Nobody was to be allowed to starve, and no one who robbed or cheated was to be able to say with truth that he could not keep himself alive in any other way.

8. Ill-feeling against Spain.-All this prosperity made Englishmen honour Elizabeth. At the same time, they disliked Spain more and more every year. Philip II., the King of Spain, who had been the husband of Queen Mary of England, ruled over many countries in Europe, and did all that he could to prevent any one in them from becoming a Protestant. In the Netherlands he had so many people burnt, and he made his subjects pay such heavy taxes, that at last some of them rose in rebellion. Philip had large and brave armies, and he did his best to put down the rebellion. His soldiers and generals were very cruel, and when they took a town they massacred the men and women in it. But the rebels struggled on, and by-and-by there was a free Dutch Republic which Philip could not conquer. The stories of Philip's cruelty were told in England, and set Englishmen against bim. Many Englishmen began to think that it was a righteous thing to attack a king who did such things, and they were not at all sorry that there was plenty to be got by attacking him successfully. Besides the countries which he governed in Europe, he had many lands in America, and in these lands there were rich silver mines, from which a large fleet came with silver for him every year. English sailors paid little respect to Philip. They sailed amongst the West India Islands, which belonged to Spain, and bought and sold though he forbade them Many of them sold poor negroes,

whom they had taken prisoners in Africa, without thinking that they were doing anything wrong. Sometimes they attacked and plundered Spanish vessels. Philip whenever he caught them threw them into prison, and sometimes had them treated very badly, because they were Protestants. Though there was no open war against Spain, many Englishmen hated the Spaniards so, that they thought it would be doing a good work to carry off some of all this wealth to England; and all English sailors believed that it was quite fair to fight the Spaniards in America, whether there was war in Europe or not. One of these sailors was Francis Drake. He was born in Devonshire, and the Devonshire sailors were bold and active men. In 1572 he found his way to the New World, landed at Panama, and seized a large quantity of silver. Before he returned he caught sight of the Pacific, threw himself on his knees, and prayed to God that he might one day sail on that sea, where no Englishman had ever sailed before.

10. Drake's Voyage.—Five years later Drake sailed again from Plymouth. He had with him five vessels, so small that they were manned by no more than 164 men. When he reached the Straits of Magellan he knew no better than to pass through that dangerous passage, where the storm-wind blows in wild gusts in the windings of the channel. It was the only way to the Pacific then known, as it was believed that Terra del Fuego was the northern end of a great continent reaching to the South Pole. When Drake's own vessel, the Pelican, at last entered the open sea, it was alone. The other four little vessels had either been sunk or had been driven back.

Drake was not discouraged. He knew thai all Chili and Peru was Spanish, and that nobody there was expecting him or preparing for defence. He sailed

into the harbour of Valparaiso, and found there a huge Spanish ship. The Spanish sailors did not fancy it possible that any English vessel could find its way there, and they made ready to feast the men whom

they fancied must be their own countrymen. The English sailors sprang on board and seized the ship. They found in it wedges of gold weighing 400 lbs., which were soon carried to the Pelican. Drake then sailed on to Tarapaca. He found piles of silver bars upon the quay, and tumbled them into his boats. Just as he was going to row away, down came a string of llamas to the quay with another load of silver. Much more was got as Drake sailed up the coast, silver and gold and jewels. At last Drake, having enriched himself and his men, went on towards the north. He fancied that North America would come to an end much sooner than it really does, as no one had made discoveries so far north. When he reached California, he thought that he had gone far enough, and sailed home across the Pacific Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope. He was the first Englishman who had ever sailed round the world. The Spaniards called him a pirate, and required Elizabeth to deliver him up to them or to punish him, but Elizabeth was proud of his daring, and knighted him. He was now known as Sir Francis Drake.

11. English Voyages of Discovery.-Even in those days of fighting English sailors were not all occupied in war and piracy. In the time of Henry VII. a Venetian, named Cabot, was sent out from England, and discovered the coast of Labrador. He was the first man to set foot on the Continent of America, though Columbus had landed on the West India Islands before. In the reign of Henry VIII. the cod fisheries of Newfoundland were visited by English sailors. But the object on which the hearts of adventurous

men was most set was the discovery of a short cut to India and China. In Mary's time Sir Hugh Willoughby sailed round the North of Norway, hoping to reach those wealthy regions in that way, but was frozen to death with all the men in his own ship, though Chancellor, with one of the other ships which had gone with him, reached Archangel, and thus opened a trade with Russia, which at that time did not reach either the Baltic or the Black Sea, and which could therefore only be communicated with through the White Sea. In Elizabeth's time many sailors tried to find their way to India and China through what they called the North-West Passage, which they thought would be found where the northern part of the Continent of America really is, as no one had been further north than the coast of Labrador. Martin Frobisher discovered the strait which leads into Hudson's Bay, and fancied that he had not only discovered the way to India, but had found rich mines of gold. Men were so anxious to find gold that they were ready to believe that it was not far off for the oddest reasons. One reason which Frobisher's men gave for thinking that they would find gold was that they had seen a great many spiders; and they said that spiders were true signs of great store of gold.' Frobisher found no gold; but he left his name to the strait which he had discovered; and a few years later the strait which leads into Baffin's Bay was discovered by John Davis, and was named after him. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Raleigh's half-brother, sailed to found a colony where the northern part of the

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