ashed
into fortified ports filled with warships fully equipped, silenced the
forts, sank and set fire to Philip's vessels, and made everything and
everybody fly before them in the belief that hell had been let loose.
To the superstitious Spanish mind it seemed as though the English must
be under Satanic protection when they slashed their way undaunted into
the midst of dangers which would inevitably spell death for the mere
mortal. These corsairs of ours obviously knew and took advantage of
this superstition, for cannon were never resorted to without good
reason, and never without effect. The deliberate defiance of any
written or unwritten law that forbade their laying hands on the
treasure they sought so diligently, and went far and near to find,
merely increased public admiration. Elizabeth pretended that they were
very trying to her Christian virtues. But leave out of count the
foregoing deeds--which no one can dispute were prodigious, and quite
equal to the part these men played in the destruction of the
Armada--what could be more dashingly brilliant in naval warfare than
Drake's raids on San Domingo, Carthagena, Cadiz, and other ports and
cities of old and new Spain, to which I have already briefly alluded?
It was their great successes in their great undertakings, no matter
whether it was "shocking piracy" or not, that immortalized these
terrible creators of England's greatness all the world over!

Thomas Cobham, a member of a lordly and Protestant family, became a
sailor, and soon became fascinated with the gay life of privateering.
Once when in command of a vessel, eagerly scouring the seas for
Spanish prizes, one was sighted, bound from Antwerp to Cadiz. Cobham
gave chase, easily captured her in the Bay of Biscay, and discovered
there were forty Inquisition prisoners aboard. After rescuing the
prisoners, the captain and crew of the Spanish vessel were then sewn
up in their own mainsail and tossed into the sea, no doubt with such
sententious expressions of godliness as was thought befitting to
sacred occasions of that period. This ceremony having been performed,
the vessel was scuttled, so that she might nevermore be used in
trading with British sailors or any one else for Inquisition
purposes. When the story became known, the case was discreetly
inquired into, and very properly the gallant Cobham was never
punished, and was soon running here and there at his old game.

It may be taken for granted that there wa