Fifty-two Stories of the British Navy, from Damme to Trafalgar.Miles, Alfred H. (Alfred Henry)
History
Fifty-two Stories of the British Navy, from Damme to Trafalgar.
Miles, Alfred H. (Alfred Henry)
Great Britain -- History, Naval -- Juvenile literature
Now the Turk unto whom this Patrone Norado was indebted, missing him,
supposed him to be aboard of our ship, presently went unto the king and
told him that he thought that his pledge, Patrone Norado, was aboard on
the English ship. Whereupon the king presently sent a boat aboard of us,
with three men in her, commanding the said Sonnings to come ashore; and,
not speaking anything as touching the man, he said that he would come
presently in his own boat; but as soon as they were gone he willed us to
warp forth the ship, and said that he would see the knaves hanged before
he would go ashore. And when the king saw that he came not ashore, but
still continued warping away the ship, he straight commanded the gunner
of the bulwark next unto us to shoot three shots without ball. Then we
came all to the said Sonnings, and asked him what the matter was that we
were shot at; he said that it was the janisaries who would have the oil
ashore again, and willed us to make haste away. And after that he had
discharged three shots without ball he commanded all the gunners in the
town to do their endeavour to sink us; but the Turkish gunners could not
once strike us, wherefore the king sent presently to the banio (this
banio is the prison where all the captives lay at night), and promised
that if there were any that could either sink us or else cause us to
come in again, he should have a hundred crowns and his liberty. With
that came forth a Spaniard called Sebastian, which had been an old
servitor in Flanders, and he said that, upon the performance of that
promise, he would undertake either to sink us or to cause us to come in
again, and thereto he would gage his life; and at the first shot he
split our rudder's head in pieces, and the second shot he struck us
under water, and the third shot he shot us through our fore-mast with a
culverin shot, and thus, he having rent both our rudder and mast and
shot us under water, we were enforced to go in again.
This Sebastian for all his diligence herein had neither his liberty nor
a hundred crowns, so promised by the said king; but, after his service
done, was committed again to prison, whereby may appear the regard that
a Turk or infidel hath of his work, although he be able to perform
it--yea, more, though he be a king.
Then our merchants, seeing no remedy, they, together with five of our
company, went ashore; and they then ceased shooting. They shot unto us
in the whole nine-and-thirty shots without the hurt of any man.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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