DRAKE. Abandon her then.—Here are plenty of ships fit for a voyage, with treasure in them. Take your choice, burn the rest, and make sail with what we have. Put no faith in Spaniards. They will consider the treaty as so much waste paper, when it serves their ends to do so. They fear and hate us, and neither bonds nor treaties will stop them in their vengeance. Our only treaty to rely on is in ourselves when we are too strong for them—God grant it may ever be so—or woe to Merry England. HAWKINS. Abandon the Jesus! You forget that she is the Queen’s ship—the only one in the expedition. Do you know the temper of our good Queen? She will expect her ship back, and also her share of the profit. What if, instead, I should bring the Kingdom under heavy demands from Philip for our infraction of the Treaty; I ask you, do you know her temper, or what her Royal and gentle Majesty would say? Heh! DRAKE (_laughing as at a joke_). Fire and Steel! I should think I did, Ha! Ha! Ha! I know our Royal Mistress well. Her Majesty is a good Protestant, but she has two idols set up in her heart, whose worship she will never abandon for any other creed, “ambition and avarice;” the love of power, and the love of gold. Give her these, what cares she for an old hulk. Let her know that her heroes can sweep the seas, that we defy, and soon shall break the force of haughty Spain. Above all, drench her with gold and show me the power on earth that can drag it from her. (_He walks aside with his hands up_). She will swallow man the gold of the Indies, but believe me, disgorge it, never. Temper! Fire and Steel! I think I see her temper on the receipt of a dispatch from Philip, that clerk king, whose sceptre is his pen with which he dooms brave men to death, and nations to slavery, whilst he himself, the veriest slave to Monks and Priests, delegates the authority of his high office to what he calls the Holy House of the inquisition. Restitution forsooth! What she would say! “God’s death,” she would exclaim, “Is the fellow a fool, to ask me for money? Let him catch Hawkins and Drake, and the rest of the freebooters himself, and take what satisfaction he can out of them.” That is pretty much what she would say. But if he should come himself to demand it, I think she would be very likely to box his Royal ears for him, and tell him to go and be hanged, as she did the stout Earl of Essex, when he had the impudence to turn his back upon her. (_Laughter_.) HAWKINS. This is bold advice, Drake, but I do not like the responsibility.