ting permission to attack the ships of Prince Rupert,
belonging to the Commonwealth of England, and carried off by treachery.
I had never before been in a king's palace; I have not the power,
however, to describe the finely dressed ladies and gentlemen we saw, or
the forms and ceremonies we went through. The king, or rather one of
his ministers--who spoke for him--declared that he could permit no such
proceeding, that the princes were his guests, and that we must take our
departure without injuring them.

"The king sends us back, as he thinks, with a flea in our ears, but it
is a flea which will tickle his majesty before long," observed
Lieutenant Blake, who had something of his uncle's humour.

We returned on board the _Tiger_, and reported the result of our
mission, when the admiral immediately ordered a squadron of boats to
enter the river. I went in one of them. As we approached a white stone
castle shining brightly in the sun, near the mouth, a puff of smoke
issued from one of the embrasures. Another and another followed, the
shot splashing into the water close to us.

On this the commander of the expedition, according to the orders
received, returned to the squadron.

The admiral, curling his whiskers, sent to the castle to inquire why his
boats had been stopped. The officer replied that his orders were to
prevent any foreign ships sailing up the river. The admiral on this
despatched another embassy to King John, demanding the reason for his
conduct, but received as unsatisfactory a reply as before. The
Portuguese king was not aware with whom he had to deal, and fancied that
Blake would sail away without taking further notice of the affair.

In spite of the threats of the governor of Belim Castle, the _Tiger_
leading the way, the squadron sailed into the river, not a shot being
fired at us, and we brought up in Viera Bay.

Here some weeks passed, the crews fuming at the delay, and hoping every
day that we might be able to get at the corsairs and punish them as they
deserved. Our men were frequently on shore, when they constantly met
the sailors of the Prince's squadron, on friendly terms.

Occasionally, however, there were quarrels, when our men jeered at the
others, calling them pirates and robbers, and expressing a wonder that
they should be willing to serve under such leaders as Rupert and his
brother. Others of our people acted more wisely, and succeeded in
inducing a considerable number of the