Chap. LVI. during the Reign os §yeen Elizabeth. 349

1596. The nine and twentieth they arrivedat Plymouth, where finding the Fleetsunder the Earl. of EJsex and the LordHoward, ready to sail, on their Expe-shree Ships dition for Cadiz, Sir Anthony sparedthe Grand them three of his Ships, with fiveHun-f'/eet. dred Soldiers, and was, therefore, obli-ged to put off his Design of sacking theIfland Madera, in his Way to St, Tho-mas's.

heRemain - The twenty-first of May, they de-

depart, parted from Plymouth, with the J device,the Qallion, the George, the George-Nohle, the mis, the Gaily, and thePinnace. They arrived, on the Coast, of Spain, the seven and twentieth; andcoasted along the Shoar, in Hopes of■d Fly-boat rnee dng some of the King’s Ships, butHen! were disappointed. They then directedtheir Course for the Canary-lflands, and,in their Way* took a Fly-boat, of twoHundred Tuns, bound for Brash hav-ing nothing on Board but some Provi-sions. The Pilot of her, who was aFlemming, entered into their Service*and undertook to pilot the Fleet to St.Thomas’Si

Having watered at the Canaries, bythe Advice of this Flemming , they di-rected their Course to the Islands ofCape Verd, where he assured them theywould meet with the Fleet of St. Tho~mas% the Year being so far spent, thathe knew they were all departed. Thefirst of July, they fell in with the I-sland Maio ; But no Sign of the Fleet.Continuing their Course, they arrivedat the Island of St. J ago, on the thir-tieth of August, and landed at Praia,^artTlLn where they found, a small Bark in theRoad laden with Wine and Meal. Atfe Tou>n <?/their Landing the Inhabitants madePr aia taken, some Shew of Resistance. But sufferedthem, however, to enter the Town,and Fort, in which were six or eightPieces of cast Ordnance* without lOp-position.

Fix His o little or no Booty in Praia,4 desperate they resolved to attempt the Town ofAttempt. St. J ago, which was, at fix Leagues Di-

stance, on the /opposite Side of the I-sland, a Place of Strength, andidefend-ed by three Forts, which scoured eve-ry Street in the Town. On this boldEnterprise, Sir Anthony marched him-self, in the Evening, with two Hundredand eighty Soldiers. They lost theirWay in the Night, and the next Morn-ing, when they discovered the Town,they found there was but one Passage toit, down a steep Hill, and so narrow,

that they could go no otherwise down 1596.than one by one, into a Sort of Trench,with Cliffs on each Side* covered withMen, as was likewise the whole Coun-try between them and the Town.

Thev plainly perceived the Designof the Enemy was to decoy them, by aShew of Fear, into this Trench, andthen to surround them; And besides,when once down, it was impossible forthem to retreat. These* and many o-ther Dangers in View, did not, how-ever, discourage them, they resolved topursue their Design, and, to that End,ventured down into the Trench, wherethe Enemy set upon them with a greatCry, while thole on the Cliffs pliedthem with Shot and Stones, the Trenchbetween them not being above halfMuskett-Shot over. They had the goodFortune at first to disperse those whoattacked them in the Rear, and havingthen about half a Mile to the Town,soon made their Way thither. Theyfound the Streets filled with Soldiers,who seemed resolute to oppose their En-try : But their Captain, with several ofthem being slain, they were struck witha Pannick.and sled, leaving Sir Anthony ,in Possession of the Place, and, the thirdof Auguft, they likewise possessed them-selves ess the two lower Forts.

Being Masters of the Town and two g t t 3 0Forts, they barricaded the Streets, and with two ofput it in the best Posture of Defence itS Forts, ta~they could; But the Portuguese, from ^ en :the Upper Fort, harrass’d them in suchManner, with their continual Assaults,in the first of which they killed andwounded eighty of their Men, tho’ withthe Loss of thrice the Number, thatthey found little or no Prospect of hold-ing k* Their Ships being, in the meanTime come .about into the Harbour ofSt. J a Z°> Bir Anthony, perceiving theEnemy’s Force wasencreased to threeThousand, and his Handful of Men re-duced almost to the last Extremity*thought now of nothing more than a safearid honourable Retreat. To this End,he ordered all the Ships, and the twoForts in his Possession, to begin to fire atonce, at ten-in the Evening, with greatFuryi .against she Upper Fort, whilsthe made an Alarm in the Town, to per-suade the Enemy he was going to attackthat Fort, with all his Might; Uponwhich they drew all their Troops toge-ther for the Defence of it. At the fameTime all the Boats of the Fleet beingcome on Shoar, Sir Anthony ordered