Page 60 - INDIANNAVYV1
P. 60

;
        28           HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.

        tained an equal  conflict against the same  superiority, for at
       this time the highest spirit of militar}^ honour animated all the
       officers and seamen of the Couipany's Marine."*

         * The following account of this famous sea-fight by Edward Terry, is in tlie
       highest degree quaint, and the reverend gentleman moralizes, and quotes texts in
                                          :—
       the midst of his discourse as if he were in a pulpit  " About noon the  ' Globe,'
       our least ship, by reason of her nirableness, sailing better than her fellows, came
       up witli her on her broadside to windward, and accoi-ding to the custom of the
       sea, hailed her, asking her whence she was ? She answered indirectly, of the sea,
       calling our men rogues, thieves, heretics, devils  ; and the conclusion of her rude
       compliment was, in loud cannon language, discharging seven great pieces of artil-
       lery at our  ' Grlobe,' though she had very little reason to do so, we having four
       ships in company, and she alone, whereof six pierced her through the  hull,
       maiming some of her men, but killing none.  Our 'Globe' replied in the same
       voice, and after that fell otf.  About three o'clock in the afternoon, the  ' Charles,'
       our Admiral, came up with her, so near, that we were within pistol-shot.  Our
       commander,  Cajitain Joseph, proceeded religiously, in  ofi'ering them a treaty
       before he proceeded to revenge, so we saluted her with our trumpets, she with
       her wind instruments, then we showed our men on both sides alott  ; this done,
       our commander called to them, requiring theirs to come on board, to give an
       account of the injury they had lately before offered us  ; they answered they had
       never a boat, our commander replied that he would send them one, and imme-
       diately caused his barge to be manned, and sent off to them, which brought back
       one of their officers and two others of inferior rank, with this message from the
       captain, how that he had promised the King of Spain, his master, not to leave his
       ship, and therefore forced he might, but never would be commanded out of her
       Captain Joseph received the message, and used those that brought it civilly, and
       then ordered that thej' should be showed in a broadside of great guns that lay
       already primed to be fired against them, how we were prepared to vindicate our-
       selves, which put the poor Portuguese iu a fit of trembling, and upon  it desired
       our commander to write a few words to them, that happily with their pei'suasion
       might make him come.  Captain Joseph, willing to preserve his honour, and to
       prevent blood, consented, and forthwith caused a few lines iu Spanish to this
       effect to be sent unto him.
         " That whereas he, the commander of the carrack, had offered violence to our
          '
       ship that sailed peaceably by him, he will'd him to come presently, and give
       reason for that wrong, or else at his peril.'  So he discharged those Portuguese,
       sending one of our master's mates with them with these few words, and this
       further message,  ' that if he refused to come he would sink by his side, but that he
       would force before he left him ;' his word came to pass, for he himself fell suddenly
       after by a great shot that came from the carrack's side.  The commander of the
       carrack, notwithstanding the naessage and menace sent to him, was still peremp-
       tory in his first answer  ; so our men returning, Cnptain Joseph himself made the
       three  first shots at them, all which (the mark being so fair and near)  hit them
                                                             ;
       this done, the bullets began to fly on both sides.  Our captain cheering his com-
       pany, immediately ascended the half-deck, the place where commanders used to
       keep iu those encounters to show their own gallantry and to encourage the com-
       pany under their command  ; where he had not been the eighth part of an hour
       ere a great shot from the cai-rack's quarter deprived him of life in the twinkling
       of au eye.  For this Captain Joseph, he was certainly one who had very much of
       a man iu him for years antient, who had commanded before in  sea-tiglits, whieli
       he met withal within the streights in the Midland sea, and near death many times
       in them, which took others round about him while himself went off untouched
                                                             ;
       and the reason was because his appointed time was not yet come.  Certainly there
       is never a bullet flies, that carries not a commission witii it to liit or miss, to kill
       or spare  ; the tinie, the place, and every circumstance besides of a man's dissolu-
       tion, is fore-determined."  After further moralizing on his theme, he proceeds.
       " The bullet which carried away his life, hit him on the breast, beating out of his
       body his heart, and other of his vitals, which lay round about him, scattered in his
       diffused blood.
         " After Captain Joseph was slain, the master of our ship continued the fight
   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65