SYr knowing your kind nature to be such, as ioy­ed that your freinds welfare, especially those that for there countries good deserue honorably to be spokē, of as your selfe in younger yeares haue many waies ieperted your bodie, in your coun­tries seruice whose scars yet remaine as badges of your forewardnes, and desire to gaine that your ancesters of fame, long time to there great commendations maintained, the consideration of which moued me here to fore, from dun­garuan, to aduertize you of the ariuall of our good freind, & your especiall fauouret maister William Grafton, at Kinsall, whose succes I wrot you at large, for that my last lettres (and ioy of your freindes good) was so gracious with you, as one that loues you both well, I make bold to signisie vnto you the saide captaines safe landing at Clauelly in the west partes, where my selfe being commanded on some busines of my captaines frō my place, bownd for england, crossed by horsh windes, where­unto trauelers are subiect being destressed we wear enforced to put in for the said port of Clauelly, where happely I met & well met, this braue gentleman Captain Grafton, who as here to fore I sertified you, hauing prepared hir small caruell called our Ladie fitte for the seas, embarqued himselfe at youholl in Ireland well furnished with braue and resoluit men, & vittailes store, betaking himselse to the fortune of the seas, where oprest with extreame weather, doing what men might do by the par­mission of God, they endured as long as possible they might, til for releef they bare for englād, ct at Clauelly againe repleni­shed there decaied victtuals, & other necessaries & on sonday the 28. of Maye being the sonday next after trinitie sonday, they set saile from the said port, hauing all that day and night a faire bearing gall, on twesday they espied two saile as much to wind ward as in the top they might descry whō they gaue chace vnto, and by tenne of the clock in the morning, came vp with them, which shipes were both of Bristow, the one the Vnicorn and the other a small barke of the same place. The companie of [Page] there two [...]ppers they [...]ept the next morning, whe [...] cap­taine Grafton espying som other sailes, standing vpō the sailing of his caruell, which is uery good, he parted with the said Vni­corne & her cōsort, & bare with there late descried huls in hope of good hap which according to his worth he doth deserued­ly merit as time finisheth many things, so time and short time hath brought him within the plaine vewe of those two last dis­cried sailes, whom they fownd to be two mightie great fly boats who seruing the King of spame, straied from the fleet, the sight of those made diuers of his companie appaled, whom the good captaine with wordes of great courage so comforted, that if his discretion had not been more for his safitie and thers, then there wilfull hardines, they would haue attempted to haue ta­ken the one of them, but the captaine hauing perswaded them they neuerthelesse bare vp with them, & thorowly veewed them, and so departed, shooting ahead the biger of them, when captaine Graftonnes men that lay close shewed themselues, & were of the other perceiued, there came presently two shot from them which mist the caruill the lesser fli [...] boat being good of saile, gaue them chace, that day till three a clock, whom the Captaine perceiued and by little & little slacked there saile, to see what they durst doo, being from her consart, which she had ouer shot at least two leages.

The fly boat [...]ing vppon the Captaine who made no hast to runne a way, but determined to change a shot or two with them, prouided them selues for the same fight, knowing well they might at their pleasures l [...]aue or take, hauing but one cast Peece a boord, and that the mouth broken, the guner a stout & Proper man made readie, by that time all things was fited to the Captaines mind, the fly boat with fourteene or fifteene men in armour wanned them to lee ward, railing and reuiling them, with speeches most odious, to whom the guner sent such a token by his Minion, that with the crosse barre, he was charg­ed, he split the missen mast in the step, & did much other harme as well in the Captaines Cabin through which it went, as slai­ing some men which was seene to be cast ouer boord. Thus for three houres they continued a sore fight, the Captaine being [Page] euer foreward to [...] there ordinanc otherwise should haue done them most harme, yet of such height was this foule cart from the Caruill sides, that their talest man migh hardly reach their channell holes, so that there was no entering but with great danger, and there­fore for safegarde of their men, the Captaine gaue ouer the fight, and not of feare for his men were resolute, and doubted not the good successe, and happie conquest of their enemies.

