefully read it over?"
"I know it by heart."

"Have you nothing to add to it?" "I think not; however, we can look over it together, Senor."

"That would be quite unnecessary. The Prince has charged me to receive from your own mouth some short statement; but he alone has a right to penetrate your secret, and to hear its details. He alone has a right to break the seal of your petition. Adieu, Senor Moralez, you shall see me again in three days."

The Cavalier rode rapidly away, leaving Moralez intoxicated with a joy which was shared by all his family. But, to their great surprise, the messenger of Don Henry did not appear on the third day. "The prince has not had time to examine my scrawl," said Juan Moralez. "No matter, I am accustomed to have patience."

A week passed, and no messenger appeared. "You must go look for him at Ternaubal," said Pepita.

"Undoubtedly," replied Moralez; "but I was so excited when he was here, that I forgot to ask his name."

"That forgetfulness is easily repaired; he must be well known; all you have to do is to describe him, and relate what has passed."

Moralez hastened to Ternaubal. On approaching, he heard the sound of bells, and the report of arquebusades, and learned that Juan the First and his royal consort the Duchess of Lancaster, were come from Lisbon to visit the Infant Don Henry, and were advancing to the castle, attended by a numerous suite, and an escort of archers. The pilot made his way through the crowd of people which were hastily ranging themselves on each side of the road through which the royal retinue were to pass, and looked about in eager search of his visitor, whom he soon perceived near the king, mounted on a magnificent palfrey.

"What is the name of that cavalier," said he to one of his neighbours, "with the cap and red plume, who is decorated with the order of Christ?" “He is a new arrival at Court; his name is Nunez d'Alvadro; he was a lieutenant on board the vessel in the expedition to Ceuta, and appears to be in great favour for the last few days, without any one being able to tell why."

Moralez had not time to inquire more; the retinue having passed on, the order in which the two rows of spectators stood was broken, and the crowd rushed into the court of the castle. Carried along by the torrent, the pilot made his way through the guards, approached Nunez d'Alvadro, who was alighting from his horse, and seizing him by the arm, exclaimed

"What about my petition, Senor?"

Nunez turned hastily round, and his face was covered with a deadly paleness, which the pilot attributed to anger.

"Pardon me," said he, "for thus importuning you, but you promised to come to me at the end of three days, and I have been expecting you in vain."

"Nevertheless, I have not forgotten you," replied Nunez, recovering from his consternation; the Prince knows all about you, and I hope you will be able to speak to him before the day is over." "How am I to accomplish that? The people, as usual, will be admitted into the royal apartments during the repast; shall I await that opportunity, or shall I follow you on the instant?"

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"Come with me now," said Nunez, as if he had suddenly formed his resolution.

After having ascended some steps of the grand stair-case, they both passed through a long corridor, and entered an apartment of which Nunez had the key.

"This is the room I occupy at Ternaubal. Stay here until I call you; you will find some curious manuscripts in my library, which will while away the time."

"I am so grateful to you, Senor, for having deigned to use your influence for me."

I have less than you think; but, as some services have procured me the esteem of the Prince, it is my duty to avail myself of my position, to encourage projects useful to the state. I must leave you, Senor Moralez; I shall not forget you. You have had a long walk; you must be hungry; would you like some refreshment?"

"I willingly accept your offer, though it is stupid enough to dine alone. In drinking to the health of Don Henry, I shall find the hours which will elapse before my interview with him less tedious.”

Nunez d'Alvadro went out, and repaired to the stables of the castle, where he found his servant cleaning his horse. This servant was an African Moor, who had fallen to him as his share of the booty after the siege of Ceuta.

"Ben Hamed," said he to him, "you shall have your liberty and two hundred piastres, if you will obey my orders."

The Moor uttered a cry of joy.

"There is a man in my apartment," continued Nunez, "whose death is necessary to me." 'Master, give me your sword.'

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"No, his cries would be heard, and his body would bear marks of violence; his death must be attributed either to accident or suicide. You must rid me of him secretly, and without any noise. Listen to me; get him something to cat from the maitre d'hotel, and a flagon of wine. Before you go into the room, pour the contents of this vial into the wine; it is a powerful narcotic which he cannot resist. At the end of an hour, during which time you must let yourself be seen as much as possible, in order to avoid suspicion, you can then return to the man, who by that time will be in a deep sleep, and you can throw him out of the window into the moat of the castle."

"And you will swear to me, Senor, that I shall have my liberty?"

To-mor

"I swear it on the cross of my order. row, at the break of day, the vessel of which I have obtained the command will set sail for an island off the coast of Africa. In passing, I will stop at Tunis, and will leave you there. With the sum you will have, it will be easy for you to return to your country.'

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"Master," said Ben Hamed, "you have always treated me honourably. You will restore me to my country, and all that you ask of me in return is to kill a Christian! I promise you that before midnight it shall be done."

"You may rely on my faith, as I rely on yours." Nunez d'Alvadro hastened to the sea-shore, jumped into a boat, went on board the vessel, and gave the sailors orders to be in readiness at a moment's warning. On his return to Ternaubal, a page brought him a letter from Don Henry.

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It is my commission!" exclaimed Nunez, joyfully. "Now the success of my plot is certain.

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