now that we were mercifully set free we sang a Te Deum and
went forward very cautiously, hardly daring to set sails lest we should
chance upon some reef still more dangerous.

We now continued our voyage without any remarkable occurrence or
adventure, until about the middle of March we came to anchor off the
Island of Java. Having sent to the king a present of clothes and silks,
we received from him in return a quantity of provisions; and on the
following day Drake himself went on shore, and after entertaining the
king with music obtained leave from him to forage for fresh food. Here,
then, we remained some days, taking in provisions, and being visited by
the princes and head men of that country, and later by the king, all of
whom manifested great interest in us, and in our armaments and
instruments of navigation.

Leaving Java about the end of March we sailed for the Cape of Good Hope,
which we sighted about the middle of June. During all that time we met
with no very remarkable adventure; nevertheless, because we were sailing
through seas which no Englishman had ever previously traversed there was
not a day which did not present some feature of interest to us, or add
to our knowledge of those strange parts of the world. To me, and to such
of my companions as had suffered with me in the dungeons of the
Inquisition or on the deck of the galleon, this voyage was as a glimpse
of Paradise. For we were treated with the utmost kindness and
consideration by Drake and his men, and they would not suffer us to
undertake anything in the shape of work until our wounds were fairly
healed and our strength recruited. To those of us who had suffered so
bitterly that our strength was well-nigh departed, this welcome relief
was very grateful. As for me, on discovering my condition I was rated
with Drake and his officers, and with them did spend many exceeding
pleasant hours, listening to their marvelous adventures and stories of
fights with our old enemies, the Spaniards. But Pharaoh, hating to do
naught, applied for a rating, and so they made him boatswain's mate, and
thenceforth he was happy, and seemed quickly to forget the many
privations and discomforts which he and I had undergone.

So on the third week of September, 1580, we came to Plymouth Sound, and
once more looked upon English land and English faces. And this we did
with such thankfulness and rejoicing as you cannot conceive. As for
Drake and his men, they had been away tw