Thus neere six a clock in the euening the caruill parting, the fight bareing rome from them, whose consart was now come vp with them, continuing his course towardes the Ilandes, with faire and good weather where they had many chaces, which because their actions were little worth to rehearse, I omit to tell you of the blessing of the Almighty, on this worthy de­seruing Captaine, whose godly mind and good dealinges with all men the Lord doth reward. Sailing stil towards the Ilandes the seuenth day after they lost the sight of our owne land, (sil­ly) they espied in the height of fortie two leager, two sailes the one of them, being of burthen an hundreth and twenty tuns or there abouts, hauing in her of men forty six, furnished with ten cast Peeces, the other of some three score tunne or there abouts, with sixteene men in her, well sir after the captaine had hailed them, and bad thē strike, they bearing Spaniards proud mindes, seeing so smale a Caruill as this our Ladie of the Cap­taines, scorned to yeeld, but made reddie to fight, and both began with all their force to assaile him most hotly, the gun­ner, from the great ship, shot the Caruilles meane missen from the yardes shered many ropes and did them great mischeefe, so that with splycing and repairing, the same company was greatly pusseled, in this time the Captaine calling for a canne of Wine and drinking hartely to them, desired them all as they loued him to follow him, and at the next comming vp they would boord her where to they were al very willing, and comming vp with them againe, the Gunner with his broken mouth Mini­on, racked him fore and oft, the barre entring at the starre went thoroughout: then comming vp in her quarter, the Captaine leapt in at their cheane holes, and one other with him who was [Page] hardly [...] weapons, yet kept [...] place, when the shippes faling off, he had no remedy, but abide that chance God had alotted them, the company aboord loth to let their Captaine rest in so great dāger came aboord againe, when valiantly they entered, his boy being with the first a­boord had taken downe their Flag, to the great greefe of the enemie, who now repenting their hardinesse craued mercie, the other smale Shippe seeing all the men of VVarre almost aboord, their Prise layed the Caruell aboord, but to their great cost. For there beeing courageous men, entered but six of them with their swordes and dagers, swordes and targates and such as they had, and stowed the fifteene Portin­gauls so that they were possessed of both sooner then they ex­spected, the Captaine seeing the other was taken gaue God thankes for his goodnes, then demanded the Captaine of whence they were, they answered (of Viana in Portugale, and came from Parmabucca) loden with fine white Sugars, and dy­uers Negros, when the companie had made through sarch for pillage, the Captaine determined to bare for England, which his company willingly agreed vnto, praising him that giueth all victories for their good successe, first in deliuering them with­out perill from the flie-bootes; next for their prises, who was able being furnished with English-men, to haue beaten foure such Caruiles, with ten peeces and fortie and six men, the other sixteene men besides Negros, the Caruill in all had but thirtie seuen men one cast peece, wherefore hauing named their prises, they had men fewe inough to carry home the Car­uil, which compelled thē to leaue one other Caruil loden with Sugar behind them, a good pleasure to the poore Portugalles, which loked with their neighbours to goe for England, thus in fiue weekes retorned the Captaine to Clauelly from whence they went & sooner might if God had fauored them with faire windes. At the same port the said Captaine discharged his goods royally paied each man of his company with the most, so that as well the pesant as the best had no cause to complaine, the Portugalls his prisoners he kept a shore at boord wages, so long as they remained with him, and after his busines ended, [Page] causing the good Iesus his smale prise to be rigged and vitled for three monethes, he gaue her the prisoners to bring them home with their Negroos and mony largly, by which his boun­tie and charitie to these poore men no doubt he gaineth as well loue of God, as fauour and the louing kind hartes of men. Thus farre with fauour I beseech you exscept my simple wri­ting and ioy with mee as I know you doo for your freind whom God by his grace hath sufficiently blessed with welth, as heere tofore I certified you, his owne ship was the grace of God, who took our Lady and saint Anthonie, our Lady she made a man of warre, who hath taken now those two prises loaden with suger the one called saint Fraunces, the other the good Iesus, both of Viana, a wonder of the Lorde, to appoint this Spanish saints to make rich his english sailours, as by this valiant Captaine is shewed, for how many Captaines hath had such blessinges as this gentlemā, or who more fortunate, whom Iesus our Lady S. Fraunces & S. Anthony, hath brought their blessinges there news, ther is none worthy to write, but for your hawkes, I hope by saint Iames tide to bring you, till then with my heartiest commendationes, I leaue you to his protection whom I daily pray to blesse vs all from Barnstable in the north of Deuon­shire this 6 of Iuly 1592.