n as a crusade. In those days England had a horror of
Popery, and Spain was the mainstay and supporter of this religion.
The escape which England had had of having Popery forced upon it,
during the reign of Mary, by her spouse, Philip of Spain, had been
a narrow one; and even now, it was by no means certain that Spain
would not, sooner or later, endeavor to carry out the pretensions
of the late queen's husband. Then, too, terrible tales had come of
the sufferings of the Indians at the hands of the Spaniards; and it
was certain that the English sailors who had fallen into the hands
of Spain had been put to death, with horrible cruelty. Thus, then,
the English sailors regarded the Spaniards as the enemy of their
country, as the enemy of their religion, and as the enemy of
humanity. Besides which, it cannot be denied that they viewed them
as rich men, well worth plundering; and although, when it came to
fighting, it is probable that hatred overbore the thought of gain,
it is certain that the desire for gold was, in itself, the main
incentive to those who sailed upon these expeditions.

Amid the cheers of the townsfolk the boats pushed off, Mr. Francis
Drake and his brother waving their plumed hats to the burghers of
Plymouth, and the sailors giving a hurrah, as they bent to the
oars. Ned Hearne, who had received a kind word of greeting from Mr.
Drake, had taken his place in the bow of one of the boats, lost in
admiration at the scene; and at the thought that he was one of this
band of heroes, who were going out to fight the Spaniards, and to
return laden with countless treasure wrested from them. At the
thought his eyes sparkled, his blood seemed to dance through his
veins.

The western main, in those days, was a name almost of enchantment.
Such strange tales had been brought home, by the voyagers who had
navigated those seas, of the wonderful trees, the bright birds, the
beauties of nature, the gold and silver, and the abundance of all
precious things, that it was the dream of every youngster on the
seaboard some day to penetrate to these charmed regions. A week
since, and the realization of the dream had appeared beyond his
wildest hopes. Now, almost with the suddenness of a transformation
scene, this had changed; and there was he on his way out to the
Swanne, a part of the expedition itself. It was to the Swanne that
he had been allotted, for it was on board that ship that the boy
whose place he was to take had been