native of Andalusia, in Spain, named Don Francisco de
Peralta." She was "very richly laden with all the King's Plate and great
quantity of riches of gold, pearl, jewels, and other most precious
goods, of all the best and richest merchants of Panama. On board of this
galleon were also the religious women, belonging to the nunnery of the
said city, who had embarked with them all the ornaments of their
church, consisting in great quantity of gold, plate, and other things of
great value." This most royal prize was even then slowly dipping past
Taboga, with her sea-sick holy folk praying heartily for the return of
the water casks. She could have made no possible defence against the
pirates had they gone at once in pursuit of her. But this the pirates
did not do. In the village at Taboga there was a wealthy merchant's
summer-house, with a cellar full of "several sorts of rich wines." A
bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, or as a bibulous wit once
said to the present writer: "A bottle now is worth a bath of it
to-morrow." Captain Searles and his men chose to drink a quiet bowl in
the cabin rather than go sail the blue seas after the golden galleon.
They made a rare brew of punch, of which they drank "logwood-cutters'
measure," or a gallon and a half a man. After this they knocked out
their tobacco pipes, and slept very pleasantly till the morning. They
woke "repenting of their negligence" and "totally wearied of the vices
and debaucheries aforesaid." With eyes red with drink they blinked at
the empty punch-bowls. Then with savage "morning-tempers" they damned
each other for a lot of lunkheads, and put to sea (in one of the Taboga
prizes) "to pursue the said galleon" with all speed. However, by this
time Don Peralta, a most gallant and resourceful captain, had brought
the golden _Trinity_ to a place of safety. Had she been taken, she would
have yielded a spoil hardly smaller than that taken by Cavendish in the
_Madre de Dios_ or that which Anson won in the Manila galleon. Several
waggon loads of golden chalices and candlesticks, with ropes of pearls,
bags of emeralds and bezoars, and bar upon bar of silver in the crude,
were thus bartered away for a sup of punch and a drunken chorus in the
cabin. Poor Captain Searles never prospered after. He went logwood
cutting a year or two later, and as a logwood cutter he arrived at the
Rio Summasenta, where he careened his ship at a sandy key, since known
as Searles Key. He was kill