anied by Sir Edward Dennie and his lady, with
two young sons. In the morning of that day, my lord went on shore to
hasten the dispatch of some fresh water for the Victory, and brought us
news that sixty Spanish prizes were taken and brought to England. For
two or three days after we sailed, we had a fair wind; but it afterwards
scanted, so that we were fain to keep a cold Christmas with the bishop
and his clerks, as I said before. After this, meeting with an English
ship, we received the joyful news that ninety-one Spanish prizes were
come to England; and along with that, the sorrowful intelligence that
our last and best prize was cast away on the coast of Cornwal, at a
place the Cornish men call _Als-efferne_, that is Hell-cliff, where
Captain Lister and all the people were drowned, except five or six, half
English and half Spaniards, who saved their lives by swimming. Yet much
of the goods were saved and preserved for us, by Sir Francis Godolphin
and other worshipful gentlemen of the country. My lord was very sorry
for the death of Captain Lister, saying that he would willingly have
lost all the fruits of the voyage to have saved his life.
The 29th December we met another ship, from which we learned that Sir
Martin Frobisher and Captain Reymond had taken the admiral and
vice-admiral of the fleet we had seen going into the haven of Tercera;
but that the admiral had sunk, in consequence of much leaking, near the
Eddystone, a rock over against Plymouth sound, all the people however
being saved. We were likewise informed by this ship, that Captain
Preston had captured a ship laden with silver. My lord took his passage
in this last ship to land at Falmouth, while we held on our course for
Plymouth.
Towards night we came near the Ram-head, the next cape westwards from
Plymouth sound, but we feared to double it in the night, by reason of
the scantness of the wind: so we stood out to seawards for half the
night, and towards morning had the wind more large. But we made too
little to spare thereof; partly for which reasons and partly mistaking
the land, we fell so much to leeward that we could not double the cape.
For this reason we turned back again and got into Falmouth haven, where
we grounded in 17 feet water; but as it was low ebb, the sea ready again
to flow, and the ground soft, we received no harm. Here we gladly set
our feet again on the long desired English ground, and refreshed
ourselves by keeping part of Christm
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