most famous plate-ship of the day, carrying what in those days seemed
almost incredible, no less than 1,800 tons. Her cargo, brought through
Indian seas from the coast of Malabar, was valued when she started at
500,000_l._ She was lined with glowing woven carpets, sarcenet quilts,
and lengths of white silk and cyprus; she carried in chests of
sandalwood and ebony such store of rubies and pearls, such porcelain and
ivory and rock crystal, such great pots of musk and planks of cinnamon,
as had never been seen on all the stalls of London. Her hold smelt like
a garden of spices for all the benjamin and cloves, the nutmegs and the
civet, the ambergris and frankincense. There was a fight before
Raleigh's ship the 'Roebuck' could seize this enormous prize, yet
somewhat a passive one on the part of the lumbering carrack, such a
fight as may ensue between a great rabbit and the little stoat that
sucks its life out. When she was entered, it was found that pilferings
had gone on already at every port at which she had called; and the
English sailors had done their share before Burrough could arrive on
board; the jewels and the lighter spices were badly tampered with, but
in the general rejoicing over so vast a prize this was not much
regarded. Through seas so tempestuous that it seemed at one time likely
that she would sink in the Atlantic, the 'Madre de Dios' was at last
safely brought into Dartmouth, on September 8.

The arrival of the 'Madre de Dios' on the Queen's birthday had something
like the importance of a national event. No prize of such value had ever
been captured before. When all deduction had been made for treasure
lost or pilfered or squandered, there yet remained a total value of
141,000_l._ in the money of that day. The fact that all this wealth was
lying in Dartmouth harbour was more than the tradesmen of London could
bear. Before the Queen's commissioners could assemble, half the usurers
and shopkeepers in the City had hurried down into Devonshire to try and
gather up a few of the golden crumbs. Raleigh, meanwhile, was ready to
burst his heart with fretting in the Tower, until it suddenly appeared
that this very concourse and rabble at Dartmouth would render his
release imperative. No one but he could cope with Devonshire in its
excitement, and Lord Burghley determined on sending him to Dartmouth.
Robert Cecil, writing from Exeter to his father on September 19,
reported that for seven miles everybody he met on th