Page 120 - Early English Adventurers in the Middle East_Neat

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120 EARLY ENGLISH ADVENTURERS IN THE EAST i

could not die in a better cause “ than in behalf of so worthy
a country as we have, the Commonwealth of our land.
‘ For death/ saith he, ‘ is the passing to heaven.’ ITe
showed a saying of David in his sixteenth Psalm, towards
the latter end, ‘ I will set God always before me, for He is on
my right hand; therefore I shall not fall, »>> Then, turn-
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ing his discourse to mundane affairs, Best promised that
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in the event of any of them falling in the fight or being
{
grievously wounded, the Company would do their duty by
their relatives or by them. Finally, the commander
“ took a cup of wine and drunk to our master (the comman­
der of the Osiander) and to the Company, and desired God
to give us His blessing and so returned aboard his own ship
to sermon.”
It now devolved upon Best to decide the important
question of how he should engage the Portuguese. Should
he remain at the anchorage in the confined and shallow
roads at Swally and allow himself to be attacked, or should
he go out to meet the enemy ? There was a good deal
to be said for both plans, but as may be supposed the
bolder course appealed to the dour fighting instinct of the
commander. Nor did he show any hesitation when he
actually got into the fight as to the direction of the attack.
As the four great galleons, with their attendant flotilla,
came up with the wind, making a very imposing display,
he singled out the vice-admiral’s ship, and when two cables’
length from it “ began to play upon it with great and
small shot (so) that by an hour we had well peppered him
with some fiftie-six great shot.”
On the enemy’s side the fire was very ineffective, and
when night closed on the ships the only serious damage
which had been done was the destruction of the Dragon's

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