TAIN WOODES.

As the life of this famous navigator and privateer is, very justly,
treated fully in the "Dictionary of National Biography" it is unnecessary
to mention more than a few incidents in his adventurous career. Woodes
Rogers was not only a good navigator, for on many occasions he showed a
remarkable gift for commanding mutinous crews in spite of having many
officers on whom he could place little reliance. On leaving Cork in 1708,
after an incompetent pilot had almost run his ship on two rocks off
Kinsale called "The Sovereigne's Bollacks," Rogers describes his crew
thus: "A third were foreigners, while of Her Majestie's subjects many were
taylors, tinkers, pedlars, fiddlers, and hay-makers, with ten boys and one
negro." It was with crews such as these that many of the boldest and most
remarkable early voyages were made, and they required a man of Woodes
Rogers stamp to knock them into sailors. Rogers had a gift for inspiring
friendship wherever he went. On arriving at the coast of Brazil, his boat
was fired on when trying to land at Angre de Reys. This settlement had but
lately received several hostile visitors in the way of French pirates. But
before a week was passed Woodes Rogers had so won the hearts of the
Portuguese Governor and the settlers that he and his "musick" were invited
to take part in an important religious function, or "entertainment," as
Rogers calls it, "where," he says, "we waited on the Governour, Signior
Raphael de Silva Lagos, in a body, being ten of us, with two trumpets and
a hautboy, which he desir'd might play us to church, where our musick did
the office of an organ, but separate from the singing, which was by the
fathers well perform'd. Our musick played 'Hey, boys, up go we!' and all
manner of noisy paltry tunes. And after service, our musicians, who were
by that time more than half drunk, march'd at the head of the company;
next to them an old father and two fryars carrying lamps of incense, then
an image dressed with flowers and wax candles, then about forty priests,
fryars, etc., followed by the Governor of the town, myself, and Capt.
Courtney, with each of us a long wax candle lighted. The ceremony held
about two hours; after which we were splendidly entertained by the
fathers of the Convent, and then by the Governour. They unanimously told
us they expected nothing from us but our Company, and they had no more but
our musick."

What a delightful picture this calls to the mind--