44 -6 James I. Naval Expeditions 7 &c. of the English, Book 1$
1616. sher-boats bad been driven off, by badWeather, and the Men perished, theyproposed to him to build a Boat oftwo or three Tuns for his Use, witha Deck, and so fitted, that she shouldlive in all Weathers. The Governourconsenting to it, they fell to building itin a private Place, pretending it wasconvenient for their getting Timber,and launching the Boat. They finishedit sooner than it was expected, and theGovernour sent Hands to fetch it, in-tending to go in it aboard a Ship, whichhe was then dispatching for England.When his Men came to the Place, nei-ther the Boat nor the Builders were tobe found. All that they could hear ofthem was, that the Boat being finished,the Night before, those who built itwent off to Sea in it, to try how itwould Sail. At last, they found bysome Letters these Men left behindthem, that they were gone for Eng-land.
Executed The Story of their Adventure is toldwith Success, in this Manner: They borrowed a Com-pass-Dial of a Neighbour, on some Pre-tence or other, and went on Board theShip bound for England , where theytruck’d with the Seamen such Things asthey had on Board, for good Store ofProvisions. One of them, ( Goodwin )at parting, told the Mariners, that," tho’ they were forbidden to go with" them, yet they hoped to be in Eng-“ land before them." At which theMaster of the Ship, and his Mate,laughed ; and away these fearless Ad-venturers failed, with fair Wind andWeather for one and twenty Days.They then met wet with a Storm,whichreduced them to Extremity for eightand forty Hours; And obliging them tobear up before it, drove them a littleout of their Course Westward; But theWind coming fair again, and continu-ing so ten Days, they went on chear-fully.
In that Time, they met with a FrenchPrivateer, on Board of which they wentto beg some Relief; But instead of help-ing them,he plundered them of the littlethey had, took away even their Instru-ments of Navigation, and turned themadrift. In this miferableCondition, theyfailed 1 on, growing daily weaker andweaker. Their Provisions were almost
spent, their Fire-wood quite gone, and i6f6‘the very Knees of their small Vesselhalf cut away for that Use ; not a Drop •of fresh Water left, nor Food for abovea Day, when at last, in the very Hourthey expected to perish, to their unspea-kable Joy, they made Land. This Landwas Ireland, where they went asttoar inthe County of Cork, and were noblyentertained by the Earl of Thomond, towhom they related their Voyage,whichlasted two and forty Days, in whichTime they had failed near five Thou-sand Miles. The Boat was preserved,and hung up for a Monument of sostrange an Event.
The Duke of Buckingham’.? Rife.
About this Time, George Villiers , - apin ’
who was afterwards Duke of Bucking- T <rteR$]ham, began not only wholly to engross George stthe King’s Favour, but made up his en- li ^' s ’ / Atire Cabinet Council, without whose ^BuckissAdvice, and indeed Consent, nothing ham.was done or transacted. He was ayoung Man, without Experience, thro’whose Hands never any Affair of Mo-ment had passed; But what made Mat-ters yet worse ; He thought himselfthe ablest Man in the Kingdom. Gon-demar , the Spanijh Ambassador, is saidto tell King James in Raillery, tc That" he was the wisest Prince in Christen-" dom, to make Privy-Counfellors sage" at the Age of twenty-one, which hisMaster, the King of Spain, could notte do till sixty.” I thought it requi-site to mention the Rife of this Favou-rite here : Because we shall fee him inthe ensuing Reign, when at the Heightof his Power, presiding over some me-morable Naval Transactions. His Rifewas so rapid, that tho’ a Favourite ofhardly a Year standing, he was froma private Gentleman created, on theseven and twentieth of August, of thisYear, Lord Whaddon, soon after Vis-count Villiers, and within a fewMonths,
Earl of Buckingham.
Pr i no’s Voyage to the East-Indies. (k)
In the Month of April, 1617, the Harris’ss^'East-India Company fitted out five P,I '^‘ X
Ships;
{ k ) Harris calls this the fifth Voyage, for count of a third or fourth, suppose it is a Mi-the United Stock ; But as he gives us 00 Ac- stake.